The Michigan Daily Vol. XCII, No. 45-S Ann Arbor, Michigan-Thursday, July 22, 1 Watt opens .S. coast to drilling WASHINGTON (AP)- After 16 mon- sitive tracts. ths of controversy, Interior Secretary But Watt, in approving the plan, said James Watt gave final approval the country's offshore leasing program yesterday to a program that will open had an "excellent environmental and virtually the entire U.S. coastline for oil safety record. New leasing will be and gas drilling. carried out under rigorous environmen- Under the plan, 1 billion acres will be tal controls to ensure that the record offered for leasing in 41 sales to be held will continue and be enhanced." from August of this year through June WATT SAID the plan was aimed at 1987. reversing the decline in energy produc- Since Watt first proposed scrapping tion from offshore areas. the old leasing plan prepared by the The program immediately drew fire Carter administration, he has been un- from environmentalists and California der attack from critics who charged officials. that his plan was too ambitious and The Natural Resources Defense would jeopardize environmentally Council said it planned to file suit fragile coastal areas. against the program today in DESPITE THE outcry, Watt refused Washington and officials in California to back down from the major thrust of said they were also considering a suit. his April 1981 proposal-making entire "THE PROGRAM still offers a billion "planning areas" available for leasing. acres in a very short time. There is no In the past, leases have covered about 2 way Secretary Watt can assure million acres each, but a planning area adequate protection of the marine en- covers about 133 million acres. vironment and coastal resources," said Critics said such areas were too large Francis Beinecke, an attorney with the to make proper assessments of the environmental group. potential harm to marine life and would result in leasing environmentally sen- See WATTPagea Arti~st loses bi~d Doily Photo by DOUG McMAHON Artful entertainment The Graceful Arch on E. University supplied the stage for the jazz sounds of Tantra yesterday. The band appeared as part of the audio extravaganza that will also appear today from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. to re-enter fair By KRISTIN STAPLETON A federal judge yesterday denied local black artist Jon Lockard's bid to be reinstated in this year's art fair, ruling that the artist failed to link racial discrimination to his exclusion from the fair. .Fifteenth U.S. District Court Judge Charles Joiner said Lockard failed to prove his claim that racial. discrimination was involved in the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, Inc.'s decision to reject his application to the fair. THE JUDGE also dismissed an argument that Lockard's 14th Amen- dment right of due process was violated by his exclusion. Attorneys had argued that the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair's refusal to provide Lockard with a list of the jurors on the selection committee and the judging criteria used to reject him was a violation of due process. Although Joiner ruled that due process had been complied with in the judging procedure, he did say he per- sonally feels the group is being "somewhat less than completely fair" by not cooperating with exhibitors' requests for information. He added, however, that there is no legal reason to force the art fair group to release their criteria or to make the jury process more open. RICHARD Brunvand, chairman of the Ann Arhor Street Art Fair, Inc., said he was pleased with the decision. Asked if he would consider the judge's suggestion to open up the selection process, Brunvand said, "I have every intention of bringing that back to the (art fair) board for discussion. Lockard, who had exhibited in the fair for 22 years prior to his exclusion, said that in spite of the decision, the hearing had served an important pur- pose. The hearing "brought an issue to the public, and an educated public is a good public," Lockard said. MARK GOMBINER, one of Lockard's attorneys, said "We believe the Ann Arbor Art Fair, Inc. will con- sider more seriously their standards and why there are so few blacks in the fair." See JUDGE, Page 2 Daily events The Arts Page features a listing of entertainment avail- able at today's Art Fair. In addition, a pair of comic jugglers are featured on Page 3. Polish ofijcials relax martial law constrarni ts WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski announced the release of 1,227 interned dissidents yesterday, relaxed some martial law regulations, and said military rule might end this year if Poland remains calm. A spokesman for the Poland's ruling military council said later that Lech Walesa and other prominent leaders of the suspended Solidarity union were not among those ordered released. Maj. Wieslaw Gornicki said those to be released included 913 to be freed outright and 314 placed on leave. in- cluding all women interned. That left 637 in custody, he said. THE REAGAN administration refrained from passing judgment on Poland's relaxation of martial law, but it left open the possibility of lifting san- ctions against the Warsaw government pending a "common evaluation' among partners in the Atlantic alliance. Jaruzelski, premier and head of the Communist party also said that although the government would welcome a visit by Pope John Paul II, "proper conditions must be created. See POLAND, Page 4