WDBJ 7 morning news for 06/30/99

[Headlines]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

A fast moving fire kills nearly two dozen at a children's summer camp in South Korea.
(----------------)
and It looks like the cost of borrowing is about to go up.

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

After sweltering heat the past couple of days...today's forecast brings slightly cooler and less humid weather.
Just a small chance of scattered showers overnight, as we wrap up the month of June at a significant rainfall deficit.
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(ad lib live tease)
[2-shot]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[Korea-fire]

[ANCHOR=mel]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=fire]

Twenty three small children are dead after fire rips through a summer camp near Seoul, South Korea today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Seoul, South Korea;]

Police say most the 23 victims were six year olds who were suffocated by toxic gas.
They were sleeping in the third floor room where they fire is believed to have started.
The room was in one of the three buildings at the camp housing around 450 chldren and teachers.
The blaze spread rapidly to other parts of the building causing a section to collapse.
Officials think a short-circuit started the fire.
(------------)

[Edwin's-Quest]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

The story of a 13 year old boy's long journey from Honduras to New York City to meet his father turns out to be just that, a story.
Edwin Sabillon now admits he lied about making the 37 day trip after losing his mother in a mudslide.
Michael O'looney reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-New York, NY;]
[SUPER=04-October 1998;]
[SUPER=01-Mayor Rudy Guiliani/(R) New York City;]
[SUPER=01-Michael O'Looney/Reporting;]
[RUNS=2:09]

[OUT Q=for cbs news][Interest-rates]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=INTEREST RATES UP]

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates today to cool a boooming U-S economy.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[super=03-Washington DC/Yesterday;]

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress two weeks ago that pre-emptie measure now could lessen the need for more drastic actions later.
Some analysts say the expected quarter percentage point increase to have little impact on borrowing costs for consumers.
Fed critics say the central bank is being too hasty.
They say it's too soon to raise rates with only a fragile global economic recovery underway.
(------------)

[E-Transportation]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-15 1:19:32]
[GRAPHIC=Highway Improvements]

It's an issue that's gotten two years of study by a special commission of state lawmakers.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]

But yesterday, Governor Jim Gilmore appointed his own transportation policy commission.
He challenged its members to "think big" and "think new."
But don't even think about raising the gas tax to pay for new roads.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 10:27:45]
[IN Q=Simply raising]
((GOV. JIM GILMORE: SIMPLY RAISING TAXES IS BACKWARD THINKING, IT'S REALLY LAZY... ANY DUMB DOORKNOB CAN DO THAT.))
[SUPER=@Gilmore;]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=do that.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The Sierra Club says the Governor's commission is "a kangaroo court."
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 10:34:21]
[IN Q=What he's]
((GLEN BESA/SIERRA CLUB: WHAT HE'S DONE IS HE'S APPOINTED A COLLECTION OF... MORE AIR POLLUTION.))
[SUPER=01-Glen Besa/Sierra Club;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=air pollution.]
[TALENT=Kimberly]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The existing legislative commission has decided there are more than four BILLION dollars in unmet road needs right now in Virginia.

[Safety-Course]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=mornin]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=99-19]
[GRAPHIC=Boating Safety]

Just before the busiest boating weekend of the season -- a record number of people signed up for a free safety course at Smith Mountain Lake.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co./Last Night;]

Almost 100 people showed up last night.
The course is required only for 14 to 16 year olds who want to jet ski.
Volunteers demonstrate, for example, how to choose a boat, lifejacket, and fire extinguisher.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 20:47:54]
[IN Q=I've taken it before]
((I'VE TAKEN IT BEFORE BUT IT'S ALWAYS USEFUL. THINGS COME UP, RULES CHANGE. EVERYBODY NEEDS TO TAKE THE COURSE IF THEY DRIVE A BOAT.))
[SUPER=01-Wayne Dunford/Crazy Horse Marina;]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=drive a boat]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

More than 800 people have already taken the course in the past five months -- topping the number from ALL last year.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 16:13:18]
[IN Q=We have a ]
((WE HAVE A GREAT TRACK RECORD IN ACCIDENTS AT SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE. THEY'RE DOWN 40 PERCENT OVER TWO YERAS. DUI'S ARE DOWN 59 PERCENT.))
[SUPER=01-Tom Maynard/Boating Association;]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=59 percent]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Last year, the General Assembly refused to make boating education mandatory.
These courses are offered frequently at Smith Mountain Lake and in Roanoke.
(------------)

[E-Gas-Main]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-27 14:13]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Traffic was blocked and homes were evacuated in downtown Danville after a gas leak caught fire.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville]

Around eight yesterday morning, a passing motorist spotted flames coming from this regulator station off Memorial Drive.
As fire crews blocked off the area, the leak grew larger, with flames scorching nearby treetops.
A half dozen homes in the neighborhood were evacuated briefly while city employees shut off gas to the valves.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:28:45]
[IN Q=It is summer]
((JIM HARR/DANVILLE GAS DEPT.: IT IS SUMMER TIME, VERY LITTLE GAS CONSUMPTION, THEREFORE WE CAN DO WITHOUT THE STATION FOR A LITTLE WHILE, WHILE WE HAVE TIME TO TEST EVERYTHING THAT REMAINS THERE BEFORE WE PUT IT BACK INTO SERVICE.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Harr/Danville Gas Department; :00]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=back into service.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Harr says customer service will "not" be disrupted while the station is repaired.
(------------)

[E-City-Schools]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=99-26 19:09]
[GRAPHIC=Education]

Student report cards went out weeks ago. But now, Roanoke School Superintendent Wayne Harris issued his own marks for the city schools.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

It was a challenging year... with the pressure to improve on disappointing test results... and the disruptions that followed the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado.
Yesterday, Harris delivered a state of the schools address and told members of the school board he's proud of the progress the city schools have made.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:33]
[IN Q=I'm convinced]
((WAYNE HARRIS/ROANOKE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: I'M CONVINCED THAT WHEN WE ARE FACED WITH A GREAT CHALLENGE, PEOPLE RISE TO THE OCCASION AND I THINK THAT'S EVIDENCED BY WHAT HAPPENED IN ROANOKE CITY.))
[SUPER=01-Wayne Harris/Roanoke School Superintendent]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=happened in Roanoke city.]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Harris says there are some subject areas that require attention including elementary math and history... but he says 24 of the city's 29 schools have shown substantial improvement on the Standards of Learning.

[E-Unemployment]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=99-20 49:47]
[GRAPHIC=Va. Unemployment]

The state's unemployment numbers went up last month ... but that was expected heading into the summer with students looking for jobs.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[***NO SUPER***]
Virginia's jobless rate for May was 2-point-9, up five-tenths of a percent from April.
In Roanoke, unemployment was at two percent, up from one-point-six.
Lynchburg also went up four-tenths of a percent.
Danville had the highest unemployment rate of any Virginia metro area.
The rate there is seven-and-a-half percent.
(------------)

[2-HEADLINES]
[2-shot=Mel/Kmc]
[SUPER=#4049; Morning Headlines]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

Here's a look at today's top stories.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

The Federal Reserve is expected to try to cool off the red-hot U-S economy today by raising interest rates.
Analysts say Alan Greenspan's recent comments almost guarantee a quarter-point increase.
Greenspan told Congress the Fed should take ``pre-emptive actions'' against inflation.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kim]
A fast-moving fire at a summer recreation center in South Korea has killed nearly two dozen kindergarten children dead.
Nearly all of them had been asleep on the third floor.
An electrical short is suspected to be the cause of the fire.

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

And a 13 year old Honduran boy now admits he lied about making the 37-day trip to new york to meet his father,.. after losing his mother in a mudslide.
His mother is very much alive-- and his father died of aids last year.
Edwin had been living with an aunt in florida.
He's now staying with a foster family in new york city.//
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

And that's what's making news on this .
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

News 7 Mornin' will be right back.

[2-Interest-rates]

[refugee-protest]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Rush hour is brought to a halt in Miami.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[4:04:03]
[SUPER=03-Miami, FL;]
[IN Q=]
[RUNS=:04]
[OUT Q=(nats of protesting)]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

About 100 protestors shut down a causeway to Miami Beach as they led their opposition to the treatment of six Cubans who earlier in the day in an attempt to reach the U-S.
Coast Guard vessels tried to keep a rowboat full of refugees from reaching shore, while the refugees were trying to keep the coast guard at bay by waving oars.
The refugees are now in police custoday.
(------------)

[car-investigation]

[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=NONE]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is taking a closer look at some G-M vehicles follow complaints from consumers.
Motorists report the steering wheel on some General Motors pickups and S-U-V's moved unexpectedly while they were riving at moderate to high speeds. [TAKE FULL SCREEN PINNACLE]
The vehicles under investigation include C-K pickups and suburban, Yukon and Tahoe S-U-V's, model years 19-97 through 19-99.
[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]

G-M says up to two million of the vehicles are on the road.

[E-NAACP]

[ANCHOR=kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-28 8:24]
[GRAPHIC=Lee Mural Dispute]

The debate over the Robert E. Lee mural in Richmond has attracted the attention of the U-S Justice Department.
It's offered to step in and mediate.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]

At a news conference yesterday, the Virginia N-double-A-C-P condemned death threats and hate messages directed at City Council member (Sod) Sa'ad El-Amin.
He's the man who got the Lee mural taken down.
On local newsgroup postings, one can easily find threats to hang El-Amin by his neck... or to hang him on the floodwall with nails.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 09:27:36]
[IN Q=]
((SA'AD EL-AMIN/RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL: THE IGNORANT PEOPLE... TAKE SERIOUSLY THESE THREATS.))
[SUPER=01-Sa'ad El-Amin/Richmond City Council;]
[RUNS=:22]
[OUT Q=these threats.]
[TALENT=Kimberly]
[SS=none]

Richmond Police say they are investigating threats made by phone or letter.
The mural question will be decided by an community advisory panel.

[Homeowners]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=Net A]
[GRAPHIC=none]

If you belong to a neighborhood association -- you may have more rights than you know.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co./Last Night;]

Lawyers from Northern Virginia were at Smith Mountain Lake last night -- saying the General Assembly has passed new laws to protect homeowners.
As long as they ask, association members must be notified of board meetings in writing and have access to the information packet in advance.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 18:56:05]
[IN Q=There is a perception]
((THERE IS A PERCEPTION AND IT MAY NOT BE AN ACCURATE ONE BUT THERE IS A PERCEPTION BY MANY IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT ASSOCIATION BOARDS OF DIRECTORS ARE BEHAVING IN MORE OF AN EXCLUSIVE MANNER THAN AN OPEN MANNER.))
[SUPER=01-Andrew Elmore/Attorney;]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=an open manner]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

BUT -- you still cannot get confidential information -- like your neighbor's record of paying dues.
(------------)

[New-Laws]

[ANCHOR=mELANIE]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=NONE]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

Tomorrow is July first, and that means dozens of new laws will take effect in Virginia.
One of them is the "Patients" Bill of Rights to regulate health maintainence organizations.
The H-M-O package lets Virginians designate a specialist as their primary care physician.
It will also put more pressure on H-M-O's to cover clinical drug trials for terminally ill patients.

[Garbage-law]

[ANCHOR=kIMBERLY]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=Net B]
[GRAPHIC=LEGAL SCALES]

Lawyers for the state are expected to go to a federal appeals court today in Richmond over two new garbage laws. Yesterday, A U-S District judge agreed to block the laws from taking effect tomorrow.
(------------)
[VO-NAT 598-33 49:05]
[SUPER=03-King and Queen Co./File Tape]
The measures restrict dumping out-of-state garbage at Virginia landfills. Trash hauler Waste Management contends the laws violate the Constitution's commerce clause. But the state argues the company is concerned only about making money, not potential environmental hazards that endanger the public.
(------------)

[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[2-Shot=Mel/Kmc]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

Now here's another look at today's top local stories:
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

The U-S Justice Department has offered to step in and mediate the debate over the Lee Mural in Richmond.
At a news conference yesterday, the Virginia N-double-A-C-P condemned death threats and hate messages directed at City Council member (Sod) Sa'ad El-Amin.
He's the man who got the Lee mural taken down.
Richmond Police say they are investigating threats made by phone or letter.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
Roanoke School Superintendent Wayne Harris delivered a state of the schools address yesterday.
He told members of the school board he's proud of the progress the city schools have made.
Harris says there are some subject areas that require attention including elementary math and history... but he says 24 of the city's 29 schools have shown substantial improvement on the Standards of Learning.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

About 100 people showed up for a free boating safety course at Smith Mountain Lake last night.
Volunteers demonstrated how to choose a boat, lifejacket, and fire extinguisher.
More than 800 people have already taken the course in the past five months -- topping the number from ALL of last year.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
(Kimberly mic hot)
(///////////////)
[2 shot=Mel/Kmc]
(Kimberly ad lib weather)
(-------------)
[Double Boxes=Melanie/Kimberly and Steve]
(toss)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(live ad lib, tease tomorrow)
(ad lib bye) [Double Boxes=Melanie/Kimberly and Steve]