Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 24, 1990                   TAG: 9004240582
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO                                LENGTH: Short

ACCORDION EDGES VIOLIN IN SAN FRANCISCO VOTE

The Board of Supervisors voted 6-4 Monday in favor of the raspy squeezebox despite a last-minute bid by violin fanciers.

Fans of the accordion said the instrument is just what the city needs after the October earthquake. The message is "we're a lighthearted and bohemian city," accordion player "Big Lou" said.

Accordion players, who started their pitch several months ago by wheezing away on the steps of City Hall, wanted their instrument recognized for historical reasons.

"The first piano accordion made in America was made in San Francisco," said Normal Kaline, whose Italian immigrant father, Finau Piatanesi, claimed credit for the feat in 1908.

-Associated Press