ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606070021
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
Q: If Bob Dole loses the presidential race, could he get his Senate seat back?
A: Yes, but he'd have to run for office again.
Q: Late last year, it was reported that Jacqueline Levitz, the furniture heiress, had disappeared. I never saw a follow-up. What was the outcome?
A: There's not much to report, but the FBI is continuing to investigate. The 62-year-old widow of furniture mogul Ralph Levitz was last seen Nov. 18 and was reported missing two days later. Investigators said they found a blood-soaked mattress and signs of a struggle at her home overlooking the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Miss., but little has been reported since. Hal Neilson at the FBI in Jackson, Miss., said last Monday that ``it's very much an active, ongoing case, but I don't have any developments that are releasable at this point.''
Q: I want to fly the American flag and a Swedish flag outside my home during the Olympics. What is the proper etiquette?
A: This is what the Flag Code, adopted by Congress in 1942 and subsequently amended, has to say: ``When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace.'' The U.S. flag should be given the position of honor, to the left of observers as they face the flags.
Q: How can I contact Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund, which organized the recent children's rally in Washington?
A: Contact her in care of Children's Defense Fund, 25 E St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 (202-628-8787).
Q: I recently became a U.S. citizen. I still have a valid passport from Ethiopia, my birth country. Am I permitted to travel with it, or do I need to get a U.S. passport? Does dual citizenship apply in my case?
A: American citizens are required to have a U.S. passport when entering or leaving the country, said Nyda Budig of the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. What you use overseas is your choice, she said, but if you're traveling overseas and are involved in an emergency requiring help from a U.S. embassy or consulate, you might not be able to get it if you present a non-U.S. passport.
The question of dual nationality is complicated, Budig said, because different countries view the situation differently. She advises you to check with the Embassy of Ethiopia (2134 Kalorama Road N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008; 202-234-2281) about its regulations.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs has an Internet home page with information on dual nationality: http://travel.state.gov .
Q: How many lawyers are added to the bar annually nationwide, and how many lawyers does the United States have?
A: The American Bar Association estimates that about 35,000 to 40,000 people pass the bar annually and says there are 896,140 lawyers in the United States.
Q: What is a lungfish? And do they really have lungs?
A: The Australian lungfish, which can use its one lung to breathe air, is one of the planet's strangest and hardiest survivors. It's one of the last remnants of the Dipnoi, a group of fish that has swum the world's rivers for more than 400 million years, managing to hang on as countless contemporaries, including the dinosaurs, died out, and other creatures, such as Homo sapiens, took their first steps. But conservationists say this species, now restricted to a handful of rivers in northeastern Australia, is being threatened in one of its last strongholds.
Q: What's going on with Dale Evans? I understand she's had some serious health problems.
A: Evans, who suffered a stroke May 12, is at Loma Linda (Calif.) University Medical Center, where she is recuperating from surgery to bypass a clogged carotid artery that supplies blood to the brain. Anita Rockwell Hayden, spokeswoman at the medical center, said May 31 that Evans is listed in good condition. ``We expect her to be with us for perhaps another three weeks because she's undergoing some rehabilitation, but her spirits are good, she's alert and doing fine,'' Hayrden said. Evans, 83, starred in dozens of western films with her husband, Roy Rogers. .
Q: I've heard about a group called Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. How do I contact them?
A: Write or call: Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 2030 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 412, Arlington, Va. 22201 (703-525-1107).
Q: I'm concerned about the large number of political appointees in the federal government. Are postmasters still political appointees?
A: Only at the uppermost level. The U.S. Postal Service is governed by an 11-member Board of Governors. Nine members are appointed to nine-year terms by the president, with Senate approval. Those nine, in turn, choose a postmaster general. The board and the postmaster general choose the 11th member, who serves as deputy postmaster general. Below that, virtually no postmasters are politically appointed, said Nancy Ross, Postal Service spokeswoman. Before the Post Office Department was reorganized as the Postal Service on July 1, 1971, all postmasters were appointed by the president, she said. Since that date, they have been chosen through an in-house competitive procedure.
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