xt78kp7tqk8n https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt78kp7tqk8n/data/mets.xml The Kentucky Kernel Kentucky -- Lexington The Kentucky Kernel 1990-03-21 Earlier Titles: Idea of University of Kentucky, The State College Cadet newspapers  English   Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Kentucky Kernel  The Kentucky Kernel, March 21, 1990 text The Kentucky Kernel, March 21, 1990 1990 1990-03-21 2020 true xt78kp7tqk8n section xt78kp7tqk8n  

 

Vol. XClIl, No. 131

Established 1894

University of Kentucky, Lexington. Kentucky

Independent Since 1971

Wednesday. March 21, 1990

 

Lawmakers begin carving on Wilkinson’s budget plan

By MARK R. CHELLGREN
Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The
House budget committee began its
surgery on Gov. Wallace Wilkin-
son‘s biennial spending plan yes-
terday with mostly cosmetic chang-
CS.

The Appropriations and Revenue
Committee did eliminate some
items front the Wilkinson budget
and moved others around.

Among the more noteworthy
items were recommendations to cut
all funding for the secretary's office
in the Public Protection and Regu-
lation Cabinet and begin public fi-
nancing of gubematorial elections.

Those and other items may not
make it through the entire budget
process that will include considera-
tion by the full House committee,
the Senate counterpart anti a closed

Sue Bennett’s
trustees

to decide

on its future

By MYRNA MAHCA
Contributing Writer

Sue Bennett. a Methodist college
itt London, Ky., might join the UK
Community College System to pro-
vide a broader variety of classes for
students in southeastern Kentucky.

The college, which has been pri~
vatc for ()4 years, has steadily de-
creased in financial aid over the
past few months. On March 30 its
trustees will meet to decide the col-
lege‘s future.

The college's trustees voted to in-
vestigate becoming part of UK‘s
Community College System and
“other possibilities“ on Dec. 18,
said Susie H. Bullock, Sue Bennett
media coordinator.

The school also could merge with
l‘nion College, a Methodist school
in Barbourville. The merger would
allow Sue Bennett to maintain its
church affiliation and have more fi-
nancial stability, Bullock said.

Advantages for Sue Bennett if it
were to become UK’s 15th commu-
nity college include an increase in
enrollment, a boost in London's
economy, better facilities and finan-
cral support from the state.

Sue Bennett is a private coeduca-
tion college with 48 acres of land.
The school's enrollment is about
500 students and the tuition for a
full-time semester is 81,585.

"If we had an endowment, we
would not even consider these other
options," Bullock said.

Members of London‘s communi-
ty are in favor of joining the UK
Community College System.

Janet Lipps, a therapist and case
manager in London Comprehensive
Care. said she supports joining UK
because of the financial stability
and broader range of classes UK of-
fers.

Craig Seals, the executive direc-
tor of the London-Laurel Chamber
of Commerce, printed a survey in
the local newspapers with the three
options for Sue Bennett: remain pri-
vate, merge with Union College or
become a UK community college.

Eight-hundred-forty responded to
the ads that ran in The Sentinel~
Echo, the Laurel News Leader,
Laurel County Weekly, and the
Corbin Times.

Of those responding, 86 percent
favored Sue Bennett becoming part
of the UK Community College Sys-
tem, l2 percent wanted Sue Bennett
to remain private, and 2 percent
voted to merge with Union College.

In a survey conducted by The
Submeco, the Sue Bennett College
newspaper, an overwhelming ma-
jority of the college‘s students favor

See SUE BENNET, Back page

 

WILKINSON:
Some items re-
moved. others
moved around
in his '91—92
budget propo-
sat.

conference committee meeting of
selected representatives and sena-
tors.

The work of the House commit-
tee began with some of the less sig-
nificant and least expensive areas
of state government with one ex-
ception.

The committee received a rec-
ommendation to leave the proposed
budget for the Cabinet for Human
Resources virtually intact from

Wilkinson's proposal. The cabinet
will spend approximately 31.5 bil-
lion in state tax funds during the
next two years.

One small controversy came up
over who should operate a pro—
posed 25-bed juvenile detention
center in eastern Kentucky.

The budget subcommittee that
covers the Corrections Cabinet in«
cluded funding for the construction
and operation of the unit, but sug.
gestcd that the Human Resources
Cabinet operate it.

Rep. Marshall Long, D-
Shelbyville, said that was not a
good idea. “I think it's a real (lan—
gerous thing to put CHR in the cor-
rections business," he said.

The Corrections Cabinet budget
had some minor changes.

The proposed 550-bed medium
security prison originally estimated
to cost $47 million was capped at

$30 million.

More assistance was also lent to
local jails in the form of a higher
annual payment from the state and
higher per (item reimbursements
for lodging state prisoners.

The annual payment would rise
from the current $24,000 to
$50,000. The per them would go
from the current 816 to $22, even
higher than the $20 sought by the
administration.

The proposed elimination of the
secretary‘s office in the Public Pro»
tection Cabinet was accomplished
with some budgetary sleight ot
hand.

The proposed budget for the of-
fice of $342,400 in fiscal year 1991
and 5359.800 the next year was
simply left out of the cabinct’s
budget.

Two new positions were added
in the govemor’s ol'ticc at a cost of

$57,000 the first year and “0.000
the second Wllil the instructions
that they coordinate the LlLll\lllt‘\
of the Public Protection (‘abtttct

The Public Protection (‘abinct l\
an umbrella aecttcx tor ntititerotis
independent Utittt‘s m lite 1.1in
ernmcnt such as the the insurance
Department and State Racing (‘om
mission. It has tt'w thine wt it
own.

The public ltitanttng proposal
for the 100* gubernatorial election
depends entirely on the tate ot a
bill to establish the s) stem lttit the
budget rccommettdation contains
$6.2 million to begin setting up the
fund in the Regixtr‘. ol l'lcctmii i‘l
nance.

The House panel Ltistt recomi
rnentled modifications It] the pro,
posal by the Revenue (‘abinet lor
the statewide Tc‘tl‘MlelliJll o1 all
property.

 

 

 

BEGINNING A NEW ERA

 

 

 

UK football coach Bill Curry held his ilfSl spring practice
yesterday at Shively Field in what felt like tatt weather

PHOTOS BV STEVE SANDERS’KerneI Sta."

__._.._1

 

 

Forum encourages students to enter politics

By JENNIFER RUSSELL
Staff Writer

Seven Kentucky politiCtans Wlii
speak at a political forum at 7 to-
night in 230 Student Center on how
to become involved in politics.

The forum is coordinated by Lisa
Keeton. a freshman who is in the
Emerging Leaders Institute.

The eight-week program selects
25 members of the freshman and
sophomore classes to work on lead-
ership projects.

Tonight‘s political forum is open
to the public and sponsored by Kee-
ton as a requirement of the Emerg—
ing Leaders Institute.

Keeton invited senators and rep

 

“I picked them because they represent the whole
state of Kentucky because they are from different

geographical areas. It‘s a good. diverse background."

resentatives from across the state to
speak about their experiences in
politics and how aspiring politicians
cant get involved.

“I picked them because they rep-
resent the whole state of Kentucky
because they are from different ge‘
ographical areas," Keeton said. “It‘s
a good, diverse background. There
should be somebody there that each
person can relate to."

Teachers rally in support

Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. On the
eve of a pivotal House vote on an
education-reform bill, teachers ral-
lied yesterday and mounted another
lobbying charge to bolster support
among legislators.

Kentucky Education Association
President David Allen told an over-
flow crowd in the Capitol Rotunda
that the mammoth proposal would

place the state at the vanguard of
restructuring elementary anti secon-
dary education.

“We wrll become the first state to
give teachers real authority through
school-based (teetsion making," Al-
len told the KEA members. “We
will have the strongest professional
standards board in the nation, thus
giving teachers real control over
our profession.

“We Will become leaders in the

Lisa Keeton

Tonight's speakers include Re-
publican Sen. Dthd Williams, for-
mer UK basketball player and State
Rep. Jim Lernaster and chmgton
Vice Mayor Pam Miller.

Each politician Will speak for
about l0 minutes on how they be-
gan their career in politics, the ben-
efits of a political career and the
steps students should take to put-
sue a political career. The floor

of reform

nation tti tire-school education and
lamtly resource centers," he said.
“Not only are we addressing the
symptoms of education's ills. we
are addressing the causes ~ , pover~
ty. lack of parental support and
poor preparation for school."

The full House will take tip the
bill today. The proposal is an out-
growth ol a Kentucky Supreme

See 'l‘l'ZACHI'IRS, Back Page

then will be openin- l.
and-answer «out:

' .t title‘sltuttv

chton \Lliti st ’t‘ p \ ttx‘ totitnt
will be lllltll'lltJllli'tAi .l'lii prcsent 1t
positive \ tow of {u

Keeton \tllii t? .tt ih i’itlltiil’s
about David Roscite‘s t. dentition
and the bail tctlitttg» alarm the
state‘s ctlttctittoii \‘-\lt‘lll have ltlt
ntany people with .i llt'tltliHC view

toward politics.

”I think ceruulx l‘.t\ it bad
udgc toward politics rteht now.”
‘eton Stilti. "t think it‘s good to
get people that ate it .ttig to do
good things tn politics to mate and
speak about the good ,t ;ctt\ ot be
coming involxctl il't ;» ‘ititc \' ’

gr
K

the .itltttitnxtration hail rceom
llL'litiL'ti spending Sb million tor
the emergency ft“.l\\c‘\.‘ nit-tit and \1
million tor spccti! Jail in local
propcrtx valuation tliiilllltt\ii'.lil'ir"
t‘lltt't‘s, iilc‘ iii‘ttw‘ t~

‘lti'lttllt’t‘
:tttinit'tttl-xl it cut «it a? liltiilt‘l‘t in
that total. lllll .tlw re. tlltlitt‘llil‘xl
tittirc ol the lltttltc“» be spent lll the
ill\l \t‘ttr .tt lit
litti.

Here are brtct ti'fixfll‘llt'll‘ o.
\igntticant chanfic- 'vi.l
gets made to the lion“- \pprtvprtti
irons and Rt‘\t‘llltt‘ ( 'tittznttittu- from
the recommetttlatttn~ ot lt’tt‘ w ti
ktttson administration

-Re\enue: Spend \v‘ illlitlt‘ill lll
stead ol Slit milliot: tor the enter

.,, , i . ,,
,"iilili.. "ttii tin.

i

lll .l.'t‘l.. '.

gene} rc‘;t\\c‘s~-l':e‘ltl wt ail t-ropem
lll the state. '-\lli‘t Va :tiilt:

til the l‘t'il ll-w t. ‘. git

. \Ileltl

\ 'lil [filial “.5."

Cultural
diversity
celebrated
at festival
Staff reports

ecici’mttttg _ :.'

rstt. mil is; hit} I "

t; .'
.. .t-..t

1:1. Stuitgttt (Inter (Exits? Qt:
‘rt.’ \tsttors .ttt opporttttttt. ‘.
heir. it‘tlei‘. last: an}

out til the 'Aothl

t!1.i.\-,.

film” lulu-K

‘ ,7. \‘ t“
lttll tt.i. it x
'tJi. C xii llit.‘ :‘ttl't‘i‘\c‘ «‘l llk‘ ii“
twat '\ help pct pic understand and
.t; :llk'x l.t’.~.' other t‘tittires

' t‘rweram .ilm wt". ‘ ‘ -" ‘
..xlttc.ttiut;.ii lorttttt .i:!.t :
fr \m 4*" t ‘ :‘ 1-.
‘wttttlt‘at l
w'ctl to L ..

ililt‘\ .1 L'.ili.

iticttt-
ins and it i. it: .t .s
.hangc

ilt‘.‘ '~ ~lli. ' slitt‘it‘ltls .tt -'
tall-t about tout t \pcticnt. \. ;:‘. ‘v
coming at. lit;..ittd toi I-x'

Jerry \t.,‘\ctt\ tilit'kit‘l vi: ‘I‘t’ltl'

lions for? K \‘t.rtt-rtt\ '\li.tlf\ \niili

that thc it'\il'».tl l‘i'i'HclcN a 3i tlt‘.t‘
.tttiiosphere lll worth pinpit ..i':
Chilltlllc‘ cultural titttcrentts

‘va want to eatintt'aet pint it to
iciirlt the skill t‘l :. .i1:tt‘ tt~ t t‘ ;
l‘t‘t‘l‘it‘ .lti't‘\\ cTNs» in . .ltt: T‘s:

1"crs. ‘ ‘lt‘u‘tts \.it.’t

 

 

Bat Cats blank Lincoln Memorial

UK freshman pitthet Scott Smith tZ-(ll
went the distance yesterday as he shutout
Lincoln Memorial ,1 0 .i~ the Bat (‘ats tm«
proved their overall record to lX-R.

The shutout was hl\ ttrst in a Bat (‘at

uniform.

It also marked the thtitl shutout of the

season for LTKX pitching st.itt.

Story. Page 5.

 

 

 

Viewpoint

SGA presidential race
is (getting muddy.

olumn, Page 6.

 

Diversions

Kentucky author Mason

returns home.
Story, Page 3.

 

Weather
Today: Sunny

High 59"

Tomorrow: Sunny

High 64°

 

 

 

 2- Kontucky Kernel, Wednesday, March 21,1990

Workers count the homeless
for the nation’s 1990 census

Associated Press

History was in the making as
U.S. Census Bureau workers
fanned out across Kentucky and the
nation last night for the first official
count of the nation’s street people,
a census official said.

“We are making history tonight,"
said Prentess Henry. district man~
ager for the census office in Flor-
ence.

Street people offered mixed reac-
tions as the count got underway.

“They're not going to find all of
them. They can't cover enough
ground, enough alleys. holes in the
walls, enough bushes," said Ted
Baldwin, 31, a homeless man stay~
ing at the Salvation Army Enter-
gency Lodge.

ln Louisville, 38-year-old Ricky
Anderson at first didn‘t even know
what the papers were all about.

“I‘ve never been counted," said
Anderson, sitting in the Wayside
Christian Mission, located in down-
town Louisville. “What really sur-
prised (mei was that 1 never did
know something like this would go
on."

Several other homeless men and
women said they probably would
cooperate With special census.

The nationwide survey began at
6 pm. with census workers visiting
shelters and rescue missions.

At 2 am. today, the workers then
will check parks and alleys. The
survey will conclude at 8 am. after
a survey of abandoned buildings,
motels and other dwellings where
the homeless reside.

About 170 people in Kentucky
are involved in the effort to survey
a homeless population estimated to
be 35,000, according to a 1987
Kentucky Legislative Research

Commission study.

They will be visiting about 35
cities. from tiny Beattyville in East-
ern Kentucky to Paducah in west-

ern Kentucky.

Census taker Clay Wainscott,
reached at the Horizon Center for
The Homeless in Lexington, said
he found the people were coopera»
live.

“So far, i haven't seen anything
negative at all," he said. “in a cer-
tain respect we‘re feeling our way
along."

The census is taken with a pledge
of confidentiality, and Wainscott
would not comment on the number
of people interviewed or any per-
sonal data.

The shelter survey was going
smoothly, he said. but he didn't
know how well the second phase of
the count in the alleys and side-
walks would fare.

Nationally, many homeless shel-
ters are boycotting the count, ar-
guing the figures would be incom-
plete. They fear that some
gOvemment officials will take ad«
vantage of the low figures and cut
their budgets accordingly.

Timothy Moseley, executive di-
rector of the Wayside Christian
Mission, said Louisville-area
homeless advocates were cooperat-
ing with the census.

Baldwin, relaxing in the warm
Lexington shelter, said he‘s been
on the streets for 14 years. He pre-
dicted many street people would be
scared about talking to federal
workers.

"You're not talking to a lot of an‘
gels here," said Baldwin, who
works parttune in a nearby tobac«
co warehouse. “A lot of them have
warrants out a lot are bouncing
state to state."

Outside the Salvation Army shel-
ter, an elderly woman took a long
drag on a cigarette and gave a bitter
assessment of the homeless count.

“Nobody gives a damn about the
homeless." said the woman, who

See HOMELESS, Back page

 

 

KAREN BALLARD/Kamol Stall

AND HE'S OFF: Jefferson County Judge-Executive Harvey
Sloane officially began his U.S. Senate race Monday after-
noon at Pikeville’s Marlow’s Country Palace. Sloane will
speak at 12:30 today in the Student Center.

 

 

 

LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP ]

 

 

 

Hazardous waste bill
clears House

A bill to create a miniature version of a federal program for clean-
ing up hazardous waste sites passed the House yesterday.

But industry representatives, environmentalists and state officials
will take remaining disagreements about the bill to the Senate, said
Rep. Mark Brown, D-Brandenburg.

Brown's House Bill 893 would set up a state-managed program to
identify and clean up many waste sites that don’t qualify for federal
cleanup funds.

“House Bill 893 is another necessary step toward a cleaner and
safer environment, and another tool in the state’s commitment to
that goal,” Brown said.

The bill cleared the House 97—0.

Brown said he envisions the state creating a cleanup effort similar
to the federal Superfund program run by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.

Before that can happen, representatives of industry. environmen-
tal groups and the Natural Resources Cabinet much resolve some
fingering disagreements.

The biggest sticking point revolves around whether industry must
remove all contaminants at a site where certain natural substances
are present, Brown said.

Those substances can produce natural contaminants that make it
virtually impossible to clean up such a site, he said.

Brown said he's confident that an agreement can be reached.
“We're close right now.” he said.

The cabinet would identify waste sites and compile a priority list
for cleanup. Cabinet officials also would determine who caused the
pollution and force them to pay for the cleanup.

if the polluter isn’t found, the cabinet c0uld tap the Waste Man-
agement Assessment Fund to pay for the work. The House has
passed a bill to bolster the fund by raising fees for producers of the

 

[UN/l ( A? li/l.’)( ll

 

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RESERVE

OEEICERS’

A few surprises are in
Kentucky’s tax package

Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. —- Even
without the changes approved by
the House budget committee, the
billion-dollar tax package pending
before the General Assembly con-
tains a few surprises.

One is that it would change the
mics for many deductions effective
on Jan. 1, 1990 -— two-and-a-half
months ago. The bill proposes to
conform Kentucky‘s income-tax
code to the federal code retroactive
to Jan. 1.

That would mean, for example,
any capital gains that have been
taken since the beginning of the
year in anticipation of the tax
changes would be taxed at the new,
higher rate.

Furthermore, the state would
adopt federal depreciation sched-
ules going back 11 weeks.

Several common tax-planning de-
vices would be changed dramatical-

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ly without much notice.

Non~business interest paid this
year, on such things as revolving
credit cards, would no longer be
deductible, giving more incentive
to pay off those bills each month.

The deduction for sales taxes
would also be eliminated with the
result that big-ticket purchases
made early this year would not
benefit the bottom-line 1990 tax
bill.

The floor on medical deductions
would also be substantially in-
creased.

It would also mean that unem-
ployment compensation paid since
the beginning of the year would be
taxable.

When the time comes to begin
filling out 1990 tax returns, the bill
would make some things simpler.

It provides for the adoption of
the federal adjusted gross income

See TAX, Back page

TRAINING CORPS

waste.

would be used for the cleanup.

the federal govemment.

dations.

urns.

on the amendments.

 

That bill is being reviewed by a Senate committee. No state funds

The cabinet also would develop a response plan for state and local
officials if hazardous substances were released.

Truck drivers’ records to be
watched closely

The House passed a bill to have the state keep close records of
truck drivers convicted of drunken driving or drug use. That’s just
one of many sections of H3751, which meets requirements set by

The Transportation Cabinet would be responsible for overseeing
the issuance of commercial driver licenses. The measure also would
require school bus drivers to obtain such a license.

The bill passed 66-25 and goes to the Senate.

Senate passes insurance bill

A Senate amendment would lock sheriffs and their deputies out of
a program that gives police officers extra pay for extra training.

The same amendment would scale back insurance taxes that have
paid for bonuses to police officers and firefighters under two foun-

The amendment was attached to House Bill 449, which would
give counties the authority cities now have to tax insurance premi-

Two other amendments would credit a city’s tax against that of a
county, preventing double taxation, and slash the 15 percent fee in-
surance companies get for collecting the tax to 5 percent

The bill passed 21-13 and was sent back to the House for action

Proponents of the bill said counties need more ways to raise mon-
ey, but the issue yesterday became the Kentucky Law Enforcement
Foundation and Professional Firefighters Foundation programs.

The foundations have been funded by a $1.50 surcharge on each
$100 of premiums for all insurance except life and health. City and
county police officers and firefighters who underwent additional
training qualified for pay supplements.

The amendment by Sen. Mike Moloncy, chairman of the Appro-
priations and Revenue Committee, would freeze the class of benefi-
ciaries in each program. retroactive to Jan. 1.

it also would require the foundations‘ tax income to be adjusted
biennially to support each program, but not to grow.

The Kentucky Sheriffs Association has lobbied several years for
inclusion in the program. There also have been attempts to make
Kentucky State Police, airport police and other groups eligible.

 

 

Budget

Continued from page 1

-Corrections: Set aside $30 mil-
lion for a new 550-bed medium-
security prison instead of $47 mil-
lion. Delay until 1992 construction
of a 40-bcd segregation unit at the
Kentucky Correctional institute for
Women.

increase per diem payments to
local jails for housing state prison-
ers to $22. No provision for in-
creased pay or retirement benefits
for prison guards.

Justice: Set aside debt service
from the Kentucky Law Enforce-
ment Foundation fund for construc-
tion of an $11.5 million training
building at Eastern Kentucky Uni-
versity. Build a 25-bed juvenile de-
tention center in eastern Kentucky.
No provision for extraordinary sal-

ary improvements for state police.

-Lieutenant Governor: Add
$307,400 to the office to develop a
Kentucky agricultural product la-
beling program. The program was
moved from the Agriculture De-
partmcnt.

-Finance Cabinet: Cut $605,000
from the promotional budget of the
Kentucky Education Savings Plan
Trust. Specify grants from the ln»
frastructure Authority Revolving
Loan Fund to drinking water pro-
jects in Floyd, Mercer, Harlan, Jes-
samine and Madison counties.

~Public Protection: Eliminate all
funding for the secretary's office.

Add $3 million in 1991 and $3.2
million in 1992 to the Registry of
Election Finance for public financ—
ing of the 1995 gubernatorial elec-
tion.

Don‘t run around in circles.
Head straight for the

Kernel
Classifieds.

 

selt
nev
our
duc
we

  

DIVERSIONS

Ky. authors Mason and Clark speak at library event

MCHAEL MU Ko'se‘ Sia?‘

Bobbie Ann Mason, the author oi In Country and a UK graduate.
spoke Monday at the Otis A Singletary Center for the Arts

Giants more than college band

By HILLEL ITAUE
Associated Press

NEW YORK -— Crammed into
John Flansburgh’s basement apart-
ment in Brooklyn are film reels,
old framed portraits, brand new Po—
laroids, used rugs, a box of punk
45's and a pharmaceutical typewrit-
er.

A small statue of Chiang Kai-
shek is perched on the refrigerator.
On the stove rests a large, scratched
espresso pot. The answering ma-
chine that activates the “Dial-a—
Song“ telephone message for his
rock group, They Might Be Giants.
lies on the kitchen floor. next to a
shiny silver trash can.

No gold records hang front the
walls, but a used copy of the
group's first LP can be found
slouched atop an old cabinet in the
crowded living room-studio that is
squeezed between the kitchen and
bedroom.

Flansburgh has lived there for
years, near fellow Giant John Lin—
nell. They first moved in when the
two-man band was just getting
started, playing to crowds that
could fit comfortably into these
tiny rooms.

But Flansburgh, 29, and Linnell,
30, are no longer college age and
They Might Be Giants is no longer
just a college band. Sales for their
second album, “Lincoln," neared
100,000, and they should do even
better with their new record,
“FltXid.”

The group is HOW signed with a
major label, Elcktra Records,
which. Flansburgh recalled in a re-
cent interview at his apartment, re«
jectcd They Might Be Giants three
years ago because “they had no
melodies."

“Some of the songs are incredi-
bly old and some of them were in-
credibly new, and some were medi-
um. It's your classic third album
syndrome," Flansburgh said with a
laugh.

“There’s this sort of obsessive
melodic thing," Linnell said. “We
try and come up with a set of words
that would be interesting to use
with that melody.

“I think we‘re really into our
kind of music. There’s a small
range of stuff that we feel we're ac-
tually good at. l definitely wouldn't
say we’re making a point."

So don't look for duets with lab‘
elmate Anita Baker, or jam ses-
sions with Elektra's heavy metal
stars, Metallica and Motley Crue.
“Flood" is more of the same, or the
different — catchy melodies, quirky
arrangements and lyrics both sub-
lime (“Letterbox”) and ridiculous
(“Hearing Ai ”).

There is one change. Four of the
songs are produced by Clive [anger
and Alan Winstanly (Elvis Costel-
lo, Madness). the result of what
Linnell reluctantly calls “a compro
misc."

“We wanted to produce it our-
selves,“ Linnell said, “and we had
never produced a record before by
ourselves. Elektra said. ‘OK. pro-
duce the record. but for the single
we want to get somebody to do it

with you.‘ We went through a lots
of producers and those were the
guys we liked best.“

Flansburgh and Linnell both
grew up in the suburbs of BOston
but didn‘t write songs together un-
til 1981. when they moved into the
same building in downtown Brook-
lyn.

Commercials nearly preceded
commercial success. The two Johns
w as friends call them _, were on
their first tour, at that “tender rock
moment" after quitting their day
jobs. when they learned (‘raly Ed-
die‘s wanted to make use ot their
song “l‘m insane."

“You're in a van and you're mak-
ing $75 a night. and you need $80
a day to stay alive." Flanshiirgh re-
called. ”()ur manager said, ‘What
difference does it iiiake’ Take the
money. it’ll be iun.‘

We definitely wanted the mott-
ey. We really had basic needs to
fulfill. That was very ditticult to
actually to go like ‘no‘ to. But then
we said ‘no' and they did this song
that was based on it. They pulled it
rightaway."

Sponsors stayed away . and so did
radio. But thanks to heavy exposure
on MTV 77* “Whitney Houston,
us, Whitesnake, us“ was how
Flansburgh described it . and a
live act that featured pre-recorded

By HWTER HAYES
Arts Editor

Kentucky author Bobbie Ann
Mason returned to UK Monday
night to read one of her short sto-
ries at the UK Library Associates'
Annual Meeting, held in the Reci-
tal Hall of the Otis A. Singletary
Center for the Ans.

The reading, a part of the Edward
F. Prichard, Jr. Lecture series, fea-
tured a shon story that appeared last
month in New Yorker magazine.

“With Jazz" is the tale of a lone-
ly two-time divorcee who seeks the
companionship of a male lover and
friend, a group of other women
who originally met as a support
group for weight loss but now dis-
cuss their problems a la the “Oprah
Winfrey Show," and dreams of a re-
conciliation with her first husband.

The lives, and death, of her chil-
dren force the narrator to re-evaluate
her life. Her closest friend is Jazz, a
part-time construction worker who
frequently goes to France and
brings back lacy ladies‘ underwear
and bras, is a fun-seeking character
with a gaudy taste in clothing.

The story traces a night that the
narrator spends widi Jazz and thinks
about her own childhood, early
marriages and the lives ot her four
children.

backing tracks anti a most memora-
ble stick, They Might Be Giants
built an audience. two minutes at a
time.

“When we first started out. all
our songs were fairly shon, had a
verse, a chorus kind of thing hap-
pening. and there was always a
middle section to break it up,“ Lin-
nell said. “The middle section was
always the free range part of the
song. l think 90 percent of all our
songs still follow that format."

With enough money in the bank.
Flansburgh and Linnell calmly
turned down the hamburger chain
that recently approached them.
They can even afford to look back.
reflecting on success that thankful-
ly didn't occur overnight.

”We get letters that say. ‘l‘m
starting a band and you guys make
tne feel like you can start a band.’
It‘s been a bumpy ride but the cart
has kept movmg," Flansburgh
said.

“We've been going for seven
years doing this thing, and every
month has been a little better than
the previous month. by sortie small
increment," Linnell said. “We never
had the frightening wake‘up-and-
suddenly-your-lifestyle-is—totally-
different experience."

 

 

51W.W
Leader
huh/tale

Attention: Active Juniors and Seniors
Expand your leadership abilities
while earning, elective credit.
Applications (171’ now being (l(‘(‘(’pf(’(f_/OT tho ”all, 1990

The Institute is a selective.
developmental program for involved
junior and senior students who would
like to expand their perspective on
leadership while earning 3 hours
credit through Experiential Education.

The eight week program meets
Wednesday afternoons, from 3-6 pm.
September 26 ~ November 28. and
includes two Saturday programs.

Applications are available in the Student At tivitics
Office. Room 203 Student Center and
the Student Organizations Center. Room 106.

Applications being accepted through April 27th.

For further infonnation on the Established Leader
institute program contact Cynthia Moreno at 2574099
—

7'

 

 

Her two
sons, Don and
Phil, we re
named alter the
Everly Broth-
ers; one daugh—
ter, Kate, died
when she was
12. Her other
- . daughter moved

MASON from Kentucky
to Arizona, where she was prepar-
ing to have a child after leaving her
husband.

The daughter has no plans, the
narrator tells us, to marry the father
of the child because she no longer
believes in marriage.

Mason, a 1962 graduate of UK
has been a successful novelist and
short fiction writer. Her 1984 nov-
el, In Country, was made into a

Kentucky Kernel, Wednesday, March 21, 1990 — 3

motion picture in 1988 starring
Bruce Willis,

Mason is a native of Maylield,
Ky., anti now lives in Pennsylva~
ma. Mason was introduced by lel-
low classmate and Kentucky au-
thor, Gurney Norman, who is a
professor iii the English depart
meiit.

Also as a part of the program
Thomas D. Clark, a Kentucky his—
torian and author of numerous
books and papers, received the first
Library Medallion for Intellectual
Excellence award -—— which is given
in recognition of high intellectual
achicveitieiit iit Kentucky or by a
Kcnttickian.

The award is a bronze medallion
displayed in a glass case frame.

Clark. who wrote the definitive
book on the history of Kentucky.

Hunter Hayes
Arts Editor

A History of Kermit/iv, told the
crowd of about Zitil people that ill
his 60-year msolvciiient with l K
he has seen it grow from ”a heel;
barrow load of iitiportaiit books.
when I see swarms of students us
mg this library, l know that we
have achieved what .\ set 1.1
(iii years ago."

Clark also recogiti/c.
.ltiliLWClllCIlb of \larearct .
and Frank .‘ylt \ ey in the .‘L A"
the [K library systeit

 

Kernel
Personals

 

 

The Kentucky Kernel ~
By Students, For Students, About Students

 

 

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