The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 1

Cos Amaeles 3 CIRCULATION: I.IM..18KIMILY 1.531.527 SUNDAY THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992 COI'YKKilll I1l2 Till I (MLS MIKKOR COMPANY UV I.W I'AUES DAILY pfsicnaud arias ii kmier Ex-Officer to Avoid Retrial in Slay ings Herschensohn Win Sets Stage for 2 Bruising Senate Battles COLUMN ONE Nose-Dive in Ducks Stirs Flap Ducks Unlimited is known for protecting waterfowl habitat. But a declining duck population has critics blaming its members people who like to shoot ducks. 0 Campaign: Contrast between the conservative ex-commentator and the liberal Boxer is one of the sharpest in years. In the other race, Seymour says he will be aggressive against Feinstein. By BILL STALL and DOUGLAS P.

SHUIT TIMES STAFF WRITERS Conservative Republican Bruce Herschensohn won the fourth and final slot in California's historic U.S. Senate field Wednesday, and the GOP and Democratic nominees immediately kicked off what promised to be a bruising battle for the two Senate seats. The fall lineup provides a dramatic mix of personalities and ideologies for the two Senate seats, most notably the choice of Democratic voters to field a slate of two women. Competing for the full six-year term of the seat now held by Democrat Alan Cranston, who is retiring, are-. Herschensohn, 59, a Republican.

He is a former KABC television commentator who has never held office but who worked in the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations. A specialist in foreign policy, he opposes any defense cuts because of continued danger in the world. Barbara Boxer, 51, a five-term liberal Democratic congresswom-an. She was born in New York City, moved West to be a stockbro- ker and got into politics at the grass-roots level in Marin County during the Vietnam War. A vigorous campaigner, she has built a loyal statewide constituency and fund-raising base over the past two years.

Seeking the final two years of the Senate seat won in 1988 by Republican Pete Wilson are: Republican John Seymour, 54. a former mayor of Anaheim and owner of a real estate agency. He wooed the Los Angeles Rams to his JOE KENNEDY Los AnReles Times Primary winners John Seymour, Ex-Reagan, Carter Aides to Run Perot Campaign Politics: Top strategists Rollins and Jordan give undeclared bid credibility, much-needed experience. By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH TIMES STAFF WRITER OAK HAMMOCK MARSH, CanadaFor more than half a century, Ducks Unlimited, North America's largest and best-established wetlands-preservation group, has worked to save marshes from the farmer's plow and the developer's bulldozer. But today.

Ducks Unlimited appears to be flying in formation with some of its opponents: It is putting up a corporate headquarters and visitors center, complete with parking lots, admission fees, a gift shop and sewage -treatment lagoons, right at the shore of a marsh that the United Nations has singled out as a "wetland of international importance." A development in prime marshland? Not surprisingly, the project has ruffled the feathers of more than a few bird lovers and environmentalists in Canada. "It's heartbreaking to think of the wet meadow, with the frogs and the birds, being replaced by concrete and asphalt," says Margaret Kapinga, a former tour guide at the site, the Oak Hammock Marsh, about 25 miles north of Winnipeg. But Ducks Unlimited, a nonprofit group made up largely of conservation-minded hunters, says that in the long run, the center occupying nine of 4,800 acres of marshlandwill make the world a better place for waterfowl. "This is the most environmentally friendly building you'll ever see," says Bob Kindrachuk, Ducks Unlimited's Canada spokesman. The opinions on the building now going up at Oak Hammock Marsh reflect two widely divergent approaches to waterfowl managementa surprisingly contentious subject these days.

Beneath the claims flying back and forth at the construction site lies a bedrock question: Can an environmental group, whose membership is largely motivated by the pleasures of the hunt, really know and do what is best for ducks? It's far from an idle question. Ducks are in a state of crisis in North America. While the figures vary from species 'to species, the total duck population of the continent is at its lowest level in recorded history. At the turn of the century, an estimated 200 million ducks filled the flyways each year during spring and fall migrations. But last year, the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service estimated there were fewer than 30 million ducks flying from Mexico and the southern United States to Canada. And figures this year look even worse. Biologists fear that ducks have become the latter-day canaries in the coal mine that their demise is a warning that something is dangerously out of whack in the conti-Please see DUCKS, A6 By ANDREA FORD and ERICMALNIC TIMES STAFF WRITERS In a ruling that outraged many in the area's Samoan community, a Superior Court judge on Wednesday refused to order a new trial for a former Compton police officer accused of fatally shooting two Samoan brothers a total of 19 times, mostly in their backs. A jury deadlocked last month 9 to 3 in favor of acquitting Albert Skiles 44, after deliberating for seven days. Prosecutors had sought to have Skiles retried on two counts of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Pouvi Tualau -lelei, 34.

and Itali Tualaule-lei, 22. The two men were Please see SKILES, A27 Tension Clouds Beginning of Earth Summit By RUDY ABRAMSON and MAURA DOLAN TIMES STAFF WRITERS RIO DE JANEIRO In an atmosphere of palpable tension between the Earth's rich and poor, government officials and environmentalists from 178 countries opened a historic summit on the planet's future here Wednesday, with the outcome uncertain despite 2lA years of preparation. With about 10,000 delegates, more than 7,000 journalists and observers from a host of environmental groups on hand, leaders of the United Nations-sponsored extravaganza hailed it as a potentially pivotal moment in relations between the rich nations of the world and its increasingly poor majority. "No place on the planet can remain an island of affluence in a sea of misery," Canada's Maurice Strong, secretary -general of Earth Summit, told the opening session in a suburb 15 miles from Rio's fabled Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. "We're either going to save the whole world or no one will be saved.

We must, from here on in, all go down the same path. One country cannot stabilize its climate in isolation. No country can unilaterally preserve its biodiversity." Though delegates were not inclined to challenge Strong's warning, the meeting opened amid certainty of bitter debate before more than 100 presidents and prime ministers arrive here for the grand finale next week. Among the developments: An incipient move was already afoot to reopen a supposedly final agreement on protection of biological diversity one that the Bush Administration says it will refuse to sign. Several countries, still fuming that the United States kept firm deadlines and goals out of a treaty to reduce global warming, began preparations for one final attempt to force at least informal conces- Please see EARTH, A14 Perot seemed a natural-born leader.

"Most of the officers were weak," Madden says. "Perot just outshone them all." Madden wasn't the only one on the Sigourney who thought Ross Perot was something special. Commander Bernard A. Lienhard, the ship's highly respected, by-the-book skipper, was so impressed with the lad that he quickly promoted him to engineering officera billet traditionally reserved for officers with several years' experience. But that all changed in late 1954, when Lienhard went on to a new duty assignment and was replaced by Gerald J.

Scott, a commander with a different approach to com-Please see NAVY, A17 GOP victory rally in Los Angeles. Will Be Agents of Change, Say Feinstein, Boxer By TRACY WILKINSON and DEAN E. MURPHY TIMES STAFF WRITERS California's two women candidates for the U.S. Senate kicked off a statewide victory tour Wednesday, relishing their moment in history and pledging to campaign as agents of change. Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer grinned nonstop as they were paraded past a convoy of reporters and television cameras at Burbank Airport, first stop on the tour.

Basking in the glory of the moment under fog-laden skies, they promised to focus on issues during what will probably be a grueling campaign. But first on their minds and on the minds of Democratic Party operatives and feminist organizations, nationwide was the historic opportunity for women their dual primary victories represent. "Dianne and I on this campaign trail are going to shake up not only the state of California I think it is going to be felt countrywide," proclaimed Boxer, standing in pumps on a raised platform to keep from being overshadowed by the taller Feinstein. "It is absolutely clear that if the message is one of change and excitement, and the end of status quo, we have a great opportunity in California to send that message loud and clear," said the congress-woman from Marin County. "It is a little awesome," Feinstein, former mayor of San Francisco, agreed.

"I looked over at Please see WOMEN, A23 By ROBERT SHOGAN and PAUL RICHTER TIMES STAFF WRITERS DALLAS In the wake of poll results showing that many voters in Tuesday's closing primaries would rather have cast (heir ballots for him, Ross Perot on Wednesday bolstered his planned presidential bid by hiring two top political operatives drawn from both major parties. Hired were Hamilton Jordan, 46, who planned Democrat Jimmy Carter's long-shot presidential campaign in 1976 and served as a key aide when he won, and Edward J. Rollins, 49, who was White House political director for Republican Ronald Reagan and oversaw his landslide reelection victory in 1984. Jordan will be in charge of developing the overall strategy for Perot's independent campaign, while Rollins is to supervise its day-to-day operations, Perot adviser Tom Luce said. With one bold stroke, the Texas tycoon enhanced the credibility of his as-yet undeclared candidacy in the eyes of political observers and acquired experience for an effort that had been staffed mainly by political amateurs.

Perot told The Times that in hiring the two, "I avoid the learning curve." He added: "They know the process and they've been around the bend and they'll keep mc from walking on the land mines." left, and Bruce Herschensohn hug at Perot also took pains to squash the notion that adding two veterans of the political system he is challenging would cause him to surrender any of the anti-Washington attitudes that apparently have sparked his surge to the forefront of the national political scene. Reminded during an interview on CNN that he previously criticized other candidates for using Please see PEROT, AI7 One-Third of Assembly May Be Newcomers By DANIEL M. WEINTRAUB and JERRY GILLAM TIMES STAFF WRIIERS California voters appear poised to reshape the state Assembly in November by filling at least one-third of the seats with new faces, including more minorities and women, and possibly handing Republicans control of the Legislature's lower house for the first time since 1970. Most of the newcomers will take seats left vacant by incumbents who are retiring or running for higher office as the once-a-decade redrawing of district lines and the prospect of limited terms for legis-Please see ASSEMBLY, A20 Philip Dunne PHILIP DUNNE DIES Philip Dunne, a screenwriter and director who helped organize the initial opposition to the Hollywood blacklists of the late 1940s and 1950s, has died. Bl ELECTION STORIES, TABLES, PICTURES: A3, A16-A24.

B1-B3 city and was elected to the state Senate. Wilson appointed him to the U.S. Senate after relinquishing the seat to become governor in January, 1991. Democrat Dianne Feinstein, 58. A San Francisco native and city-county supervisor, she became mayor in 1978 when George Moscone was assassinated.

She won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1990 but lost to Wilson by 3.5 of the total vote. The closest of the four primary races was the Republican race won by Herschensohn; the result was not known until early Wednesday morning. Herschensohn, a burly man known for his gentlemanly manners and his cerebral approach to campaign politics, received a concession call from his bitter campaign rival, Rep. Tom Campbell of Palo Alto, at 8:15 a.m. at the GOP headquarters hotel, the Marriott at Los Angeles International Airport.

Barely half an hour later. Hcr-Please see SENATE, A22 Although only one incumbent-Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) was knocked off in Tuesday's primary, several longtime House members expect to face serious challenges from women and other "outsiders" seeking to tap the electorate's growing anti-Washington mood. All but two of the 16 new women candidates nominated by major parties are Democrats looking to upset Republicans, a factor that may put a dent in the GOP's plans to seize a majority of the California delegation for the first time since 1956.

Republicans trail Democrats 26 to 19 in the House. "These are women who have credibility, have done well and Please see CONGRESS, A23 INSIDE TODAY'S TIMES Women Show Strength in Congressional Races House: Primary victories launch 16 new candidates toward a makeover of California's delegation. Collision With the Navy Gives Insight Into Perot Military: 'Textbook' officer impressed many, but frustrations led him to seek an early release from duty. AIDS PROJECTION RISES A new study says up to 110 million adults worldwide likely will be infected with the AIDS virus by the year 2000 nearly tripling earlier projections. A4 EC PLANS ENDANGERED European unity plans may be in jeopardy after the Danish vote against the Maastricht Treaty.

The outcome could derail the EC's future expansion plans. A4 BROADCAST FUNDS BACKED The Senate voted, 84 to 11, to approve a three-year, $1.1 -billion authorization for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A9 WEATHER: Morning low clouds giving way to mostly sunny skies today and Friday. Civic Center lowhigh today: 6277. Details: B5 TOP OF THE NEWS ON A2 By GLENN F.

BUNTING and DAN MORA1N TIMES STAFF WRITERS Following the trail blazed by Democratic Senate nominees Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, 16 new women candidates running for the House took a quantum leap in their quest to shake up Congress by capturing victories in the California primaries. The state's congressional delegation will undergo a major overhaul in the November election with eight members retiring and contests for seven new seats. Women did so well in Tuesday's primary that female candidates will be pitted against one another in the fall in two Southern California races. By ART PINE TIMES STAFF WRITER WASHINGTON They remember him well, the smiling, straight-arrow, undeniably homely kid from Texarkana, who reported aboard the destroyer Sigourney fresh from four years at the U.S. Naval Academy.

"He looked like a Boy Scout," recalls Richard Madden, a San Francisco stockbroker who was an enlisted man on the destroyer on that day in June, 1953. No one would have suspected that the fresh -faced young man would someday be a billionaire and currently a maverick presidential contender but even then, Madden recalls, Ens. Henry Ross.