NOTEBOOK
By KATHLEEN ADAMS; CHARLOTTE FALTERMAYER; JANICE M. HOROWITZ; LINA LOFARO; JEFFERY C. RUBIN; SIDNEY URQUHART
WINNERS & LOSERS
THE TOBACCO WARS
[WINNERS]
TARGET STORES Discounter to stop selling cigarettes, citing low profits, not politics. Smooth move.
AL GORE Tears, not smoke, in their eyes as he tells delegates of his sister's battle with lung cancer.
PHILIP MORRIS Though lawsuits loom, it helps snuff investors' fears by boosting dividend 20%.
[& LOSERS]
JOE CAMEL A ban on brand-name paraphernalia aimed at teenagers threatens to make him an outlaw.
BOB DOLE His cigarettes-no-more-dangerous-than-milk remark reignited at Democratic Convention.
AUTO RACING Proposed marketing restrictions could put the brakes on tobacco-fueled motor sports.
DAUGHTER DATA: ROBIN AND CHELSEA
ROBIN
Age: 41
Education: Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Favorite Subject: Psychology
Most-Told Anecdote: Wanted to get her ears pierced, left a note with two boxes, asking Dad to vote YES or NO. He added MAYBE.
Political Initiation: Age 5, stumped in a skirt decorated with an elephant patch reading I'M FOR MY DADDY--ARE YOU?
Profession: Campaigning for Dad; volunteer counseling with teens
Pastime: Sunday brunch with father and stepmother
Quote: "When I got lost at the amusement park, he found me. When I was scared on the roller coaster, he was behind me yelling 'Yippee!'"
Romance: Long-time relationship with high school sweetheart
Home: Alexandria, Virginia
Trademark: Throaty, lounge-singer voice
CHELSEA
Age: 16
Education: Sidwell Friends
Favorite Subjects: History, math, science
Most-Told Anecdote: School nurse needed permission to give her an aspirin. She replied, "Call my dad. My mom's out of town today."
Political Initiation: High profile at convention; repaired homes for the poor in Kentucky; visited Bosnia, South Asia with Mom; attended Dad's State of the Union address
Pastimes: Ballet; pinochle with parents
Quote: "When I was little, this [the Taj Mahal] was sort of the embodiment of the fairy-tale palace for me. I would...dream I was a princess..."
Romance: Chats with J.F.K. Jr. and Kevin Costner at Dem festivities
Home: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Trademark: Curly hair
SLEEK BIRDS FOR FAT CATS
The new models are in the showrooms--not cars, but jets for VIPs and CEOs. Business is booming in the $2 billion executive-aircraft industry. The newest chariot, rolled out last week, is Bombardier's Global Express, which will compete with Gulfstream V and Citation X. Fly one to your next downsizing.
New Model CITATION X Made By Cessna Aircraft Co. Price $15.1 million Orders N.A. (plane available now) Maximum Range 3,795 miles Top Speed 608 m.p.h. Maximum Altitude 51,000 ft. Cabin Volume 759 cu. ft. Total Passengers 12 Celebrity Buyer Arnold Palmer Options Entertainment center; office; dressing room; heated baggage compartment
[New Model] GLOBAL EXPRESS [Made By] Bombardier Inc. [Price] $34 million [Orders] 53 (available late 1998) [Maximum Range] 7,475 miles [Top Speed] 593 m.p.h. [Maximum Altitude] 51,000 ft. [Cabin Volume] 2,077 cu. ft. [Total Passengers] 19 [Celebrity Buyer] N.A. [Options] Double bed; stand-up shower; crew rest area; onboard phone, fax, PC
[New Model] GULFSTREAM V [Made By] Gulfstream Aerospace Co. [Price] $37.8 million [Orders] 63 (available in December) [Maximum Range] 7,475 miles [Top Speed] 593 m.p.h. [Maximum Altitude] 51,000 ft. [Cabin Volume] 1,669 cu. ft. [Total Passengers] 19 [Celebrity Buyer] Edgar Bronfman Jr. [Options] 24-k.-gold fittings; satellite communications; stand-up shower; crew rest area
HEALTH REPORT
THE GOOD NEWS
-- Surgical treatment for PROSTATE CANCER sometimes results in incontinence or impotence. But a major new study underscores the benefit: 85% of patients who undergo the radical procedure survive for at least 10 years.
-- Heart attacks and other serious complications from BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY, a treatment for clogged arteries, may be significantly reduced by the drug ReoPro. Administered before and after the procedure, ReoPro helps prevent platelets from clotting.
-- The FDA has approved IvyBlock, the first drug that can guard against POISON IVY, SUMAC and OAK. The over-the-counter lotion binds with plant allergens, preventing them from penetrating the skin.
THE BAD NEWS
--OSTEOARTHRITIS of the knee, one of the most common forms of disabling arthritis, is much more likely to progress in people who get less than about 200 IUs of vitamin D daily. But using supplements can be risky; in large doses the vitamin is toxic.
--People on DIALYSIS may have a new worry. A study shows that life-spans of patients are reduced about 8% when their machines' plastic filters are routinely sterilized with a common formula, a mixture of peracetic and acetic acid, rather than another cleaner, formaldehyde. One answer is to use new filters (cost: $10 to $75) each time a patient is treated.
--Research finds that for reasons unclear, men with chronic BRONCHITIS may be 50% more likely to suffer a heart attack.
Sources--GOOD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association; European Society of Cardiology; Food and Drug Administration BAD NEWS: Annals of Internal Medicine; Journal of the American Medical Association; Lancet
LOCAL HEROES
GERALD R. SIGAL, 53; WASHINGTON; chairman of Sigal Construction Corp.
In December Sigal read about the dilapidated condition of restrooms in city schools. He immediately dispatched workers from his firm to make repairs. Since then he has led a coalition of business leaders, community groups and students to upgrade and restore toilet facilities in local schools. Says Sigal: "It's almost like building a building...you dig a foundation, and you see something grow. You feel fulfilled."
RICK SHORR, 36; CHICAGO; owner-chef, Pasta Cucina
Used to serving well-heeled diners, Shorr in 1992 decided to serve those scuffling along as well. Every other week he feeds homeless people who are making an effort to turn their lives around. More than 500 have dined gratis on everything from lasagna al forno to chicken Vesuvio at his Lincoln Park restaurant. "This is a first step in helping the homeless reassimilate into society," says Shorr. "The experience can be an incentive for them."
13 YEARS AGO IN TIME
Atrocity in the Skies
"The electronic bleeps and snatches of recorded radio communications told a story that technicians and intelligence officers working in Tokyo at first could not believe. But as they sifted and sorted through the millions of bits of data ... the chilling conclusion became more and more inescapable, and they notified Washington. Finally, at 7:10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Presidential Counsellor Edwin Meese put in an urgent call to Ronald Reagan...The mystery of a missing South Korean jetliner...had been solved: 17 hours earlier Korean Airlines Flight 007 had been cold-bloodedly blasted out of the skies by a missile-firing Soviet interceptor, with an all but certain loss of 269 lives." --Sept. 12, 1983
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
TRACY AUSTIN, 33; ROLLING HILLS, CALIFORNIA; former U.S. Open champion
She was a teenage phenom who at 16 became the youngest singles champion in Open history, beating the ancient Chris Evert, 24. Two years later she beat Martina Navratilova to recapture the title. An inexhaustible baseline player, Austin helped usher in the era of brat tennis. She was ahead of her time in other ways too. At 29, she was the youngest player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, having quit eight years earlier, plagued by a sciatic-nerve problem. Two comebacks later, she retired for good. Now married to mortgage broker Scott Holt, she had their first child, Dylan, in April. Today she does TV commentary and plays in the Virginia Slims Legends Tour. Austin also runs a pro-celebrity tournament to benefit a children's health center in California. She encourages young players to judge for themselves when to join the pro ranks: "Every player has to go by his own terms, and hopefully the key people around him will have the kid's interests at heart."
--By Kathleen Adams, Charlotte Faltermayer, Janice M. Horowitz, Lina Lofaro, Jeffery C. Rubin and Sidney Urquhart