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- GRAPEVINE, Page 21
-
-
- By JANICE CASTRO
-
- Transition Watch
-
- Bill Clinton is mulling ways to link blocks of federal
- agencies and departments in order to advance major policies
- quickly and efficiently. The Departments of Energy and Interior,
- for example, might form a kind of task force with the
- Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory
- Commission. Sources close to Transition Central say the
- President-elect is now leaning toward elevating EPA to
- Cabinet-level status. Top choice for Secretary of EPA: former
- Colorado Senator TIM WIRTH.
-
- Situation Wanted
-
- The word in New York these days is that just about
- everyone of any importance in the Bush Administration is taking
- a stroll down Wall Street to see what's available. JACK KEMP,
- for example, has been talking to Bear Stearns about the
- possibility of joining the investment firm. But a knowledgeable
- source at the firm says that neither side has come to a
- decision, adding, "We don't just want a nameplate."
-
- Running Out the Clock
-
- The Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs will hear
- testimony this week from relatives of missing American
- servicemen who claim they have been defrauded of millions of
- dollars by MIA HUNTERS, who in some cases promised to bring the
- missing men home alive. But the committee is running out of time
- to investigate such claims. Lawyers for several of the MIA
- hunters in question have raised legal objections that may tie
- up the probe until the committee's mandate expires on Dec. 31.
-
- Come on Down!
-
- The Pentagon has quietly arranged for the use of an
- Italian air base, just in case the Yugoslav conflict triggers
- international military action. Under an agreement signed in
- October, 12 American F-16 FIGHTING FALCONS would hop over from
- Germany and park at Gioia del Colle, south of Bari, Italy, when
- needed. The Italians have also agreed to allow expanded U.S.
- operations at Sigonella Air Station in Sicily.
-
- Creative License
-
- The grand gothic headquarters of the Chicago Tribune has
- been designated a smoke-free zone, from the basement to the
- executive suites on the 24th floor . . .with one exception: the
- ramshackle cubbyhole on the fourth floor, where numero uno
- columnist MIKE ROYKO bats out his prose.
-
- Bored in the Hood
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- After his spectacular debut last year with Boyz N The
- Hood, director JOHN SINGLETON was asked what sort of film he
- would make next. "A masterpiece," said the young tyro. Not
- according to insiders who have seen a rough cut of Singleton's
- latest, Poetic Justice, starring Janet Jackson and rapper Tupac
- Shakur. The audience turned thumbs down when Columbia Pictures
- held a test screening last month. Singleton lately has been
- reshooting some scenes.
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