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Community Briefs

By Daily Bruin Staff

Nov. 19, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday, November 20, 1996

Wilson wants Prop. 209

to stay in state courts

Gov. Pete Wilson wants the fate of Proposition 209 to be decided
in state court rather than by a federal judge.

In papers filed Monday, lawyers for Wilson asked Chief U.S.
District Judge Thelton Henderson to put a lawsuit by civil rights
groups on hold, at least until California courts interpret
Proposition 209’s meaning and scope.

Henderson is scheduled to hear arguments next Monday over
whether to block enforcement of the measure.

A federal court lawsuit, filed Nov. 6 on behalf of minority and
female contractors, labor unions and students in targeted programs,
contends Proposition 209 is discriminatory. The suit says the
initiative, despite its neutral language, affects only programs
that benefit women and minorities while maintaining preferences
that favor other groups, like veterans seeking jobs.

Supporters of the measure scoff at the argument. Far from being
discriminatory, Proposition 209 declares "the rights of all persons
to be free from discrimination caused by preferences based on race
and gender," Deputy Attorney General Paul Dobson, lawyer for Wilson
and other state officials sued in the case, said in court
papers.

Supporters of Proposition 209 prefer to be in the state courts,
where appointees of Wilson and former Republican Gov. George
Deukmejian dominate. Opponents favor federal court, where judges
are appointed for life, with no fear of voter reprisal for an
unpopular ruling ­ and where a liberal, Democratic-appointed
judge was available for the case.

Invoking a rule that the same federal judge must hear all
related cases, opponents of Proposition 209 persuaded Henderson
last week to transfer their suit from a more conservative judge to
himself, over the state’s objections.

On Monday, Wilson’s lawyers asked Henderson to delay the federal
case until the state court suits were decided by the California
Supreme Court, the highest authority on the meaning of state
law.

Study: Smokes sharpen memory

Cigarette smoking sharpens short-term learning and memory among
young people, but the slight improvement comes at a high risk of
heart disease, cancer and a shortened life span, researchers
say.

The finding’s real value may lie in providing clues about how to
treat nicotine addiction, the researchers said Tuesday.

In an effort to pinpoint the precise effects on the brain of
nicotine from cigarettes, researchers at UC San Diego tested young
smokers and nonsmokers at a word game that required rapid memory
and quick recall.

"It is clear that there was a lot more processing going on in
the brains of smokers, when compared to nonsmokers," said Jaime
Pineda, lead author of a study presented Tuesday at a meeting of
the Society for Neuroscience. "A smoker’s brain is busier at the
memory task than were the others."

Smokers were quicker and more accurate in specifying whether or
not a word was part of a set of five words that had been flashed on
the screen shortly before. That is a powerful test of working
memory.

"Working memory also has been called ‘scratch pad memory’
because it is when the brain only needs to remember things for a
short period of time and then wipes it out," he said.

The enhanced performance of the smokers was evident even after
they abstained from cigarettes for 12 hours, Pineda said.

The researcher, a nonsmoker himself, emphasized that the slight
advantage does not justify the severe additional health risks of
smoking cigarettes.

"This in no way supports an argument that people should go out
and smoke," said Pineda.

Smoking is the major cause of lung cancer and has been linked to
cancers of the pancreas, stomach, breast, ovary and throat. Smoking
also causes emphysema and has been identified as a major
contributor to cardiovascular disease, impotence, stroke, heart
attack and even dental diseases.

Compiled from Daily Bruin wire reports.

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