The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 1

BUSINESS: Nasdaq Composite Index soars 19 percent for the week, CI FTTV riEi IE atmstt 0UI1E COPYRIGHT, 2000, THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER FINAL NEWSSPORTS SO CENTS 1 SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2000 INSIDE SPOUTS Big Red Machine honored Heroes of 1975 minus Rose on diamond again I Sr? Reds beat Twins, 4-3 Close call In 9th: The Reds gave up two runs but managed to hold on to beat Minnesota. Dl Coming Sunday: Coverage of the 1975 World Champion Big Red Machine reunion at Cinergy Field. is a Hall of Famer, too. You could say the shortstop, although not a Hall of Famer, was the best shortstop of his era. The center fielder was the best defensive player at his position in either league; the left fielder would lead the league in runs batted' in in 1976, and the right fielder lost the league batting title on the last day By John Erardi The Cincinnati Enquirer The Big Red Machine that won the first of back-to-back World Championships in 1975 will be honored in a 6:15 p.m.

ceremony before tonight's 7:05 p.m. Reds game at Cinergy Field. The 1975 Reds won 108 games during the regular season, the most by any Reds team, and beat the Bos- Moeller loses ton Red Sox, four games to three, in the World Series. One can argue whether it was the best team in baseball history. But one thing is beyond dispute: it was the most decorated.

If Pete Rose had not been banished from baseball for his gambling associations, this team would have four Hall of Fame players, three of them first ballot. The manager, Sparky Anderson, in state semifinal The Associated Presstile photo Pete Rose, shown here celebrating the 1 975 World Championship with Johnny Bench and Will McEnaney, is banned from tonight's Big Red Machine reunion. The Moeller High School See REDS, Page A4 baseball team lost 54 Thursday to Cleveland St Ignatius in a Division I state semifinal. The Crusaders led after six innings but allowed runs Fort Washington Way Those things happen' in both the seventh and eighth innings. Dl OT1T1 Minis to road ra lamp WHEELS 11 1 imiMmiinn nil i i muiti i mmm, t.M Inn inn i I Viw Old crime cases revived New technology is county's tool By Dan Horn The Cincinnati Enquirer Hamilton County's coroner will soon create a "cold case squad" to solve old crimes with new technology.

The plan is to review hundreds of pieces of evidence -some more than 20 years old and determine whether Explorer gets some pizazz The one rap against Ford's popular Explorer has been its rather bland appearance. But the new Sport series will challenge that image both in appearance and perform ance. Gl DNA tests can help police solve some of their toughest cases. Coroner Carl Parrott's TEMPO goal is to connect the unsolved cases to the hundreds of hair samples, blood spat Zs i ters and other material Tropical look gets stored in his lab. transformed He said he will send a letter early next week to There's a design storm brewing that promises to transform the stereotypes county law enforcement agencies seeking their help in identifying which evidence might be useful to them.

of tropical into a fresh look for interiors from 'r- "Right now, we ve got a Miami to Milwaukee. El Pool preparation requires a plan chunk of the puzzle and the different agencies have pieces of the puzzle," Dr. Parrott said Friday. "We Forgotten connection adds $1.5 By Dan Klepal The Cincinnati Enquirer There's a new $1.5 million noodle in the steel and concrete spaghetti that makes up the Fort Washington Way overhaul. Actually, the ramp connecting Third Street to northbound lanes of Interstate 75 isn't really new.

It's just that taxpayers picking up the tab for the $313 million road project haven't heard about it before. It's a ramp they may never get to use. Designers of the extensive road project realized about two years ago that they had not included the important connection in their design drawings. They headed to the Ohio Department of Transportation, asking for approval of the new ramp and were given the nod. With one catch.

ODOT officials said the city is free to build the ramp, but not free to open it. Before that happens, ODOT wants to look at traffic studies and make sure it is needed. The ramp "is something that wasn't contemplated in the very beginning," said Jeffrey Wallace, contracts administrator for Parsons Brinckerhoff, which is overseeing the work. "Then we noticed this could improve the project. Those things happen." Mr.

Wallace also acknowledges that ODOT could decide not to allow the ramp to open, meaning that $1.5 million of city tax dollars and untold hours of labor will have been wasted. "That is within the realm of possibility, but I would say it's very, very remote," Mr. Wallace said. John Deatrick, the city's transportation director, said taxpayers will have to cough up another $50,000 for asphalt if ODOT approval to open the ramp does come. Mr.

Deatrick said the earliest the ramp could be open is next summer, although sometime in 2002 is more likely. "It just didn't get included in the original planning," Mr. Deatrick said. "Parsons has done an excellent job. It wasn't that they were dumb, it's just something that happened.

"It's like when someone paints their house all day and they get too close to it," he said. "Then someone with a fresh set of eyes comes in and sees right away that they missed a spot." Mr. Deatrick provided those fresh eyes in June 1998. On Friday, Mr. Deatrick said a major chunk of Fort Washington Way will be opened before the August deadline.

Those need to coordinate to fit the pieces together." Preparing a pool for the season isn't as hard as it used to be, but it still The move is the latest example of law enforcement turning to DNA tests and requires some work and close attention if you plan to A IS ft j1 i ,1 v.v A 1 do it yourself. E3 other modern forensic technology to catch or even to vindicate suspects. Across the country, DNA BUSINESS tests have been used to identify rapists and to free ac cused killers from prison. The tests are crucial to investigators because they can read the unique "genetic fingerprint" contained in a person's hair, skin or bodily ULWIIUUy.UU Il if fluids. If that genetic material is I "fir.

then matched to a suspect, the suspect can be linked to the crime. "Any time a person leaves a piece of themselves behind, they are leaving behind evi dence," Dr. Parrott said. Dr. Parrott said it is un Furniture Den debuts in Instate The first Snooty Fox Furniture Den will open today, specializing in trendy or classic merchandise in very good condition at competitive prices on consignment CI clear how many unsolved cases in Hamilton County can be linked to the more The main line of Fort Washington Way will be open for traffic by the end of August.

A handful of different aspects of the $313 million project will open over the next three months. Others will take longer. Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum Third Street will be widened and traffic will move east dedicated to the underground network that helped slaves to west. escape the Soutti.The Underground Railroad Is scheduled oni Street will open in August, a five-block stretch to open in 2003. with traffic flowing from west to east.

Transit Center will be a tunnel underneath Second pau( Brown stadium will hold its first football game Street where buses and other public transportation can 19 $450 is an estimated pick up or drop off passengers. The Transit Center will j45 mjjon over budget. open in 2001. Northbound ramp off Third Street will connect the Dm Street Bridge is one of five bndges spanning the roadway t0 interstate 75. This ramp was not in the original new Fort Washington Way and connecting the nverfront desjgn for Fort Washington Way and had to be added with the central business district.

)ater at a cost of $15 miionj The Cincinnati EnquirerRANDY MAZZ0LA than 350 pieces of evidence stored in the coroner's lab. Some material may be worthless or related to cases that were solved years ago. WEATHER See RAMP, Page A4 See CRIMES, Page A4 High 74 Low 54 Sunny and pleasant A8 Housing crunch snares middle-income families Those years in Frisco paid off Traffic's' Douglas nabs Over-the-Rhine suspects between takes INDEX By Margaret McGurk Seven sections, 160th year, No. 55 The Cincinnati Enquirer Movie star Michael Doug NWies E10-11 Obituaries B6 Puzzles E10 Stocks C511 TV E13 Abby E13 Comics E12 Editorial page. Kids' Corner A8 lotteries B2 las could be the next recipi pects ran for cover after crashing a stolen car not far from where the movie company was working Wednesday near 13th ent of an official good-citizen The teen-agers were later charged with obstructing official business; one was also charged with receiving stolen property.

The movie crew wrapped up its second week of filming in Ohio, shooting outside the Fort Washington Hotel on Main Street downtown Friday and today. They have also filmed in Indian Hill, Camp Washington and at state offices in Columbus. In the coming week, more scenes will be filmed in Hyde Park and at a hospital. Mr. Douglas has also been spotted on area golf courses and at a Reds game.

pat on the back from Cincin the full-time minimum wage of $10,700 a year to 120 percent of the median income where they live (half of families earn more than the median income, half earn less). In the San Francisco Bay Area, 120 percent of the median income is more than $70,000. In Hamilton County, the median income for a family of four is $57,800, according to the Home Ownership Cen- nati police. By Haya El Nasser USA Today and Randy Tucker The Cincinnati Enquirer Despite economic prosperity, one out of 10 working families earning as much as $70,000 a year in some cities can't afford decent housing without spending more than half their income, according to a report Friday. The research focuses on "working families" in 17 metropolitan areas, including Cincinnati, who earn from Lt.

Steve Wilger said Fri his sleeve and this gentleman said, 'Officer, officer, I'll show you where the one fellow went. He ran right past The good Samaritan turned out to be Mr. Douglas, who directed Spc. Blankenship into Baldwin Alley, where the suspects were captured, Lt. Wilger said.

"I said to Buddy later, 'Michael must have thought he was still on The Streets of San the TV series that made him a star. Classifieds fS Online Douglas day that officers hope to get in touch with the star of enquirer.com Traffic, now shooting in Cin cinnati, to thank him officially for his hand in nabbing a Street and Baldwin Alley. Lt. Wilger and Police Specialist Robert "Buddy" Blankenship arrived soon after and were about to give chase. "Buddy was ready to go when somebody tugged on Portions of today's Enquirer were printed on recycled paper.

pair of suspected car thieves in Over-the-Rhine this week. The two 17-year-old sus- See HOUSING, Page A4.