Fresh from a Florida vacation, Hillary Clinton heads for New York City this week. She’ll give a commencement address at City College and attend a fund-raiser for Rep. Carolyn Maloney. But friends say the First Lady won’t announce that she’s running for the Senate. What they’re listening for is the sound of silence. “If she doesn’t say an absolute ’no’, then it’s an implicit ‘yes’,” says an adviser. Mrs. Clinton is keenly aware that she can’t stall much longer without dashing Democratic hopes of keeping the seat. She’s just soul-searching now, friends say. Bill’s been in favor of the race from the start and Chelsea gave her all-important thumbs up over spring break.
Barring a firm no, Mrs. Clinton is likely to wait until at least late June to announce the formation of an exploratory committee. The reason? She’ll be out of the country most of the month, traveling to the Mideast and accompanying the president to the G-8 summit in Europe. Meanwhile, she’s been phoning Democrats all over the state, boning up on New York issues and trying to ensure that local pols say nice things about her if she runs. Her advisers are also talking to retiring Sen. Pat Moynihan’s staffers, in search of a New York pro to join her campaign. Reports suggest the Clintons are scouting property in Westchester County. But during a campaign, friends say, she would use the White House as home base and could commute to a rented or borrowed pad in New York state.
JONBENETA 911 Tape for the Ramseys
Grand jurors investigating the December 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey have heard testimony from law-enforcement officials, forensic experts and Ramsey family friends. Late last month they heard from JonBenet’s brother Burke, who was in the house when she was slain. Before Burke went before the grand jury, NEWSWEEK has learned, a judge ordered the Boulder district attorney to give the Ramseys a copy of the 911 tape that allegedly shows Burke was awake at the time of the call, though his parents have said he was asleep. Evading the media staking out their Atlanta home, John and Patsy Ramsey accompanied him to Boulder. The day after he testified, the DA cleared him of suspicion.
SCHOOLSSee Jane Tested by Nonunion Teacher
The Edison Project (a for-profit school system) releases results–and claims success. Charter schools think they’ve got the answer. Some say school (not class) size is the key. Skeptics remain. Meanwhile, debate rages over statewide standardized tests. Ouch! My Equity! Real-estate agents say test scores drive home prices in some towns. Is your house worth less ‘cause Johnny next door can’t read? Vouchers Buzz Long a no-no for Dems, they now get second look. Vouchers won’t help all, but might help many. Concern: they could worsen already bad city schools. Pro-Tests Buzz Tests raise standards and accountability. they drive schools to get in shape and enforce a uniform curriculum. No-Tests Buzz Tests measure only certain kinds of progress, and skew against minorities and the poor. Plus, teachers waste time on test coaching. Get on the Charter Bus Charter-school movement’s gaining steam–and seems to be working. Problem: can unhappy teachers unions make some sort of peace with it?
BOOKSWe Don’t Mean to Scare You…
Fear itself remains our greatest fear, say two new books on Americans’ fascination with what can go wrong. In “The Culture of Fear,” sociologist Barry Glassner says fear arises from media-driven scares and a lack of faith in social institutions. “When you don’t have faith, you don’t feel safe,” says Glassner. Yet violent crime is at a record low. What’s the antidote? Gavin de Becker, focusing on keeping children safe in “Protecting the Gift,” says we can battle worry with common sense: don’t just scare them about strangers; teach them whom to trust. “Worry enhances risk,” he writes. “Perception and not worry is what serves safety.”
GARDENINGHow Does Your Expertly Designed Garden Grow?
Gardening’s busiest time of the year is upon us once again. we dragged some notable garden designers away from the soil to chat about their work. Campbell and his wife, Regula, are based in California; Bellamy in Dallas, and Mendoza (a rooftop specialist) and Williams in New York.
Jeff Mendoza Extravagant Design: “An Indian garden in the roof of a brownstone, complete with teak screens.” Hot Trend: “Adding bold, tropical plants to the plant palette.” Gardening Tip: “Take risks, and learn from them.”
Douglas Campbell Theory: “Gardens are a collaboration with nature, engaging all the senses. They express life, death and the passage of time.” New Work: “We’re designing the gardens for the new cathedral in L.A.”
Bunny Williams Fave Feature: “I love water in a garden, be it a fountain or reflecting pool, but it must fit the site.” Gardening Tip: “Create a floor plan for your garden. Always plan ahead before you go to the nursery.”
Robert Bellamy Fave Feature: “Pulverized granite gravel for walkways, especially in green or black.” Hot Trend: “Outdoor fireplaces. Everyone wants an outdoor room. I even did one with an outdoor chandelier.”
TRIPLE CROWNSome Are Studs. Others, Duds.
One champion begets another, right? Yet just one Triple Crown winner has sired another. And only one descendant of the great Secretariat has had a shot: Charismatic, the 25th horse to enter Saturday’s Belmont Stakes with the Crown on the line. A guide:
Native Dancer A prolific and successful sire, his genes are sprinkled liberally through today’s top runners, including Charismatic. Since 1964, five of his descendants have run for the crown.
Secretariat Sire of 1988 Preakness and Belmont winner Risen Star, Secretariat’s best success at stud came producing top mares.
Seattle Slew With Swale, A.P. Indy and Slew o’Gold, he’s the most successful Triple Crown-winning stud since Count Fleet.
Charismatic If his spell over the competition holds, he’ll be the 12th Triple Crown winner in history.
Storm Cat Today’s top-priced stud, at $200,000 a go. Grandsire of Charismatic’s toughest competition so far, this year’s Derby and Preakness runner-up, Menifee.
Mr. Prospector The all-time leading sire of stakes-race winners, he’s 29 years old and still producing. But only last year’s Real Quiet ever went for the crown.
Affirmed Affirmed was the last horse to win the Triple Crown, in 1978, beating Alydar in all three races. But Alydar, with progeny like Alysheba, was the superior sire.
BOUQUETMaking Flowers Make Scents
Does smell sell? Flower growers have cultivated blooms that are big, bright and live long in the vase. But beauty has cost many flowers their scents. Now biologists at the University of Michigan and Purdue hope to revive scented flowers, working with rapid bloomers like snapdragons to identify the genetic keys to smell. Their work should help fruit growers, whose trees use fragrance to attract pollinating insects. And some florists will advertise full-scented blooms, hoping consumers will follow their noses.
GOLFSwinging CEOs
Golfing CEOs haven’t liked to admit they love the links. But after some prominent press last summer about CEO handicaps, there’s now a “CEO Tour.” It kicked off this May in Phoenix. Not everyone’s a CEO, though. Many are the bosses’ lieutenants, presumably sent to test the waters, bunkers and public reaction.
TRANSITIONVinyl Vision
We almost lived in a world without go-go boots. Waldo Semon, a chemist at B.F. Goodrich, invented vinyl–the material that gave us countless luggage sets, LP records, that new-car smell and many a startling article of clothing. Semon, who died last week at 100, also invented synthetic-rubber bubble gum, offering the possibility of huge bubbles. His bosses let the project drop.
Conventional WisdomDeeper and Deeper Edition
As we dust off the Webers and ponder our 401(k)s, the woes of Belgraders - not to mention Kosovars - seem far away. But the CW knows the mess isn’t going away any time soon.
C.W. Slobo - Indicted as a war criminal. Great. How do we negotiate with him now? Bombing - Belgrade bombardment wearing us down more than the Serbs. Go to ground. Hillary = Despite flat polls, she’s running. Sleeper issue for New Yorkers: she’s a Cubs fan. Spike Lee - Anti-gun director jokes “shoot Heston.” Do the right thing: shut up. Wall St. - Heading for 24-hour trading. Good for Starbucks, bad for sex. Austin Powers = Enlarged expectations, but will CW fave turn into “The Hype That Shagged Me”?
