New Standards

The federal government has rejected a new rule that would have required high-efficiency furnaces in northern states, a victory for critics who warned the costly standard could backfire and drive urban homeowners to less efficient heating methods. The U.S. Department of Energy and the American Public Gas Association (APGA) on Monday asked the U.S. Appeals Court in the District of Columbia to vacate the rule and to restart the process of devising new furnace efficiency standards. The settlement between the energy department and the APGA scuttles a rule that would have required any new furnaces or boilers installed after May 2013 in 30 northern states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, to have an efficiency rating of 90 percent or more.

In November, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops asked subscribers to turn in ballots listing the kind of music they wanted to hear. In the final four programs of their 18th season, Nero and the Pops are giving the customers what they wanted. What they wanted comes under the heading of standards. Standards are called standards because they're played so often, but the way Nero and the Pops play them is anything but standard. Nero, a jazz pianist par excellence, makes standards sound fresh.

Philly-area drivers, already saddled with some of the highest auto inspection fees in the country, have just been hit with a surprise attack. In the past two weeks - without advance warning from PennDOT - thousands of vehicles have been tested under new pollution standards that will ultimately force many drivers to pay for additional repairs. "What's that going to mean? More money, more expense," said Pat Delmar, of Northeast Philadelphia, as she waited for her car at the Pep Boys on Street Road in Bensalem.

Business groups are hot and bothered about the Clinton administration's new standards for clean air. An official of the National Association of Manufacturers dubbed the proposal "a hasty, throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater response to unproven theories. " A leader of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry called the plan a "waste of money" that had members "stunned and outraged. " But these critics will have a hard time discrediting the benefits of higher clean-air standards - which are based on voluminous, peer-reviewed research.

State regulatory officials gave final approval yesterday to outcome-based education as the teaching model for Pennsylvania's public schools, clearing the way for school districts to decide how they will apply the new academic standards. A third of the state's 501 school districts have until September 1994 to provide the state Education Department with their strategic plans for implementing the program. Another third of the school districts must submit their plans by September 1995, and the final third a year later.

On the heels of penalizing one natural gas operator $240,000 for contaminating water wells, Pennsylvania's top environmental official Thursday urged the industry to immediately adopt proposed new drilling standards rather than waiting for them to be formally enacted. John Hanger, secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, summoned industry representatives to Harrisburg to discuss new construction standards for wells drilled to tap natural gas reserves. The new guidelines are designed to reduce the chance of incidents such as the one that has contaminated 14 water wells in the Susquehanna County town of Dimock.

A state senator yesterday dished out a scathing denunciation of the Whitman administration's proposed new standards for what public school students should be expected to learn, saying that the standards were vague and unintelligible and asking that the proposal be shelved. But Education Commissioner Leo Klagholz defended the standards and the two-year process of crafting them, and expressed frustration that the criticisms came so late, because the state Board of Education is set to approve the standards May 1. The harangue by Sen. Gordon MacInnes (D., Morris)

Voices from across a broad spectrum addressed the need for stronger 911 legislation yesterday, including several county 911 directors and many telecommunications company representatives. But no voice was more powerful than John Polec's. Three years ago, his 16-year-old son, Eddie, was beaten to death on the steps of a church in Philadelphia's Fox Chase section - despite the 33 calls citizens placed to 911 for help. The case put the nation's eye on flaws in emergency communications systems and led to massive overhauls in Philadelphia's 911 system.

New Jersey's public school students must learn a foreign language, understand elements of calculus and develop an array of other skills in order to graduate under sweeping new curriculum standards the state Board of Education unanimously approved yesterday. The vote gave Gov. Whitman a significant victory in her bid to reshape the way the state allocates education dollars to school districts, and the standards will prod many districts to wholesale rewriting of their courses. "This is the first comprehensive definition of what each New Jersey student should know, and lays the groundwork for all our other policies," said Education Commissioner Leo F. Klagholz.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans a hearing Wednesday in Philadelphia on an Obama administration proposal to clean up gasoline and automobile emissions, one of only two public sessions nationwide on the so-called Tier 3 standards. The rules, which mandate cleaner fuels and some new vehicle technologies, are aimed at reducing soot, sulfur, and nitrogen oxide emissions. "We're looking at automobiles and fuels as a system," said Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration will unveil a proposal Friday to clean up gasoline and automobile emissions, a step that officials say will result in cleaner air across the nation and slightly higher prices at the pump. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the rule to reduce sulfur in gasoline and tighten emissions standards on cars beginning in 2017 could increase gas prices by less than a penny per gallon and add $130 to the cost of a vehicle in 2025. But the agency says it will yield billions of dollars in health benefits by slashing smog- and soot-forming pollution come 2030.

Pope Benedict XVI's decision, announced Monday, that he would step down as spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church may prove the signature moment of his eight-year pontificate. His credentials as a theological conservative and church traditionalist have allowed him to take a nearly unprecedented step that a more moderate Pope might not have dared: to hand over the scepter of papal infallibility to someone yet to be chosen, and then do recede into the background as no pope has done for centuries.

Gov. Christie deserves applause for quickly announcing tough new building standards for the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort. The rules are based on new federal flood-plain maps, which are not expected to be made final for at least 18 months, so the risk assessments may change. But Christie said he deliberately set high standards so property owners can decide now whether to rebuild or move on with their lives. Those who choose to rebuild now will receive guidance on constructing and elevating their homes and businesses.

The federal government has agreed to drop its new rule that would have required high-efficiency furnaces in Northern states, a victory for critics who warned that the costly standard could backfire and drive urban homeowners to less efficient heating methods. The U.S. Department of Energy and the American Public Gas Association (APGA) on Monday asked the U.S. Appeals Court in the District of Columbia to vacate the rule and to restart the process of devising new furnace efficiency standards.

What did Christie mean by that? Matt Katz ("Didn't see it at first," Thursday) and Monica Yant Kinney ("I gasped right away") weigh in on whether Gov. Christie made a demeaning comment when he called a heckler "sweetheart. " Whether it was sexist depends on Christie's tone of voice and inflection. Was he talking as Humphrey Bogart did in the movie Casablanca , when he said, "Here's lookin' at you, kid. "? Such expressions were considered terms of endearment at the time. As a 77-year-old man, I found Christie's remark sexist.

  AUG. 31, 1975 . . . For the first time since 19(obscenity deleted)64, the Phillies came to September in contention for a title. They trailed the mighty Pirates by just four games and had spread a mild rash of pennant fever through the region by pulling into a tie for first in mid-August. But Danny Ozark's young team, built around Cy Young Award winner Steve Carlton and a dynamic offense led by Greg Luzinski and Mike Schmidt, wasn't ready for prime time. The Phillies couldn't unfurl the long winning streak it would take to run down a veteran team that was not going to fold.

If you have ever looked for an assisted-living facility, you know the term has many different meanings. That nice sign posted on a well-kept lawn tells you almost nothing about what kind of help you or a relative can expect inside. There are no standard packages of services or costs, and comparing facilities can be extremely difficult. They rival the airlines for confusion and surprises. That will come to an end under new standards for assisted living that the state put in place this month.

On the heels of penalizing one natural gas operator $240,000 for contaminating water wells, Pennsylvania's top environmental official Thursday urged the industry to immediately adopt proposed new drilling standards rather than waiting for them to be formally enacted. John Hanger, secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, summoned industry representatives to Harrisburg to discuss new construction standards for wells drilled to tap natural gas reserves. The new guidelines are designed to reduce the chance of incidents such as the one that has contaminated 14 water wells in the Susquehanna County town of Dimock.