National Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

WASHINGTON
AIRLINES AGREE TO NEW EPA DRINKING WATER TESTS
The government and the majority of airlines in America struck a deal yesterday requiring sanitation improvements and increased testing of drinking water aboard aircraft after officials found evidence of harmful bacteria in the water of one in every eight planes tested.
At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would perform random water quality tests on 169 domestic and international passenger aircraft at 14 airports throughout America and publish the results by the end of the year. If coliform bacteria are discovered, the airliners will have to be disinfected within 24 hours unless the agency grants an extension because the plane involved is outside America. In the meantime, passengers would find signs posted in the lavatories and galleys of affected aircraft.
Two months ago, EPA tested drinking water aboard 158 randomly selected domestic and international passenger aircraft and found that 12.6% had drinking water that did not meet federal safety standards. Twenty of the tested planes returned positive results for coliform bacteria and two planes tested positive for E. coli bacteria, which can cause gastrointestinal illness. The EPA advises passengers with immune system problems to avoid drinking water from airplane galleys or lavatories. The airlines said they are confident their drinking water is safe, and they believe the number of airplanes that failed the agency’s safe water test is closer to one in 20.
In a statement, the Air Transport Association, which represented the airlines in yesterday’s agreement, said airlines believe “aircraft drinking water is just as safe as the municipal water systems that supply it.”
– Associated Press
RHODE ISLAND SENATOR DECIDES AGAINST PARTY SWITCH
Senator Chafee, a Republican who flirted with changing political parties in the wake of President Bush’s re-election victory, said he will stay in the GOP.
“My Republican colleagues have let me know that they want me in their caucus,” the Rhode Island senator said Monday. “They value the voice I bring and they very me respect and want that voice to be heard.”
Mr. Chafee had said last week he would consider switching party affiliation if Mr. Bush won because he felt the president was taking the party too far to the right. He said he got a flurry of phone calls from Republican leaders over the weekend, including Senator McConnell, the majority whip from Kentucky, and a key White House staff member, urging him to stick with the GOP.
A moderate Republican who often votes with the Democrats on environmental matters and some tax issues, Mr. Chafee said he wants to press his views from within the party. He said he will be able to better serve Rhode Island as a member of the party that controls Congress and the White House. His decision preserves the 55-44-1 Republican advantage that resulted from last Tuesday’s elections.
– Associated Press
WEST
HEDGE LAW DRAWS A KENNEDY INTO POLITICS
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – When city officials demanded that Robert Shriver trim the hedges around his posh home or face misdemeanor charges, the outraged Kennedy nephew did what came naturally – he jumped into politics.
Backed by his famous family – including his brother-in-law, Governor Schwarzenegger, his uncle Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, his sister and California first lady Maria Shriver, and his mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics – Mr. Shriver went on to wrap up the City Council election here as the top vote-getter. His victory left his extended clan wondering whether they should have nudged him toward the family business a little sooner.
“Landslide Bob, that’s my nickname,” said Mr. Shriver, who heads an AIDS foundation called DATA. “Now they’re asking me, why did I make them all work so hard for a landslide?”
Mr. Shriver, a Yale-educated lawyer and longtime philanthropist, was inspired to run for local office after he and some neighbors received citations last fall related to a 1948 ordinance governing hedge and fence height. The city told them to trim their hedges or face misdemeanor charges.
Mr. Shriver, a 17-year Santa Monica resident, complained, but he and others still received civil compliance orders, which gave them a month to trim their shrubs or face a $25,000-per-day fine. Mr. Shriver and others eventually persuaded the City Council to postpone enforcement of the hedge rule until a new law could be written. Mr. Shriver said the hedge hassle made him realize the city had lost sight of the bigger picture.
– Associated Press
MAN KILLED AFTER ARTIFICIAL LEG FALLS OFF
MAGNA, Utah – An amputee whose artificial leg fell off as he crossed the street was struck and killed by a car as he crawled back to pick up the limb.
Motorists in this suburb on the western edge of Salt Lake City stopped to try to help Allen Coleman, 42, but could not reach him before he was run over. The incident occurred along a dark stretch of highway Monday night, authorities said. No charges were filed against the driver.
– Associated Press