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Fight Over Astor Will on Ice Until May

The family fight over Brooke Astor's $198 million estate is on hold until at least May while the late philanthropist's son faces criminal charges of plundering her fortune.

Westchester County Surrogate's Court Judge Anthony Scarpino agreed Friday to put a stay on the civil case surrounding Astor's will until May 7. Depositions had been scheduled to start Monday.

But Manhattan prosecutors asked the judge to postpone action in the case while they pursue grand larceny and other charges against Astor's 83-year-old son, Anthony Marshall. He has pleaded not guilty.

The civil case centers on which of two wills, signed at various dates, best conveys Astor's true intentions.

Astor, known for decades as the doyenne of New York society and philanthropy, gave away nearly $200 million to institutions before dying in August at age 105. She left a fortune estimated at more than $130 million and a trust valued at more than $60 million.

Hounds out for annual meeting

ON Monday, the Boxing Day meet of the West Wales Farmers'Bloodhounds was held in Cardigan.

Due to the cold weather over Christmas, the ground was too hardfor the hunt to take place, although the masters did bring thehounds into town, where they met at the Black Lion before proceedingto the Guildhall to be greeted by Mayor Mair Morris.

Councillor Morris spoke, both in Welsh and English, of theimportance of the town's heritage, and in particular of itsapplication for Lottery Funding.

Achievement Recognition of the hunt's contribution towards localcharities and good causes was acknowledged, including that of localmountain and fell runner Mike Kallenberg's achievement this seasonof running for Great Britain as well as Wales.

Master Robert Thomas spoke of the hunt's hounds being a mixtureof Welsh, Otter and Bloodhound, the Welsh and Otter bloodlines beingdescended from rough-coated hunting hounds mentioned in Hywel Ddalaws, valued then at 20 pence each, and these same bloodlines havingwalked the streets of Cardigan 900 years previously.

The collection from the day went to the mayor's chosen charities,Cardigan Castle and Help the Heroes.

Keys to Beating Drugs: Education And Prevention

Salim Muwakkil's March 13 column assumed that my appointmentmeans "further militarization" of a "war" on drugs. Like PresidentClinton, I oppose any such militarization and I reject calling it "awar."

Like Muwakkil, I strongly support placing the greatest emphasison education and prevention. I too reject the notion that drugs arestrictly a criminal justice problem. It is first and foremost apublic health problem.

All of America must come together to alleviate the symptoms ofthe drug disease: crime, addiction, family and neighborhooddestruction. We also must treat the root causes.We have had some success: Drug use by Americans is down byalmost half since the mid-'80s. Cocaine use has dropped 30 percentin the last three years. But I am alarmed by the doubling of teendrug use in the last four years.Along with education and prevention, we must have treatment forthe hard-core addicts in the criminal justice system to reduce therisk that they will return to their criminal history, better defenseof our borders and support for law enforcement - including improvedintelligence and international cooperation.Barry R. McCaffrey, director,Office of NationalDrug Control Policy,Washington, D.C.Colonial HistoryBefore Carl T. Rowan parroted Chinese Communists' assertion thatTaiwan is part of China in his March 24 column, he should havestudied Taiwan's history.In the 16th century, Taiwan was discovered by Portuguesesailors. It was subsequently colonized by the Dutch, the Spanish,the Chinese and Japanese. But none has the right to call Taiwan itsown. How chaotic this world would be if every former colonial powerlooks at the old maps and starts to make territorial claims.Rowan said that the presence of the USS Nimitz and USSIndependence in the Taiwan Strait probably would lead to a war thatgoes beyond the region.On the contrary, it was President Clinton's wise decision tosend the warships and Congress' firm resolution to stand by Taiwanthat prevents a catastrophic war.Eric Lin, ArgoAnger InflamedAs a University of Illinois at Chicago alumnus, I am appalled bythe recent ugly circumstances regarding the hiring of Jimmy Collinsas UIC basketball coach. I am upset that the hockey program wasdeemed the sacrificial lamb to move the basketball program to "thenext level."School officials tried to paint the hockey program as a pictureof "financial despair" without disclosing the financial status of anyother UIC athletic programs - especially basketball.Currently, the community benefits from the practice ice rink;it's a place for skating classes, open skate time for urban adultsand children and a site for Chicago Blackhawks practices. Soon thesebenefits will disappear as the ice is replaced with a hardwood floor.As an alumnus, I am ashamed of the actions of the Board ofTrustees, the Athletic Department and upper administration. As afan, I am disappointed in the school's decision to do away withhockey. Paul A. Troy, PalatineBy e-mail

Eguren completes Lazio switch

Uruguay midfielder Sebastian Eguren is set to become a Lazio player after passing a medical on Wednesday.

Eguren joins from Villareal on loan until the summer, when Lazio will have the option of making the move permanent, ANSA news agency reports.

The defensive midfielder joined Villareal in 2008 and scored one goal in 61 appearances. He has played 24 times for the Uruguay national team, scoring once.

The 29-year-old Eguren is likely to go straight into the squad for the match with Juventus on Sunday.

Poll: Republican race for Mich. governor tightens

Cox, Dillon remain ahead in primary races; large number of Democrats undecided

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -A poll released June 18 says Attorney General Mike Cox, who earlier this month won a few major endorsements, has gotten a boost in a tight Republican primary race to become Michigan's next governor.

The EPIC-MRA poll released last Friday says 26 percent of 400 likely Republican voters said they'd vote for Cox. U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra had 24 percent, Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder was at 20 percent and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard was at 16 percent. State Sen. Tom George of Kalamazoo County was at 2 percent and 12 percent were undecided.

On the Democratic side, House Speaker Andy Dillon of Wayne County's Redford Township was at 34 percent while Lansing Mayor Virg Bemero trailed at 24 percent. Another 42 percent of the 400 likely Democratic voters surveyed were undecided as the Aug . 3 primary approaches.

The primary poll reflected primary matchups and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

The telephone poll was conducted June 12-15 for the Detroit Free Press and TV stations WXYZ, WJRT, WOOD and WILX. The poll came shortly after Cox was endorsed by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Right to Life of Michigan, and wealthy Republican activists Dick and Betsy De Vos.

Hoekstra had led the Republican primary poll in late May with 30 percent. Cox, Snyder and Bouchard were bunched together between 18 percent and 16 percent.

The poll also featured a few of the possible head-to-head matchups upcoming between Republicans and Democrats this fall. Republicans Hoekstra and Snyder did better than Democrats Dillon and Bernero in those hypothetical matchups. The other Republicans weren't matched against the Democrats in this particular poll.

The Democratic race is still taking shape, with many likely voters saying they still don't recognize the names of Dillon and Bemero.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, can't seek re-election this year because of the state's term- limits law.

Syrian troops attack mourners after US envoy visit

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops fired tear gas at a gathering of mourners just hours after U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford and other Western diplomats expressed their condolences to the family of a rights advocate killed last week, activists said Wednesday.

The incident could increase already high tensions between Washington and Damascus, which has accused the United States of helping incite violence in Syria. Authorities have also criticized two earlier visits by Ford to the country's central and southern regions.

The Syrian regime is trying to crush a 6-month-old uprising with deadly force that has killed some 2,600 people, according to U.N. estimates.

Also Wednesday, Syrian troops conducted raids in the northwestern province of Idlib and the central region of Homs, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Local Coordination Committees, an activist network, said one person was killed in Idlib and two others in the central province of Hama in Wednesday raids.

The violence came a day after more than 20 people were killed throughout Syria, according to the Observatory and Mustafa Osso, a Syria-based rights activist.

Osso and the Local Coordination Committees said the attack on mourners occurred on Tuesday night, after Ford and several other ambassadors had left the gathering in the Damascus suburb of Daraya.

Osso said troops fired tear gas at the tent with mourners and relatives of Ghayath Mattar but no one was hurt.

Mattar was detained on Sept. 6 and his body was returned to his family over the weekend.

A U.S. embassy official confirmed Ford's visit, saying he was accompanied by other diplomats. An amateur video posted on YouTube showed Ford and several other Westerners at a gathering as verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, blared from loudspeakers.

Another video showed the half dozen diplomats heading from the gathering to their cars as residents chanted, "the people want the president (Assad) executed." Another man shouted to them, "welcome, welcome to Syria."

According to captions on amateur videos posted by activists, the French and Japanese ambassadors to Syria were among the visiting diplomats.

Last month, President Barack Obama demanded Syrian President Bashar Assad resign because he had lost legitimacy as a ruler. Major U.S. allies such as Britain, France, Germany and the European Union have made similar moves.

Washington and the EU have also imposed sanctions on some Syrian officials because of Assad's crackdown.

A trip in July by the U.S. and French ambassadors to the central city of Hama to express support for protesters drew swift condemnation from the Syrian government, which said the unauthorized visits were proof that Washington was inciting violence in the Arab nation. Authorities then warned both ambassadors not to travel outside the capital without permission.

A month later, the Obama administration brushed off a complaint by Syrian authorities that Ford violated their travel rules by leaving Damascus without permission. The Syrian foreign ministry registered concern over Ford's trip in August from Damascus to the village of Jassem, where he met opposition activists.

The U.S. has maintained diplomatic relations with Syria despite protesting Assad's efforts to crush the 6-month-old uprising against him.

Republicans in Congress have assailed Obama's decision to send an ambassador to the Syrian capital after a five-year absence, calling it an unwarranted reward for the government's anti-American positions. Their criticism has grown stronger as more have been killed in the uprising.

But the administration has defended Ford's continued presence in Damascus, insisting that he is providing valuable information on the tumult across Syria while offering moral support to the protesters.

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Bassem Mroue can be reached at http://twitter.com/bmroue