News In Brief

JUST DON'T MAKE A HABIT OF IT

Apparently disciplinary action won't be taken against one of the crew members aboard a Scandinavian Airlines plane bound from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Oslo earlier this week - even though he used the public address system for unauthorized purposes. At 35,000 feet, the unidentified copilot decided the right moment had arrived to propose marriage to his girlfriend, an off-duty flight attendant who just happened to be among the passengers. To the amusement of others on the trip, she made her way to the cockpit to accept. Said an SAS spokesman: "For this kind of joyous occasion we don't see any need to be rigid."

NOT YOUR BASIC 'NEAR MISS'

Then there was the equally memorable way two small private planes ended their flights at an airstrip in Plant City, Fla., last Saturday - locked together, piggyback-style. They landed after the nose wheel of the upper craft broke and became wedged in the windshield of the lower at 200 feet off the ground. Authorities credited the skill of an instructor in the lower plane with preventing injury to all involved.

Six states cited as leaders in planning for development

The American Planning Association said this week that failure to modernize land-use laws could leave communities across the country ill-equipped for growth in the 21st century. The Washington-based nonprofit group criticized most state programs for taking "a piecemeal approach." The association's report, entitled "Planning Communities for the 21st Century," lauds six states for moving aggressively to deal with land-use issues by requiring local governments to produce development plans in conjunction with state agencies and regional planning commissions. The states cited - in alphabetical order - for their relatively comprehensive planning:

Maryland

New Jersey

Oregon

Rhode Island

Tennessee

Washington

- Associated Press

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society

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