accepting

SACRAMENTO — Citing reasons financial, emotional and political, hundreds of gays and lesbians around California took advantage of a new law Monday and began the process of registering with the state as domestic partners.

To some it seemed a giant step, to others a baby step, toward full recognition of their relationships.

“We are involved in a commitment with caring and loving and all the things I hear people say about their husbands and wives,” said Sam Catalano, a state employee who hummed the wedding march as he and his partner paid $10 to become registered couple No. 66 at the secretary of state’s office in Sacramento.

“But today I have gained one benefit, and those married couples have 1,400,” he said, citing federal studies that estimate more than 1,000 legal benefits of marriage.

Actually, the legislation signed into law last year by Gov. Gray Davis–AB 26 by Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco)–affords some same-sex couples two benefits: hospital visitation rights (which could otherwise be restricted to family members) and health insurance coverage for the dependents of government employees covered by CalPERS, the state retirement system.

With the new law, California became one of the nation’s pioneers in domestic partner policies. Twelve California cities and four counties, including Los Angeles, have their own policies giving health benefits to domestic partners, as do many corporations.

In Vermont last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples are entitled to all benefits and protections related to marriage. And in October, France became the first European nation to legalize civil solidarity pacts.

Across the country, 30 states have enacted laws to prevent same-sex marriages from being recognized, a Californians will decide on such a proposal in the March 7 primary election.

Tens of thousands of couples are expected to register under the domestic partners law. Same-sex couples are eligible, along with heterosexual couples over age 62, who sometimes hesitate to marry because of potential cuts in their Social Security income.

State analysts have no estimate of how much the registrations will cost the state and local governments.

State construction supervisor Billie Norman has been with her partner, Beverly Thames, for 14 years. Every year she has applied to add Thames to her health plan. Every year her application has been rejected.

“I could marry a man tomorrow and they’d give me insurance for him,” Norman said, flashing one of the matching diamond engagement rings the two wear. “We’re stable, we’re homeowners, we’re civil servants. There ought to be recognition of that.”

The state registration program signals a social shift, Norman said, that inches her and Thames closer to the Elvis-themed wedding they hope to have someday. Similar domestic partner bills passed the Legislature in 1994 and 1998 only to be vetoed by former Gov. Pete Wilson.

In March, California voters will vote on Proposition 22, the Limit on Marriages Act spearheaded by state Sen. Pete Knight (R-Lancaster), which would bar California from recognizing same-sex marriages. No state currently permits same-sex marriage, but some have court cases or legislation pending that could change the situation.

Proposition 22 spokesman Robert Glazier said the campaign has taken no position on domestic partnership registration, but “if someone wants to change marriage in California, they should do it in a very upfront way, not through a back door.”

Members of the “No on Knight” camp that opposes the measure predicted that publicity about partnership registration will work in their favor, highlighting the discrimination they believe gays and lesbians face in California and “how the Knight initiative will further discriminate against them,” said campaign manager Mike Marshall.

A small line of applicants greeted secretary of state employees when they arrived at 8 a.m. Monday to open the special filings desk, which falls under the ironically named “Limited Partnerships” division. All through the day couples wandered in, many having just learned of the opportunity in news accounts over the weekend.

By day’s end, spokesman Shad Balch said 71 couples had registered in Sacramento and at four branch offices around the state and hundreds more had taken out applications.

Among them were retirees and young people, middle class and poor, outspoken and shy. One couple has lived together for 29 years, another for three. For some it was the first official documentation of their relationship, for others one of a series of acknowledgments: city registrations, commitment ceremonies and corporate benefit extensions.

Ken Day, Catalano’s partner, said many gay couples they know are reluctant to even bother with the paperwork, a simple one-page form that can be mailed to the secretary of state but must be notarized.

Some think “it’s unnecessary and derivative,” he said. Others, he said, rolling his eyes, think the very idea is “too heterosexual.” A few were not ready for the commitment, which hinges on a pledge of joint responsibility for living expenses.

Among the many rights the state accords to married people but the new law does not extend to same-sex couples are Social Security benefits, inheritance provisions and health coverage after the death of the state employee. It does not give them any of the tax benefits of marriage, and they will not have the right to make medical decisions for each other.

Nor does the law untangle the complicated and expensive arrangements that gay and lesbian couples with children make to share health benefits with, and legal responsibility for, their children.

California Youth Authority counselor Cathyann Intemann spent $4,700 to adopt her partner’s daughter so she could count her as a dependent for her state health benefits. The couple rejoiced on learning Sunday that the new law would take effect in time to cover their second child, due this spring.

Intemann’s partner is a stay-at-home mother who estimated that she pays at least $3,000 a year for her own health insurance. “The bottom line is this saves us money in our household,” Intemann said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

How to Register

The secretary of state’s office recommends that domestic partners mail registration forms to the Sacramento office, P.O. Box 944225, Sacramento, CA 94244-2250. Both partners’ signatures must be notarized and a fee of $10 enclosed. Forms are available at county clerks’ offices and online at https://www.ss.ca.gov, and can be filed in person at the secretary of state’s offices in these cities:

* Fresno: 2497 West Shaw Ave., Suite 101

* Los Angeles: 300 South Spring St., Room 12513

* San Diego: 1350 Front St., Suite 2060

* San Francisco: 455 Golden Gate, Suite 7300

WASHINGTON — Retired Gen. Colin L. Powell, citing concerns about his privacy and a lack of passion for political combat, on Wednesday proclaimed that he would not run for President in 1996.

For the first time, Powell declared that he was a Republican. And he seemed clearly to leave open the possibility of seeking political office in the future. But he categorically ruled out accepting the vice presidential nomination next year.

In a dramatic afternoon press conference in suburban Washington, Powell, 58, said that entering the political arena “requires a calling that I do not yet hear. And for me to pretend otherwise would not be honest to myself, it would not be honest to the American people.”

“And therefore I cannot go forward,” he said. “I will not be a candidate for President or for any other elective office in 1996.”

Powell’s wife, Alma, stood at his side as he ended months of suspense about his political intentions and disappointed millions of potential supporters. His adult children, Michael, Linda and Annemarie, looked on in the packed hotel ballroom where Powell delivered his fateful verdict.

“I have spent long hours talking with my wife and children, the most important people in my life, about the impact an entry into political life would have on us,” Powell said. “It would require sacrifices and changes in our lives that would be difficult for us to make at this time.”

With the September publication of his best-selling memoirs, “My American Journey,” Powell had become a four-star American icon, the repository of the hopes of millions who dreamed that he could bind up the nation’s racial and political wounds.

But in the end, that task proved too great even for the charismatic general, who braved unfriendly fire in Vietnam and survived the ordeals of bureaucratic combat in four presidential administrations.

Powell said Wednesday he hoped he could help restore civility to American political dialogue and a “sense of shame in our society.” He also said he hoped to bring blacks back into the party by broadening the GOP’s appeal and humanizing its attempts to reform social welfare programs.

“While we’re sending out block grants, while we’re dismantling programs that have not completely satisfied everything we hoped of them, we have to concern ourselves about those who may be cut loose, and we have to be prepared to help them,” Powell said. Over the past months, “I didn’t sense there was enough consideration of that.”

“I will continue to speak out forcefully in the future on the issues of the day, as I have been doing in recent weeks,” Powell said. “I believe I can help the party of Lincoln move once again close to the spirit of Lincoln.”

But–for now–he said he would do so from outside the realm of electoral politics.

Powell largely came to his decision over the weekend and formalized it in a meeting Monday night with two of his closest friends, former Pentagon official Richard L. Armitage and former White House Chief of Staff Kenneth M. Duberstein. With a third aide, retired Col. Bill Smullen, joining in by phone, the three men sat in Powell’s formal office on the ground floor of his McLean, Va., mansion, a room dominated by his Medal of Freedom and three framed photographs of the presidents he has served–Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton.

Alma Powell joined the group about halfway through the 2 1/2-hour meeting, Armitage said in an interview Wednesday.

“By then, the decision was primarily made,” Armitage said. “Over these past weeks, he was up and down, he agonized. He’d go out and meet with crowds and they’d fire him up. Then he’d get back home and wonder, ‘Do I have the necessary fire in the stomach to be worthy of support of these people?’ And he found he did not,” Armitage said.

As it became clear that Powell would not run, the meeting moved quickly to a discussion of the logistics of the announcement. The four discussed various drafts of a statement, then decided that Powell should speak solely in his own words. On Wednesday afternoon, he did just that, speaking largely without reference to the note cards he had carried with him.

He had looked “deep into my own soul” before deciding not to run, Powell said, and had found that he could not summon up the “commitment and passion” he felt every day in his 35 years as a soldier.

Powell also pointedly refused to endorse any of the Republican candidates, or even the party’s eventual nominee. He answered a curt “yes” to the question of whether there were candidates in the current crop of GOP hopefuls who were unacceptable to him.

A close friend said later that Powell was referring specifically to Patrick J. Buchanan, who has harshly criticized Powell’s stands on social issues.

Powell’s decision reopens a presidential contest that had been largely frozen for the last two months as he flirted with running.

Within an hour of Powell’s announcement, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said that the former general’s withdrawal made it more likely that he would enter the race. Gingrich said he would think about it over the next several weeks and make a decision after the current federal budget deliberations are finished but before the Dec. 15 deadline for entering New Hampshire’s primary.

Powell’s withdrawal was particularly welcome news at the White House and at the headquarters of GOP presidential front-runner Sen. Bob Dole. In a statement, Dole praised Powell’s “outstanding character and leadership” and expressed pleasure that he had joined the Republican Party.

At the White House, aides showed unusual discipline in not admitting that they felt a huge sense of relief at not having to face Clinton’s worst nightmare–a black, centrist, Republican military hero–in the general election next year.

“Everyone wants some hook to say there was a sigh of relief at the White House–but you’ll have to do it on your own,” said White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry.

He added that Clinton “understands the decision to run for President of the United States is one of the most difficult decisions any human can make. He respects the general and respects the general’s right to make that decision.”

Powell met with the press for 40 minutes at the Ramada Plaza hotel in Alexandria, Va., a few miles down the George Washington Parkway from the Pentagon, where Powell made history by becoming the first African American and youngest chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

His appearance was marked by the good humor, military carriage and unshakable poise he displayed in private meetings with presidents, kings and prime ministers and in public briefings on the American military operations he directed.

He expressed gratitude to the thousands of citizens who urged him to run. “It says more about America than it says about me. In one generation, we have moved from denying a black man service at a lunch counter to elevating one to the highest military office in the nation and to being a serious contender for the presidency,” he said.

Powell drew laughs when asked whether his wife shared his enthusiasm for the Republican Party. “Next!” he boomed. He also fended off a question about whether he had been bothered by published reports that his wife was under treatment for depression.

“It is not a family secret,” he said. “It is very easily controlled with proper medication, just as my blood pressure is sometimes under control with proper medication.”

For her part, Alma Powell made clear her concerns about her husband’s safety should he become a candidate. She and the general denied that fears of assassination were a factor in his decision not to run, but the final call was not made until Monday night, the day slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was buried in Jerusalem.

Had he been elected, Powell said, his priorities in office would have been: “Show leadership. Be a conciliator. Move the government forward toward less government. . . . Try to inspire people. And try to restore a sense of family, restore a sense of shame in our society, help bring more civility into our society.”

Powell said he regretted the disappointment he caused those who enthusiastically promoted his candidacy.

“I am deeply, deeply appreciative of that support, I’m deeply appreciative of the time and talent and energy you put into it. I’m sorry I disappointed you, but I hope you will see that in the next phase of my life I will continue to serve the country in a way that will justify the kind of inspiration and enthusiasm and support you sent my way this time around,” Powell said, addressing the several dozen supporters who attended the press conference and millions more watching on television.

He said he understood the “down and dirty” of American politics and said they were a proper test of a potential leader. He said he was not afraid of that “test of fire,” but that he was not yet ready to face it.

Among those watching on television were about half a dozen disheartened volunteers at the draft-Powell headquarters in the Crenshaw district in Los Angeles. The group, which had just opened the office last week, vowed to launch an effort to change Powell’s mind. Through letters, phone calls and other means, they hope to persuade the retired general “to report for duty as a candidate for the presidency,” said Powell backer Ron Weekly.

Times staff writers Sam Fulwood III in Washington and Erin Texeira in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

* LOCAL REACTION: General’s Orange County kin pleased with his decision. A17

April 18 (UPI) — The Federal Aviation Administration is working with three bidders to develop artificial intelligence software to help air traffic controllers manage flights across the nation’s airspace.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy discussed the effort during a media event on Friday, and said the goal is to help anticipate schedule conflicts and improve planning for bottlenecks at busy airports.

“This software, as they look at the flight paths, won’t see [potential issues] 15 minutes before it happens .. a controller will get a notice that they could change one of the airplane’s flight paths slightly and they can deconflict it an hour and a half or two hours before the conflict even happens,” Duffy said during a media event hosted by Semafor.

The program is aimed at fundamentally changing how airspace in the United States operates, The Air Current reported, and is a major part of the agency’s efforts at modernization and redesign.

The FAA has mounted an effort to see how AI can improve the functionality and safety of the country’s air traffic control systems, especially amid a growing shortage of controllers, at least partially because political debates that have hampered the agency’s funding.

The system that the FAA is looking to develop — called SMART, which stands for Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories — is part of a $32.5 billion modernization program that includes replacing hundreds of radars and growing its air controller staff, The Next Web reported.

Development of the new system, which follows a series of issues at airports across the country that have seen near-misses and actual crashes that have raised concerns among experts and travelers alike, is being bid on by the companies Palantir, Thales and Air Space Intelligence.

The system could begin to be operational some time later this year, with an update on progress expected from the Department of Transportation and FAA on April 21.