1993_09 Insight September 1993

              Page 4
Insight/California State University, Fresno
September IS, 1993
Student
safety
not at
risk by
cuts—yet
By Matt Soby	
Staff Writer
Although budget cuts have struck
the campus hard, student safety is sr ill
ensured. By monitoring and contract-
ing outwork, ihe Environmental Health
and Safety office is operating at bare
minimum.
Though major cuts exist campus-
wide. Radiation Safety Officer. Ron
Avedisian said, "We haven't had our
budget cut because we're at the lowest
limit Any lower and the department
would be cut"
Healih and Safety has had to tighten
its belt in the last few yean. Safety
'•programs operate, butatalower level,
Avedisian said..
"Waste is still disposed of, but pickups are done at the maximum length of
time," Avedisian said.
Much of the work is performed by
two to four student assistants. "We
have two now," Avedisian said "We
had three last year."
Consideringsafety programs are still
I Avedisian said this is actu-
fera suggestions for project safety, disposal of
waste, testing for radiation, assessing
asbestos hazards and air sampling.
A lot of these safety techniques
means getting people to change their
practices, according to Avedisian.
Many problems arc results of people
rather than of equipment he added
"We are not compromising safety,
but we are trying to save money."
Zealous Zitna Offers
Zomething Different
Martell, 22, Fresno City College student who usually drinks vodka or
other hard alcohol. "I thought it was
too strong, too full of hops or something.
Bisla agrees that the drink is strong
in taste and effect
"It kind-of tastes like soda water
and comes off strong. At 4.9 percent
alcohol its the strongest ale we carry,"
Bisla said.
Coors has markeiedZimaasa"ncw,
clear, lightly carbonated, adult alcohol beverage," which is not sweet or
fruity and has no aftertaste.
"I don't drink very often, but I
By Rebecca Boyd	
Staff Writer
Zomething is not so zubtle.
Zima™ Clearmalt"4 flooded into
Fresno this April with an aggressive
marketing plan aimed at alcohol beverage drinkers looking for
"zomething different"
Zima, a subsidiary of Coors,
sealed back to see Fresno's public
response to Ihe onslaught from Coors
Brewing Company's latest invention. So far they report success.
"We promised 'zomething different' and retailers and consumers
like the result" said Bob Recholtz, enjoy Zima occasionally." Bisla said.
Coorsexecutive vice president Mar- Nationally, Coors is happy with
keting. Zima's success.
Tony Rinaldi, general manager
of Fresno's Coor Distributing Co.,
said a large demand for Zima in
Fresno was created based on the
success in Sacramento—one of the
first trial markets.
"Bisla's (downtown) and University Liquors are two of my major
outlets. I had University Liquors
(on Cedar and Barstow) call me and
ask for Zima months before Coors
released it They're still one of the
largest Zima outlets," Rinaldi said.
University Liquors clerk said
Zima business has peaked and leveled off.
"Everyone wanted to try it when
it was new and then sales go down a
little bit"
Harwinder Bisla, a 1991 CSUF
graduate and owner of Bisla's at
Tulare and Van Ness streets, is
pleased with Zima's local success.
Bisla, 27. said the bar has sold 211
cases to the first four months. Sales
are remaining consistent
"Sales were initially high in
March because the product was new
and different but those who tried it
and liked it have stayed with Zima,"
said Bisla. "Personally,Idon'tcarc
about Zima, as long as it sells."
Zima is gearing their product toward men and women ages 21 to 34
who like to experiment The secondary target are moderate men and
women ages 35 to 49 who are experiencing similar dissatisfaction.
Bisla's customers range from
ages 21 to 25.
Lisa Guiterrez, 21, hostess at TGI
Friday's at Hemdon and First streets,
said Zima is popular at toe bar but
also with dinner with a varied age
group.
Jeanie Vcigilia, 30, Friday's
bookkeeper, and Bisla say about 50
percent of Zima customers add juice
or other alcohol to their drink.
"Zima's almost never clear,"
Bisla said.
Popular additions include: cranberry, lemon or lime juice, grenadine or melon liquor.
Zima has proved popular, but not
with everyone.
"It made me sick," said Robert
iD^ghl/DlueTrotui
Julie Demlow, 33, Coors Corporation communication manager, said the
aggressive marketing and advertising
plan was "the largest startup in history. "Their marketing tactics create a
public need and want for toe product
and then make it available.
Outdoor "leaser" billboards appear
firstann uncing thai "Zomething Different" was"ComingZoon."Thecam-
paign was followed by scries of radio
promotions and television ads concurrent with the introduction in each
public market
"We introduced Zima in bars and
resiaurants, with lots of local advertising, and a month later wc made it
available in I iq uor and grocery stores,"
said Demlow. 'Zima is performing
well above the original marketing
plan, in all regions."
Rinaldi said Coors in Fresno bypassed ihe usual procedures and released Zima to all markets based on
local business demand. Coors offered
no incentives or promotions to carry
Zima.
The campaign uses humor and a
strange, invented accent to reflect
Zima's personality. This accent
was used throughout all toe advertising, including the outdoor
"teaser" billboards, and broadcast
and print ads along with a spokesperson from "zomeplace" who talks
his friends into trying Zima, in
which they immediately start
"zpeaking" with ihe accent as
"zoon" as ihey try toe product
The product packaging includes
12-ounce bottles and cans, sold individually and in six-packs.
Zima Beverage Company claims
that Zima is comparably priced with
other domestic beers, yet local retailers and establishments feel il is
priced in the import category, or an
average of $3.00 higher per case.
WhileZima is marketed byZima
BeverageCompany.aunilof Coors
Brewing Company, Demlow said
it prefers to be disassociated with
Coors in advertising due to the connection with Coors and beer. The
Zima label reads Zima Beverage
Company, Memphis, Tenn.
"We don't want to be mistaken
for a beer but seen as a new. unique
product" Demlow said.
Coors owns the clearmalt category and isn't sharing it with any
competitor.
"We have a patented brewing
process and are the only ones who
can produce beverages with the
name Clearmalt on them," said
Demlow.
Demlow wouldn't give any information on the actual brewing
process, but states thai Zima has
many of the same ingredients as
beer and is run through a special
filtration system.
Demlow hints at products to
come, but isn't sharing any information.
"I'm sure our competitors are in
their labs trying to figure out the
process and we can't afford to give
away any secrets," Demlow said.
Demlow also hinis at their "exact time table" on releasing Zima in
other cities.
Zima introduced three test markets in September of 1992: Sacramento, California; Syracuse, New
York; and Nashville, Tennessee.
In March and April of 1993.
they expanded their market to
roughly 30 percent of the country,
with 40 additional cities—including San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Monterey, Santa Barbara and San
Diego.
Zima's development was based
on in-depth consumer research, revealing 59 percent of adult alcohol
consumers were unhappy with the
current choices and wanted a beverage lighter in flavor.
Bob Joanis, director of New
Products and Development for
Coors, feels Clearmalt will appeal
to a broad public regardless of age,
sex or beverage preferences.
Buying car can be road to trouble
By Stephen Kellogg
Staff Writer
After working and saving every
penny for three years, Joe Souza
was finally ready to buy a car.
But when it came time to see
what the $2,500 he had saved would
buy, frustration set in.
"I thought I would at least be able
to get a solid car," Souza said. "But
I couldn't find anything I wanted
with less than 100,000 miles on it"
The troubles Souza had finding a
used car within his budget are the
same troubles thousands of people
face each day, but with a twist
"Students have a special problem
when they are shopping for a car,"
said Karen Hudson, a spokesperson
for the California State Automobile
Association.
"For most it's their first attempt at
purchasing someth ing that big on their
own and so they need to prepare for
it"
There arc several decisions a
student can make to improve toe
chances of finding a car that he or
she will be happy with: decide how
much money to spend, where to
buy the car, what type of car to buy
and finally, to find a knowledgeable mechanic to completely ex-
See Cars, page 8
Childrens' spirits soar
with Roeding Park's
Winged Wonders show
By Rebecca Boyd
Staff Writer
Swoop! Woosh!
Children stare wide-eyed as
Bcellejuice, the black vulture, soars
inches over zoogocrs' heads.
The excited faces watch entranced
as the Lanner falcoln dives toward
the earth, aiming for the lure of meat
at an estimated 100 miles per hour.
The crowd laughs at Sluggo, toe
Red-legged Scricma as he beats up
Mr. Bill, his plastic pet alligator.
•Bird adventures like these and
more are comically presented by Ross
Laird, working with the Fresno
Zooligical Society, and ihe Fresno
Chaffee Zoo at Roeding Park.
The Winged Wonder bird show
performs daily and is free with a paid
zoo admission until Oct. 1. Adults
over 12 pay $4.50, ages 2-11, $2, and
seniors pay S3 for initial entrance
into the zoo.
Ross Laird, 38, Winged Wonder
owner, said, "I'm getting a following. I see a lot of the same people out
here over and over."
Between shows, Laird fends the
fervent frequentquestions of young,
bubbly zoogoers who flock io him,
not unlike his feathered friends.
The birds perform at 10:30a.m„ 1
p.m., and 3 p.m. on Saturdays and
Sundays. Shows are at 10:30 a.m.
and 1 p.m on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
"Tuesday is free for toe birds,"
Laird said. "I don'i gel a day off."
Laird works with his birds to perform acts that would be natural activities in toe wild.
"Their value to
me is different
than what their
actual value is.
Most would be
incredibly difficult to replace.
You tend to get
an emotional
bond."
—Ross Laird
Laird trained his Lannar falcon to
dive al a rubber wheel, on a long
piece of rope wiih meal attached.
"It'scallcd'lurestooping.' Hunters used this method to get their falcons in shape for the hunt"
Laird pulls the rope just as the
falcoln swoops by, to make him try a
little harder during the next pass.
After three or four passes, the
falcoln catches toe wheel in flight
and lands with his prize.
"They spread their wings over toe
wheel to hide toe food."
In the wild, the falcon would fly
to a tree and eat When toe meal is
too heavy io lift, ihcy hide it from
other predators who might steal their
catch, Laird said.
"We weight the wheel down so he
won't fly away," he said.
For some of Laird's birds, the attempt io teach natural instincts goes
awry.
In the wild, the red-legged Seriema
will throw his prey against a rock to
break up toe little bones. Bul Laird's
Seriema never figured out what to do
with his plastic alligator.
Sluggo hasn't learned what the
rock is all about. He tosses Mr. Bill
on the ground and watches him
bounce and goes for ihc treat
Birds train for an averageof two to
three weeks indoors to get to know
Laird. They perform in an average of
five weeks.
All toe training remains positive.
When a bird performs, he gets food.
When a bird doesn't feel like performing. Laird witholds the extra
treat
The birds'wings remain undipped
so they could fly away at anytime.
"They only stick around for an easy
meal," Laird said.
"I've never had a bird not come
back. Once in Kansas, I thought I had
lost a hawk I had trained to scream on
cue. I scouted toe woods for two
days giving the cue. Eventually, he
came to me."
While Lairdcnjoyshis birds'company, he stresses that these birds remain undomesticated and free.
"These animals are not my pets.
It's my belief that most parrots don'i
make good pets" Laird said.
Laird owns 20 of ihe birds in the
show. He spent between $300 and
$500 for most of his birds.
"The zoo has been acquiring birds
but I prefer to own the show." Laird
said.
"Their value to me is different
than what their actual value is. Most
would be incredibly difficult to replace. You tend to gel an emotional
bond," said Laird.
Laird's birds arc high in intelligence and each has a distinct personality. His panois and cockatoo look
for companionship in toe wild and
will except it from humans, while his
birds of prey remain solitary, except
when mating.
They also lend to be stubborn.
During the show, his cockatoo performs a trick of retrieving a dollar
bill from an audience member, flying to Laird and then returning the
bill to toe participant.
In a recent show, the bird was not
willing to return toe bill to the young
woman in toe audience. Eventually
she walked up to reclaim her money.
"There's no way you can make
ihcse birds do anything ihey don'i
want to," said Laird.
"If ihcy don't want to perform, all
you can do is joke and make i i through
toe show."
The birds eventually miss toe free-
bie and go ahead with toe show.
Fresno FaIr Line-up Concentrates on Country **<! Soul
iNdusmia Del Amor
Cnosby &NAsh
Stone Temple PUots
Billy Dean
Dooq Stone
SrtAJ
Tiucy Lawrence
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Laird owns a green parrot that
sings "la.la.la", in musical scale, and
says "Here, kitty .kitty .kilty."
"Birds talk strictly to amuse themselves, rney wont say something if
they don't feel like it" Laird said.
Laird explains ihai a bird's natural
instincts can override any training.
"It doesn't happen very often, but
occasionally a predatory bird will
hunt a smaller bird."
"The Lannar falcon went through
a couple of weeks, early in toe summer, where he was chasing birds
through almost every show," said
Laird. "The hawk actually caught a
sparrow, but il happened behind the
stage, so nobody knew what was
going on. They drop straight down
and cal the bird in a couple of bites.
"It's as natural as you can get, but
most people wouldn't want to watch
Laird hopes to expand his show
with an African eagle, much like toe
American bald eagle.
"They look and hunt very similarly," Laird said.
Laird has experience dealing with
cmbarassing situations and keeping
his cool.
"My first summer in Kansas City,
the stage was four feet long and I fell
off," Laird said. "It was toe first day
the director had come to see the show.
I knew I couldn't stop myself so I
jumped, then I picked up some garbage on the ground like I meant to."
Winged Wonders raises money
through toe Zoological Society and
the advertising help of KFSN Channel 30.
Channel 30 sells advertising to
local businesses, including Long John
Silver's, Pet Mart, Floor Fashion Galleries, and Fotech One Hour Processing.
If a business buys $10,000 worth
of advertising, Channel 30 matches
it with an additional 10,000 on television.
"It's a win situation," said Laird.
"Channel 30 is incredibly support-
A native of Southern California,
Laird moved to Kansas City Zoo in
1990. He spent two years in Kansas
City and was persuaded to come to
Fresno in 1992by Ralph Waterhouse,
the curcent director of toe Fresno
Zoo.
"Ralph Waterhouse used to be the
director of the Kansas City Zoo,
where I worked. When he came here,
he immediately tried to get mc back."
Laird thought he would never
come back to California, but said
he's happy in Fresno.
"I like Fresno, it reminds me ofthe
mid-west, the agriculture and the
people are nice," he said.
"I plan on staying a while."
The bird man should be entertaining folks for as long as his feathered
friends feel like flying in Fresno.
PATIO SALE
September 15 & 16
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Main Level Patio
Fresno State Apparel 33% OFF
(last marked price)
Russell Seconds
Sweatshirts    $6.99
T-Shirts $3.25
Assorted Gifts & Supplies Special Discounts
Assortment of Sale Books