Unlisted Number

The longer Senate investigators examine the relations between five senators and the failed savings empire of Charles H. Keating, the cozier they begin to look. After 10 months of examination, the Senate Ethics Committee has yet to authorize a formal study that could lead to charges of unethical conduct. Even that step would leave the Senate a long way from making charges stick.

Call him the weather guru. In a drafty office above a garage in Santa Paula, Terry Schaeffer is working overtime. He is the National Weather Service's meteorologist for Ventura County--a job that requires a knowledge of physics, the exactness of mathematics and the belief that the moods of nature can be correctly predicted. When it comes to forecasting Ventura County's cold and hot spells, Schaeffer is the authority.

Alex Espinoza, Iowa State University's top quarterback who transferred from Cal State Fullerton two years ago, was arrested Tuesday and charged with three counts of assault in connection with fights with students twice in the past two weeks. Espinoza, 20, surrendered to Ames police Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. He was processed, then released on his promise to appear in court at 1 o'clock today.

By offering a device that would identify a caller, we are taking one more step toward the day when our lives are monitored totally by Big Brother. This plan would almost negate the benefits afforded by having an unlisted telephone number and possibly subject telephone users to a rash of unwanted solicitations. I feel that there should be public hearings conducted by the Public Utilities Commission, so that everyone may have the opportunity of airing their opinions and that we are able to carefully weigh all the aspects of such a program.

Deborah Norville got a New York taxi driver fined for cursing at her during a ride in December. The co-host of NBC's "Today" show told New York magazine she hailed a cab driven by Isidro Ortiz. When she arrived at her destination, Norville said, she tapped on the partition window to tell Ortiz where to drop her off. She said Ortiz cursed her and became more abusive when she began to write down his license number.

Since the beginning of the year, millions of credit card customers have been hit with higher interest rates -- in many cases from lenders that have received billions of dollars in bailout cash from taxpayers. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, responded last week with legislation that would impose a 15% cap on rates for all consumer loans, including plastic. And you know what? It just might work.

Actress Victoria Principal filed a $3-million lawsuit Monday against Joan Rivers, claiming that the late-night television comedienne broadcast her unlisted phone number to millions. Principal, who plays the long-suffering Pamela Ewing on the nighttime soap opera "Dallas," said she suffered "humiliation and anguish" as a result of the telephone tattling, which sparked a frenzy of phone calls from fans.

The couple who left their young daughters at home unsupervised while they vacationed in Mexico have given the girls up for adoption, an attorney confirmed Saturday. Carole J. Grahn-Hayes, the lawyer for Nicole, who was 9, and Diana, who was 4 when their parents, David and Sharon Schoo, left them alone for nine days last year, confirmed the adoption release. The Schoos, who moved from St. Charles to nearby Geneva this year, have an unlisted phone number and could not be reached.

Los Angeles has known many fine caterers, but Milton Williams was King. Years before Ma Maison made it chic, Williams had an unlisted telephone number. It didn't matter, recalls a veteran partygoer: "You didn't go to an important party if Milt didn't do it." He started with a dinner party for actor Edward G. Robinson in 1953; until his death two years ago, Williams catered for, and to, Hollywood's elite. He shopped, he cooked, he decorated, he even selected the hostess's dress.