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This Day In 1970's History: Friday April 27, 1979
- Temporary closing of nuclear reactors designed by Babcock & Wilcox was agreed to by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which, however, will allow two of the reactors to remain in use for a while to prevent power shortages in three Southern states.
No rate increase or serious power shortages were in view at the Duke Power Company after it reached a settlement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that avoided a long shutdown of three Oconee Station nuclear reactors near Greenville, S.C. The agreement called for only brief, staggered shutdowns of the reactors. The company had predicted an immediate rate increase of 23 percent, or nine dollars added to the average monthly bill, and rotational blackouts if the nuclear plants were shut down. [New York Times]
- A sniper fired on parade spectators in San Antonio, killing two women and wounding 31 other persons, including five policemen. The sniper, identified as Ira Attebury, 64 years old, reportedly killed himself as the police closed in. The police estimated that 300,000 people had gathered along the parade route. The parade, the 84th commemoration of the Battle of the Flowers, is a principal event in the city's Festival Week. The heavily armed sniper fired from a motor home parked near the parade's starting point. [New York Times]
- A fuel tank defect in Ford Mavericks and Mercury Comets was found in an "initial determination" by a government agency. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that there are defective tanks in almost 1 million 1970-73 Mavericks and 1971-73 Comets still in use. [New York Times]
- The overflowing Red River marooned hundreds of rural residents along a 100-mile stretch of the upper Red River Valley on the United States-Canada border. Homes were surrounded by lakes created by the flooding. [New York Times]
- The sale of Esquire Magazine by its British owners to a Knoxville publisher is expected to be completed over the weekend, sources close to the negotiations said. The buyer is the 13-30 Corporation, a youth-oriented publishing house, half owned by the Bonnier Newspaper Group in Sweden, whose president confirmed that 13-30 was negotiating to buy Esquire and "several other" American magazines. [New York Times]
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