Kool-Aid Gets Him in Hot Water

--”How can anyone bribe someone with Twinkies?” asked George L. Belair, a 71-year-old losing candidate for the Minneapolis City Council. Belair has been charged with violating campaign law by wooing senior citizens with $31 worth of snacks. He has been indicted by a grand jury for giving away the snacks, including Kool-Aid, Twinkies and Ho Hos, during three meetings at senior citizen centers last October. He faces charges of violating the state’s Fair Campaign Practices Act, which prohibits candidates from providing food, drink or entertainment to prospective voters. Belair goes to court on June 4 and will plead not guilty. If convicted, Belair could receive up to 90 days in jail and a $700 fine. Cora Mueller, 78, who was at one of the meetings last October, said she “can’t see that he did anything wrong. We know what we’re doing even if we are old. You can’t sway people by a cup of coffee and a treat.” When asked if she voted for Belair, Mueller said: “You bet I did. I liked the man.” The charges were filed by incumbent Walter Dziedzic, who beat Belair by more than a 2-1 ratio last November.

--The New York Public Library celebrated its 75th anniversary with politicians and historians hailing the “marble palace.” Two hundred dignitaries--including Mayor Edward I. Koch, historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and writer Calvin Trillin--attended the ceremonies in the vast central research library where the 81-branch system began on May 23, 1911. Even the marble lions--”Patience” and “Fortitude”-- lying athwart the huge edifice, which stretches two city blocks, were decked out for the occasion with black top hats and bow ties. “It remained stable and beautiful while the city around it has gone bad,” said Amy Welcher, 99, who was at the opening 75 years ago. “It’s steadfast, immovable, with its arm reaching out around the world.”

--Late-night television talk show host David Letterman is square with the law after paying a $40 fine for using a radar detector in his car, NBC spokesman Peter Spivey said. Letterman was not speeding when he was stopped in Connecticut on May 12, police said, but state law forbids use of the detectors.

--Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, an avid horsewoman, began a private five-day visit to Kentucky thoroughbred farms, and officials said she will inspect the brood mares she keeps in the Bluegrass Country. The British monarch arrived at Lexington’s Bluegrass Airport aboard a Royal Air Force DC-10 for her second tour of the capital of thoroughbred breeding in as many years. The queen will be the guest of William and Sarah Farish at Lane’s End Farm outside Versailles.