The yearly Uptown gathering known as Halloween soon will be upon us. This year's bash promises to be the same as past Halloweens with an abundance of out-of-town "friends," local partiers and costumes.

One glaring difference this year is the entertainment - or possible lack thereof.

Athens City Council said it has ruled out the possibility of having live music and will replace the bands with a disc jockey or nothing at all.

For the last six months, a task force put in place by Council has been researching ways to improve the street party for Athens and Ohio University. One of the task force's recommendations is to have live bands. If the task force thought live bands would be the best, then why isn't the council supporting the findings?

Council President Guy Philips said he knows some council members are against having live bands and said he believes it is a dead issue because of no support.

However, one business leader has pushed for having live bands during Halloween. Mary Swentik, owner of Uptown Dog, said she has taken steps to ensure the celebration will have live music.

Council members have cited safety measures as the reason for not having a bandstand with live music. If emergency vehicles need to get onto Court Street, they can't get past the existing bandstand because of its size. Why not build a smaller bandstand? Most bands that play are used to small stages.

We support the idea of live music and resent that some council members won't represent their constituents - the students.

If the live entertainment aspect is removed then Halloween could simply become an alcohol-fest. Isn't that what the city and university are working against?

Large groups of partiers have had a tendency in the past to gather around the bandstand and live music. Without a focus, groups of people now will roam Court Street and surrounding side streets, causing more problems than having an oversized bandstand.

In order to have a successful Halloween street party, the city needs to ensure live music. We hope the council will reconsider their decision and make Halloween as successful and safe as it has in the past.

Fair-weather politicians

As Kenneth Starr's inquiry into President Clinton's alleged wrongdoings move forward, a number of Congressional Democrats now have come forth publicly to denounce the president.

Ironically, many of the same Democrats who have made these public statements also are preparing for hotly contested congressional races in November.

Barbara Boxer, a democratic California senator and relative to Clinton by marriage, recently came forward and faulted the president for not admitting his alleged wrongdoings sooner. California's congressional races are traditionally heated.

Fellow democrat Sen. Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina said he is fed up with Clinton's alleged dishonesty. He is the only contestable seat from South Carolina; the other belongs to Strom Thurmond.

By attacking Clinton's credibility, these senators have damaged their own credibility. Regardless of the fact that the particular congressional races involving the newly self-pronounced Clinton adversaries are neck and neck, distancing themselves from the president only makes them appear self-serving, especially because they once supported him.

The outcome of Starr's report, which he sent to Congress Wednesday, should have no effect on individual congressional races since the president is not running for re-election.

As November's congressional races heat up, these politicians should focus on their own jobs and not become entangled in the presidential melee.