| JERSEY CITY, N. J., March 6.—
Climbing through cold biue sxies
more than five and one-half miles
over Jersey and Manhattan today.
Miss Ruth Nichols, Rye, N. Y.,
flier, who holds ccast to coast
speed marks, set an unofficlal alti-
tude record for women,

The altimeter on her speedy
Lockheed-Vega monoplane showed
nearly 30,054 feet. The sealed baro-
[graph piaced in the plane by the
National Aeronautic association im-
mediately was shipped to Washing-
ton for cxamination. If it shows
' 28,074 fect, or more, Miss Nichols
, will be awarded the record now
held by Elinor Smith, young Long
j Island f{ler.

Miss Nichols was informed that
to attain recognition as the record
; holder, she must beat Miss Emith’s
mark by more than 600 fect.

She took off from Jersey Coty air-
‘port at 12:33 p. m., and was aloft
‘90 minutes. There was a 30-mile
‘wind blowing when she cireled the
‘city, swung over Manhattan anc
‘$tarled the long climb.

. “Everything went fine,” she sald

“The engine worked perfectly, 1]
did not suffer any cdiscamiort.’

 

 
 
WASHINGTON (UPI) — The
federal government says it has
spent nearly $2 million improv-
ing President Nixon’s homes in
Florida and California, all of it
relating to ‘‘security.”’

The White House also dis-
closed that businessman Robert
H. Abplanalp, who helped the
President buy his San Clemen-
te, Calif., retreat, has been
getting some money back in the
form of rent associated with
Nixon’s Key Biscayne, Fia.,
place.

A month ago the White House
had listed $39,000 in federal
funds for improving the West-
ern White House at San
Clemente since Nixon bought it
in 1969.

Last week, after a further
search of record, it raised this
figure to $460,302,

On Thursday, General Ser-
vices Administration (GSA),
the government’s housekeeping
agency, said a_ still more
extensive audit put the total
federal expenditure at San
Clemente at $703,367 over four
fiscal years beginning July 1,
1969.
 