Abortion, rent controls, nuclear-waste disposal among issues voted on Tuesday

Voters in nine states and scores of cities and towns faced a wide variety of ballot issues Tuesday. Bristol, Conn., residents voted against a measure calling for the overturning of the US Supreme Court's 12-year-old ruling that legalized abortions. Dover and Derry, N.H., also voted against similarly worded propositions.

Oak Park, Ill., voters rebuffed a proposal to repeal its ban on handguns.

San Antonio narrowly turned back a proposal to fluoridate its water supply, as did Westfield and Leominster, Mass.

District of Columbia voters defied their mayor, landlords, and local civil rights leaders by narrowly passing stiffer rent controls. Opponents had argued the tighter guidelines were unnecessary, and might inhibit rehabilitation of rundown properties.

Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a two-part, $1.43 billion water conservation and development plan backed by Gov. Mark White as crucial to the state's well-being.

San Franciscans resoundingly rejected a proposal to authorize spending up to $150,000 in public funds for a statewide petition drive to legalize marijuana.

In a victory for oil companies, Santa Barbara voters turned down a proposal that would have imposed tough new restrictions on offshore drilling. The city was the scene of a serious oil spill in 1969.

A $155 million school bond to repair and upgrade existing schools was rejected by St. Louis voters. The measure was ordered on the ballot by a federal judge as part of a two-year voluntary desegregation order. It needed a two-thirds majority to pass, but only got 56 percent in final, unofficial tallies.

Tucson, Ariz., voters approved a measure restricting smoking in workplaces, but rejected a proposal that would have required smoke-free space in restaurants.

Ohio voters gave heavy approval to a measure authorized $100 million in borrowing to promote research in removing sulfur from coal and give a lift to the state's depressed coal industry.

A complex ``people's veto'' measure in Maine giving residents the right to approve any disposal plans for low-level nuclear waste held a bare, 50 percent majority over two rival measures.

An anti-pornography measure won strong approval in Lorain, Ohio. An anti-pornorgraphy measure was also voted on in Cambridge, Mass., but results were not due until Saturday.