America: the Seventies and Beyond

Williams, Bradley Call ‘79 a Good Year

Vincent Canby comment on some notable films of '79; lists his 10 favorite movies of year; they include Breaking Away, Escape From Alcatraz, Fedora, Hair, Kramer vs Kramer, Manhattan, The Marriage of Maria Braun, The Tree of Wooden Clogs; illus

FILM VIEW

Paul Grimes on outlook for bus transportation for '80s (S)

For 1980: Pay More, Get Less

N &#8220;The Death of Ivan Ilych,&#8221; set in the feudal Russia of 1882, Leo Tolstoy tells &#8212;  with a commanding irony that finally turns into religious compassion &#8212; a bleak tale of the folly of earthly things. Ilych, a typical functionary, lawyer and prosecutor, has a successful public and private life, and is able &#8220;not to mix the two.&#8221;

A Case of Ilychitis

Leaders of Educational Testing Service and 4 of major college and graduate school admissions testing programs, in sharp departure from their earlier position, have endorsed principles of NYS's new 'truth in testing' law, which takes effect Jan 1; test makers' change in policy means that basic elements of Admissions Testing Act of '79, which Legislature passed last spring, will become national practice, at least on limited basis, for majority of major admissions tests (L)

5 Exam Groups Ease Opposition To Law on Tests

On Staten Island, land with sewers was selling for $2.50 a square foot in 1969. Today that same land sells for $6.50 a square foot. And prices will continue to rise in 1980. Add to this a square foot cost of frame construction that has risen from $14 in 1969 to $35 in 1979 and &#8220;you have buyer resistance, because the prices are too high,&#8221; says Morton Meltzer of Avon Green Inc., now building on Staten Island.

New Staten Island Houses Show Inflation's Impact on Construction

PARIS &#8212; The men who have held the purse strings of the industrialized world for much of the 1970's are bowing out. The governors of central banks in five major countries have yielded their places this year, while two others may be approaching the end of their careers. It is the most complete power shift in more than a generation and comes at a time when the world of central banking itself is in flux.

Inflation and the Central Bankers: Five New Faces

For the 12th time, the Book Review picks what it takes be the best books of the preceding year. The 17 titles below did not strike us as of equal merit; we could, with some debate, probably rank them in excellence. What caused no debate, however, was that three books stood apart from the others; they were immediately and unanimously chosen. Two are the creations of editors: Flannery O'Connor's letters &#8220;The Habit of Being,&#8221; and the NabokovWilson letters; the third is &#8220;A Bend in the River&#8221; by perhaps the most talented novelist alive, V. S. Naipaul.

EDITORS’ CHOICE

Article on how Iranian crisis has affected '80 Presidential campaign; Republican and Democratic candidates are frustrated by Pres Carter's surge in political polls in wake of crisis and by near-monopoly of TV news coverage on Iran; frustration of Democratic candidates Sen Kennedy and Gov Brown has been heightened by Carter's decision not to appear at upcoming Des Moines debate; Republican candidates Sen Robert Dole and John Connally have criticized Carter's handling of crisis but other candidates are reluctant to attack him; Republican candidates say they cannot overtake front runner Ronald Reagan because they are not receiving adequate news coverage (M)

Republicans See Carter as Weak on Iran

Article on NYC's Plaza Hotel; says that with occupancy running at 90%, compared with 80% average for all city hotels, '79 gross sales will reach about $52 million, against $42 million in '78; notes criticism hotel recently received in Egon Ronay's Lucas Guide and concern that its distinctive character is being diluted under management of Western International; J Phillip Hughes, current managing director, comments; illus (L)

The Plaza Hotel: A Moneymaking Fairyland

UN Sec Gen Waldheim gives qualified approval to new US proposal that would send him to Teheran to seek release of American hostages; is reluctant to undertake mission unless he receives advance assurance that he will be able to hold 'meaningful talks' with Khomeini; Sec of State Vance says proposal would commit Security Council to order economic sanctions or cutoff in trade with Iran if Waldheim was unsuccessful in negotiating hostages release; envoys say third-world nations want looser language that would merely call on Council to take appropriate action if Waldheim is unsuccessful; illustration of Vance addressing Security Council (M)

Waldheim Ready to Go to Teheran But Says He Is Unsure of Reception

Article on 2 houses in Westchester County, NY, that were built over 40 years ago; notes both houses, which were cited by Museum of Modern Art in 'Guide to Modern Architecture in Northeast States' in '40, have stood test of time; Joseph Hinerfeld's house in, Pound Ridge was designed by Moore & Hutchins, while Shelly Richman's house in Briarcliff was designed by Wallace K Harrison (L)

2 ‘Modern’ Houses Pass the Test of Time

Article on Eiffel Tower, biggest tourist attraction in Paris, which plans to go public after 91 years of being operated by Societe de la Tour Eiffel; drawing of architect Gustave Eiffel raising French flag over Tower during topping-off ceremony on Mar 31, 1889 (M)

Eiffel Tower Is Going Public

Regrowth of amputated finger tips has led to broad study among scientists of possible regeneration of entire limbs and nerves, researchers are optimistic that continuing experiments in nerve regeneration may eventually help people who become paralyzed through spinal injury to walk again; some of more encouraging work has recently been reported from Yale University, where experimenters have traced microscopically the manner in which nerves grow across point where spinal cord of a lamprey has been severed; research on nerve regrowth is key part of continuing effort to understand, and perhaps control, other forms of regeneration; Drs Melvin J Cohen (Yale University) and Lionel F Jaffee (Purdue University) comment (L)

Finger Tips' Regrowth Encourages Study of Nerve and Limb Renewal

NEWTOWN THE social games people play can pique the curiosity of Scudder Smith in his job as editor of The Newtown Bee, the weekly newspaper. As an antique collector for the last 20 years, his interest has been captured by the tangible paraphernalia used to play games.

Add to your collectibles: Gameboards. Page 8

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 29 &#8212; The Houston Oilers accomplished today what seemed at the start of the game to be an impossibility. They defeated the San Diego Chargers without the league's best running back, Earl Campbell; the team's starting quarterback, Dan Pastorini, and its top receiver, Ken Burrough.

Earl Campbell, Pastorini Out

Article notes tradition of year-end bonuses for executives is giving way to sophisticated, performance-based pay schemes, and that, in general, the larger the company, rarer the bonus; notes only highest level officers ever get one, and then strictly as reward for meeting corporate goals; cartoon (L)

Get a Bonus This Year? It Might Be the Last

THE &#8220;bottle bill,&#8221; which kept state legislators squabbling for several years, will become the &#8220;bottle law&#8221; on Tuesday and it will mark the end of the era of no deposit, no return in Connecticut.

‘Bottle Law’ Ending Era Of No return

Austin Street in Forest Hills has become a showcase for what many local retailers and residents consider to be the best high&#8208;caliber shopping, square foot for square foot, in the borough of Queens. And the retail vitality of the shopping area, traditionally along the four blocks from Ascan Avenue to 70th Avenue, has extended west toward Yellowstone Boulevard and into the side streets. It also has become a magnet for shoppers from Long Island, store owners say.

Austin Street Beset by the Troubles of Success

Mayor Koch announces that police officers assigned to work overtime in subway system have become limited in their effectiveness and that program will be ended as budget-cutting measure (M)

KOCH TO WITHDRAW SOME POLICE AIDING SUBWAY CRIME FIGHT

Article on future of Suffolk County, NY, Farmlands Preservation Program when Peter F Cohalan takes over as county executive; program, which was largely developed and nurtured by County Exec John V N Klein, attempts to keep farmland in hands of farmers by enabling county buy development rights on farmland at price that represents value of land when developed minus its agricultural worth; program's success depends on new county funding and acquisition of additional parcels of land; enthusiasm for program among farmers in East End is waning, owing primarily to increased agricultural production costs and inability of county to match land prices offered by developers; map showing areas of county in program and those set for inclusion in its 2d phase; Klein por (L)

Farmland Plan: Future in Doubt

Hugh O Muir article on travel attractions in Garrett County;' illus; map; travel tips (L)

America's Little Switzerland

Article on success of Huntington Area Rapid Transit (HART), only town-owned bus system in Suffolk County, NY (M)

Bus Line Is Success in Huntington

Walter Kerr comment on 10 best theatrical events of '79; they include Bernard Pomerance play The Elephant Man, Brian Clark play Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Lanford Wilson play Talley's Folly, Pat Carroll in play Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein, Michael Weller play Loose Ends, Martin Sherman's Bent, Brian Friel's Faith Healer and musical Sugar Babies; illus (M)

STAGE VIEW

Michael Joseph Grimm is an American singer-songwriter and winner of the fifth season of America's Got Talent.

Michael Grimm, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Michael_Grimm_(musician)

Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the best-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music.

December 30, 1979

Headlines from December 30, 1979

America: the Seventies and Beyond

Williams, Bradley Call ‘79 a Good Year

FILM VIEW

For 1980: Pay More, Get Less

A Case of Ilychitis

Billboard 200

The Long Run

On The Radio: Greatest Hits: Volumes I & II

Cornerstone

Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants

Greatest

Notable Births

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for December 30, 1979