Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Miami Dolphins, 34-14, in American Conference playoff game; illus (M)

Steelers Rout Dolphins

Zipping through Central Park on roller skates at midday yesterday, wearing purple leg warmers, a purple shirt and corduroy cutoffs, Vicky Wesley looked like the sort of person who would know where stylish people would be celebrating New Year's Eve tonight.

The New York Times Paul Hosefrm

Article on Rev William Sloane Coffin Jr, minister of Riverside Church, NYC, focuses on weaknesses in his leadership as expressed by some congregants; Rev Eugene Laubach, church's top administrator, Coffin and some congregants comment; illus (L)

Coffin and His ‘Liberal Pulpit’ Renew Legacy of Controversy

Richard Rodgers Is Dead at Age 77; Broadway's Renowned Composer

Article notes sharp downturn in building products industry following moves in fall by Govt to restrain growth of credit; subsequent rise in mortgage rates and slowdown in new construction put brakes on record housing boom; primary suppliers of lumber, plywood and other building materials experienced rapid decline in demand for and prices of their products; housing industry, however, has begun recovery and projects for 2d 1/2 of '80 are optimistic; illus; graphs show plywood and lumber production from '69 to '80 (M)

Building Materials Sales Slump With Tight Credit

NYC Transit Authority, plagued by extensive defects in fleet of new subway cars purchased by city from Pullman Inc, will retrieve from storage 100 older cars that were retired several years ago because of costly maintenance problems; officials say cleaning and temporary repairs to old cars will cost $200,000; consultant has been retained to examine ways to modernize older cars and eliminate problems that originally led to removal; as of December 21, 1,483 cracks have been discovered in 763 new Pullman cars (M)

100 Retired Subway Cars Will Rejoin Fleet

Economists at Allied Social Sciences Assn annual meeting say monetary policy will provide little or no stimulus lo offset recessionary pressures in '80; Prof Otto Eckstein notes credit is readily available, but expensive (S)

Economists See Mild '80 Recession

News Summary

School Chancellor Frank J Macchiarola announces that 60% of students in dry's public elementary and junior high schools road at or below national average; finding is based on last spring's annual citywide reading tests; reflects dip from '78 levels; annoucement comes when some other big cities are finding slight upturn in reading scores; results show that while 43% of pupils in Grads 2 to 9 read at or above their grade level in '78, only 40.3% did in tests last June; Alan S Blumner, Education Board's Educational Evaluation Office acting director, holds continuing decline in ability to read is 'cause for alarm;' pupils illus (M)

Reading Level Of City's Pupils Shows Decline

Article on economic issues behind defeat of Clark Government (M)

BUSINESS. Digest

UN Sec Gen Waldheim will leave for Teheran Dec 31 in effort to negotiate release of American hostages; says Iranian Government has accepted his proposal to make trip but refuses to say if he will be received by Khomeini; Khomeini says he will not meet Waldheim, who leaves on same day that Security Council is expected to approve US plan giving him until Jan 7 to succeed; US plan summarized; Waldheim illustration (M)

WALDHEIM TO LEAVE FOR TEHERAN TODAY TO DISCUSS HOSTAGES

New Soviet Motives Emerge

USSR says it has sent 'limited military contingent' to Afghanistan to help repel agression from abroad; says that 'imperialist interference' in Afghanistan's affairs had endangered 'very existence of the republic'; indicates troops will be withdrawn when they are no longer needed; map (M)

Soviet Says It Sent a Limited Force To Help Afghans Repel Aggression

Sithunywa Zithe, commander in Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army, reports with 55 men to Paul's Mission, 1 of 16 Assembly Places designated for guerrillas; by reporting to assembly point, Zithe formally accepts cease-fire part; return of Zithe and his men is 1 of 1st signs for British officials now running country that insurgents would accept truce; illus (L)

For a Rhodesian Rebel Leader, It's Time for Peace

LOS ANGELES THE president of the University of Southern California was not seated where university presidents are supwsed to be seated at football games, in a private box between the 49&#8208;yard lines, where they can hobnob with politicians, put the arm on corporate big&#8208;shot donors and avoid the students. On that day in Hawaii, almost 13 months ago, John Hubbard was not seated at all. He was standing with his football team, roaming the sidelines, ready to fight on for U.S.C. He was getting madder with each penalty.

At U.S.C., the Rose Bowl Means Hollers, Dollars and Scholars

Kuwait raises crude oil prices 19% to $25.50 a bbl retroactive to Nov 1, bringing to 100% the total increase in its oil prices during '79 (M)

Kuwait Oil Rises 19% To $25.50

Los Angeles Rams defeat Dallas Cowboys, 21-19; illus (M)

Rams Upset Cowboys

Article on causes of defeat of Canada's Conservative Government of Prime Min Joe Clark on Dec 13; immediate cause was opposition no-confidence vote against Clark's 1st Federal budget; budget was viewed as so uncompromising that it raised suspicions that Conservatives might actually have sought their own defeat to create stark political confrontation; Clark has vowed that if his party is returned to power, he would reintroduce his austerity budget, with its tax levies retroactive to December; Edward Broadbent, leader of socialist New Democrats, comments; illus; graphs of current balances, budget deficits and growth of real GNP in Canada's economy and graphs of consumer price index and unemployment (M)

Canada Budget Is Election Issue

Retail sales in home permanent industry during '79 are just under $80 million, according to manufacturers, and they are expected to reach $100 million in '80; resurgence has been sparked by fashionable return to more wavy, styled hair, escalating costs of salon permanents and introduction of formulas that are odorless and produce softer, more natural curl; Michael Borkowsky, vice president of marketing for Chesebrough-Pond's, which has introduced Rave Soft Perm, comments; other companies featuring home permanents are Procter & Gamble, Clairol, Revlon and Ogilvie; illus (M)

Home Permanents Spring Back

A jogger stepping through a swirling stream created yesterday on Fifth Avenue at 17th Street after a water main burst. Streets in the area were closed to traffic as The New York Times/ Paul Hosefros repair crews sought to locate the break and the source of an accompanying odor of gas. Twelve&#8208;inch mains ruptured recently at Varick Street and on lower Broadway.

Water From Third Main Break in a Month Cascades Down Fifth Avenue

Marsh & McLennan weighs takeover; Bowring may regard move as unfriendly (M)

Marsh &

reports reaching Islamabad, Pakistan, indicate that Soviet troops are stationed at points across Afghanistan, with large numbers of them in north, where fiercest fighting in Moslem rebellion has taken place, and that there are encampments on route from Kabul to Pakistan border; illus (L)

NUMBER PUT AT 30,000

Ralph Sampson and Sam Bowie got to know each other last spring as they traveled and played against each other on the scholastic all&#8208;star circuit. They were wined and dined and underwent similar recruiting pressures before the 7&#8208;foot&#8208;4&#8208;inch Sampson chose to attend Virginia and the 7&#8208;2 Bowie decided on Kentucky.

Fortune Changes for Sampson

elects Harvey B Hoffman senior vice president of bank and manager of its mortgage banking division (S)

EXECUTIVE CHANGES

tables summarize some of findings of reading tests given in June '79 as reported by NYC Education Board; schools are listed within each district on basis of students' performances on test

Summary of Findings in Public Schools Reading Achievement Tests

Paul O'Neill is a British auto racing driver, and the half-brother of English singer Melanie C.

Paul O'Neill, English racing driver

Paul_O'Neill_(racing_driver)

Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. He is currently a member of the Maryland Senate, representing District 18 in Montgomery County after serving two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Jeff Waldstreicher, American lawyer and politician

Jeff_Waldstreicher

Richard George Whittle is a British actor. Whittle first came to prominence as a model for Reebok in the early 2000s. He is known in the United Kingdom for his role as Calvin Valentine in the soap opera Hollyoaks. In 2009, he finished second in the BBC reality competition Strictly Come Dancing. In 2012, Whittle crossed over to American television when he booked a recurring role on VH-1's Single Ladies, followed by a recurring role on ABC's Mistresses in 2014. From 2014 to 2016, Whittle appeared in The CW's post-apocalyptic drama The 100 as Lincoln. Whittle starred in the Starz television series American Gods for three seasons.

December 31, 1979

Headlines from December 31, 1979

Steelers Rout Dolphins

The New York Times Paul Hosefrm

Coffin and His ‘Liberal Pulpit’ Renew Legacy of Controversy

Richard Rodgers Is Dead at Age 77; Broadway's Renowned Composer

Building Materials Sales Slump With Tight Credit

Billboard 200

The Long Run

On The Radio: Greatest Hits: Volumes I & II

Cornerstone

Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants

Greatest

Notable Births

Historical Context for December 31, 1979