June 1, 1981

There are no supermarkets here. There are no car dealerships - the last one closed at the end of April. There are no movie theaters. On Broadway, where once a mile-long shopping district flourished, plate-glass windows have given way to plywood sheeting. More than half of the people of Camden are on some form of public assistance - welfare or Social Security. The unemployment office is never empty. There are no jobs. Most people have given up looking for work. Yet City Hall staggers forward, awaiting a new tenant who will run a city on the brink of bankruptcy. ''We have a $40 million operating budget and we are $5 million in the hole,'' said Camden's Director of Community Development, William P. Hankowsky. ''The state requires you must pay off your deficits, and the voters turned down a tax increase.''

Sales of television sets and other video equipment are expected to set records this year and surpass forecasts made as recently as six months ago, according to industry executives interviewed here today at the start of the summer consumer electronics show. ''Look at the television set,'' said Ray Gates, executive vice president of the Panasonic Company. ''I don't think anyone thought color television sales would be as good as they are.'' At the beginning of the year, most manufacturers had estimated that TV sales this year would be about the same as last year's total of 10.16-million sets, second only to the 10.24 million sets sold in 1978.

The beaches were jammed this afternoon, as they always are here on Sunday, when the Lebanese try to enjoy the sun and the Mediterranean, two of the few gifts they have left. Then the rockets hit. Within seconds, the beach front in West Beirut emptied in pandemonium, people fleeing into the streets in their bathing suits. Cars careered the wrong way on one-way streets, horns blaring. Gunfire crackled as the gunmen of half a dozen factions fired pistols and Kalashnikov rifles in the air.

The Air Force missile officer accused of making unauthorized visits to the Soviet Embassy here gave Soviet diplomats information about Titan missiles that was sensitive enough to require the Air Force to change targets, codes and other systems, according to military officials. Those officials said that Second Lieut. Christopher M. Cooke, who has been confined at McConnell Air Force Base, near Wichita, Kan., told them under interrogation that he passed the sensitive material to Soviet aides on the second of three visits he made to the embassy from December 1980 to May 1981. Lieutenant Cooke's motives were not entirely clear, the officials said, and they believe that he has held back in discussing his reasons with Air Force investigators. But they said the officer's primary motive, from what he had told investigators so far, was to establish his credentials with Soviet diplomats in an effort to gain their trust and to obtain information from them.

Cathy Reynolds gained the first victory in her three years on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour today, and it was a family achievement. Miss Reynolds, a 23-year-old native of Springfield, Mo., is married to her caddie, Dana Derouaux. She overcame the pressure applied by such experienced golfers as JoAnne Carner and Sally Little, shooting a closing par 72 on the difficult Stanwich Club course and winning the $125,000 Golden Lights tournament by two shots from Betsy King. Miss Reynolds, who also had to overcome breathing difficulties from a lingering case of bronchitis, finished with a three-under 285 and earned the first prize of $18,750. It was the second straight week that a tour player had achieved her first victory; the other was Kathy Hite, who won the Corning (N.Y.) Classic.