February 1, 1985

He paused for just a moment near a granite column and gazed into the swirling snow. Then, for the last time as Lieutenant Governor, Alfred B. DelBello strode quickly away and the Capitol faded gently into a shroud of whiteness. Today was Mr. DelBello's final day as New York's second-highest elected official - a day of reminiscing, a day of marching with the Rockettes on a picket line, a day of reflection on government and governance. ''I don't think I'll miss it in toto,'' Mr. DelBello said, taking a tug on his ever-present pipe. ''I've done everything I could possibly do. The bureaucracy tends to get in your way. To get things moving is impossible, it's so slow.''

The Economy President Reagan will propose a 1.5 percent spending rise in the budget he will send to Congress Monday, according to Administration officials and budget documents. That would be the least growth in two decades and bring outlays to $973.7 billion. (Page A1.) The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2 percent in December, and the November gain was revised sharply downward. Most economists, however, insist that the economy is likely to keep thriving this year. Some say the index is flawed. (D1.)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1985 International A space-based defense plan has won increasing support among Americans, according to Secretary of State George P. Shultz. Testifying at the start of several weeks of hearings on foreign policy, Mr. Shultz and Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, who appeared later, said the long-range plan was crucial to the stability of the strategic relationship with Moscow and held open the possibility of reducing the threat of nuclear war. (Page A1, Column 1.) Ships delivering arms to Ethiopia have apparently been given priority over ships bringing food to famine victims, according to aid officials and Western diplomats in the capital, Addis Ababa. (A10:3-4.)

JAZZ pianists in styles ranging from ragtime to stride to be-bop can be heard this weekend up and down Manhattan, in surroundings from the spectacular to the mundane, accompanied by food for the gourmet or for the snacker or nothing more than a drink. The city's jazz piano rooms may be as high in the clouds as the 107th floor of the World Trade Center where Windows on the World offers a spectacular view of Long Island or down to street level at Broadway and 10th Street where the view from Pizza Piazza focuses on pedestrians peering in windows with Grace Church in the background. They include jazz musicians' hangouts, such as Bradley's on University Place where the centerpiece - or, more literally, the cornerpiece - is a piano that belonged to the alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, or the Carnegie Tavern, behind Carnegie Hall, where both performers and audience gather before or after the concerts there. A piano-fest this weekend could include a world-famous jazz celebrity, George Shearing. Although Mr. Shearing was born in London, he is a New York jazz product. His fame stems from his arrival here almost 40 years ago. It was in New York that he organized the quintet with which he gained stardom in 1949 and it was while he was playing at Birdland, a 50's club named for the saxophonist Charlie (Yardbird) Parker, that he composed his best-known piece, ''Lullaby of Birdland.''

The index of leading economic indicators, which is intended to predict the nation's economic course, fell two- tenths of 1 percent in December, the Commerce Department reported today. This small but surprising decline left the index barely above its August level. At the same time, the department revised sharply downward the index figure for November. It also made negative revisions for October and August.