April 28, 1988

LEAD: President Reagan overrode opposition from senior Navy officers and told Prime Minister Brian Mulroney today that he would approve a Canadian purchase of nuclear submarines using American reactor technology.

LEAD: DOWN the road from Good Grief, Idaho, the tour buses are beginning to pull up at Richard Villelli's home and the tourists are asking for rooms. But there are no rooms to rent. This log house is a private residence; at 21,000 square feet, it is the largest log residence in the United States, according to Log Home Digest.

LEAD: New York City officials have embarked on a series of ambitious programs that they say will result in the construction next year of more publicly assisted housing than at any time in 20 years. The effort is the first fruit of a $4.2 billion, 10-year plan to build and renovate housing announced two years ago by Mayor

LEAD: Only a few years ago, hardly anyone worried about renting or buying an office building that contained asbestos, the cancer-causing construction material.

LEAD: Sharp differences have emerged between American and Soviet officials over interpreting verification provisions in the new treaty banning medium- and shorter-range missiles. Administration officials are concerned that the development could complicate the prospects for Senate approval of the pact before the Moscow summit meeting.