April 19, 1990

LEAD: Carving out an exception to the right to view obscene material in private, the Supreme Court held today that states can make it a crime to possess pornographic photographs of children.

LEAD: In a radically different approach to commercializing electric vehicles and thereby cutting air pollution, the Southern California Edison Company and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced plans yesterday to build a road that transfers electric power from underground cables to cars and buses on the surface, without physical contact.

LEAD: ON an island off the Atlantic coast, there is a house that exemplifies some recent thinking in architecture. Designed by Paul Bierman-Lytle of New Canaan, Conn., it has an indoor garden and a spiral staircase that wends its way up to a romantic lighthouse tower. It also contains insulation derived from a mineral mined from sea water, ''natural'' grout and wood finishes made from linseed oil, citrus peel oil, juniper berries and rosemary.

LEAD: New York Telephone Company officials said yesterday that they plan to introduce an additional area code to New York City within two to three years.

LEAD: After a six-year legal battle, New York State acquired most of the Times Square development area yesterday, and officials said demolition to clear the way for the $2.5 billion project could begin as early as the fall.