July 28, 1991

FOR a woman who charges an acquaintance with sexually assaulting her, the toll may include an inability to provide what she most needs in court: a clear, consistent account of what is typically a traumatic and disorienting encounter. Contradictions in the account given by the woman who said three St. John's University students attacked her led to an acquittal on all charges last week, jurors in the case said. Defense attorneys said the verdict was the only reasonable one, given the evidence.

"What do you do when you buy an absolutely charming, historic, turn-of-the-century building and then the real estate market collapses?" asked Jack N. Bonne, a developer and investor from Pound Ridge, N.Y. His answer: Designate the building an arts center. At the end of 1986 Mr. Bonne purchased 22 Railroad Street, an 85-year-old structure directly across the street from the picturesque railroad station in New Milford, Conn. He declined to say how much he paid.

It will not earn headlines as big and bold as those chronicling the collapse of New York's infrastructure, but the replacement of one $600 motor has given Greenwich Villagers reason to cheer -- even as it deprived them of an excuse for tardiness. That is because the motor in question drives the tower clock atop the former Jefferson Market Courthouse, now a branch of the New York Public Library, at 10th Street and the Avenue of the Americas.

Nearly a year after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the Bush Administration is finding it more and more difficult to forge a consensus among its allies over steps to bring down President Saddam Hussein and pave the way for a successor Government in Baghdad. The growing strains on the military coalition were most evident this week, when a deadline passed for Iraq to make full disclosure on its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs.

Merely remaking the maps was as simple as playing with blocks. But the process of redistricting New York City's Council opened old wounds between black and Hispanic politicians that may take years to heal. The purpose behind expanding the City Council was to greatly enhance the representation of minority groups, from nine of the existing 35 members who are black or Hispanic to a larger proportion among the 51 new ones.