March 15, 1992

Revile it though President Bush may, broccoli harbors what could be the most powerful anti-cancer compound ever detected, scientists say. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have isolated an ingredient in broccoli that kindles the activity of critical enzymes in the cell known to help gird against tumors. Many natural and synthetic compounds have been identified that stimulate these protective enzymes, but the newly discovered chemical in broccoli is by far the most powerful inciter.

JOHN B. ROBINSON, an executive vice president of the Fleet Norstar Financial Group, a banking company with substantial business on Long Island, saw the signs of the times on a ride down Route 110 in Melville. They were in the windows and on the lawns all along the corporate main street. "You don't pass one office building without a 'For Sale' or 'For Lease' sign," said Mr. Robinson, whose bank, like many other banks on the Island in the boom-to-bust cycle of the last five years, took a beating on commercial loans to developers who could not find tenants for their glittering new buildings.

While lawyers and politicians focus on the legal battle over the right to abortion, millions of American women are finding that their access to abortion is growing more and more limited. Despite the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade that abortion is a constitutional right, a combination of economic forces, political pressures, and doctors' changing attitudes has put abortion out of reach for many women.

In the last three weeks, Felipe Hernandez has rarely left his hospital room. If he must walk in the hallways to reach the location of a test or medical procedure, he insists on wearing a mask. He takes sponge baths rather than using communal showers. Hospitalized for an AIDS-related infection, Mr. Hernandez, 29 years old, says he is more afraid of another scourge: tuberculosis. Though his condition is serious, he has asked his doctor to discharge him early.

THE WORLDS OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS By William D. Phillips Jr. and Carla Rahn Phillips. Illustrated. 322 pp. New York: Cambridge University Press. $27.95.