June 8, 1992

Lawyers say hundreds of lawsuits blaming manufacturers of computer keyboards and other equipment for severe arm, wrist and hand injuries are being prepared for filing within a few weeks at the Federal District Court in Brooklyn after Tuesday's decision by a Federal judge to group all such cases together. The surge in litigation is expected to encourage similar lawsuits in other states, pitting telephone operators, supermarket cashiers, journalists and a variety of clerical workers against many of the world's biggest manufacturers and a number of smaller makers of high-technology equipment.

Spurs Tavern, a local beer joint or "ice house," as it is known, is a manly place. The walls are covered with skulls and horns and hides of Texas steers. Confederate flags hang from the ceiling. The pool tables are crowded and Merle Haggard spits out his songs from the jukebox. It is proper etiquette to leer at waitresses and drink beer straight from the bottle. And the ladies' room is filled with pictures of John Wayne aiming rifles.

Relying on superb defense, the Chicago Bulls handcuffed the Portland Trail Blazers tonight and regained the upper hand in the National Basketball Association championship series. Chicago prevailed, 94-84, in Game 3 at Portland Memorial Coliseum. The victory recaptured the home-court advantage for the Bulls, who now have two days to regroup before Game 4 of the four-of-seven-game series here Wednesday night.

The carrot-topped automaton, currently performing as the world's No. 1-ranked male tennis player, put himself on automatic pilot this afternoon and sandblasted his way to his second consecutive French Open title and his second Grand Slam championship for 1992. "I never felt unbeatable," said Jim Courier, who was routinely compared to a machine as he went calmly about the business of dismantling seven opponents here over the last two weeks. "Until it was over, I treated this like just another match. But it's extraordinary. It's an adrenaline rush."

When regional transit officials proposed building a 16-mile light-rail trolley line from downtown Hartford up through this suburb and eventually to Bradley International Airport, Bloomfield immediately embraced the idea. While the other three communities on the route hesitated, planners in Bloomfield pledged that if the rail line came, the town would rezone to allow higher-density housing and stores within walking distance of the stations, a proposal that would create a whole new town center. Transportation planners here and across the country hailed the notion of a town willing to think beyond the car culture and quarter-acre zoning. But now Bloomfield is finding that its decision has raised insecurities in neighboring towns along the proposed Griffin Line -- Hartford, Windsor and East Granby -- and that what seemed a straightforward way to bolster the fortunes of the community has become wrapped up with questions of municipal rivalries, race and class.