September 24, 1992

METRO DIGEST NEW LIFE FOR OLD ALEXANDER'S STORES In a bid to resuscitate some of the devastated retail industry in the New York region, Bradlees Inc., a large discount department store based in Massachusetts, said it had agreed to acquire six of the 11 Alexander's Department Stores closed this year in bankruptcy: two in the Bronx, two in Queens, one in Yonkers and one in Valley Stream, L.I. A1. NEW YORK CITY SUCCESSOR TO WEISS SELECTED FOR BALLOT State Assemblyman Jerrold Nadler, a veteran legislator from the Upper West Side, was chosen last night by Manhattan Democratic Party leaders as their nominee to succeed Representative Ted Weiss on the November ballot, virtually assuring his election in the overwhelmingly Democratic district that has long been among the most liberal in the nation. A1. A scion of Tammany Hall puts West Side liberals to rout. B4. BUILDING COLLAPSE SPURS CITY ACTION A building under demolition in lower Manhattan partially collapsed, seriously injuring an elderly passer-by. Within hours, the city's Buildings Commissioner, Rudolph J. Rinaldi, said he would seek to license wreckers. B3. MAYOR'S PLAN GAINS AN ALLY City Council President Andrew J. Stein yesterday said he would support Mayor David N. Dinkins's proposal to establish an all-civilian agency to investigate police misconduct, with some minor alterations. B3. NEW SUPPORT FOR ZUCKERMAN The creditors committee of The Daily News endorsed Mortimer B. Zuckerman's plan to buy the bankrupt paper, and he could close the deal as early as Thanksgiving. B3. Firefighters exposed to asbestos. B3. Conductor recounts fatal subway ride. B3. Trial begins in Crown Heights stabbing. B2. REGION FAMILY MUST PAY FOR LIFE SUPPORT A New York State appellate court has ruled that the family of a comatose patient must pay for life-prolonging treatment, even if the family believes the patient would not have wanted the treatment and tries to have it stopped. B7. HOLDING ON TO THEIR JOBS For two years, the Remington Products factory in Bridgeport, Conn., has been in trouble. But last week, the company and Connecticut officials held a festive rally at which they announced that the company's 1,100 workers would be staying put. B7. MARCHING TO THE SOUNDS OF SOUSA On Sept. 26, 1892, John Philip Sousa arrived in Plainfield, N.J., by rail, having resigned as director of the Marine Band and taken up the baton in front of the 60-member concert band bearing his name. But why Plainfield? Journal, B7. INVESTING IN A FIELD OF DREAMS The Suffolk County Legislature voted to spend as much as $500,000 for design of a $7.5 million minor-league baseball stadium at the county's community college in Brentwood. B7. New money plan for New Jersey schools. B7. Settlement in an East Hampton land case. B7. Chronicle B8

France and Germany fought desperately today to prop up the value of the French franc and so preserve the battered European monetary system on which plans for the Continent's integration are based. The two nations at the core of Europe's postwar quest for unity acted on both the political and financial fronts today. They issued a rare joint statement vowing a cast-iron defense of the French currency and they also bought francs heavily in a temporarily successful bid to drive up the franc's value against the German mark. The Bank of France also raised a key interest rate, making the franc more attractive to investors.

The death notice at Olu Olux Amara's funeral described his arrival from Sierra Leone: "The urge for furthering his education and experience came to reality when he decided to brave the air and set foot on the firm dust of the United States of America with its untapped bosoms of unlimited opportunities." He was not one to back away from a challenge. He chased off drug users nodding in the hallways of his apartment building in the East Tremont section of the Bronx. And he earned a living driving a gypsy cab in the toughest streets of the city.

International France and Germany gave heavy support to the franc, in a temporarily successful bid to drive up its value against the mark. The Bank of France also raised a key interest rate, making the franc more attractive. [ Page A1. ] The two nations' concerted effort against investors and speculators, more than any other governmental action of recent weeks, could determine the future, and perhaps the survival, of Europe's monetary system. [ D8. ] Britain's Prime Minister, John Major, will confront his critics in Parliament today, hoping to douse a serious rebellion over his Government's economic and European policies. [ D8. ] Markets Long-term interest rates are rising, threatening to slow an already sluggish recovery and proving worrisome for the re-election hopes of President Bush. [ D1. ]

President Bush continued his political assault on Gov. Bill Clinton today, using his first television attack ad and two pointed speeches to broaden his profile of Mr. Clinton as a tax-and-spend liberal. Mr. Bush said at a morning rally in Greensboro, N.C., that Mr. Clinton's plans for higher business taxes would wipe out tens of thousands of jobs in that state alone and millions of businesses nationwide. Later, at Pennsylvania State University, he told a roaring crowd of students that his rival was "taxing everything he can get his hands on" as Arkansas Governor.