July 9, 1993

The era of Silicon Valley's Magic Kingdom may finally be drawing to a close. Apple Computer Inc. has long been revered as a special company, successfully violating many norms of corporate behavior with its blue jeans and T-shirts culture. But the new chief executive, Michael Spindler, has sent what some consider his first clear signal that the new Apple will increasingly fit the Corporate America mold rather than break it.

One woman had just hugged her mother goodbye. The other was out for a late-night walk. Suddenly gunshots rang out on the Brooklyn streets, fatally wounding one of the women as she pushed a toddler in a stroller, with a 3-year-old at her side, and critically injuring the other. Both women, the police said, were unintended victims in separate shootings in Brownsville and nearby East New York involving the kind of wild, random gunfire that has traumatized some of the toughest parts of New York as drugs and guns have proliferated. By a stroke of fate, both had stepped into the paths of bullets aimed at others, which in the East New York shooting also killed one man and injured another, both of whom the police say were ambushed in what may have been a feud over drugs. Single Shot to Chest "It's tragic," said Sgt. John McCluskey, a spokesman for the Police Department. "It's one of the things we try to control," the sergeant said. "But it's hard. We do our best. That's the most we can do. We try our best."

Change means something very different on Tokyo's streets than on Washington's streets. And President Clinton, who campaigned on the promise of change, may have some trouble in communicating his version of it in getting Japanese consumers to join in his effort to break down trade barriers. Most Japanese say that what really needs to be changed in Japan is the one-party rule. Article, page A6.

Charles H. Keating Jr., the leading figure in the nation's savings and loan debacle, was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in Federal prison today for defrauding Lincoln Savings and Loan Association and its investors. Federal District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer said she doubled the sentence recommended under Federal sentencing guidelines because the crimes of Mr. Keating, Lincoln's former chairman, were "staggering in proportion." The judge also ordered Mr. Keating to pay $122.4 million in restitution to the Government stemming from fraudulent land deals that created phony profits at Lincoln. Mr. Keating has said, however, that he is already $10 million in debt and has no assets to liquidate.

Philip Caldwell, former chairman of the Ford Motor Company and a longtime director of the Digital Equipment Corporation, recalls the moment a few weeks ago when he felt a rare surge of confidence in the computer maker's future. It was at a board meeting on June 17, and Digital's directors had just heard executives' detailed plans for the reorganization of a company that lost $2.8 billion in the 1992 fiscal year.

The Egyptian Government hanged seven militant followers of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman today for attacks against foreign tourists and conspiring to overthrow the Government of President Hosni Mubarak. It was the largest number of executions for a political crime in more than four decades. The decision to execute such a large group of militants is a turning point for the President, who has in the past refused to carry out executions for political crimes. Egyptian officials, worried about inflaming the Islamic militant movement, have hesitated to confront their adversaries head on and provide the radicals with martyrs.

LIKE other characters in the drama of the art world, collectors are seen in conflicting, and not always flattering, stereotypes. In one view, collectors are both insecure and greedy. Not only are they desperate to impress others with evidence of their taste and wealth, but they also lust to control the anarchic power of art by owning it, much the way prehistoric hunters sought to capture the magic of animals by tracing their outlines on the walls of caves.

Bernard R. Gifford, the California professor who was the leading candidate to be New York City's next schools chancellor, removed himself from consideration today for the second time in 10 days, this time calling his decision final. In a letter that plunged the search for a new chancellor into confusion, Dr. Gifford said he had pulled out because of the same commitments to his family and to his new computer software business that he had cited in his first letter, last week. Then, in one 24-hour-period, he formally withdrew from consideration, then seemed to contradict himself by flying to New York City to be interviewed for the chancellorship anyway.

All former Soviet republics have been dealt their share of problems and prospects. But not many can boast of an assortment quite like Azerbaijan's. In less than two years of independence, this little republic by the Caspian has known war, elections, coups, pogroms, corruption, Islamic revival, resurgent Communists, international intrigue, economic chaos and the promise of wealth -- great gobs of oil wealth, waiting to be tapped if only all the rest could be sorted out.

The State of New Jersey filed suit yesterday against three dozen former executives and directors of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, charging them with mismanaging the company's finances and driving the nation's 18th-largest life insurer into insolvency. The suit seeks to hold an impressive list of prominent business leaders responsible. If successful, the suit could make the defendants personally liable for more than $1 billion in company losses. Insurance covers only $20 million of the directors' liabilities.

The Economy Charles H. Keating Jr. was sentenced to nearly 13 years in Federal prison for defrauding investors. The leading figure in the savings and loan debacle is already serving a 10-year sentence for violating California securities laws. [ Page D1. ] Sales at retailers climbed 5.6 percent in June, the fourth consecutive monthly increase, as department stores showed greater gains than apparel chains. The figures suggested the possibility of a stronger economy in the second half of the year. [ D2. ]

The Assembly Appropriations Committee threw the issue of sports betting into legislative limbo today by doing nothing about a bill that would allow voters to decide the issue in November. Sports-betting proponents acknowledged that today's events were probably a setback to their efforts to make New Jersey the second state, after Nevada, with legalized sports betting in casinos. Nonetheless, they promised a desperate three-week fight to save the legislation before Aug. 2, the last date that the issue may be placed on the Nov. 2 ballot.