September 30, 1993

Though he still has a ways to go before he can match a rival $9.8 billion bid for Paramount Communications Inc., the chairman of Viacom Inc., Sumner Redstone, yesterday found a way to raise an additional $600 million that can be used to sweeten his offer, currently valued at $7.6 billion, or $64.77 a share. The Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, the video rental company based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., agreed yesterday to invest the $600 million in exchange for convertible preferred stock in Viacom.

Two years ago, Lowell P. Weicker Jr. was considered king of the walking wounded in Connecticut public life, a gubernatorial ghost who would rattle around the Capitol for the rest of his term. He had pushed through a tax overhaul plan and an income tax, and his approval ratings were plumbing new depths. The conventional wisdom was that he could not recover. Today, on the eve of a promised announcement about whether he will seek a second term, Mr. Weicker appears very much to have retaken the reins of his destiny. Like Gov. Jim Florio of New Jersey, who was similarly vilified over taxes in 1990 and has since bounced back, Mr. Weicker has succeeded in shifting the focus from his past actions to wide-eyed wonder about what he will do next. In Constant Motion From his call for regional efforts to end the de facto segregation of Connecticut public education, to his end run around Las Vegas casino developers who retreated in failure after spending millions to push for casinos in Bridgeport and Hartford, to his sudden and single-minded push to get a pro football franchise for Connecticut, Mr. Weicker has been a player in constant motion.

People who meet H. Wayne Huizenga are often struck by his eyes. Icy blue and piercing, they seem to reflect the personality of a restless entrepreneur who has shown over the years that he can master almost any industry, from garbage hauling to professional sports to video rentals. Yesterday, Mr. Huizenga, chairman and chief executive of the Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, fixed his gaze on a new target. His company agreed to commit $600 million to the war chest of Viacom Inc., in its battle to buy Paramount Communications. QVC Network has made a rival offer.

In an apparent victory for environmentalists over the paper industry, the White House is said to be leaning toward an executive order that would direct Federal agencies to purchase office stationery and other paper with at least 20 percent of its content recycled from trash. Such a Federal move is expected to provide a powerful stimulus for recyling efforts by setting a standard that might also be adopted by state and muncipal governments and by corporate buyers of paper seeking a good environmental image. Expanded use of recycled paper, moreover, could also help create a larger market for the tons of paper that cities and towns collect each year in recycling programs.

With the underbrush of the Democratic runoff for New York City comptroller cleared away, Mayor David N. Dinkins went on the offensive yesterday, broadcasting his first critical television commercial attacking Rudolph W. Giuliani's past stands on abortion, and squaring off with his challenger over the volatile issue of the city's affirmative-action program for minority contractors. Together, the Mayor's moves highlighted the candidates' battle for the support of three vital constituencies -- women, liberal Jews and Hispanic voters -- as the race moved solidly into a new phase: direct confrontation. Mr. Giuliani responded by accusing Mr. Dinkins of negative campaigning intended to confuse the voters. 1989 Revisited By reviving Mr. Giuliani's public reservations about abortion from the 1989 mayoral race, even though the Republican-Liberal candidate has long since said he unequivocally backs abortion rights, Mr. Dinkins sought to reopen the gender gap that prevailed between them four years ago but has virtually disappeared in recent polls.