October 11, 1993

On Nov. 7, 1988, a cable stamped confidential landed on the desks of officials of the Iraqi Grain Board, one of the largest buyers of imported rice. It was from Peter Vegas, an executive of Comet Rice, a unit of the chronically unprofitable Erly Industries in Los Angeles. Although the grain board had requested bids, this was not a bid, but an audacious promise -- "We are offering to beat the lowest offer that you receive."

Rudolph W. Giuliani believes crime is as dire today in New York City as it was in 1989 when the crack epidemic was peaking. Mayor David N. Dinkins says the city is less on edge and the crime rate is down since he took office. In their conflicting views on that important question for voters -- is the city safer today than it was four years ago -- the two candidates for mayor lay the groundwork for their sharply different proposals for combatting crime.

This is turning into a nasty habit. For the second consecutive week the Jets went ahead by a large margin in the first half only to see it dry up and blow away. Last week they led the Eagles by 21-0 only to lose, 35-30. Today against the Raiders, the Jets (2-3) went ahead by 17-0 and then lost, 24-20, on a 1-yard touchdown run by Nick Bell with 4 seconds to play. But this was no ordinary comeback for the Raiders (3-2), who benefited from confusion over the timekeeping in the final seconds while trailing, 20-17.

Bowing to the pressure of a hostile but attractive takeover bid from QVC Network Inc., the board of Paramount Communications Inc. is expected to approve exploratory merger talks with QVC when it meets this morning, according to an executive close to the Paramount board. Separately, QVC is continuing talks on a cash infusion of as much as $1 billion from a group of investors said to include BellSouth and Cox Enterprises among others. Details of the deal were still being worked out last night, according to several executives close to QVC.

Companies In an examination of the cozy relationship between corporate agriculture and the Federal Government, the case of Erly Industries discloses how easily a politically connected agricultural company can reap rewards by exploiting loosely managed Federal programs. Dozens of interviews, court and corporate documents and hundreds of Federal documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act provide details about how Erly used an obscure Government program to corner a valuable market. [ Page A1. ] The board of Paramount Communications is expected to approve merger talks with QVC when it meets this morning, an executive close to the board said. Also, QVC is soon expected to announce a cash infusion of up to $1 billion from a group of investors that is said to include BellSouth and Cox Enterprises. [ D1. ]