December 18, 1993

Mayor-elect Rudolph W. Giuliani yesterday named John S. Dyson, a former chairman of the State Power Authority, as his Deputy Mayor for finance and economic development, filling out the top tier of his administration. Mr. Dyson, who has also served as State Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner and pioneered the "I Love New York" promotional campaign, became the last of four deputy mayors to be appointed to City Hall, and the only one who has had significant government experience. While their party affiliations vary, all the deputies were crucial campaign supporters of Mr. Giuliani in either his first or second race for mayor.

Spurred by eager buyers, the nation's builders broke ground on new homes at an annual rate of 1,432,000 last month, a pace 3.9 percent faster than in October and the highest rate since early 1990. The increase in housing starts, the fourth straight, consisted entirely of single-family homes, reflecting what analysts say has become a sizable migration of apartment dwellers from rental units to their first houses.

The tradition of watching Sunday afternoon pro football took a startling turn yesterday when the National Football League announced that Rupert Murdoch's Fox Network -- the network of Al Bundy and Bart Simpson -- had outbid CBS for the right to televise National Football Conference games, beginning next season. The N.F.C. is the older and more established of the league's two conferences and includes many of the major television markets. It features such longstanding N.F.L. franchises as the Giants, the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, as well as last year's Super Bowl champion, the Dallas Cowboys, and the four-time champion San Francisco 49ers. N.F.C. teams have won the last 10 Super Bowls.

The middle-aged master builder finally decides to marry the actress-model mother of his infant child, a week after she unveils her new line of maternity clothes, in a ceremony at the grand hotel formerly managed by his former wife. The bride wears white, le tout New York is invited, and if an iota of social opprobrium attaches to the event, no one seems to notice. The Age of Innocence it's not. But when the bride is Marla Maples and the groom is Donald J. Trump, when the hotel is his (and his creditors') Plaza and the guest list features O. J. Simpson, Liza Minnelli, David N. Dinkins, Alfonse M. D'Amato and Howard Stern, blushing has long since ceased to be an issue for all but the roses on the five-tiered butter-cream cake.

Albany Deals on Transit And Hospital Financing The Legislature approved a $9.5 billion plan for improvements in the New York City transit system and commuter rail lines. Page 25. Governor Cuomo and lawmakers struck a tentative deal to give hospitals more revenue and provide incentives for preventive and family care. Page 29. Military Confidence Gap President Clinton's new Defense Secretary will have to be a liaison to officers who view the President with unease. News Analysis, page 8. Pentagon Budget Optimism The White House used optimistic inflation estimates to assert that a $50 billion Pentagon shortfall had shrunk to $31 billion. Page 8. Dispute Over a Vaccine A researcher says scientists at the National Institutes of Health tried to steal credit for her discovery of a meningitis vaccine. Page 10. WNCN Switches to Rock WNCN-FM stunned classical-music listeners by announcing that it would change to an all-rock format as of midnight last night. Page 13.