July 3, 1994

IT'S not enough for a native with leisure time to kill in his city simply to sit at home, idly leafing through back issues of the renovated New Yorker magazine in search of Talk of the Town items about the fire at Windsor Castle, Aintree's Grand National and other Anglicized stretches of the meaning of Gotham. Baaap! goes the apartment buzzer, down goes the magazine and the outside voice on the intercom should have been enough of a warning to get out into the city, get busy: "Hello there, my name is Sydney, and I know you weren't expecting us but we just dropped by with a question. Do you think the earth just got here by accident or is there a purpose behind it?"

WHEN Wall Street loves a proposed merger so much that it bids up both stocks, watch out. Trouble is probably ahead. For when investors get that enthusiastic, they usually overdo it. The latest test for the theory comes in the planned union of CBS, the proud proprietor of the highest rated television network, with QVC Network, cable television's second most successful peddler of cubic zirconia jewelry. On the news, QVC stock leaped 17 percent, and CBS added 19 percent.

The Senate Finance Committee today approved legislation that fell short of President Clinton's goal of universal health insurance but promises to expand coverage significantly without requiring employers to pay for it. Its action finally concluded the difficult, six-month journey of health care legislation through a maze of major Congressional committees. The vote clears the way for leaders to try to meld the various committee bills into packages that can attain majorities in the full House and Senate.

THE former American Shakespeare Theater in Stratford reeks of mildew. The lobby's ceiling is falling down in platter-sized chunks. Unopened paint cans, covered with rust, sit in an aisle. Cobwebs abound. Windows are boarded and the building's exterior is bedecked with grafitti. But behind the scenes, there is activity. After more than a decade of false starts, a new group is trying to reopen the theater as the centerpiece of a $95.3 million year-round, riverfront resort with an inn, a hotel, restaurants, stores and a marina.

The response had become so consistent that it was too easy to take for granted. Yankees lose, Key wins. They would lose a game and he would immediately respond -- effortlessly, it seemed -- and a losing streak would be averted once more. Jimmy Key's sterling season, which has already inspired memories of left-handers with the names Guidry, Ford and Gomez, included a 5-0 record following a Yankee loss. Yesterday was not one of those days, but it did serve a purpose. Seattle's 12-6 victory, the third consecutive Yankee defeat, carried the reminder that Key's craftsmanship does not come easily. He just normally makes it seem that way.