September 26, 1994

The Economy Alan S. Blinder has stirred things up at the Fed by suggesting that creating jobs should sometimes take precedence over cutting inflation by a few points. The new Fed vice chairman has irritated some colleagues with tutorials on the economy. [ Page D1. ] At the Fed, officials are likely to respond to signs of strong growth by again raising interest rates this year, but economists are divided whether the bank's rate-setting panel will act tomorrow. [ D1. ]

One side of the scale is weighted with Salvatore Gravano's violent Mafia record: participating in 19 murders, masterminding million-dollar extortions, running brutal loan-sharking rings and trying to fix juries in mob trials. But law-enforcement officials say he is the most devastating witness ever used against the mob, and compare his testimony and revelations to a missile strike against New York's Mafia families.

The desert sun is on the rise and already packing a punch only a lizard could love, and it would be 99 degrees in the shade if there were any, so it's small wonder that the hot acres of outdoor hard courts at the Mission Hills tennis complex are deserted, all except for one. On its simmering surface, a teen-ager with a rakish purple glaze in her ponytail and a hard-working wad of green gum in her mouth is whacking tennis balls across the net as fast as her male sparring partner can deliver them. The tear in her graffiti-print shorts is self-inflicted -- tennis shorts as fashion victim -- but the tears under her eyes are not tears of unhappiness from feeling victimized by everyone within staring distance. This is just plain sweat after a rigorous practice session.

The abrupt collapse on Friday of efforts in the Senate to overhaul the nation's communications law is likely to give most telephone and cable television companies at least a temporary reprieve from the prospect of increased competition. Consumers may not notice the difference, but they will be affected.

Nearly 200 miles from the campaign's headquarters in Harrisburg, Pa., but just next door to the recording studio of the pop singer Cyndi Lauper in midtown Manhattan, media consultants gathered to shape the image of Tom Ridge, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania. Like Mr. Ridge, Ms. Lauper was using the most sophisticated editing equipment to freshen up her persona -- she with a new music video, he with a new television commercial.