November 21, 1994

In less than two hours yesterday, Gabriela Sabatini ended two and a half years of frustration. Sabatini broke the serve of Lindsay Davenport 10 times in 14 games, in one stretch breaking the teen-ager six times in a row, en route to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory in the final of the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships at Madison Square Garden.

In response to continuing budget cuts by City Hall, Schools Chancellor Ramon C. Cortines plans to reduce the Board of Education's administrative staff by additional 800 employees by June, a board official said yesterday. As a result, the central staff will have been cut by about a third since the beginning of this year -- almost as much as Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has demanded. Mr. Cortines is to announce the reductions in testimony this morning before the City Council, which is holding hearings on the effects of Mayor Giuliani's plan to close a $1.1 billion gap in the city's budget for the current fiscal year. The Mayor has called for a $190 million cut to the school system.

Seeking to wring concessions from a politically weakened White House, Senator Bob Dole of Kansas said today that he had told Clinton Administration officials that he would be more inclined to vote for a worldwide trade pact if the White House dropped certain objections to a cut in the capital gains tax. Administration officials said today that they had promptly dismissed the offer made by Senator Dole, the likely majority leader.

GRANDPARENTS IN THE AGE OF AIDS As the AIDS epidemic rages, grandmothers across the nation are increasingly thrust into an old role with a new twist: they are caring for adult children dying of AIDS and for the grandchildren, in some cases also dying, who are left behind. Heterosexual AIDS infection jumped 130 percent from 1992 to 1993 (an increase due in part to a change in definition), and experts estimate that as many as 125,000 children will lose their mothers to AIDS by the year 2000. These children are increasingly left in the care of relatives, family friends and social agencies.

Companies Conseco called off its $3.25 billion takeover of Kemper. The move came after Citibank, the lead lender, indicated that it probably would not be able to finance even a lowered bid, one person close to the negotiations said. [ Page D1. ] Sony and Matsushita have charted different paths into movie making, and at different paces. And the race has not gone to the swiftest. The flashy Sony has reported big losses on its studios, while the cautious Matsushita has enjoyed profits. [ D1. ]