January 21, 1995

On Thursday, Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern thought he had a good idea: a special tax, just a little one, levied on residents near Central Park to pay for its upkeep. He announced the proposal to park lovers gathered to celebrate the 61st anniversary of Robert Moses' appointment as the city's first Parks Commissioner. Richard J. Schwartz, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's senior adviser, praised the idea. "In all likelihood, it's something we'll be supporting," he said. "It's part of re-inventing government."

The raucous long-distance industry has never seen anything quite like it. Industry experts estimate that at least 25 million residential telephone customers switched carriers last year -- and in some cases switched again -- as consumers groped for the best deal on long-distance pricing. If anything, the scramble has grown wilder, and more bewildering, in recent weeks. Mud-wrestling for customers, AT&T and MCI are calling each other liars in a war of television and newspaper ads in which each company ridicules the other's discount plans. And Sprint has added to the confusion by overhauling its discount program in the name of simplicity.

Amendment Gains Backing Democrats will support their own version of a balanced-budget amendment, insuring the second passage of such a measure by a Congressional chamber in seven tries. Page 9. Accusations in Duke's Death As a legal fight rages over Doris Duke's estate, a nurse has charged in court papers that Miss Duke's doctor deliberately gave the heiress a lethal dose of morphine. Page 25.

Robert L. Shapiro, whose leadership of the Simpson legal team made him the most famous lawyer in America, is discovering that celebrity is a double-edged sword. Second of three profiles. Page 10.

The flow of world trade has been disrupted and slowed with the closing of the port of Kobe, which before the earthquake on Tuesday was not only the largest container port in Japan but also a hub for the movement of goods to other parts of the Far East. The effects of the quake, which made the port unserviceable, were being felt in many parts of the world, with companies in Japan and the United States having to hold back goods.