April 4, 1995

Everyone agrees that the state needs to refinance the trust fund for road and transit improvements. But how? Should the money come from the state's gasoline tax? Or from a surcharge on motor vehicle registration? Those questions occupied a joint session of the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees yesterday. Gov. Christine Todd Whitman wants to extend the registration surcharge, which costs car owners an average of $22.50 a year. Senator Bill Haines, a Burlington Republican and chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, favors using 9 cents from the state's gas tax of 10.5 cents a gallon, because some of that money would come from out-of-state drivers. "It's a fairer system," he said.

Two New York State troopers have been indicted in a scheme to cover up evidence in a 1993 hit-and-run accident where the driver was another trooper's brother, the Westchester County District Attorney said.

A smoky fire destroyed this town's only school last night, forcing the evacuation of 15 families who live across the street from the school, injuring four firefighters and leaving 130 pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade pupils without a place to attend classes today. "For a lot of us who grew up in this town, it was very devastating," said Frederick Viteka, emergency management coordinator for the town, which has 1,600 residents. "Most of the people who live here went to that school, and their children are now going to that school."

An Unanticipated Proposal There was widespread surprise that Speaker Newt Gingrich wants Congress to undo a compromise on homosexuals in the military. Page D23. Technology vs. Professors A dispute over technology displacing professors in the classroom has brought down the chancellor of a major university system. Page D24. Verdict Stands in Seles Case A German judge upheld a widely criticized suspended sentence against the man who stabbed the tennis star Monica Seles. Page B9. Crystal at Earth's Core The earth's center is a crystal of iron 1,500 miles across, scientists suggest on the basis of new computer calculations. Science Times, page C1.

News that the spirits and beverage company Seagram wants to sell its 25 percent stake in Du Pont for nearly $10 billion may be a good move for Du Pont investors, who showed their interest yesterday by nudging up the chemical company's shares 50 cents. But a deal may go down less easily for shareholders of the Seagram Company, whose president, Edgar Bronfman Jr., is said to be interested in using the money to buy all or part of the film and entertainment company MCA Inc.