June 16, 1995

HOVERING like mythical birds high over "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," the new musical adaptation of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel, are the Nobel laureate's thoughts relating to fate, mystery, magic and redemption. The thoughts can still be heard, though dimly, as if from a distance that removes much of their original sardonic humor. Graciela Daniele, who conceived, directed and choreographed "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," has created a frequently stunning show that is less a conventional musical adaptation than a performance piece inspired by Mr. Garcia Marquez. The Lincoln Center Theater production, which opened last night at the Plymouth on Broadway, communicates more through dance than music or song.

In the first budget cut to affect a broad swath of both children and their parents, Chancellor Ramon C. Cortines has eliminated summer school for students in kindergarten to third grade, canceling classes for 30,000 young children. Mr. Cortines, with the Board of Education's support, dropped the $16 million summer remedial program to avoid having to cut kindergarten to a half day and stagger school openings in the fall, board officials said. He knew that he was killing a successful academic program, leaving parents in a bind to find alternative summer activities at the last minute, his spokesman, John H. Beckman, said yesterday. But he had no choice, Mr. Beckman said.

SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR PLANS TO LEAVE After months of constant criticism by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Schools Chancellor Ramon C. Cortines said yesterday that he was resigning and would leave office by Oct. 15, or sooner if his successor was found. He notified the president of the Board of Education of his decision on Sunday, the day after the Mayor announced the formation of a commission to investigate the school system's handling of safety. [ Page A1. ]

Japan's Prime Minister struck an unexpectedly compromising tone today in talks with President Clinton about American demands to widen access to the Japanese automotive market. But the Administration's top economic officials reacted warily, saying they would not know until negotiations began next week in Geneva whether a last-minute deal might be possible. In an hourlong meeting here, before the summit talks began among top leaders of the seven largest industrial democracies, Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama repeatedly told Mr. Clinton that he hoped to resolve the issue in the next two weeks, according to American and Japanese officials who sat in on the meeting.

After four riveting seasons, one near miss at a championship and still with the best winning percentage in National Basketball Association history, Pat Riley resigned yesterday as coach of the Knicks. He left with a season remaining on a five-year contract, saying in a statement that the Knicks refused to give him the kind of control over basketball matters that he needed to remain. But Dave Checketts, president of Madison Square Garden, offered a different view, saying Riley was demanding part ownership of the team as well as complete autonomy in personnel decisions.

A Saddle River man who was convicted of selling unauthorized airplane gaskets was sentenced to 37 months in Federal prison yesterday. Dominic Rvocco was convicted last November of 17 counts of mail fraud and one count of consipiracy. Faith S. Hochberg, the United States Attorney, said evidence was introduced at the trial that the gaskets, made at two companies in Mahwah, could create an in-flight hazard, but no accidents have been reported.

A lot of marketers say humor has no place in advertising because it seldom makes the cash register ring. But the adman who more than any other has staked his reputation on the power of laughter is beginning to win converts. Cliff Freeman, the chairman and executive creative director of the Cliff Freeman & Partners agency in New York, has produced some of the funniest, most honored advertising ever to amuse consumers.

It seemed like a simple request. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, responsible for collecting data about hate crimes involving race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation, was recently given a new category to track: physical and mental disability. So it turned to the National Stigma Clearinghouse in New York to find sensitive, neutral terminology it could use in training manuals and reports to describe people who are mentally ill.

Transit Authority officials have concluded that the signal lights on the Williamsburg Bridge were too close together to prevent a Manhattan-bound subway train from crashing into another train last week, and they acknowledge that signal spacing poses a similar risk elsewhere in the system. The officials said they had largely ruled out mechanical failure in the emergency braking system on one train -- the focus of much speculation among investigators in the first days after the crash. Instead, because of tests conducted Saturday on the stretch of track where a Manhattan-bound J train rammed into the back of a stopped M train, the inquiry has shifted. The focus is now the stopping ability of the J train and the spans between the signals, which are supposed to keep trains a safe distance apart.

The company that owns Radio Shack announced plans yesterday to open a 185,000-square-foot electronics store in the spring. The Incredible Universe store is expected to create 200 construction jobs and 350 full-time and part-time jobs and generate up to $3 million in sales tax revenue, Tandy Corporation officials said. Customers will pay only 3 percent sales tax because Elizabeth is a so-called urban enterprise zone.

The city's world-famous Board walk is 125 years old sort of. A ceremony was held yesterday to mark the occasion, but actually, the Boardwalk that was dedicated in 1870 was replaced twice with temporary structures before final construction in 1890. In a brief ceremony and cake-cutting, Mayor James Whelan called the Boardwalk "the signature of Atlantic City." TERRY PRISTIN

A day after scores of Chechen rebel gunmen swept through a southern Russian town, shooting civilians and taking hundreds of hostages, the gang reportedly executed five captives tonight, forcing a startled Russia to confront the prospect of terrorism on its own soil. The commando attack in Budyonnovsk, a small provincial city about 70 miles north of the Chechen border, brought to reality the violent consequences many had feared from Russia's brutal military action in Chechnya. Chechen leaders, all but defeated in their bitter fight for independence, have frequently vowed to carry the war beyound the Chechen borders. Nobody knew how easy it could be.