September 18, 1995

An official of the State Casino Control Commission who is accused of exceeding his authority by negotiating "golden parachutes" for three departing employees has been suspended, the A.P. reported yesterday. A State Commission of Investigation report released on Sept. 7 also criticized Joseph Papp, the regulatory panel's chief of staff, for improper use of telephones, a car and meal allowances.

No one has lost his cool yet. There have been no locker-room tantrums. There has been no finger-pointing. The Giants are cool and calm and saying all the right things. There was no outward indication after the Giants lost their third consecutive game this afternoon that the team was aware it was stuck in quicksand with a lead weight around the ankles. Yet, after the Giants' 14-6 loss to Green Bay -- in which the defense played superbly against one of football's best offenses and the offense could not score a touchdown -- they know they are in deep trouble. And they don't know what to do to turn the season around.

Like many of his classmates, Randolph Scott-McLaughlin (Harvard Law School '78) headed straight to New York after graduation. But instead of following his friends down the centuries-old crimson brick road to Wall Street, he took a detour at Union Square to confront one of the founding lawyers of an unusual law center. "I went right up to him and said, 'Bill, you're the best trial lawyer in the country, and you owe me the obligation to teach me what you know,' " Mr. Scott-McLaughlin announced to William M. Kunstler. Never one to overlook an accolade, Mr. Kunstler laughed and took him under his wing.

A state official will hold a nonbinding, closed-door mediation session today between Newark officials and New Community Corporation in an attempt to resolve their dispute over $2.2 million in overdue water bills at two apartment complexes the nonprofit organization operates. Newark officials shut off the water last week at two apartment complexes, but it was turned back on shortly afterward when a judge intervened.

Some Red Delicious apples that are now being harvested in New Jersey may be smaller than usual as a result of the drought, but for people who like their apples sweet, they may be more, well, delicious, agricultural officials said. An estimated 65 million pounds of apples are anticipated this year -- 10 million less than last year, said Jerry Frecon, Rutgers University Cooperative Agent for Gloucester County.