February 22, 1996

And now it is Prodigy's turn. In the latest sign of upheaval in the computer on-line industry, Prodigy Services, the nation's third-largest consumer on-line information service, was put up for sale yesterday -- at least the half owned by Sears, Roebuck & Company. I.B.M., Sears's longtime partner in Prodigy, declined to comment on its own plans for the service, which has 1.7 million subscribers.

Critics of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority accused its officials yesterday of hoarding as many as 1,100 tickets to college basketball's Final Four tournament, to be held in the Meadowlands arena, The Associated Press reported. Assemblyman W. Reed Gusciora, Democrat of Princeton, and George Zoffinger, a former State Commerce Commissioner and chairman of World Cup 1994 soccer events at Giants Stadium, said 400 of the tickets to the semifinals on March 30 and the finals on April 1 were set aside for politicians including Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, and an additional 700 were earmarked for authority officials and their business associates. John Samerjan, a sports authority spokesman, called the accusations "garbage" and said no decision had been made on setting aside tickets for politicians.

A divorced father does not have to contribute to his daughter's college costs because his ex-wife did not consult him on major educational decisions, a state appeals court ruled. The father, James Moss, of Monmouth Beach, did not object to paying his fair share, according to court documents, but questioned whether his daughter should attend a public university rather than an expensive private school. The decision comes as the Legislature is considering a revision of divorce laws concerning whether a parent should be forced to pay college tuition.

On the afternoon of Jan. 11, the face of Jose Alberto Solorzano was unblemished. By nightfall, after an encounter with the village police, his cheeks were bruised and the skin around his swollen eyes had turned the color of plums. The events that led to Mr. Solorzano's injuries are in dispute. The local police say he interfered with the investigation of a minor traffic accident, assaulted a veteran detective and was hurt while resisting arrest. He says he was beaten for returning the detective's epithets with one of his own, then taken to the basement of the police station, where his head was slammed repeatedly against a wall.

Despite remarkable growth, the computer on-line service industry has been undergoing great upheaval, with a flurry of new alliances and acquisitions in recent months. Yesterday, Sears, Roebuck put up for sale its 50 percent stake in Prodigy Services, the nation's third-largest consumer on-line information service. On Tuesday, H & R Block said that it would spin off Compuserve, the No. 2 on-line service.