May 1, 1996

The MFS Communications Company, the largest provider of high-speed telephone and data services to businesses, said yesterday that it had agreed to acquire the Internet service provider Uunet Technologies in an exchange of stock valued at $2 billion. Analysts said the proposed acquisition, which was approved unanimously by the boards of both companies, underscored the rising importance of the Internet as a business communications medium. The deal would also create a new type of telecommunications company, one that will be able to link national and international companies with high-speed telephone, Internet and video transmissions.

Ernie Paragallo, a husky, ruddy man with bushy hair and a knack for picking horse talent, is no Kentucky aristocrat. He is a "pinhooker" from Brooklyn, a man who buys horses low and sells them high. Not so long ago, a dream investment seemed to have him at the top of the horse racing business as the owner of Unbridled's Song, the favorite for Saturday's 122d Kentucky Derby and a son of Unbridled, winner of the 1990 Derby. But today, a sore left forefoot has compromised his colt's chances and left Paragallo and his trainer with the difficult decision of whether to run at all.

WATER was leaking from the filter head, steam was erupting from the frother, and I was convulsed with laughter. My son, Michael, who can lay tile, fix plumbing, refinish floors and repair computers, couldn't understand why the difficulties he was having with an espresso machine were the cause of such hilarity. I had already gone through similar experiences with the first two of nine machines that I was testing for The New York Times. I assumed that the problems were my fault, since I am equipment-challenged, whether the equipment is Windows 95 (for which I have had four hours of training and I still don't get it) or espresso machines.

For years, the Stratfield School has been the kind of prize-winning elementary school for which families would move from one side of town to the other. More recently, envious parents in other neighborhoods have pressed the Connecticut Board of Education to explain why their schools' scores on standardized tests were so far behind Stratfield's, fueling an often angry debate on the quality of public education here. And for years, school officials did study Stratfield, trying to pin down what it did so well, so that it could be copied.

Aiming to capitalize on surprising signs of growth in New York City's manufacturing sector, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani announced a plan yesterday to try to encourage the new industrial enterprises like computer software, video production, recycling and cargo shipping that have emerged as economic bright spots in recent years. The proposals, which include tax breaks, technical assistance, job training and zoning changes, would broaden the city's economic vision beyond Wall Street and the service economy that had once been held out as New York's salvation. The Mayor said the proposals would not only help preserve the 280,000 existing manufacturing jobs in businesses like apparel and printing, but would also provide incentives for the vibrant new companies sprouting up in what has been called Silicon Alley.