July 11, 1996

All of a sudden, it seems, outdoor advertising is growing again to be as big as -- well, all outdoors. For decades, outdoor billboards, signs and posters, once a vibrant and integral part of the American consumer economy, have been perceived as dull and dowdy offspring among the family of media. Television is glamorous, radio is intimate, magazines are slick, newspapers are immediate and outdoor is, at best, plain-spoken ("Eat here. Get gas.") and visible (a polite way of saying in-your-face).

Students in Pleasantville will not mark the anniversary of last October's Million Man March as a school holiday after all, the city's school board president said yesterday. The board had approved a calendar change in May that also canceled the traditional Veterans Day holiday. On Tuesday, the Atlantic County Board of Freeholders voted to ask the board to reconsider. Lincoln Green, the school board president, said all nine members favored restoring the Million Man March anniversary as a school day but without giving students Veterans Day off. The board will vote on July 23.

A couple who apparently did not realize that their luxury car's quiet engine was left running died of carbon monoxide poisoning Tuesday night, the authorities said. Irwin Stern, 69, drove his Infiniti into his garage and forgot to shut off the engine, Melaine Campbell, the Acting Somerset County Prosecutor, said yesterday. Mr. Stern and his wife, Elinor, 68, died when the central air-conditioning system circulated carbon monoxide from the garage through the house, Ms. Campbell said.

Some good news from Camden, for a change. After being criticized by the state for mishandling its finances, the city has put more than 50 recommendations into effect, including cutting down on overtime and eliminating personnel, The Associated Press reported. These changes have netted $10 million in savings and revenues, according to a report by a city task force that was released yesterday. "We see this report as a step in the right direction," said Jane M. Kenney, State Community Affairs Commissioner. But she said Camden needs to develop "a more comprehensive management strategy." TERRY PRISTIN

Gov. George E. Pataki and state legislative leaders announced a tentative agreement late Wednesday night on revamping the state's $5 billion system of compensating injured workers, opening the way for final passage of the latest budget in state history. The deal also allowed the Legislature to extend for 36 hours a law that protects thousands of loft tenants in New York City, just as it was set to expire. Many tenants had feared that owners of loft buildings could have begun eviction proceedings if the law had lapsed for just one day. The Legislature is expected to eventually extend the law for at least two years.