September 11, 1996

New Jersey Transit's plan to run commuter rail link through historic, predominantly black neighborhood in Montclair has been blocked by Federal Judge William G Bassler, who rules that proposed route would displace two dozen families (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Poignancy and sense of history of Rosh ha-Shanah are enhanced this year by publication of In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy From the Women of Terezin; In Memory's Kitchen, originally written in German by women at Terezen, ghetto and concentration camp in what was then Czechoslovakia, is record of lives these starving women left behind--flavors, feasts, even the pots and pans; with recipes, poems and personal letters, it is also a story of survival of spirit amid horrors of Holocaust; in effort to endure hours of hunger, cold and terror at camp, an anteroom to Auschwitz, women carefully wrote out about 80 recipes, using what pen or pencil and paper they could find, and later sewed together the pages; photo; recipes (M)

G.M. Presents Offer In Labor Negotiations General Motors made its first comprehensive contract offer to the United Automobile Workers union, as national labor contract negotiations continued at all three Detroit auto makers. G.M. officials did not release details of their offer. But by making a specific proposal now, G.M. is able to stake out its position before the U.A.W. reaches a deal with Ford, which the union has chosen as its negotiating target to set a pattern for the industry. $(Page D2.$) Productivity Rose in 2d Quarter Companies operated more cheaply and efficiently during the second quarter than first reported, largely because wage costs were not rising as rapidly as estimated. A revised report showed that productivity actually rose, instead of falling slightly. $(D2.$) Demand Grows For Chips Demand for computer chips rose slightly last month, but was still down from last year. The Semiconductor Industry Association's book-to-bill ratio, which measures new orders against shipments, rose to 0.90 in August from a revised 0.86 in July. $(D4.$) 2 Energy Companies in Venture The Coastal Corporation and Westcoast Energy said they would combine their natural gas and electricity marketing operations, joining the industry trend toward consolidation. $(D2.$) Reagan Aide Criticizes Tax-Cut Plan Murray L. Weidenbaum, a major architect and defender of Ronald Reagan's 1981 tax cuts, broke ranks with Republicans and warned against the reductions proposed by Bob Dole, their Presidential nominee. $(D2.$) Bonds Fall on Fed Officials' Words The prices of Treasury securities sagged after comments by Federal Reserve officials led to heightened anxiety over the likelihood of the Fed's increasing interest rates. The yield of the 30-year Treasury bond climbed to 7.11 percent from 7.07. $(D16.$) The dollar hit its highest levels in nearly two months against the German mark and the Japanese yen, rising on continued expectations of increased American interest rates. $(D13.$) Stocks were mixed. The Dow industrials fell, 6.66 points, to 5,727.18, but broader indexes were mostly higher. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.72 point, to 1,149.43. $(D6.$) Village Voice Editor Resigns Karen Durbin, the editor of The Village Voice, said she was resigning over differences with the weekly newspaper's publisher. Neither Ms. Durbin nor the publisher, David Schneiderman, would explain their differences. $(B3.$) Out of the Fire, Into the Frying Pan A growing number of people are trading the corporate world for the kitchen, seeking creative fulfillment, satisfaction in their work, greater mobility and, if they start their own businesses, control over their lives. Though these people may make considerable financial sacrifices, jobs are plentiful. In the next 10 years, restaurants and hotels are expected to need 500,000 more chefs, cooks and other kitchen workers. $(C1.$) Slowdown Seen in Business Travel Business travel this fall will drop to its lowest level in at least five years, the Travel Industry Association of America forecasts. Edwin McDowell: Business Travel. $(D5.$) Soros Backs Change in Drug Policy George Soros, the billionaire investor, has made personal donations of nearly $500,000 to two ground-breaking state ballot initiatives, in California and Arizona, that would legalize the medical use of marijuana. $(A12.$)

David Gonzalez About New York Column on controversy over Phun Factory, Long Island City group that secures walls in industrial neighborhoods for graffiti writers to paint legally; Phun Factory founder Pat DiLillo comments (M)

President Boris N. Yeltsin of Russia, preparing for his heart surgery, formally handed over authority for national security and law enforcement to his Prime Minister. Mr. Yeltsin will still keep control of the nuclear button. He seemed to move to curb the ambitions of his national security adviser by having him and several other ministers report to the Prime Minister.