March 11, 1997

Newmont Mining Corp announces agreement to acquire Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corp for $2.43 billion in stock, securing position as the top gold-mining company in North America; Newmont outbids rival Homestake Mining Co; analysts expect more mergers in rapidly consolidating industry (L)

FDA considers curbs on rendering of animal tissue for animal feed; old agriculture practice, extremely distasteful but little known to public, lies behind Britain's problem with mad cow disease, which apparently occurs when cattle eat feed made from brains or spinal cords of sheep suffering from scrapie; scrapie is less common in US and is closely monitored by Agriculture Department; diagram and chart on rendering steps and animals that are source of rendered material (M)

THE POLITICS OF PARKING -- New York City says it will make it harder for foreign diplomats with unpaid parking tickets to get diplomatic license plates. B3. ROADBLOCKS AND POLICE -- The growing use of roadblocks in New York City has angered some officers, becoming a source of contention in a labor fight. B3. HARTFORD SEEKS HELP -- Hartford officials called for a partial state takeover of their city's troubled schools. B4. ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS -- Governor Pataki is announcing $100 million in environmental projects. Not everyone is happy. B4.

Article discusses how some of New York's restaurateurs and chefs are finding success in operating groups of one of a kind, high-concept restaurants; examples cited; photo (M)

Gov George E Pataki's plan to enact most sweeping changes in welfare in decades is running into stiff opposition from New York State's county executives, influential group dominated by his own Republican allies; plan calls for mandatory drug testing of adult recipients, reducing cash benefits for hundreds of thousands of poor families and then ending them entirely after five years, and expanding use of vouchers instead of cash grants for essentials like food, clothing and shelters; many county executives express grave concerns over number of key elements in Pataki's proposal, particularly those that they feel could deepen poverty and impose greater financial burdens on local governments (M)