May 14, 1997

State regulators approve program allowing 12,000 residents of Monroe Township to choose their own electricity supplier beginning July 1 (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Market Place column on International Business Machines Corp, whose stock hit record high of $177.125 a share; says fall and recovery of IBM, which bottomed on Aug 16, 1993, at $40.625 a share, or 77 percent below its peak, has come amid one of great bull markets; holds IBM is now only number 9 among all American companies, and just number 3 among technology companies, in market value; it is far behind Intel and Microsoft, companies that at end of August 1987 were together worth less than a tenth of what IBM was worth; graph (L)

New Rochelle, NY, homeowner Suzanne Levy faces possible fine or jail sentence for placing bird feeder in her yard without building permit; Levy says no other homeowner in city has been required to obtain permit for bird feeder; says she is target of Joyce Alfano, whom she describes as 'vindictive neighbor,' who also happens to be Republican district leader; photos (M)

New York City study finds that allowing rent increases once apartment falls vacant, policy recommended by Gov George E Pataki, would have limited impact on rent of most apartments during next two years, but a few areas, including Upper West Side, would see rent increases as high as 30 percent; study, co-sponsored by city's Rent Guidelines Board and Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University Law School, addresses potential effect of vacancy decontrol over two years; results are based on data from city's 1996 Housing and Vacancy Survey; graph (M)

Edward Shirley, former Palisades Park police officer convicted of stealing thousands of dollars from private home while responding to burglary alarm, is sentenced to two years in prison (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)