Some 300 students are evacuated from St Mary's High School, Elizabeth, NJ, including 89 taken to hospitals for observation, after chemistry teacher drops bottle of hydrochloric acid; teacher is treated for burns on foot (NJ Daily Briefing) (S)

New Jersey Daily Briefing; Acid Spills at High School

Rookie Florida Marlins pitcher Livan Hernandez and veteran Cleveland Indians pitcher Orel Hershiser, set to vie in first game of World Series, parallel their teams in encounter between young and old; Marlins, 5 years old, have reached World Series faster than any other expansion team; photo (M)

In Marlins vs. Indians, a Clash of Young and Old

David Hinkley is arrested for stealing Assemblyman Kenneth C LeFevre's car while it was awaiting oil change, Absecon, NJ (NJ Daily Briefing) (S)

New Jersey Daily Briefing; An Oil Change (of Venue)

Republican Ted Dunn, multimillionaire Rye mayor, and Democrat Andy Spano, middle-class former county clerk, are locked in close race for Westchester county executive; Dunn, who added $1 million of own to campaign, has successfully used money to increase name recognition and garner traditional Republican support; photos (M)

In Westchester, Race Tight but Rivals Miles Apart

Stock market is key conversational topic in Marshalltown, Iowa, 10 years after market crash; many residents are now investors; photo (M)

10 Years After the Crash, Fall Is Not in the Air; Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk On Main Street

States are passing laws governing use of genetic test results to prevent discrimination by insurers and employers, out of concern that Federal Government is moving too slow to protect confidentiality of genetic information; at least 26 have adopted laws to protect records of those predisposed to illnesses, putting them at odds with health and life insurance companies, drug manufacturers and biotechnology companies; insurers say laws will force them to raise premiums, while drug companies say restrictions will make it harder to conduct research and tests of new drugs (M)

STATES PASS LAWS TO REGULATE USES OF GENETIC TESTING

Korean grocers in Flatbush, Brooklyn, once seen by their customers as aloof and worse, have begun to learn smattering of Creole to cater to Haitian and other Caribbean clientele; are also hiring more non-Koreans, making other efforts to bridge cultural gap; many Haitians hail use of Creole words as sign of respect; map; photo (M)

Something in Common; To Bridge a Gap, Korean Grocers Try a Little Creole

Paterson, NJ, Mayor Martin G Barnes calls for tax on nonresidents who work in city (NJ Daily Briefing) (S)

New Jersey Daily Briefing; Mayor Seeks Commuter Tax

William C Rhoden Sports of The Times column on Nike accord to outfit St John's University's athletic teams, part of drive by apparel makers to use major college sports programs to reach young consumers; notes rollout of basketball uniforms coincides with demonstrations around nation against Nike's alleged sweatshop abuses abroad; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; Nike Says, 'Jump, Man.' How High?

People who make their livings on Wall Street, including service providers, do not expect repeat of Oct 1987 stock market crash; district has finally rebounded from post-1987 downsizing; photos (M)

10 Years After the Crash, Fall Is Not in the Air; Taking the Pulse Of Wall Street From Bottom Up

New Jersey honors 41 decorated war veterans with its top military honor, Distinguished Service Medal (NJ Daily Briefing) (S)

New Jersey Daily Briefing; 41 Get State Military Award

Federal Maritime Commission, which wielded considerable though little-known authority to bar Japanese cargo ships from American ports and to levy $4 million in fines on Japanese shipping companies, was slated for abolition by Republicans in budget battles two years ago on grounds it had outlived its usefulness; drastic step, which caught White House and other agencies unprepared and could have started trade war, reflects growing frustration with inability of diplomats to resolve longstanding dispute with Japan over better access for American ships to Japanese ports; agency, established in 1961, oversees web of statutes and laws regulating nation's ports and shipping industries, and regulates seaborne commerce to and from US, which totals more than $500 billion annually; photo (M)

Little Panel That Could, Did, Posing Threat of Trade War

KPMG Peat Marwick and Ernst & Young, two of world's biggest accounting and consulting firms, will announce merger, which will create largest accounting outfit, with $15.3 billion in worldwide revenue, 11,712 partners and eclipse pending combination of Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse; would leave Andersen Worldwide as only one of Big Eight accounting firms untouched by merger; rapid consolidation within industry has raised concerns that companies will be left with fewer choices of auditors, and that there could be greater conflicts of interest among firms that both serve as independent auditors and consultants (M)

Biggest Merger Is Said to Be Set For Accounting

Interview with rookie Livan Hernandez, who will pitch for Florida Marlins to open World Series; photos (M)

'97 WORLD SERIES: A Rookie Who Knows About Pressure; After His Problems Adapting to the U.S., Livan Hernandez Takes the World Series in Stride

Inmates at Bayside State Prison, Leesburg, NJ, charge they are being abused in retaliation for July 30 killing of guard Fred Baker, class action suit; Federal Judge Stephen M Orlovsky permits lawyers to interview inmates (NJ Daily Briefing) (M)

New Jersey Daily Briefing; Inmates Allege Retaliation

From Wall Street to Main Street, the stock market crash 10 years ago, when the Dow Jones industrial average fell 508 points, is a distant memory for many.    Once seen as an arcane world reserved for the shrewd and the wealthy, playing the stock market has become almost everybody's game. It has replaced sports as lunch counter conversation even in the middle of Iowa, in Marshalltown, a town of 26,000 people -- and 12 stockbrokers.  

As Crash Date Nears, Few Still Fear Stocks

 FACES OF JOY AND PAIN -- Life-changing plastic surgery for children is being celebrated in a display of the young patients' artwork at a Long Island museum. B5.

INSIDE METRO

Demographic change in Minnesota, where migration of poor blacks to capital of Minneapolis is greater than in any other urban center in America and where other ethnic groups have become growing part of city's ethnic mix, is testing state's liberal mettle and changing texture of political debate as civic leaders grapple with issues of race, class and crime that most other big American cities were forced to confront long ago; growing racial diversity is striking in city that was 93 percent white as recently as 1970, but where minority population rose 21 percent in 1980's, with trend seeming to continue into '90's; rapid influx of desperately poor, most members of racial minorities, is testing state's social fabric, as street gangs from Detroit and Chicago have staked out new turf, and murder rate, while falling sharply in 1997, remains far above levels of 20 years ago; some Minnesotans say state, with soft-hearted policies like generous welfare benefits, has been asking for problems; charts; photos (M)

Ethnic Change Tests Mettle Of Minneapolis Liberalism

 Another Big Marriage In the Accounting Industry  KPMG Peat Marwick and Ernst & Young are expected to announce as early as Monday that they will merge to create the world's No. 1 accounting firm, with $15.3 billion in global revenue and 11,712 partners.   

BUSINESS DIGEST

 Poland Turns to Solidarity  An underground opponent of the Communists became Prime Minister in Poland. He shares power with a former Communist. Page A4.

INSIDE

News analysis of Africa's descent into political chaos, slipping into one of most violent phases of its post-independence history; tide of democratic change that begun at turn of decade has been blunted by change to rule by the gun; political struggles have spilled across borders of Central African nations, with each intervening militarily in neighbors' affairs in ways that were once uncommon; recent events in Rwanda, Uganda, Congo, Congo Republic, Angola, Sudan and Nigeria discussed; map; photo (M)

Africa Finds Old Borders Are Eroding

Amtrak and Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees reach tentative accord to keep Long Island Rail Road running into Manhattan should union strike Amtrak; union agrees to let workers from other unions cross its picket lines to maintain four miles of Amtrak-owned tracks that connect LIRR system with Pennsylvania Station; Sen Alfonse M D'Amato brokered talks; New Jersey Transportation Comr John Haley Jr calls talks to work out similar deal for New Jersey Transit, which uses much more Amtrak-owned track, 'disappointing' (M)

Deal Is Close On Keeping L.I.R.R. Going

Industrial output rose strong 0.7 percent in Sept as operating rate rose 0.3 points to 84.4 percent of capacity; housing starts rose 7.9 percent in Sept; figures renew fears that Federal Reserve will tighten credit to slow growth and curb inflation; graph (M)

Strength in Economic Data Renews Fear of Fed Tightening

Construction worker helping to expand casino parking garage, Atlantic City, is crushed to death when part of foundation left from razed building falls on him (NJ Daily Briefing) (S)

New Jersey Daily Briefing; Worker Killed at Casino Site

China reportedly pledges to halt further sales of anti-ship cruise missiles to Iran, 10 days before US state visit by Pres Jiang Zemin, and reportedly agrees in principle to halt its nuclear assistance; accord may take some criticism off Clinton Administration, which is accused by Republicans in Congress of weakness in defending American interests; may clear way for sales of nuclear technology to China, to be used for civilian purposes (M)

October 18, 1997

Headlines from October 18, 1997

New Jersey Daily Briefing; Acid Spills at High School

In Marlins vs. Indians, a Clash of Young and Old

New Jersey Daily Briefing; An Oil Change (of Venue)

In Westchester, Race Tight but Rivals Miles Apart

10 Years After the Crash, Fall Is Not in the Air; Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk On Main Street

Billboard 200

You Light Up My Life -- Inspirational Songs

Evolution

Bridges To Babylon

Soul Food

Butterfly

Historical Context for October 18, 1997