Arantxa Sanchez Vicario defeats Monica Seles to win her third French Open singles tennis title; Sanchez Vicario praises Seles in her victory speech; photo (M)

Seles Wins Sanchez Vicario's Sympathy, but Not the Title

Reports by EPA inspector general document widespread failure by Federal and local officials to police even most basic requirements of clean air and water laws; point to waste water treatment plants operating with obsolete permits or none at all, inspectors failing to visit factories and states falling short of Federal goals; Deputy Admr Fred Hansen sees 'troubling' deficiencies; egregious violations in Alaska, Idaho, New Mexico, Washington state and Missouri are cited (M)

E.P.A. AND STATES FOUND TO BE LAX ON POLLUTION LAW

 A Victory, Then an Apology, As Seles Loses French Open  Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won the French Open, then apologized to the woman she defeated. ''I'm so sorry that I beat you,'' she told Monica Seles, whose father died of cancer last month. SportsSunday, section 8.

INSIDE

WHAT'S a mutual fund director to do? Lately, when independent directors have stood up to fund managers, they've gotten their ears boxed. And when, to some eyes, the directors have let fund managers go their own way, they've gotten their ears boxed again.    Consider events of the last two years, a period in which the fund industry has experienced some of its most rapid growth:  

Empty Suits In the Board Room; Under Fire, Mutual Fund Directors Seem Increasingly Hamstrung

Photo of Victory Gallop winning Belmont Stakes, with Real Quiet just one nose short (S)

Real Quiet Ends Up A Nose Short Of Triple Crown

Seventy-eight Medal of Honor winners, half of 169 living recipients, gather in Saratoga Springs; recipients of nation's highest military award for bravery hold parade and memorial service, and reminisce, with striking modesty, about their lives in war and peace; photos (M)

A Salute to Bravery, and Modesty, as Medal of Honor Heroes Meet

Henry Lee Lucas, held responsible for 10 killings, is to be executed on June 30 in Texas. But there are serious doubts about whether he committed the one murder for which he was sentenced to death. Page 16.      

Death Penalty Quandary

Breakdancers are once again performing head spins and other gyrations in music videos, clubs and arenas, often to beat of 'old school' rap by likes of Erik B and Rakim and cheered on by audiences in retro styles like track suits; return seems an inner-city counterpart to 1980's nostalgia on view in some recent hit films; photos (M)

NOTICED; Breakdancing Regains Its Footing

THIS is a town where theater companies compete for advertising space on supermarket bulletin boards. There, after the checkout counters, in the foyer of the Treasure Island or the Jewel Osco, among the offers of free puppies, the booklets on how to meditate and the offers of housecleaning services, are the fliers for one-man and one-woman shows, new works by young playwrights, adaptations of classic novels, even musicals, being performed in second-floor loft spaces, garages converted to black boxes and, yes, real theaters with seats that are nailed to the floor.    It's a mundane thing, theater in Chicago, pervasive as Polish sausage. Unlike New York, where, nonprofit companies notwithstanding, the theater seems part and parcel of a vast commercial enterprise known as the entertainment business; or Los Angeles, where, in spite of a sea of local talent, the theater is a crippled sister to the movies; or a handful of cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Washington, Minneapolis and Houston, where there are accomplished theater companies but not the critical mass that can commandeer the local Zeitgeist -- here in Chicago, the theater is a vivid, attention-getting strand in the culture. Chicago is a theater town; so, of course, is New York. It's really not true about anywhere else in the country.  

Second to None as a Theater Town. Ask Chicago.

Primary in California was most expensive statewide election in American history, with $100 million spent on races for governor, United States senator and handful of ballot propositions; even though Al Checchi, who spent $40 million of his own money in race, lost Democratic gubernatorial nomination, winning candidate, Lt Gov Gray Davis, is himself relentless fund-raiser, often accused of blending campaign-finance outings with his official duties; drawing (M)

The Nation: Fish Story; Money Politics Wasn't Defeated in California

Beyer Blinder Belle, New York archtectural firm established in 1968, has made name for itself by rebuilding, restoring or remodeling many of New York City's historic buildings and sites, including Rockefeller Center and Grand Central Terminal; Frederick Bland, a partner, says aim is to layer new and old, allowing each to express itself honestly; founders of firm say their greatest influence was Jane Jacobs, writer and activist; at time when prevailing wisdom was to tear down and rebuild, Jacobs insisted that cities need their old buildings; photos (L)

The Preservation Band That Sets the Tone

DAN CHERUBIN considers himself pretty lucky. Though his father died five years ago, he still has his mother, and his other mother.    Mr. Cherubin, a music librarian who lives in the East Village, is the gay son of a lesbian who lives with her companion, and he belongs to an unusual -- and, for some, unsettling -- kind of family.  

The Second Generation

Problem of bribery and fixed matches in international soccer discussed as World Cup events open in France; anonymous call to two US players last November, just before qualifying match against El Salvador, recalled, as well as jailing of former French minister Bernard Tapie for his role in 1993 match; photos; tales of gambling rings, rigged results and pervasive erosion of trust all mar sport that is hugely popular in most of world; FIFA is particularly sensitive to attempts to compromise game officiators because they wield enormous control in low-scoring sport (M)

Fixed Matches Are Darkening Soccer's Image

Roundup of topless cars on sale this summer, excluding number of sport utility vehicles that also have roofs that come down or come off; photos (M)

Summertime, and the Driving Is Breezy

Pakistan's newly declared ability to build nuclear arsenal has triggered fears about an 'Islamic bomb' that would provide nuclear umbrellas for other Islamic societies; idea of global pan-Islamic community with common divine mission has been trumpeted in Islamic oratory over years, but so far national interests have prevailed; Pakistan, which desperately needs financial aid, will probably keep its new technology from spreading rather than further offend United States; photo (M)

The World: Buzz Words; Who's Afraid of the Islamic Bomb?

Harvey Araton's Sport of The Times column on Belmont Stakes focuses on jockey Kent Desormeaux, who lost race in photo finish aboard race horse Real Quiet to jockey Gary Stevens, who was aboard Victory Gallop; Desormeaux comments on losing race and Triple Crown; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; Fate Deals Defeat, Not The Crown

THE advertisement seemed innocuous enough. A few minutes into the March 17 episode of ''Home Improvement,'' the ABC sitcom, the TV screen flashed scenes of men and women rubbing their eyes as a female voice sang the praises of a new brand of prescription eye drops.     ''It seems like you have tried just about everything,'' the voice cooed, ''but now there is Patanol.'' Not only did Patanol, developed by Alcon Laboratories, soothe ''itchy allergy eyes for eight hours,'' the ad assured viewers, but only a few people ''experience side effects, like a headache.''  

From Lab To Patient, By Way of Your Den

Finet Holdings Co, mortgagelender, is working with Fannie Mae, nation's largest source of residential mortgage funds, to offer mortgage approval in as little as four minutes on Internet (S)

POSTINGS: Fannie Mae Approvals on the Internet; A Mortgage In Four Minutes

INTROVERTED Annabert Van Wettum met extroverted Marianne Citroen in a first-grade class in The Hague in 1931. They became best friends. When the Nazis closed their school, they were separated.    Several years later, Annabert met an 11-year-old Belgian boy, Jan Yoors, at summer camp in Antwerp. She was smitten with his creativity and he, in turn, said, ''I want you to be my wife.''  

Three Into Two Did Go

While the stock market ended last week on a high note, pleased with the mix of economic reports, one little-noted piece of data had ominous implications for investors.    Corporate write-offs, as a percentage of the reported earnings per share of the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, surged in the first quarter to 14 percent. Of the $10.25 a share that the S.& P. 500 companies reported in earnings for the quarter, write-offs totaled $1.44 a share.  

For Better Earnings, Try Bigger Write-Offs

India has permeated American pop culture for years; now, growing numbers of trendsetters on East and West Coasts are visiting India, following to their source popular interest in yoga, writings of Deepak Chopra and blissed-out look in fashion and cosmetics; many who go are seeking ways to deal with medical or emotional problems; many others seem simply to be carried on winds of latest trend; tourism by Americans visiting India reached its highest last year, 244,329, up about 70 percentfrom four years ago; drawings (M)

This Year, the Jet Set Is Seeking Nirvana

View column by Abbott Combes on his business attire in heat of summer--coat and tie, dressy loafers and Bermuda shorts; says New Yorkers, not notably friendly to strangers, regularly stop him on street to talk about his shorts; photo (M)

Impeccably Dressed, From Head to Thigh

Special report, Health Care Comes Home, describes how thousands of families are providing unprecedented amount of technical medical care in their homes, much of which would once have been provided by doctors or nurses; reasons for shift include technology that makes even complicated treatments possible at home and intense pressure to reduce hospital costs; home care can be beneficial for patients and relatives, but also places huge burdens of time and energy on relatives; Dorothy Knight describes caring for her young son, Carol Levine for her brain-injured husband, Regina Cunningham for her daughter and Phyllis Kaufman for her husband; photos (M)

HEALTH CARE COMES HOME: A special report.; Families Provide Medical Care, Tubes and All

Two mosaic panels representing New York skyline circa 1951 are removed from office building at Madison Avenue and 47th Street in preparation for demolition; headquarters of Bear Stearns Cos will be built on site, and panels will be used in new building or given away; hoto (M)

POSTINGS: Madison Ave. Skyline Panels Yield to Developers; A Mosaic Jazz Age Memory

Brooklyn jury sentences Darrel K Harris to death for murdering three people in robbery at illegal social club; rejects defense arguments about his past heroism as jail guard and other supposedly mitigating factors; death penalty trial is first since state reinstated capital punishment in 1995; Harris would be first person put to death in New York since 1963, although years of legal appeals are expected; victims' relatives express relief; Harris shot two men to death and, when he ran out of bullets, stabbed woman fatally despite her pleas to be spared for sake of her five children; one victim survived to testify (M)

June 7, 1998

Headlines from June 7, 1998

Seles Wins Sanchez Vicario's Sympathy, but Not the Title

E.P.A. AND STATES FOUND TO BE LAX ON POLLUTION LAW

INSIDE

Empty Suits In the Board Room; Under Fire, Mutual Fund Directors Seem Increasingly Hamstrung

Real Quiet Ends Up A Nose Short Of Triple Crown

Billboard 200

It's Dark And Hell Is Hot

City Of Angels

Sparkle

Godzilla -- The Album

Lost

Historical Context for June 7, 1998