June 22, 1998

Interview with Paul Kellogg, general and artistic director of New York City Opera, on his willingness to take risks in quest for untapped audiences; photos (M)

Elizabeth Kolbert Metro Matters column on philosophical difference that fuels budget battles between Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani and New York City Council; Giuliani expects public institutions to pull their own weight; his attempt to include public libraries in this concept, by cutting their city funds, met with stiff opposition from City Council, which ultimately overrode Mayor's vetoes and restored funds for libraries; whether shabbier branches of library will get much-needed repairs is still in question (M)

Israeli Cabinet unanimously approves plan to expand Jerusalem's jurisdiction far beyond current borders; Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu says plan has no political ramifications and does not violate Israeli-Palestinian peace accords, under which final status of city must be negotiated with Palestinians; Sec of State Madeleine Albright says plan is harmful to peace process; Palestinians, whose goal is Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital, denounce plan as tantamount to declaration of war on Palestinian presence in Jerusalem; plan establishes guidelines under which Jerusalem would expand area under its control by annexing several Israeli towns in 'Jerusalem corridor' to west and by bringing several Jewish communities and settlements on land conquered in 1967 to east and north under 'umbrella municipality,' with Jerusalem responsible for planning, construction, budget matters and services; there is general presumption among Israelis and Palestinians that real goals are to strengthen Israel's hold on what it has proclaimed its 'united and eternal capital,' to bolster Jerusalem's links to eastern settlements and to expand Jewish population and tax base by annexing wealthier and more secular towns in Israel to west; photo; map (M)

US inflation rate stays persistently low, but prices are rising noticeably for variety of everyday items, sharply enough in some cases to catch attention and provoke annoyance; prices of commodities and manufactured goods remain steady--partly from pressures of global competition--but prices are rising smartly for growing number of items in service sector, including fast-food hamburgers, auto maintenance and dental care; increases are seen as reflection of robust economy, in which people become more ambitious in purchases and more tolerant of costs, as incomes rise and unemployment falls; Consumer Price Index has risen only 1.7 percent in past year; chart (M)

Expanded efforts by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to steer New York City away from traditionally liberal aproach to welfare have gutted welfare rolls at offices in Brooklyn and Queens; 60 percent of people who visited offices used to end up on welfare, but fewer than 10 percent are currently receiving benefits; applicants are told to look for jobs, not welfare, and to lean on relatives, not city charity; those who insist on receiving public assistance must hunt for as many as 20 jobs before getting formal interview; tightening access to welfare is popular nationwide but strict, systematic approach is new for city that has focused more recently on moving recipients into workfare; photo (M)