October 27, 1998

Harvey Araton Sports of The Times column discusses New York Mets signing catcher Mike Piazza to 7-year, $91 million contract and how they will benefit financially for outlay; photo (M)

Addiction researchers explore 'emotional memory' to see if it is responsible for the cravings, compulsion and relapse that can occur long after someone has stopped taking a drug and it has been cleared from the body; emotional memories are formed in amygdala, deep within the brain; research on dopamine pleasure centers of the brain has not shed light on long-term mental effects of drug abuse and has not led to advances in treatment; researchers now foresee treatment for addiction that combines behavioral therapy and drugs that combat craving and compulsion; drawings (M)

New York Times/CBS News poll finds New York voters are growing increasingly critical of caustic tone of campaign for Senate between incumbent Sen Alfonse M D'Amato and Democratic challenger Repr Charles E Schumer, but that daily attacks have yet to sway significant numbers; both are favored by 44 percent of likely voters with 10 percent of voters remaining undecided, same as in poll taken three weeks ago; growing number of voters believe race is harsher than 1992, when D'Amato defeated Robert Abrams in contest many New York politicians still consider benchmark for negative campaigns in state over last decade; are more likely to blame D'Amato for harsh tenor of race, saying he is spending more time attacking than explaining his programs, and is more likely than Schumer to be unfair in attacks; victory may turn largely on decision of 10 percent of undecideds, who poll suggests, have not paid much attention to contest until now and do not have particularly firm opinions about either candidate; D'Amato campaigns with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on October 26, while Schumer is endorsed by former Police Comr William J Bratton; charts (L)

Richmond, Va, jury orders Nationwide Insurance Co to pay $100.5 million in damages to local housing group called Housing Opportunities Made Equal that accused insurer of refusing to sell homeowner policies to black residents; it is first of many complaints brought by housing groups against insurers to go to trial; verdict could influence insurance sales around country; Andrew M Cuomo, Secretary of Department of Housing and Urban Development, praises verdict; Housing Department provided $1.5 million for research on discrimination that helped group build its case; Nationwide says it will appeal verdict (M)

Article, in special section 1998 New York City Marathon, discusses career of runner Tegla Laroupe and her preparing for New York City Marathon; photo (M)

Colombian and Dominican drug traffickers have made Haiti fastest-growing transit point for cocaine on way to US, seizing singular opportunity in country weakened by paralyzed Government and inexperienced police force; Clinton Administration drug czar, Barry R McCaffrey, says situation has become emergency, with Haiti becoming principal focus of groups trafficking in drugs in Caribbean; Haitian police chief Pierre Denize concurs; says small police force, limited in resources and training, is unable to cope with problem; US officials estimate 15 percent of all cocaine consumed in US currently flows through Haiti--doubling in little more than year; all along country's southern coast, indications of landings by fast boats from Colombia have increased, as have reports of airdrops in coastal weaters, and seizures at airport in capital of Port-au-Prince are up; US Customs officials note corresponding increase in drugs found aboard Haitian freighters docking in Miami; maps (M)

Allan Kozinn reviews Montreal Symphony concert at Carnegie Hall, under direction of Charles Dutoit; Martha Argerich is piano soloist; photos (M)

Third and final article in series, In Search of A Child; focuses on how racial issues shape adoption marketplace; race remains major factor in world of adoptions; even though changing social climate is melting boundaries that define racial territory; white children usually cost more than black children, and in world of international adoptions, Africa is almost ignored; in 1997, more than 5,000 children were adopted from Europe, more than 6,000 from Asia, and exactly 182 from Africa; race has been major factor in decisions regarding largest pool of adoptable children, namely, 100,000 children in foster care in US who need new parents; black children who make up, on average, 45 percent of those in state care are slower to be adopted than 35 percent who are white; photos; charts; map (L)

Article on unintended monument to atomic age: three-acre, 20-foot-high mound of radioactive dirt tightly sheathed in matte black polyethylene; mound is on site of Middlesex, NJ, Sampling Plant, one of several top-secret sites around country where uranium was tested in Manhattan Project, which built atomic bomb; similar pile was removed last year by Army Corps of Engineers and residents of Middlesex hope remaining pile will be removed shortly; they express wariness over Environmental Protection Agency's announcement that site will be added to Superfund list by early December (M)

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, four years after he attacked Senator Alfonse M D'Amato as threat to ethics in government, campaigns with D'Amato in Republican strongholds across city, contending that D'Amato's influence within Congress's Republican majority is vital to city's well-being; Repr Charles E Schumer receives endorsement of former New York City Police Comr William J Bratton, who praises Democratic Senate candidate for his help in passing sweeping crime bil in 1994 (M)

A computer glitch forced the New York Stock Exchange to halt trading for nearly an hour yesterday, setting off trading interruptions at stock and futures exchanges nationwide. It was the Big Board's first big technology problem in three years. Business Day, page C10.

New York Gov George E Pataki and his fellow Republicans, in quest for second term, have mounted most successful fund-raising operation in state's history, drawing support from thousands of donors who share common trait of doing business with state; have collected $33 million since 1995, helping Pataki ward off some formidable challengers and allowing him to spend well over $1 million per week in final stretch of campaign; millions came from donors with specific interests, consultants and businesses given construction projects worth as much as tens of millions of dollars each; in many cases, donations were solicited around same time contributors had matters before administration; while some donors have done business with state for years and have contributed to whoever is in power, Pataki has attracted more money from wider spectrum of busineses--many of whom began giving large amounts only when state was making decisions important to their bottom lines; photo; chart (M)