August 14, 1999

Florence Otway's slab of movie-star history on St Mark's Place gets reprieve from repaving; Transportation Department spokesman Mark Patterson, who called strip of cement signatures a safety hazard, says work crew will sidestep that sidewalk when it replaces others in East Village next month; reprieve may only be temporary; department has told Otway she must fill out 'sidewalk and roadway application' and that sidewalk will have to be approved by city's Art Commission (M)

John Martini Sr, convicted murderer, tells his lawyer Alan L Zegas to appeal his death sentence in Federal court after arguing for nearly four years in New Jersey courts in favor of his own execution; Martini is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Sept 22; Zegas says he is stunned by Martini's decision; photo (M)

The shake-up in the Yeltsin Government was just the latest disturbing event in Russia, a country that has spent the years after Communism spiraling downward. Who is to blame? A report by John Lloyd, in The Times Magazine.

Markets surged after the Government released a report that showed a modest increase in prices at the wholesale level in July, easing investor concerns about inflation. The Labor Department said the Producer Price Index rose two-tenths of 1 percent in July as the first decline in food prices since April blunted the effect of a surge in energy prices. The increase was below analysts' forecasts and when the volatile food and energy components were excluded, prices were unchanged.

For the Discontended A