February 18, 2000

New York State Health Dept orders Staten Island University Hospital to ban any treatment of patients by its chief of neurosurgery, Dr Ehud Arbit, after death of one of his patients; Arbit was fired five years ago from Memorial-Sloane Kettering Cancer Center for operating on wrong side of patient's brain; Deputy Health Comr Dennis P Whalen, in strongly worded letter to hospital's chief exec, says state received information about 'potentially grave risk to patients' and says there is 'immediate and serious threat' to the health of any person subjected to surgery' performed by Arbit (M)

Clyde Haberman NYC column notes Feb 18 is day when New York's private schools send out letters letting parents know if their children have landed deeply coveted seats in next fall's kindergarten class; competition is fierce for few dozen kindergarten slots available at any given private school in city, and parents and school administrators alike agree that pressure is tremendous (M)

Conversations with voters across South Carolina reveal that the Republican primary tomorrow is a close, divisive contest and that the outcome will hinge on the turnout. But it is hard to judge exactly who will vote. Article, Page A24.

Promising Liver Treatment A possible new way to treat cirrhosis of the liver has emerged from studies on mice using telomerase, which prolongs the life of human cells grown in the laboratory. PAGE A18 Meningitis Vaccine Approved The Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine to protect against the pneumococcus bacteria, a leading cause of meningitis in infants and toddlers. PAGE A20

Nation's major airlines, responding to passengers' objections to turboprops airplanes, plan to acquire hundreds of small jets over next few years; beyond replacing most of their turboprops, airlines are also counting on regional passenger jets to expand their reach in smaller markets; Continental Airlines will spend around $2 billion to supplant all its turboprops with regional jets; Delta Air Lines will pay $4 billion for 200 regional jets and start service to 100 cities; American Airlines, Continental, United Airlines and Northwest Airlines will more than double number of regional jets operated by their feeder airlines in next three years; orders are going primarily to Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica, or Embracer, of Brazil and Bombardier of Montreal; graphs; photo (M)