May 4, 2000

Interview with Sir John Taverner, English composer whose music is rooted in ancient traditions, ranging from Byzantine chants to Indian ragas to American Indian music; will conduct retrospective of works at Church of St Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan on May 4; photo (M)

The Los Angeles Lakers were Hollywood's version of a motion picture meteor hurtling toward earth with nothing but doom in the forecast for any mortal. But this week, the Sacramento Kings yelled ''Cut!'' With slingshots and kryptonite, they have left the once invincible Los Angeles Lakers one game removed from elimination in the first-round of the National Basketball Association playoffs.

World leaders and lay people alike embraced the news of Cardinal John O'Connor's death with mixed emotions -- sadness at the loss of a great leader, tinged with relief after what had been a lengthy decline.

When Gov. George E. Pataki and the Legislature promised to rein in state debt this week, they seemed to be saying, ''Stop us before we borrow again.'' On this issue, there has been a marked contrast between words and actions. Politicians here have long talked about debt reform, but debt has kept growing. Even as lawmakers prepare to impose limits on state borrowing for the first time, they are readying a $3.8 billion bond act -- the largest in state history -- for transportation to put before voters in November.

Daniel H. was 3 and Dawn was 4 when their mother took them and disappeared. Her estranged husband, a New York City limousine driver, searched obsessively for his children. He posted rewards, enlisted help from a retired police officer and hired a private detective, all to no avail. As six years passed, he took to driving slowly through residential neighborhoods, looking for two blond children who looked like him. ''I never gave up hope,'' the father, Hardaway H., said in a recent interview. ''But it was as if they were dead.''