September 25, 2000

Senate hearings on violent entertainment focus on how violent films, recordings and electronic games are marketed to children, but some childhood development experts say issue is not just what children see, but how and where they see it; they say private household choices can greatly affect impact entertainments have, arguing that as more televisions, video games and computers find their way into rooms, children become more isolated from parental guidance and control; say even where programming is benign, array of video games, televisions, computers, DVD's and music systems creates virtual world where adults often fear to tread; note that as recently as few decades ago, most children did not have own bedrooms, let alone electronic isolation available to current teenagers; photos (M)

Financial problems hinder efforts to reclaim Krueger-Scott Mansion, which has long been one of Newark's architectural jewels; while $7 million worth of work has restored exterior, house is a ruin inside; years of municipal neglect and repeated looting have robbed house of its crystal chandeliers and pearl-inlaid wainscoting; after decade of work, plans to convert house into African-American cultural center have been frozen by Municipal Council, which refuses to allocate any more money for project that was scheduled to be completed in 1993; photo (M)

From Fifth to First Laura Wilkinson vaulted from fifth place in the final round to win the gold medal in the 10-meter platform diving at the Olympics. SECTION S and SPORTSMONDAY Big Stakes in Mexico Vote A state governor's race is likely to decide the fate of the dethroned political party that ruled Mexico for seven decades. PAGE A6

Metropolitan Opera to open its season with performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni, with Bryn Terfel and Renee Fleming; leading actors and playwrights to offer series of lunch-hour readings of one-act plays; Boston Symphony Orchestra, led by Seiji Ozawa, to open 120th season, Boston, with performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis; Gate Theater of Dublin is starting United States tour with its productions of Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape and Waiting for Godot; photos (M)

Political opposition claims that Vojislav Kostunica leads Pres Slobodan Milosevic by wide margin in Yugoslavia's presidential election, but government spokesman says opposite is true; government officials who predicted victory for Milosevic in first round, with incumbent taking more than 50 percent of vote, admit privately that mood is grim and that there is confusion about how to respond to vote; second-round runoff between Kostunica and Milosevic seems likely; photos (M)