December 14, 2000

Peat may soon lose its age-old status as Ireland's favorite fuel despite Bord na Mona's opening of $110 million peat-fird plant in late November; such operations are losing ground to cheaper and more efficient alternatives, like gas-fired power plants and wind farms; only handful of other peat companies operate in Ireland, and they serve small local markets; Bord na Mona has responded by reducing costs sharply; cutting work force in half, to 2,000, and reorienting itself toward what it says are environmentally friendly peat products; Bord na Mona is exploring new uses for peating, including soaking up offensive factory orders and filtering residential sewage from North Carolina to California; revenues from environmental products rose 25 percent, to 12.3 million euros ($10.9 million), in company's last fiscal year; photo (M)

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column discusses Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith preparing for game against New York Giants; photo (M)

China's trade ministry attacks US decision to reduce quotas for imports of its textiles and threatens retaliation; about $9 million in Chinese export are affected; US cut quotas because Chinese goods are falsely labeled as made in Hong Kong or Macao, which have their own quotas (S)0

Thomas D Thacher 3d, former school inspector hired by New York City teachers union to look into allegations that teachers and principals helped students cheat in standardized tests, accuses Comr Edward F Stancik of padding evidence and using shoddy and unfair methods; reports that of 9 teachers dismissed outright, 3 have been offered reinstatement, and 15 others who were accused are back in clasrooms; says investigators ignored evidence of innocence; teacher Rebecca Ballantine describes her ordeal; photo with union president Randi Weingarten (M)

New Haven shelves plan for $500-million shopping mall to revive economy, after nearly five years of talk and millions of dollars in marketing and environmental studies; rendering; Mayor John DeStefano, formerly enthusiastic, now likens Galleria at Long Wharf project to Vietnam quagmire; says city will contrate on high-tech, citing $1 billion in new investments by biotechnology companies (M)

Giuliani admistration nudges Museum of the City of New York to move downtown to Tweed Courthouse, to end months of uncertainty about using landmark building that is being restored at cost of $89 million; museum board votes unanimously to move out of city-owned building on Fifth Avenue and East 103d Street, to gain more space and access to potential donors on Wall Street; decision upsets East Harlem community leaders (M)

Lawrence Van Gelder column reports on Harlem Renaissance exhibition at Apollo Theater, exhibition of Dutch art at Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, Vienna Choir Boys concert at New Jersey Performing Arts Center, appointment of Raymund A Paredes as director of creativity and culture program at Rockefeller Foundation, and Margaret Leng Tan toy piano concert at Children's Musseum of Manhattan (M)

Election Developments Fail To Give Stocks a Bounce Although investors awoke with the apparent certainty that the next president had finally been chosen five weeks after the election, there was no celebration for Gov. George W. Bush in the stock market as investors concentrated more on the slowing growth of the economy and corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrials rose 26.17 points, to 10,794.44. The Nasdaq composite index fell 109 points, or 3.7 percent, to 2,822.77. And the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 11.19 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,359.99. [Page C10.]

Symphony Space on Upper West Side will seek to raise $24 million for its endowment and for the joining of its stage with nearby Thalia movie theater, which will be used as second performance space as well as a repertory film theater; upgraded center will be called Peter Norton Symphony Space in acknowledgment of Norton's $5 million contribution to effort; James Stewart Polshek will design new building; photo; drawing (M)

Union officials say they are withdrawing support for plan to revamp Daewoo Motor, which is insolvent, because creditors pushed for cost-cutting measures without consulting workers; company wants to shed 7,000 jobs; union support is seen as crucial to keeping Daewoo in operation long enough for creditors to sell it (S)

News Analysis: Vice Pres Al Gore and then Gov George W Bush appear on television, turning to arduous task of mending body politic riven by their painful presidential election; both Gore and Bush appeal to nation for measure of unity; Supreme Court's muddled, if decisive, ruling has given Bush his long-sought victory, yet denied him clear, unclouded title to Oval Office; Gore, in his speech, seeks to remedy this by buttressing confidence in rule of law; says, without trace of rancor, 'I accept finality,' and he pledges to put himself at Bush's disposal; Bush, in his speech, salutes his defeated rival and promises to change tone of Washington by emphasizing consensus, not confrontation; photo (M)

News Analysis: many students of Supreme Court say court has been diminished, if not actually tarnished, by its extraordinary foray into presidential politics; they point to contradiction between majority's action in this case and justices' usual insistence on deference to states; members of majority have taken pains to refute any suggestion that court has intervened unduly by stopping Florida recount or by ruling that it could not resume, but events of last few days are jarring even for people who pride themselves on being realists rather than romantics about how court works; photos (M)