May 19, 2001

Until 1996, the Bergen County Democratic Organization was a fairly modest New Jersey political operation. Its money came mostly from small donations by county workers and local businesses, and it spent carefully to help candidates for offices like freeholder and sheriff. Then, that summer, the Bergen County group began taking in donations of $10,000 and $20,000 from big corporations like Lockheed Martin. It also began spending large sums for items like ''consulting'' by the private investigations firm that former President Bill Clinton hired after his affair with a White House intern.

Article notes that two weeks after New Jersey's Democratic leaders convinced courts that their legislative redistricting plan would not hurt black candidates' chances of getting elected, party is embroiled in bitter internal fight over absence of minorities on its leadership ticket for primary in District 27 in West Orange, NJ; map (M)

Supporters and critics of tax cut plans now moving through Congress agree that all of them would result in greater savings for wealthiest over time, as most of breaks for everyone else lessen; tax analysts say that top one percent of earners would gain protections and favorable provisions that do not extend to other 99 percent (M)

Janet Reno, the often embattled attorney general of the Clinton administration, said she was seriously considering running for governor of Florida next year, which could pit her against the Republican incumbent, Jeb Bush, the brother of President Bush. Article, Page A8.

Police officials in New York City, who spent years battling a crack scourge that sent the murder rate soaring, say they are now seeing increasing violence among dealers of marijuana, a drug that they say no longer fits its laid-back image. The level of violence still pales in comparison to the carnage of the turf wars between rival crack gangs a decade ago. But officials say they believe that the number of marijuana-related shootings has gone up in recent years and that investigators now routinely find guns, including submachine guns, when they execute search warrants at marijuana stash houses.