February 5, 2002

Ben Brantley reviews play Sorrows and Rejoicings, written and directed by Athol Fugard; Judith Light and Charlayne Woodard star; photo (M)

Bernard Holland reviews Los Angeles Opera concert of Bach's B minor Mass, directed by Achim Freyer, conducted by Peter Schreier and featuring vocal soloists Simone Nold, Annekathrin Laabs, Marcus Ullmann and Stephan Loges; photo (M)

Aviation Volunteer Fire Department in Harding Park section of Bronx waits for its fire truck to be repaired after incurring heavy damage on Sept 11; while insurance has paid for most repairs, balance of several thousand dollars remains and fire company cannot pay it; article traces history of company, one of ten volunteer units in New York, which was founded in 1923; map; photo (M)

Ernst & Young said it would stop selling information services to clients and quit being internal accountant and external auditor. Page C1.

Sell-Off on Audit Fears The main stock indexes fell more than 2 percent as investors sold shares of companies they worried had auditing problems. PAGE C1 Water Decision Is Faulted There was no scientific basis for withholding water from farmers last year to save rare fish in the Klamath River basin, a study finds. PAGE A16

Pres Bush sends Congress $2.13 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2003 that would squeeze much of government to bolster national security and continue cutting taxes, even at cost of increasing deficits for few years; casts proposal as wartime agenda necessary to battle terrorism abroad and keep Americans safe at home; calls on Congress to begin years-long, expensive process of adding to nation's military might; seeks infusion of money for domestic security programs, including bioterrorism preparedness, increased border security and more support for emergency and rescue services; proposes cuts or freezes in vast array of domestic programs to help pay costs; other initiatives detailed; plan ignites partisan battle on Capitol Hill; Democrats say they will stand by president in making available funds needed to fight terrorism, but that trade-offs would shortchange vital social needs in short run and hobble government in long run; charts; photo (M)

New Jersey Nets defeat Sacramento Kings, 117-83; photo (M)

Senate Commerce Committee will subpoena former Enron chairman Kenneth L Lay, who infuriated lawmakers by cancelling appearances before Congress at last minute, arguing that hearings have assumed prosecutorial tone; his silence before Congress is seen as remarkable turnabout for corporate executive, who recently was highly courted figure in Washington; he now faces multitude of investigations by Congress, Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission; William C Powers Jr, chairman of special committee on Enron's board that issued report critical of company, and SEC chairman Harvey Pitt testify before House Financial Services Committee; Powers says investigation uncovered 'systematic and pervasive' attempt by Enron's management to misrepresent company's financial condition; says there were failures on many levels by many people; Lay severs final links with company by resigning from board; photos (M)

Electricity experts say New York City, which faced looming power crisis in summer 2001, now has all energy it needs through at least middle of 2003 and beyond; cite September 11 terrorist attacks, which removed about 100 megawatts of power demand and recession which has stripped tens of thousands of jobs since then and reduced pressure on system; supply side of electricity equation has also fundamentally changed; collapse of Enron and prospect of energy glut in many parts of country has frightened investors who were once eager to pour money into power plant projects; of 22,000 new megawatts proposed for New York State, almost two-thirds are now considered unlikely to be brought on line; graph (M)

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times article examines personality of introverted New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick; looks back at his long career; Belichick led his team to Super Bowl victory against St Louis Rams, earning his third championship ring and silencing critics; photos (M)

Ernst & Young says it will stop selling information technology services to companies it audits and will no longer serve as internal accountant and external auditor at same company; move, in line with moves by other top accounting firms, leaves Deloitte & Touche as only Big Five firm standing by practice of providing consulting services to companies it audits; Ernst & Young chief executive James S Turley holds big firms must adopt clear stands on which services auditors can provide to clients; calls for independent disciplinary organization (M)

Black and Hispanic members of New York State Assembly say local school boards have failed minority communities and are calling for less political system in which parents play leading role; they are also seeking changes to central Board of Education, though most do not support Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to eliminate board (M)