June 7, 2002

Investment bankers and lawyers say that two latest European Union court rulings affecting mergers are unlikely to set off immediate surge of deals but will help foster cross-border mergers in future; one ruling overturned 1999 decision blocking merger of two British travel companies on antitrust grounds, and the other restricted use of 'golden shares,' which permit governments to control company by invoking special rights, like power to veto major decisions, including takeovers (M)

Mayor Michael R Bloomberg and New York State legislative leaders reach tentative agreement that would give mayor control of New York City's problem-plagued school system and strip local school boards of their last major power; plan, if approved by Legislature in next few weeks, is most significant overhaul of system in more than three decades; it mostly returns management of school system to form it took until 1969, when State Legislature decentralized it to reduce power of mayor and give neighborhoods more say in how schools are run; if deal goes through, Board of Education will expand to 13 members from 7, and mayor will appoint 8-member majority; schools chancellor will be board's presiding officer and report directly to mayor; Bloomberg wins right for chancellor to appoint local school superintendents directly, instead of choosing among candidates proposed by city's 32 local boards; it is not clear whether local school boards will be abolished, as Bloomberg wants; they were created in 1970 to give communities more power over schools, but have long been criticized as ineffective and often corrupt; any plan to abolish local boards would need approval from federal Dept of Justice, to ensure that voting power of minorities is not diluted; photos; charts showing current and new structures of school management in New York City (L)

The sudsy film adaptation of two best-selling novels by Rebecca Wells tells of mother-daughter strife, alcoholism and other ills besetting a Louisiana family over three generations. Sandra Bullock is a New York playwright dragged home by her mother's friends on a family peace-making mission. Ellen Burstyn is Mom, a dithery drama queen, and Ashley Judd the same Mom as a harried, embittered young mother with a drinking problem. Fionnula Flanagan, Shirley Knight and Maggie Smith are the three childhood friends with whom Mom formed a pact of friendship more than half a century earlier. The connections between past and present feel tenuous, and the Oprah-ready mood of uplift is tainted with a strain of cuteness. — Stephen Holden

Almost a decade after the Hackensack Water Company donated a mammoth water filtration plant here to Bergen County, the property finds itself in the middle of an unusual battle, with historic preservationists on one side and local officials and environmentalists on the other. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private nonprofit group in Washington, today named the Hackensack Water Works to its annual list of the 11 most endangered historic sites in America, a designation that has helped other sites in the country avoid the wrecking ball.

Mike Wise On Pro Basketball column argues that New Jersey Nets, despite compelling story of guard Jason Kidd, cannot compete with drama associated with Los Angeles Lakers, who attract entourage of celebrity fans and act like celebrity dynasty; photo (M)