September 28, 2002

Former Los Angeles Lakers star and basketball legend Magic Johnson is inducted into Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame for contributions to basketball and greater community, with introduction by longtime friend and former rival Larry Bird; photos (M)

More than 10,000 Chinook salmon die in Klamath River in northern California in recent days, leaving biologists stunned and Indian tribes and fishermen angred at Bush administration, which they say caused deaths by favoring farmers in one of most contentious water disputes in West; Federal officials, while not conceding that administration policy had anything to do with die-off, say they will reverse early policy and begin releasing water from Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon in effort to revitalize Klamath River downstream; slow-moving river is littered with thousands of dead, bloated salmon, rotting in sun; biologists say they have never seen salmon kill of this size; it comes six months after Bush administration decided to divert more Klamath Lake water to irrigation in Klamath basin, saying decision would satisfy farmers and comply with environmental laws; photo (L)

Local opposition begins to build in lower Manhattan over city planners' proposal that West Street be buried and covered with tree-lined promenade, to help reduce isolation of Battery Park City; nascent Coalition to Save West Street raises discomfiting specter for re-building officials: fight over what could be a centerpiece of redevelopment of long-blighted areas south of World Trade Center site; photo (M)

All world's major vehicle manufacturers parade their luxury cars in debuts at Paris auto show; industry steps up production of expensive models in seeming defiance of current economic realities; luxury offerings are priced from $50,000; photos (M)

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column hypothesizes about changes that New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner might make to revitalize struggling New York Mets; photo (M)