December 21, 2002

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, billionaire entrepreneur with no government experience or clear political support base, says his first year in office has been absolute success, City Hall interview; experts say that Bloomberg, lacking political baggage, has shaken up the way business is done in City Hall; critics complain that Bloomberg, whose management style is far different from his three predecessors, is remote from larger workings of goverment and appears insensitive to New Yorkers' daily lives; supporters note he allows his aides close and frequent access, seeks out and encourages the most qualified aides and gives commissioners latitude to do their work; photo (M)

Even intrepid bargain hunters are shocked by the prices they are seeing in the stores this holiday season. Last year, Old Navy sold ribbed cotton turtleneck sweaters for $30; this year, a comparable sweater is $24.50. Women's wool dress pants at Banana Republic dropped to $98 from $116 for a similar pair last year. DVD players are selling for an average price of $130.53, down about $50 from last year. Sears is offering Panasonic digital cameras for $400, more than $100 less than last year.

Thou Shalt Not column, seventh in series of ten articles on interpreting Ten Commandments in 21st century, discusses life of H R Vargas, who had to deal with adulterous parents and has made effort to move on to become good parent himself; photos (M)

US Senate colleagues comment on why they have chosen Sen Bill Frist of Tennessee to succeed Sen Trent Lott as Senate majority leader; say they are rewarding Frist for his work in raising funds for many of them as chairman of National Republican Senatorial Committee and for helping to return party to majority; photo (M)

Judge Rules Most Players In Enron Case May Be Sued A federal judge in Houston ruled that virtually all of the banks, law firms and investment houses that played roles in the construction of Enron's off-the-books partnerships could be sued by investors seeking to regain billions of dollars they lost when the company collapsed. The decision only dismissed claims against two defendants -- Deutsche Bank and Kirkland & Ellis, the Chicago law firm -- while allowing the suit to proceed against almost a dozen other institutions and firms, including Citigroup, J. P. Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch and Vinson & Elkins. [Page C3.]