June 23, 2003

Jack Curry Baseball Analysis contends that Major League Baseball should schedule one, three-game interleague series between New York Yankees and New York Mets per year instead of two to increase excitement level; photo (M)

Cost of workers' compensation insurance is at highest rate in nearly decade, adding another heavy burden on businesses and struggling national economy; thousands of bills on workers' compensation have been introduced in state Legislatures, in effort to contain costs; system covers 127 million workers nationally; it is regulated state by state, with no federal oversight and no role by Congress in its regulation; nationwide, average cost of workers' compensation insurance has risen 50 percent in last three years; in that same period, average cost has nearly doubled in California; as result, dozens of big and small businesses there are laying off workers; some businesses have closed and others have moved to other states where insurance costs have not risen as much; experts say prices are rising because of rising medical and legal costs, recent devastating price war by insurers, and, many insurers and business executives say, significant amount of fraud; in several states, including New York, regulators still control rates, but if insurers refuse to sell coverage, customers are forced into state-run pools where rates are even higher; in California, where there have been virtually no limits on rates since 1995, commercial insurers still find it impossible to turn profit; photo; graph (L)

Spam emerges as surprisingly bipartisan, powerful issue in often divided Congress; bill to control unwanted e-mail messages recently breezed through Senate committee by unanimous vote; Congressional positions on spam have little to do with political ideology and turn more on balance between rights of consumers and rights of marketers; table of bills concerning spam (M)

New federal law requiring teachers to have separate college degree in field of each major course they teach will prompt thousands of rural teachers to consider returning to school or moving elsewhere; officials in several state capitals say federal law seems intended to shake up big city schools but includes provisions unsuited to needs of America's sparsely populated regions; they fear law will accelerate migration of teachers to urban districts out of struggling small rural communities around nation; full impact of law, known as No Child Left Behind, will depend on flexibility given to rural states in applying provisions; so far, Education Sec Rod Paige has insisted on strict interpretation of law; he is encountering mounting outcry from rural states, where low-paid teachers often teach multiple subjects in small schools; photos; map (M)

Weather in New York City sets new record for rainfall during month of June, 10.15 inches of rain; meteorologists are eager to offer explanations for phenomena, but New Yorkers are mostly grumpy about it; photo (M)