September 21, 2003

Jon Pareles article, noting that 2003 was named year of the blues, discusses history of blues and its place in American and world culture; photos (L)

Profile of and interview with Derek Khan, fashion stylist who has been sentenced to 18 months to three years in prison on charges of defrauding eight New York jewelers; Khan has admitted borrowing $1.5 million worth of jewels on behalf of hip-hop stars and celebrities and pawning gems for cash to support extravagant lifestyle; photos (M)

Patricia Volk article chronicles one day spent at Starbucks at Madison and 96th Street in Manhattan, which has become living room and dining room for neighborhood residents; photos (L)

Democratic Party seen torn between its desire to speak, clearly and without apology, about its beliefs and its desire to put together electoral majority in polarized nation to defeat Pres Bush and return to power; old struggle within party over whether to speak to great American middle or to each other has resurfaced with each new generation of activists and strategists since old New Deal coalition came unstuck in 1960's; photos (M)

Robotically controlled parking garage in Hoboken, NJ, uses only about half as much space as conventional ramped garage to handle same number of cars or even more; structure, which sits on 100-by-100-foot lot and parks 324 cars, was designed by engineer Gerhard Haag; it is first of its kind in US, belonging to fully automated generation of garages that parking industry specialists say is generating new interest; building resembles row houses; other earlier attempts at automated garages require attendants, but this needs none; cost of building garage is high, with estimates around $20,000 per space; photos; diagram illustrates how robotic garage works, using elevator system that runs both vertically and horizontally (L)