January 8, 2004

State arts councils, in remarkable turnaround, are not only surviving budget tightening but have endured less painful cuts and are in much better financial shape today than some feared year ago; only California, Michigan and Florida reduced their arts budgets by more than $10 million in 2003; arts administrators in other states view survival as major victory; map (M)

Persistent unemployment in eastern Germany is beginning to lead some German job seekers to find work in Poland; unemployment in former East Germany averaged 17.4 percent in November 2003, more than double 8.1 percent rate in former West Germany; unemployment in town of Forst, which is three miles from Zasieki, Poland, rose to 22.5 percent, up from 20.9 percent year earlier; some German citizens who work in Poland comment; map; photo (M)

New York Governor George E Pataki urges lawmakers to pass series of anti-terrorism laws at annual address to State Legislature; speech is noteworthy for its focus on terrorism and crime and Pataki's minimal focus on education and health care, which he addresses near end of speech, suggesting long-range reforms; plan for future could indicate that Pataki will seek fourth term; photos (M)

Lehman College study reveals that almost one third of all households in Bronx (NYC) are run by single mothers; photos (M)

Joe Gibbs to come out of retirement to coach Washington Redskins, team he last led in 1992, as number of teams turn to greatest former coaches to renew old rivalries using players barely alive when rivalries were born; trend comes in face of public encouragement by NFL for teams to bring fresh blood to coaching ranks; New York Giants choice of Tom Coughlin over several NFL assistant coaches interviewed shows teams are wary of untested candidates; graphs of coaching changes and tenures; table; photos (M)