March 22, 2005

WISCONSI

Stephen Holden pays tribute to late Bobby Short, cabaret singer-pianist who reigned at Cafe Carlyle in New York for nearly four decades; photos (M)

High school student on Red Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota goes on shooting rampage, killing his grandparents, five fellow students, teacher and security guard, as well as himself; dozen others are injured in barrage; grandparents were apparently killed at their home earlier in day; authorities are investigating whether guns used in shooting were taken from grandfather, Daryl Lussier, longtime officer with Red Lake Police Dept; this is worst school shooting since 1999 killing of 15 people at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colo; Red Lake reservation is home to 5,000 Ojibwa Indians, commonly called Chippewa; photo; map (M)

Jets, Cablevision and third rival submit increased bids for West Side railyards shortly before deadline set by Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Jets, eager to build football stadium there, offer state $720 million for site and add residential development to their original plan; team's orginal offer was $100 million; Cablevision, principal opponent of stadium, unveils new details of its proposal, which involves thousands of housing units, park and hotel; MTA choice, to be made by end of Mar, will be crucial in determining whether stadium so eagerly sought by Mayor Michael R Bloomberg will be built; Cablevision considers stadium to be competition; its final offer said to be well beyond original $600 million bid; third bidder, TransGas Energy Systems, submits proposal for $1 billion; its proposal is considered unlikely to be accepted because it requires MTA to help TransGas build $2 billion electric power plant along with contract from authority to buy power from company for 20 years; chart (M)

United Auto Workers union agrees to baby-step rollback of its vaunted 'first dollar' health care coverage, which has long made assembly work at Big Three automaker one of most attractive blue-collar jobs in America; workes at General Motors, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler pay no deductibles or monthly premiums under coverage; union agreed this year to let Chrysler start imposing first deductible to be paid by Big Three workers, ranging from $100 to $1,000 for workers or retirees who use preferred provider organization, known as PPO's; Chrysler; while Chrysler will reap only modest savings from step, and while auto workers still have coverage that is envy of many white-collar workers, move is deeply symbolic and sign of union's acknowledgment of competitive pressure from foreign-based competitors; photo (M)