January 17, 1999

GILLETTE GEARS UP FOR COMEBACK

JUST as big exporters were hurt last year when the dollar was strong, they should be helped this year as the U.S. currency weakens - especially against the euro, the...

THE BEST SPOTS ON THE WEB FOR REEL VIDEO BUFFS

PUT your feet up, throw some popcorn into the microwave and boot up your PC. The Sundance Film Festival opens on Thursday, and film buffs not heading to Utah's Park...

KILLER-SHARK TALE SPITS OUT BIG BUCKS

SHARK in the water! The proposal for "Close to Shore" just scared up some big bucks from Broadway Books - more than 20 years after Peter Benchley's "Jaws" turned into...

STAR PALS: A CRITIC'S CATCH-22

I spent last Sunday night at an intimate dinner with Nick (Nolte), Cameron (Diaz), Terrence (Malick), Bill (Murray), Janet (Leigh) and Stevie (Spielberg) - and 270 other close personal friends...

THE 4 QUESTIONS: ARSENIO HALL

Arsenio Hall has gone from late nights to kung-fu fights. The former nighttime TV star and former Eddie Murphy side-kick seems to have found his niche as the fast-talking LAPD...

TWO-HIT WONDER: SUCCESS AS JOCK & DOC PUTS TED DANSON IN SOME SPECIAL COMPANY

'BECKER'' star Ted Danson is poised to join one of the most exclusive clubs in TV. has someLike Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith - his boyhood TV idols -...

A WONDERFUL 'FOSSE'

ABSTRACT: The dance musical "Fosse" at the Broadhurst Theater is wonderful - better than we had any right to expect; better, even, than our giddiest hopes. It will doubtlessly be...

STYLE & SUBSTANCE

ABSTRACT: Having spent the majority of her life before the cameras, Kellie Martin is fully aware of the importance of her appearance....

NEW YORK PET: BUYER BEWARE: THAT DOGGY IN THE WINDOW MAY BE DEFECTIVE

ABSTRACT: Prior to Christmas, pet stores all over the metropolitan area advertised that they were carrying a heavy inventory of "AKC (American Kennel Club) registered pure-bred puppies." Now, the holidays...

50-YEAR TAX CHASE MAY SOON END

At 84, Jacob Freidus should be enjoying life puttering around his Long Island waterfront mansion. Instead, he and his wife, Ella, 77, find themselves in the cross hairs of the...

POSH EATERY HAS 1,300% MARKUP ON TAP

"If we charged that, we could all retire this year!"BEVERAGE DISTRIBUTOR David Copperfield would have a hard time turning 3 cents into $12, but Harry Cipriani pulls it off regularly....

DINERS, TURN YOUR HEAD AND QUAFF ; YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR DRINK TAB, EVEN JUST FOR SODA

"They refilled our iced-tea glasses a few times and charged us each time they poured ... The bill came to $70!"HOPE FRANKThe prices at some New York eateries are driving...

THE WAR ON BIG TOBACCO: IT WAS THE MONEY ALL ALONG

CITY Council Speaker Peter Vallone wants to use part of New York's $25-billion share of the tobacco-settlement windfall to renovate old schools and build new ones. Mayor Giuliani says he...

CUNY LAW SCARING OFF STUDENTS: STUDY

Students are shunning the City University law school, spooked by the number of its graduates who fail the bar exam and the quality of its teachers, according to the school's...

HOME-RUN BALL BRAWL FOR MRS. MANTLE

Who has Mickey Mantle's 500th home-run ball? An Oregon firefighter says he bought it two years ago for $25,000 - and now wants to auction it off. But Merlyn Mantle,...

CITY TAKES DEAD AIM AT HEALTH DEPT. BRIBE SCAM

City investigators are digging into charges that Health Department workers have been demanding bribes from undertakers who want death certificates issued speedily and hassle-free, The Post has learned. The alleged...

CASH-STRAPPED HOSPS PAY PLENTY AT THE TOP

The city's 10 highest-paid hospital executives raked in salaries and perks worth $10.3 million as their institutions struggled for survival amid cut-throat competition. The big-buck payouts had one critic crying...

POLL: 75% SEE A WOMAN ON 2000 TICKET

Nearly three-quarters of Americans think a woman is likely to be on one of the major party tickets in the next presidential election, a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll found. The...

STATE EYES 'NO CONSENT' MEDICAL TESTING

ALBANY - The state should be able to conduct risky experiments on mentally ill and disabled adults - even if they're incapable of giving their consent, a state Health Department...

TAKE IT E-Z SPEEDING - PA'S WATCHING

Don't speed along on those E-ZPass lanes. Big brother is watching. The Port Authority said it will suspend the E-ZPass privileges of motorists who repeatedly speed through toll plazas on...

COLOMBIA REBELS FREE A VOLUNTARY HOSTAGE

Talk about a great boss. Norbert Reinhart certainly earned the title, swapping places with a kidnapped employee who was being held hostage by Colombian guerrillas. "He's a hero," 60-year-old Ed...

NEW PROPOSAL FOR 2ND AVENUE SUBWAY ON WAY

EXCLUSIVE "The city is forecast to add 650,000 jobs to its economy in the next 20 years. But this number cannot be achieved without a significant increase in rail transit...

L.I. COUPLE LOSES GROUND IN FLAP OVER BIG BIRD AT BEACH

A Long Island town has clipped the wings of a 40-foot steel heron - not to mention the spirit of the statue's owners. Jim Miller and his wife, Barbara, have...

BUS-DEPOT NEIGHBORS FUMING OVER FUEL LEAK

Residents of a Brooklyn neighborhood where 19,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from a city bus depot and spread underground to homes fear the spill is causing them health problems....

CHECK CAREFULLY BEFORE TAKING ONE FROM BUBBA

I OWE Bootsie the Bookie $100 for a horse that is still running. But Bootsie owes $40 to his lay-off guy, Joey in Vegas. Do I make my $100 check...

STUDENTS TO HONOR KING BY HELPING COMMUNITY

While many students enjoy a day off tomorrow in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, others will embody his legacy by using the time to do volunteer work. Forty...

APPLE HONORS IRISH HEROES OF CIVIL WAR

New York remembered its own fighting Irish yesterday as St. Patrick's Old Cathedral honored the Celtic immigrants who battled in the Civil War's 69th Regiment. The 69th Regiment, comprised of...

TIME TO TAME ; THE BUCKIN' BRONCOS ; GANG GREEN AND FANS READY TO ROLL ON TO SUPER BOWL HEAVEN

DENVER - The Jets hope to lasso the Broncos in a bid for the AFC championship today - with New York fans predicting victory and only the second trip to...

TAX-FREE FRENZY BACK TODAY FOR CLOTHING SHOPPERS

Post-holiday bargain hunters are getting a second wind today as the city's fifth No-Sales Tax Week kicks off with a "ka-ching!'' Through next Sunday, shoppers won't have to pay the...

OFFICIALS NEED THEIR HEADS EXAMINED

I'M beginning to wonder if the state Office of Mental Health is suffering from a nervous breakdown. Instead of coming clean and telling everyone about the death of a Bronx...

CARD GAME ENDS IN SLAYING

An argument over a card game sparked the shooting death of a 21-year-old man outside his Brooklyn apartment early yesterday. Detectives are still trying to piece together the exact circumstances...

BUSTED 'OL' DIRTY BASTARD' BALKS ; AT COPS' GUN-SHOOT RAP

"He did not have a gun."LAWYER PETER FRANKEL Ol' Dirty Bastard's next concert might be behind bars, authorities said yesterday as the notorious Wu-Tang Clan rapper was charged with allegedly...

45 ALBANIANS BUTCHERED IN KOSOVO

The bodies of 45 shot and mutilated ethnic Albanians, including old men, a woman and a child, were discovered yesterday in Kosovo, Yugoslavia, a day after Serbian government forces attacked...

DOG POISONER STALKS BOSTON'S BACK YARDS

"There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason behind it ... It's every pet owner's nightmare."'MSPCA SPOKESWOMAN BARBARA SMITH A vicious serial killer is luring dogs in a Boston...

PREZ PRACTICES FOR 'AWKWARD' STATE OF UNION SPEECH

WASHINGTON - As lawyers and lawmakers skirmished over his fate, President Clinton yesterday turned his attention to next week's State of the Union Address - perhaps his most important speech...

CLINTON FACES TOUGHEST CHALLENGE ; MUST ADDRESS GOP CASE IN SENATE TRIAL

WASHINGTON - Lawyers for President Clinton left the Capitol yesterday facing a daunting challenge: countering three solid days of arguments in favor of removing the president from office. With the...

CRUSHED GARAGE A GRAVE? ; SEARCH FOR POSSIBLE VICTIMS ON E. SIDE

Officials won't know for days whether anyone was trapped inside a Lower East Side underground garage when the ceiling crashed down over the weekend, smashing more than 100 cars. Investigators...

MICK'S MISSUS FINALLY FINDS HER NICE GUY

Jerry Hall's new Guy whisked her off to Paris for a romantic rendezvous after she filed for divorce from heart-breaking hubby Mick Jagger. Real-estate tycoon Guy Dellal thought the tempting...

SHE LOST CAR & MUCH MORE

Gila Cohen was fast asleep when her world came crashing down. Relatives knocked on the door of her East Broadway apartment to tell the 29-year-old hat designer that the garage...

EX-U.N. INSPECTOR RIPS 'CENSOR'

Former arms inspector Scott Ritter charges that the Department of Defense is trying to censor his new book about Iraq and ruin his reputation. The Pentagon sent Ritter a letter...

L.I. COPS PROBING DEATH OF INMATE

Homicide cops are investigating allegations that an inmate at the Nassau County Jail died after being beaten by guards. Thomas Pizzuto, 38, of Hicksville entered the jail in East Meadow...

$20M SCAFFOLD LAWSUIT DUE

Hundreds of Times Square-area residents terrified and displaced by last summer's horrific scaffold collapse plan to file a $20 million lawsuit this week against developers of the Conde Nast building....

HEAD TO VERMONT AND MAKE A PERFECT TURN

VERMONT was one of the first states to have downhill skiing and is considered the birthplace of snowboarding, so it's no surprise that it's a great place to learn how...

IN THE NAME OF GOD, STOP!

Showboaters spread wrong word GIMME that old time religion, gimme that old time religion, gimme that old time religion ... because I don't get the new stuff at all. At...

REEVES VS. GREEN: WAR OF SURVIVORS

MINNEAPOLIS - Only one team will emerge as the winner of the NFC Championship Game today and advance to Super Bowl XXXIII. One team will rejoice, leaving the other to...

GET CHELIOS, WIN A CUP ; HAWKS TO SHOP ALL-STAR DEFENDER

MONTREAL - The NHL balance of power may well be in for a shift of seismic proportions. Slap Shots has learned that Chris Chelios, as dominant and complete a defenseman...

TUNA AT TOP OF HIS GAME

DENVER - There are a number of Jets who've been around Bill Parcells and believe he's been at his absolute peak as a coach this season. And because of that,...

VINNY ONE AWAY FROM ERASING ALL DOUBT

JET NOTES DENVER - Today can be a defining moment in the often-maligned career of Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde, who's 13-1 as the Jets' starter, can erase the memories of all...

HOT-STOVE REPORT CARD

WINS and losses in the summer can be traced to winter moves and non-moves. A look at the biggest winners and losers of this offseason: WINNERS1. BRAVES - It's not...

IT'S TIME TO SHOW ; 'EM ... THE BRONCS ; JETS' SUPER DREAM ON LINE AT MILE HIGH

"I might not get this chance for the rest of my career ... We've got this opportunity, so we've got to make the most of it."JETS CB RAY MICKENS DENVER...

WIN & COVER GO TOGETHER

ONE OF the major topics for today's title games has been the seemingly extra-large spreads lavished on the Falcons and Jets. But in the history of these conference championship games,...

JAMAL PROMISES A NEW VERSION OF DIRTY BIRD

MINNEAPOLIS - Falcon running back sensation Jamal Anderson promised Friday night that he was working on a new version of the Dirty Birdto debut today in the back of the...

SUPER SIX SOAR INTO THE GARDEN

It's like a Juilliard student performing in Avery Fisher Hall. Or a pupil at the French Culinary Institute making desserts at Le Cirque 2000. For New York high school basketball...

MACLEAN: TO BE OR NOT TO BE IN REHAB

Last season after chronic bolts of pain stabbed through his left knee again, forward Don MacLean had one thought on his mind: quit. After all, his career had been shredded...

BRIGHT-SPOT MANNY LOOKING FOR MORE

MONTREAL - When John Muckler went looking for a spark on Friday night, he found Manny Malhotra. And so rather than keeping to his customary routine in which he allots...

KUBIAK READY FOR BELICHICK CHESS MATCH

DENVER - Five-hundred and 32 points. Thirty-one points per game. John Elway. Terrell Davis. Shannon Sharpe. Ed McCaffrey. Rod Smith. Gary Kubiak. Kubiak? The offensive coordinator of the Broncos is...

COULD BE A BIRD BATH ; HEAT'S ON FALCS' 'D' TO STOP POTENT VIKES

MINNEAPOLIS - By afternoon's end, the Atlanta defense may be drowning in a purple haze. But for one last day, allow the Falcons the belief they can really stop Randall...

NYRA'S BUG BOYS LEARN FROM BEST

Sunday school for bugs will be in session again this morning at Aqueduct, conducted by "Father" Dave Hicks, steward for the New York Racing Association. In a program instituted four...

BOOTSY IS STEPPIN' OUT ; THORNTON'S COMING ALIVE IN RED STORM BACKCOURT

"I've been looking for my shot more, looking to do the things I had done in the past in junior college and high school."BOOTSY THORNTON This is the Marvis Thornton...

MR. SINATRA ROMPS HOME

Mr. Sinatra, overcoming a slop-aided speed bias that dominated yesterday's card at the Big A, rallied wide on the far turn and blew past favored Wouldn't We All in midstretch...

STRAW'S ON TARGET FOR SPRING RETURN

A PLAYER'S cancer is no reason for a manager to grow soft when making out his lineup card. Sentimentality is not the issue. Popularity with fans can't enter the equation,...

CHARLIE WARDS OFF TRADE

Free agent Charlie Ward made it clear yesterday that he wants no part of a sign-and-trade deal. He wants to stay a Knick, but they must make the long-term commitment...

MIKE'S LOST HIS CLOUT ; TYSON NOT THE DRAW HE USED TO BE

They prepared for a gang war, and nobody came. Unlike the crowds of the previous Tyson Era, this time around there is a perceptible lack of quantity, if not quality....

VAN GUNDY: PUT UP OR SHUT UP; TELLS TEAM TIME FOR TALK OVER

"I just want our team to listen."JEFF VAN GUNDY No slogans this year for Jeff Van Gundy. He knows there's too much work to be done and time for words...

IRON MIKE RUSTING AWAY ; TYSON NO LONGER BEAST O' THE RING

LAS VEGAS - The gapped-tooth sneer is the same. So are the black eyes that at times look like those of a madman, perhaps dipped in evil. They tell you...

MASTERMIND: SHANAHAN, THE ANTI-TUNA, IS DIFFERENT SORT OF FOOTBALL GENIUS

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Mike Shanahan seems like a mastermind, which is to say he doesn't seem like a head football coach. Or at least the idea of what you have...

QUITTING TIME: ELWAY, JORDAN AND GRETZKY PROVE THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO PULL DOWN DURTAIN

DENVER - The one percent chance Michael Jordan leaves open for his return is three entire percent less than David Falk's commission and still more valuable to His Airness than...

RED STORM STAY CENTERED ; FIGHT OFF RUTGERS WITHOUT CAPTAIN

St. John's 88 Rutgers 78 Their star was struggling and their center was sitting on the bench with a suit on his back and a cast on his wrist. But...

HABS ZERO IN ON RANGERS ; BLUESHIRTS CAN'T TAKE 'ADVANTAGE'

Canadiens 3 Rangers 0 MONTREAL - Whatever success the Rangers have enjoyed this season has been powered by their work on their specialty teams. That - plus uniformly excellent goaltending...

HE AIN'T SCARY NO MORE TEDIOUS TYSON KNOCKS OUT FRAN

Without his veneer of invincibility, Tyson is now an undersized, average heavyweight with above-average punching power. When it lands. Which is rare. LAS VEGAS - Contrary to what you will...

SO BAD, THEN BOOM! ; ONE PUNCH SAVES RUSTY MIKE IN 5TH

LAS VEGAS - Until the punch came, you wondered about the man they used to call the baddest one on the planet. Had he lost it all? Here was Mike...

CUNNINGHAM, CHANDLER TAKE FULL ; ADVANTAGE OF SUPED-UP OFFENSES

CHANDLER On target. QBs, WRs vs. DBsWhen Falcons have the ball: Chris Chandler has proven that if he can remain healthy and have some weapons at his disposal, he can...