January 20, 1999

FRANKLIN WOES RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT PRICE

A recent study ranked Franklin the worst of the top 10 mutual fund firms for one-year performance. Michael Price is caught in one of those chicken-and-egg questions. With increasing evidence...

WHO'S NEXT? LYCOS IS POSSIBLE TARGET

The Internet feeding frenzy has reached a new level. Lycos and GeoCities shares soared to new heights yesterday on speculation they'd be the next cyber company to be purchased following...

SOME INTERNET DEALS MAKE SENSE; SOME DEFY LOGIC

SO maybe not all Internet stock prices are crazy afterall. With deals like yesterday's $6.7 billion acquisition of profits-challenged Excite by @Home, another money loser, there's clearly plenty of value...

SPIN-OUT: EDITOR HITS SKIDS - HIRSCHORN OUSTED WITHOUT WARNING

In a move that could signal a dramatic change in direction, Michael Hirschorn was abruptly fired as Spin's editor-in-chief yesterday. Hirschorn, 33, had been editor of the alternative-music monthly since...

W. 57TH'S UP FOR GRABS - VACANCIES UP - BUT SO ARE THE RENTS

Real estate continues to churn on 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues as upscale retailers and national discounters displace the middle-market, mom-and-pop stores. Paron Fabrics, a 30-year tenant at...

'.COM' WORTH $374M TO SOTHEBY'S

Sotheby's is discovering just how rich the Internet auction craze can be - seeing its first $25 million e-investment bring a gain of $374 million in a day. The venerable...

DUELING BIOS SET TO SKEWER THE I-MAN

DON Imus is used to uncorking his barbed humor on his radio guests, but he may be in for some rough sledding in the months ahead as two independent publishers...

NABOKOVIN IN SOHO - A FINE BITE OF QUIRKINESS AT QUILTY'S

STEALING a peek at the reservations book at Quilty's on a busy Saturday night, straining to make sense of the scribbled names, I am cast back to a favorite passage...

'WINNERS' STRIKES THE RIGHT CHORD

DO you have to be crazy to be a musical virtuoso? The art-house hit "Hilary and Jackie" dramatizes the connection between artistic genius and madness, a subject given nonfiction treatment...

TASTY, BUT THEY JUST DON'T CZECH OUT

THE SoHo setting is Edward Hopper unhinged. Venetian blinds, a black banquette and suspended globe lights make an orderly first impression that's quickly belied by a hodgepodge of memorabilia: a...

A&E'S WILD ABOUT HARRY SMITH AS NEW 'BIOGRAPHY' FRONT MAN

VETERAN CBS correspondent Harry Smith has been named the new host of A&E's "Biography" series, replacing veterans Peter Graves and Jack Perkins. The avuncular Smith, who co-hosted "CBS This Morning"...

JESSE HEADBUTTS NBC - BIOPIC PLAN RILES 'THE BODY'

MINNESOTA Gov. Jesse "The Body" Ventura is wrestling with NBC over the proposed movie of his life story. Ventura is accusing the network of putting "ratings above accuracy." Ventura says...

'ANIMANIACS' MAKE MOVIE

THE Steven Spielberg-produced cartoon show "Animaniacs" is going Hollywood. The Emmy award-winning cartoon - which airs daily on WB Kids and the Cartoon Network - has been made into a...

CNN GETS FACELIFT IN NEWS SHOOTOUT

'If you look at the ratings numbers, I would not categorize Fox [News Channel] and MSNBC as two little start ups.' - Steve Miller vice president of marketing at MSNBC....

DIANE'S DEBUT ON 'GMA' WAKES UP RATINGS 34%

RATINGS for ABC's "Good Morning America" rose dramatically on Monday - the first day for new "transitional" co-hosts Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson. Despite mixed critical reviews, "GMA" boosted its...

IN 'CAPTAIN'S TIGER,' INNOCENCE AND WRITER GET LOST AT SEA

WRITERS love to write about the experiences that made them writers. This is what's on South African playwright Athol Fugard's mind in 'The Captain's Tiger: A Memoir for the Stage,''...

PAULA'S TWO LEGAL TEAMS IN FEE FIGHT

Paula Jones' latest legal team is trying to block her old lawyers from collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees - claiming the original attorneys are quitters who don't...

LISTEN UP GOOD, KNICKS: N-E-T-S! NETS, NETS, NETS!

AS OF today, I am a Net fan. As of today, I'm the president of the Jayson Williams Fan Club. I'm wearing a jacket with Keith Van Horn's number. I'm...

AIRSTRIKE THREAT VS. SERBS IS NO 'BLUFF': U.S.

NATO yesterday warned it was on the verge of using force to end the ethnic slaughter in Kosovo, as Yugoslav troops ignored international demands to observe a cease-fire in the...

GOV SAYS HE'S ALL EARS IN DRUG-TESTING FUROR

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki vowed yesterday that state health officials will "listen very carefully" to critics of a plan that would allow experiments on people who are unable to give...

GORE HOME TO VIEW TRAGEDY OF TENNESSEE TWISTERS

Vice President Al Gore saw firsthand the devastation caused by twisters in tornado-ravaged Tennessee yesterday, offering consolation and federal aid to victims. Gore borrowed a helicopter from the Fort Campbell...

ANOTHER MIDTOWN NORTH COP QUITS AMID SCANDAL

A second Manhattan cop has quit the NYPD rather than submit to a drug test - bringing to six the number of cops tainted by the scandal involving thefts from...

BUBBA'S BULLISH ON STOCKING UP SURPLUS FOR SOC SEC

The idea of putting Social Security funds to work in the stock market just got a really big supporter: President Clinton. In his State of the Union address last night,...

TV TUNES IN MORE TO PRESIDENT'S DEFENSE

President Clinton's impeachment defense yesterday got more than an hour more of network air time than his prosecutors did last week. ABC, CBS and NBC all aired live coverage of...

MCCALL BLASTS 'UNRELIABLE' CHILD-ABUSE COMPUTERS

ALBANY - A statewide computer databank set up in the wake of the brutal 1995 child-abuse death of Elisa Isquierdo is unreliable and way over cost, Comptroller Carl McCall charged...

PATAKI SEES INCOME-TAX CUT WORTH $600M IN STATE'S FUTURE

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday unveiled a surprise $600 million income-tax-cut plan - but New Yorkers won't see its benefits until it takes effect in 2002. Pataki's tax-slashing initiative would...

FEEL-GOOD TALK MAY HELP CLINTON IN POLLS, BUT POLS WON'T BE SWAYED

WASHINGTON. IMPEACHMENT? What impeachment? That's the message in President Clinton's State of the Union speech, with its list of new goodies: that Clinton has better things to do than fret...

GOPERS PREACH 'RECONCILIATION' IN RESPONSE SPEECH

WASHINGTON - Tossing aside complaints that the impeachment of President Clinton is hurting the nation, congressional Republicans last night insisted things are just fine. "Our country is not in crisis....

'THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS?' HAH!

WASHINGTON. THE Starr Report contained a juicy part that described President Clinton speaking on the phone with a congressman while receiving a form of sex he doesn't consider sex from...

GIULIANI PUTS THE BRAKES ON 'LIMOUSINE' LOBBYIST

Mayor Giuliani yesterday banned the wife of a former top aide from lobbying anyone in city government. "All the deputy mayors, all the commissioners have been told she should not...

TEAM RUDY HAILS DROP IN ROLLS OF SPECIAL-ED STUDENTS

The number of city school kids in special-education programs is rising at a slower pace than last year, officials said yesterday. So far this school year, 11,603 kids have been...

FANS: DENNIS THE MENACE WILL REBOUND

News of basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman's possible retirement was met with shock, disbelief and even glee by basketball fans last night. Some thought the wacky hoopster was just looking...

GROUP LINKED TO MENTAL-PATIENT DEATH GETS BIG STATE FUNDING

The nonprofit foundation financially linked to the death of a Bronx mental patient is a quasi-state agency responsible for parcelling out money for research. The board of directors of the...

POSTAL SERVICE ON CAMPAIGN TO STAMP OUT PENNY-PASTING

The Postal Service wants Americans to stop using their common cents. Officials yesterday appealed to letter writers to quit taping pennies on envelopes to cover the new one-cent postage-rate increase....

BELEAGUERED BILL MAKES UNITY PLEA; PUSHES FOR SOCIAL SECURITY OVERHAUL IN STATE OF UNION

WASHINGTON - President Clinton last night said, "I reach out my hand," to Republicans and Democrats alike as he kicked off a fight to save Social Security - smack in...

BILL'S LAWYER COMES OUT SWINGING; TAKES AIM AT 2 CHARGES OF IMPEACHMENT

WASHINGTON - President Clinton's top lawyer opened his defense yesterday by seeking to poke holes in the perjury and obstruction-of-justice impeachment charges drafted by House prosecutors. Chief White House Counsel...

PRESIDENT 'ADDRESSES' THESE KEY POINTS

WASHINGTON - Key elements of President Clinton's State of the Union Address: * Protect Social Security by putting 62 percent of the $4.4 trillion budget surplus into the retirement program...

UN-RETIRED RODMAN SIMPLY WON'T QUIT . . . CONFUSING US

Shock jock Dennis Rodman yesterday quit basketball after the collapse of a deal that would have brought him to the Knicks - but hours later, said he was in a...

SUSPECT DIES IN 'ESCAPE' PLUNGE

Four suspected drug dealers fled cops yesterday by jumping out a fourth-floor window aiming for a nearby roof - and one of them died trying, police said. A second suspect...

BODY LANGUAGE SAYS BILL IS STILL DEFIANT: EXPERTS

President Clinton repeatedly gave Americans the pointy finger last night - a gesture that demonstrates he's still more defiant than embarrassed about his impeachment troubles, body language experts said. Clinton...

EVEN APPLAUSE IS DIVIDED ON PARTY LINES

WASHINGTON - Democrats last night cheered their impeached president, as Republicans gritted their teeth, clapped mildly and cheered loudest and longest for slugger Sammy Sosa and civil-rights hero Rosa Parks....

TWO RUDYS BEAM OVER SLOWDOWN IN GROWTH OF SPECIAL ED

The number of city school kids in special-education programs is rising at a slower pace than last year, officials said yesterday. So far this school year, 11,603 kids have been...

GLASS FROM QNS. 'EL' HITS WOMAN BELOW

A Queens woman was hit last night by a piece of glass that police believe came from a subway train as she walked under elevated tracks in Queens. Police were...

ISLES MUST KICK MIKE UPSTAIRS

THAT Mike Milbury will stand behind the bench tonight coaching the 13-28-3 Islanders against Florida is one of the biggest disgraces in sports. Clearly failing as an on-ice leader, having...

SPITZER STARTS BOXING PROBE

Vowing to help clean up boxing, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer yesterday kicked off three days of national hearings at the Downtown Athletic Club on reforming the scandal-scarred sport. "National...

IOC MEMBER: I'M FINN-ISHED

A Finnish member of the International Olympics Committee resigned yesterday, the first of 13 members under investigation in the Salt Lake City bribery scandal to throw in the towel. Pirjo...

LET THE BUG BATTLE BEGIN

Aqueduct will be buzzing with the excitement of a title bout today when teenage riders Ariel Smith and Jeremy Beasley square off for the first time in the "Battle of...

HIS FUTURE IS GOLDING

Ray Golding knows he had better perform well each game, or else he'll hear about it from his mother, Sybil. "My mother criticizes me about every game I play," Golding,...

BIG BATTLE LOOMS AT SUGARBUSH

SOME of the best downhill skiers in the country, including Tommy Moe and A.J. Kitt will be at Sugarbush, Vt., this weekend for the Ford Downhill Series. The six-year-old event,...

SJU FORECAST VERY STORMY - GRANT INJURY WILL TAKE TOLL

St. John's can kiss that regular-season Big East title good-bye. As reported in yesterday's Post, the injury to forward Tyrone Grant's right wrist is much worse than originally diag-nosed. An...

RANGERS REGROUP FOR 5-ON-3S

On Saturday night in Montreal following the Rangers' third successive failure to score on a five-on-three, John Muckler promised his team would adjust its approach on the two-man advantage. And...

ALL-STAR SNUB FOR DANEYKO

ANAHEIM - Nice going, gripers. Because of the sour reactions to the All-Star Game omissions of such players as Brian Leetch, the all-time Devil has missed his chance at his...

NETS HAPPY TO HAVE NEW KID ON BLOCK

You have to give up something to get something. Keith Van Horn likes what the Nets got in Jim McIlvaine but he didn't sound too crazy about what they gave...

GATLING GOES TO BAT FOR OLD FRIEND SPREE

Chris Gatling grew very close to Latrell Sprewell during their days in Golden State. All Gatling says now is give Sprewell a chance in New York, if he does indeed...

PRICEY METS, PRICEY SEATS

The fans' bill for the Mets spending $155 million to retain Mike Piazza and Al Leiter and bring Robin Ventura aboard came due yesterday in the form of ticket price...

YEARS OF NEIL NEGLECT COST BLUESHIRTS BURE

THE organizational plan, says Neil Smith, remains the same, with Pavel Bure or without Pavel Bure, with a 50-goal scorer, without a 50-goal scorer. Unfortunately, with this general manager, who...

WARD EYES OTHER OPTIONS - UNCERTAINTY WITH KNICKS MAY FORCE HIM TO LEAVE

There was a sense of distrust in the air yesterday at Purchase as far as Charlie Ward was concerned coming on the heels of the Latrell Sprewell deal. The free-agent...

AMAZIN'S BRING WATSON HOME

It took stops in St. Louis, San Francisco and Anaheim, but Queens native Allen Watson is finally home. Now all he has to do is figure out what role the...

PANTHER PAVEL MAY NOT MAKE DEBUT ON ISLE

The Russian Rocket landed on Long Island last night but all he wanted to talk about was his new Panthers, not the Rangers, not the Islanders. Pavel Bure finally broke...

GANG GREEN MADE GRADE

FINAL JETS REPORT CARD OFFENSE QUARTERBACK Vinny Testaverde (259 of 421, 29 TDs, 7 INTs) had a magnificent year. Though his post-season numbers weren't as solid, they're a little bit...

YANKS SIGN ANDY FOR $5.9M IN '99

On the day the Yankees avoided the arbitration process by inking Andy Pettitte, the defending World Champions found themselves staring at differences of $1.8 million and $1.25 million with shortstop...

KNICKS KEEN ON CHOKER POKER - WELCOME LATRELL, HOPE HE'LL MEAN A WINNING HAND

"I think Latrell is a fine player. He plays hard." PATRICK EWING The Knicks, those coming and going, all welcomed Golden State Strangler Latrell Sprewell with open arms yesterday. Hey,...

STARKS HAS ONE REGRET: GAME 7

"Of course, I wanted to finish my career here, but life goes on. I keep my faith in God. I don't keep my faith in man because man will let...

JUST GIVE SPREE THE DAMN BALL

IN ORDER to comply with last year's decision by arbitrator John Feerick, before Latrell Sprewell can even think about drawing another NBA paycheck, he must satisfy David Stern that he's...

BURE MAY MAKE DEBUT AT GARDEN VS. RANGERS

The Russian Rocket landed on Long Island last night, but all he wanted to talk about was his new Panthers, not the Rangers, not the Islanders. Pavel Bure finally broke...

NETS HAIL NEW KID ON BLOCK

You have to give up something to get something. Keith Van Horn likes what the Nets got in Jim McIlvaine but he didn't sound too crazy about what they gave...

FOLEY COW! QB EXPOSED TO BROWNS

Glenn Foley was one of the five players the Jets yesterday submitted to the NFL on their expansion draft list available to the incoming Cleveland Browns, The Post has learned....

KNICKS SET TO RE-SIGN WARD - GRUNFELD REPORTS PROGRESS IN TALKS WITH POINT GUARD

Earlier in the day Charlie Ward said there was an air of distrust in his negotiations with the Knicks. But later in the night the Knicks said there was key...

RANGERS LOSING GROUND FAST - SKID HITS 3 AS PLAYOFF HOPES DIM

Senators 2 Rangers 1 All of a sudden, the season is in danger of slipping away from the Rangers even before this weekend's All-Star break. No longer on the waiting...

MAILMAN OKS NEW JAZZ MEGA-PACT; MALONE WILL FINISH HIS CAREER IN UTAH

Call off Karl Malone's boycott of Jazz training camp. Sources say Utah's walking contradiction has agreed to a four-year extension (plus an option) with owner Larry Miller for an average...