February 23, 2001

PLAZA ATHENEE HOTEL CLOSES LE REGENCE RESTAURANT

Au Revoir, Le Regence! The venerable and ornate Upper East Side eatery has officially closed after 17 years. Hotel Plaza Athenee officials say the restaurant space will undergo renovations and...

JUDGE OKS $512 MILLION AUCTION CASE SETTLEMENT

A Manhattan federal judge signed off yesterday on a $512 million settlement for victims of the Sotheby's-Christie's auction house price fixing scandal. Judge Lewis Kaplan did put one condition on...

NIKE PLANS TO MEND ITS 'SWEATSHOPS'

Nike said it will just do it and improve conditions at factories in Indonesia making its products after a new report yesterday outlined a string of worker complaints ranging from...

GOLDMAN SACHS' CEO PAULSON SUFFERS PAY CUT

Ouch - a pay cut of $57,500 per week. Goldman Sachs chief Hank Paulson is red faced today among Wall Street's titans for getting his pay slashed - especially since...

WARNER'S GIANT STEP - COULD TAKE FULL CONTROL OF GRAMMY WINNER

Giant Records, home of the Grammy-sweeping band Steely Dan, is in negotiations to be sold off to Warner Music, The Post has learned. The little label's founder and chief, Irving...

VORNADO WINS WTC LEASE WITH $3.25B BID

In a decision that will affect Lower Manhattan for a century, the Port Authority yesterday selected Vornado, the city's biggest commercial landlord, to buy a long-term lease on most of...

MICROSOFT WISES UP - MAY DUCK ANTITRUST BY SELLING COREL

What's the problem? Corel and Microsoft simultaneously shrugged off speculation that the Redmond giant was running scared of government trust-busters yesterday. Corel has filed with the SEC to allow Microsoft...

NAPSTER RIVALS MOVE IN FOR THE KILL

The battle lines are drawn. With Vivendi Universal's and Sony's plans to go ahead with their shared online music site, the future of Napster is looking dimmer. Bertelsmann, the German...

BUNGEE DOW ON WALL ST. DOW UP 0.23; TECHS EDGE DOWN 23

Wall Street will probably get sick whipping so wildly on its bungee line. Stocks sank like a stone on the opening bell yesterday but see-sawed higher on new economic data...

HOW ROTH BUILT HIS GIANT REAL ESTATE KINGDOM

He might not like talking to the press, but, wow - Steve Roth sure knows how to build a real estate empire. The World Trade Center deal will double the...

THE LATEST TWIST ON 'REALITY'

FOX is preparing to take reality TV to Anytown, U.S.A. The network will air eight episodes of a reality series this summer in which a group of people will mix...

'KISS ME' - GREAT

KISS ME KATE ( 1/2)At the Martin Beck Theatre, 302 West 45th St., East of Eighth Avenue. (212) 245-9770. ------------For a special New York Pulse series, Post critic Clive Barnes...

RETURN TO SENDER - 'GRACELAND' LIKE A LONG, VIOLENT MUSIC VIDEO

3000 MILES TO GRACELAND () Fast-paced but dumb, brutal and derivative sub-Tarantino crime thriller starring Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and Courteney Cox. Running time: 121 minutes. Rated R (violence, language,...

OVER THE MOON - GARLAND MOVIE LEAVES LINDA SINGING ITS PRAISES

"LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME AND MY SHADOWS" ( ) Sunday night at 9:00 pm on WABC/Ch. 7 ------------- THE only thing more harrowing than being a child star is...

GRAMMYS HIT NO. 1

THE Grammys pulled an impressive audience Wednesday, drawing somewhere to the tune of 26.7 million viewers. The night's top-rated show, it scored a 16.7 rating - each rating point equals...

JOKE MAN COMETH - JACKIE MARTLING HAS A TALENT FOR TASTELESS - BUT IT'S ALL JUST GOOD DIRTY FUN

THE Post played "Stump the Joke Man" with Jackie Martling - and almost won. Almost.Martling, one of Howard Stern's gang of radio loonies and, in spite of what Stern would...

IMAX 'CASTLE' A ROOK

HAUNTED CASTLE () 3-D IMAX film about a rock star tempted by the devil. Running time: 40 minutes. Rated PG (horror images, roller coaster sensations). At the Lincoln Square. ----------...

TRUDGING THROUGH AN IRISH GRAVEYARD

A SKULL IN CONNEMARAGramercy Theatre, 127 E. 23rd St.; (212)777-4900. ------------ IT'S a mad and a tacky land, the wild western Ireland of Martin McDonagh, a Londoner who has vacationed...

NO PRIMATE SCREAM

MONKEYBONE () Near-incoherent mishmash with some delicious moments. Running time: 87 minutes. Rated PG-13 (violence, suggestive humor). At the Empire, the Chelsea, the Union Square, others. ---------- 'MONKEYBONE" is an...

THE STARR REPORT

Apollo creed: Fox to re-air 'Conspiracy' Fox will repeat "Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?" because it's received a "record number" of 2,500-plus e-mails from viewers asking to...

STEELY DAN'S GRAMMY WIN BRINGS 'EM UP SHORT

STEELY Dan's unexpected triumph at Wednesday night's Grammy Awards upset more than just the punters. City record stores were left unprepared for a run on Album of the Year "Two...

SHOOTING GALLERY HITS BULL'S-EYE WITH 'LAST RESORT'

LAST RESORT () Russian emigres in Britain. A little gem. Running time: 75 minutes. Not rated (sex, violence). At Loews State, Broadway and 45th Street. ----------------- 'LAST Resort," a small...

IF LOOKS COULD KILL - DARVA, RICK ARE REUNITED

IF you didn't catch Darva Conger and Rick Rockwell on "Larry King Live," then you missed the TV interview of the year. The only joint appearance the oil-and-water newlyweds from...

'OUR SINATRA' PALS NOW STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT

THE critics have called the off-Broadway cabaret revue "Our Sinatra" an "affectionate," "charming" and "delightful" tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes. But behind-the-scenes, affection, charm and delight are in short supply....

SURVIVORS KO KUCHA KIMMI

LONG ISLAND bartender Kimmi Kappenberg, the vegetarian who got under her fellow tribe members' skins every time they prepared to eat meat, last night became the fifth Outback castaway to...

GRAMMYS MAKE MUSIC

THE Grammys pulled an impressive audience Wednesday, drawing somewhere to the tune of 26.7 million viewers. The night's top-rated show, it scored a 16.7 rating - each rating point equals...

A FAMILY BUSINESS? - QUESTIONS FOR THE WHOLE CLAN

LET'S get this straight: It doesn't matter what Hugh Rodham, Bill Clinton's brother-in-law, did. Rodham could have taken $10 million each from convicted cocaine-ring runner Carlos Vignali and hair-growth scam...

NEW COMPUTER TEST DETECTS SCHIZOPHRENIA

A revolutionary new computer program can pick up the first signs of schizophrenia - even before people start showing symptoms. Canadian scientists who invented the test say it has proved...

EGAN GETS HIS GOLD RING AND HIS FIRST MISSION

ROME. NEW YORK'S Edward Cardinal Egan and 43 other new cardinals received their gold rings from Pope John Paul II yesterday at a Mass in St. Peter's Square. Speaking on...

3 SERB BRUTES GUILTY OF RAPING

A U.N. tribunal yesterday convicted three Bosnia Serbs of participating in nightly gang rapes of Muslim women and girls during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. The landmark ruling in The Hague,...

KOCH LEAVES HOSPITAL WITH JOKE AND A SMILE

Former Mayor Ed Koch was released from the hospital yesterday after being treated for pneumonia. "I'm not terminal," Koch, 76, joked as he strolled out of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center...

HISTORY TELLS US HILLARY, SOMEHOW, IS INVOLVED

IT WAS 1994, long before the words "Senator" and "Hillary" would be engraved on the same sheets of stationery. Hillary's supersized baby brother, Hugh Rodham, decided that he wanted badly...

BUSH SAYS: I KNOW WE 'KIN' BEHAVE OURSELVES

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday refused to criticize Bill Clinton over Pardongate, but said he himself will have the "highest of high" standards and predicted his own relatives will "behave"...

MORE SEX CHARGES FOR EX-TEACHER

A former high-school music teacher, busted for allegedly having sex with three underage girls in Manhattan and Long Island, is facing new charges of having sex with a 14-year-old, authorities...

TERRORIST SAYS HE MET OSAMA MAN AFTER BLAST

A confessed terrorist testified yesterday about the shady movements of Osama bin Laden's henchmen in the days before they allegedly blew up two U.S. embassies - killing 224 people. L'Houssaine...

THESE HIPS ARE HELL - LAWSUITS MAY COST $1 BILLION

PAIN-WRACKED Stephanie Surmanek had hoped her new hip joint would let her toss her cane and start walking free and easy again. Instead, replacement surgery plunged the 87-year-old Queens grandmother...

EIGHT NEW STARS SIGN UP FOR TAXIS' TALES OF THE TAPE

Taxi riders, annoyed by those incessant taped messages featuring such stars as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and comedian Chris Rock, will soon have new voices to irritate them at the start...

CLASS-ACT LAURA: 'I LOVE TEACHERS'

WASHINGTON - First Lady Laura Bush made her solo debut in "our new hometown" yesterday, declaring, "I love teachers." Wearing a trim brown suit, the first lady touted a new...

FACING MUSIC IS TOUGH FOR THUG WANNABE

ON THE day he should have been recovering from a champagne hangover in the sun of Hollywood, he walked into court in an immaculate tropical suit as the wind whipped...

'CRITIC' NABBED IN B'KLYN MUSEUM

If you get arrested in a gallery for displaying a crude portrait of the museum's director, is the painting still art? Scott LoBaido said he was just "expressing" himself when...

DRUG-DEALING CON THIRSTED FOR MORE THAN LIFE OF LUXURY

Carlos Vignali had it made. The son of a wealthy immigrant entrepreneur, he grew up in a beautiful home in Malibu with celebrities as his neighbors. As a teenager, his...

CUOMO, MCCALL EXCHANGE BARBS

ALBANY - Tensions exploded yesterday between Comptroller Carl McCall and Andrew Cuomo as the two gubernatorial rivals exchanged harsh attacks for the first time. Cuomo told the Buffalo News that...

U.S. ROCKS SADDAM WITH NEW STRIKES - BUSH: RAIDS ARE A HIT DESPITE MANY MISSES

WASHINGTON - American jets attacked Iraq for the second time in a week as President Bush claimed the earlier raids were successful, even though more than half the bombs missed...

SHE'S ANOTHER DEM ABANDONING BUBBA

WASHINGTON - This time, Hillary Clinton didn't try to blame some vast right-wing conspiracy - she blamed her husband. Nothing more dramatically shows how Bill Clinton's stock has fallen among...

MAYOR WANNABES HEDGE ON SCHOOLS

The four mayoral candidates refused to take a stand yesterday on the most controversial education issue in the city: the plan to put five of the city's worst schools under...

GUILTY PLEA IN PARADE ATTACK

One of four men set to stand trial on charges they were part of a gang that terrorized women in Central Park after last summer's Puerto Rican Day Parade pleaded...

PILL-PUSH WHIZ WAS A REAL QUACKERJACK AT MARKETING

When it comes to pushing pills, Almon Glenn Braswell "is in a class by himself." For more than 20 years, Braswell has been among the most aggressive, successful marketers of...

BRIBE GIBE VS. COCHRAN BACKFIRES ON PUFF PROSECUTOR

The prosecutor in the Sean "Puffy" Combs trial tried to show jurors yesterday that defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran bribed a witness - but the surprise attack fizzled when the witness...

2 COPS HURT IN QUEENS BLVD. SMASH

Not even cops are safe from the car-crash carnage on Queens Boulevard. Two Queens transit cops, changing a tire on their unmarked car, were hurt when another vehicle smacked into...

DUBYA CLAIMS WE 'KIN' DO BETTER

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday refused to criticize Bill Clinton over Pardongate, but said he himself will have the "highest of high" standards and predicted his own relatives will "behave"...

MARY JO MAY WIDEN PARDON PROBE - EYE ON ROCKLAND CASE

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White is looking to expand her criminal probe of Bill Clinton to determine if he granted clemency to four Rockland County men in a pardon-for-votes...

'NAZI' LINK PROBED IN MURDERS AT DARTHMOUTH

Nazi literature was found in the bedroom of one of the two teens charged in the gruesome stabbing deaths of two German-born Dartmouth College professors, ABC News reported last night....

ANOTHER BROTHER ENTERS PARDON MESS - ROGER PUSHED BILL ON BEHALF OF HIS BUDDIES

WASHINGTON - Former First Brother Roger Clinton lobbied for several last-minute White House pardons, it was revealed yesterday - joining Hillary Clinton's brother Hugh Rodham at the center of the...

FBI 'SPY' CONTACT LEFT KGB BOZO IN THE DARK

Robert Hanssen's spy handler kept the operation a secret from the Washington chief of the KGB, fearing his incompetence would compromise the Soviet Union's intelligence coup, an ex-agent says. Former...

'HEARTBROKEN' HILL DEFENDS AIDE, BUT BASHES HER BRO

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday defended her campaign treasurer's role in preparing legal papers seeking pardons for two tax cheats - saying that's what lawyers do. At the same...

2 TRANSIT COPS HIT FIXING FLAT ON QNS. 'DEATH' BOULEVARD

Not even cops are safe from the car-crash carnage on Queens Boulevard. Two Queens transit cops, changing a tire on their unmarked car, were hurt when another vehicle smacked into...

PORT AUTHORITY OKS $4.6 BILLION BUDGET

Flush with the anticipated proceeds from an upcoming 50 percent hike in Hudson River tolls, the Port Authority yesterday approved a record spending plan, totaling $4.6 billion, for 2001. The...

LOOKS LIKE HE'LL GO FROM RAIL TO JAIL

A subway fanatic who once drove off with an E train faces up to five years in prison after admitting yesterday that he committed more underground mischief. Darius McCollum, 35,...

'HEARTBROKEN' HILL: NO CLUE HUGH PUSHED FOR PARDON

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday defended her campaign treasurer's role in preparing legal papers seeking pardons for two tax cheats - saying that's what lawyers do. At the same...

HILL BACKS AIDE IN PARDON PUSH - BUT SHE'S 'SHOCKED' BY BROTHER

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday defended her campaign treasurer's role in preparing legal papers seeking pardons for two tax cheats - saying that's what lawyers do. At the same...

AIDE: BILL DOESN'T REMEMBER HUGH'S CONVERSATIONS

WASHINGTON - Bill Clinton "does not recollect" talking to Hillary's brother Hugh Rodham about two pardons for which Rodham was paid $400,000 - but can't flatly rule it out, an...

YANKS ARE PITCHER PERFECT - FOUR ACES IN ROTATION MAKE EVERY TOP 10 LIST

TAMPA - Line up the AL rotations. Put all 70 men on a list. Five starters. Fourteen teams. Now rank them best to worst. We asked four major-league executives to...

YANKEES INTERESTED IN BRINGING HOME LEDEE

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - If the Rangers move Ricky Ledee, The Post has learned the Yankees have an interest in bringing back the left-handed hitting outfielder. The Yankees talked to...

THE SULTAN OF SWING - BOMBER BOPPERS RAVING ABOUT NEW COACH DENBO

TAMPA - When their wood went dead last summer, they called him to extract the demons. Now, the Yankee hitters only have to duck into the coaches' room to find...

NO-NONSENSE ROCKET KEEPS IT IN STRIKE ZONE

TAMPA - Yesterday was the first time Roger Clemens threw to a hitter since Game 2 of the World Series, which is better known for Clemens firing a shattered bat...

GM CLARKE LEAVES DEAL DOOR OPEN

One day after the deal fell apart, Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke said yesterday that he would still be interested in dealing Eric Lindros to the Maple Leafs, but he...

YANKEES INVESTING IN FUTURE - TEAM CORE SEWED-UP LONG TERM

TAMPA - By investing $317.49 million in Derek Jeter, Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera this offseason, the Yankees were not only chasing a four-peat. They were, to some degree, thinking...

THEY'RE JOCKEYING FOR AGENTS

As the meet nears an end, jockeys are starting to make agent changes to prepare for the opening of the main track on March 14. Apprentice Angel Serrano has switched...

RATS DESERT SINKING XFL

AS NBC's XFL ship continues to take on water, it's every rat for himself. Honda, stricken by a sudden case of both taste and conscience, has pulled its ads from...

N.J. MISSES BOAT ... ER, TRAIN

NEW Yorkers are not particularly fond of riding the city's subway cars, but it appears the folks from New Jersey won't even use them so fish can live in them....

BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR FONZIE

PORT ST. LUCIE - The morning clouds burned off and the hot Florida sun made yesterday a glorious day for a first full-squad workout for the Mets. A crowd estimated...

HOPEFUL NETS DON'T BUDGE

In the East, there was a great activity in the power base as the already potent 76ers added a dominant center at the risk of messing team chemistry. Resulting shock...

KNICKS STEAL JAX - UNLOAD CHILDS ON RAPTORS FOR MARK, MUGGSY

The Knicks pulled off a stunning steal at last night's trading deadline in bringing point guard Mark Jackson back to New York for Chris Childs and a first-round pick. The...

BOWE CONTENDS INNOCENCE IN ALLEGED BEATING OF WIFE

Riddick Bowe - who will learn today whether he'll spend up to 18 months in jail for allegedly violating parole in a Long Island domestic abuse case - insists he's...

DOUBLEDAY: I'M NOT AT WAR WITH WILPON

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Nelson Doubleday said yesterday there is no war between him and co-owner Fred Wilpon. However, when asked if Wilpon jumped the gun on announcing...

LIONS HOPE TO DO THE DANCE

The next time you want to catch the hottest college basketball team in New York, swipe your MetroCard and take the 1-train up to 116th Street. Then hang a left...

JERSEY TAKES POKE AT OAK POT CHARGE

In the wake of Charles Oakley unleashing a stinging accusation in Thursday's Post that more than half the NBA smokes marijuana, Net players and brass yesterday reacted with skepticism and,...

FOR SALE: ONE EARNHARDT MEMORIAL

DALE Earnhardt's memorial service yesterday, produced by Dale Earnhardt Inc. Productions - I kid you not - was originally assigned to Fox Sports Net for exclusive transmission by Fox, NASCAR's...

PHILLIPS STILL TRYING TO PRY SHEFFIELD OUT OF LA

PORT ST. LUCIE - The phone lines from here to Vero Beach continue to connect Steve Phillips and his Dodger counterpart Kevin Malone, but the two still can't hook up...

GIANTS DECIDE NOT TO 'TAG' TIKI, SEHORN

There's a risk here, one that GM Ernie Accorsi readily acknowledges. He could have all but ensured that Jason Sehorn or Tiki Barber would remain with the Giants by placing...

ERIC DOESN'T WANT TO PLAY BROADWAY

PITTSBURGH - Ranger GM Glen Sather recently looked into trading for Eric Lindros' rights but backed off upon being told that the center had no immediate interest whatsover in coming...

ALI-FRAZIER IV HAS HOLLOW RING - DAUGHTERS TALK THE TALK ON WAY TO BIG PAYDAY

ON March 8, 1971, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali met in what many consider to be the greatest heavyweight championship fight of all time. On March 2, 2001, their daughters,...

ROBIN READY TO ROCK AGAIN - HEALTHY MET THIRD BASEMAN OUT TO REDISCOVER 1999 FORM

PORT ST. LUCIE - There was no fake stuff with Robin Ventura last season. He didn't give subtle reminders to those who cover the Mets about his surgery so reporters...

KNOBLAUCH'S FIRST HOMER A MEMORABLE ONE

QUIZ: The addition of Sid Fernandez (114-96) to join Roger Clemens (260-142), Dwight Gooden (194-112), Mike Mussina (147-81) and Andy Pettitte (100-55) gives the Yankees five 100-game winners in camp....

KNICKS ADD EXCLAMATION POINT

Give the Knicks credit. In one trade, they picked up 70 years and 28 NBA seasons. At this rate, they'll be replacing their shorts with adult diapers. Of course, Mark...

ST. JOHN'S WOLFINGER TO TRANSFER

Frustrated by a lack of playing time, sophomore forward Jack Wolfinger, after meeting with St. John's coach Mike Jarvis on Monday and Tuesday, has opted to look for another school...

MUTOMBO BIG PICKUP FOR PHILLY

WITHOUT bothering to do the research, it's safe to say yesterday's six-player, Sixer-Hawks transaction is the first time in NBA history its top team traded its All-Star (Theo Ratliff) center...

LAYDEN'S MOVE IS A WINNER

GENERAL manager Scott Layden did not sound too well late Wednesday night. His club was getting pounded by the putrid Pistons, his office phone had stopped ringing - all the...

ISLES MAKE ROENICK CENTER OF ATTENTION

OVERTIME: Islanders 4 - Flyers 3 It won't be an easy sell, that's for sure. But when the Islanders visit the Coyotes next month, Mariusz Czerkawski will try to recruit...

HASEK SURE HAS DEVS' NUMBER

Sabres 1 - Devils 0 The Devils can only hope they've seen the last of Dominik Hasek. If the playoffs started today, they'd be seeing him first. "I don't know...

KNICKS STEAL JAX - UNLOAD CHILDS ON RAPTORS IN TRADE FOR MARK, MUGGSY

The Knicks got their native New Yorker point guard back for a second stint, and it's not Rod Strickland. It's better. Mark Jackson is a Knick again. The Knicks pulled...

CHILDS DEPARTS ON CUTTING EDGE

Chris Childs found out he was traded last night while getting his hair trimmed in a barber shop. Appropriately, he had one last cutting remark as he departed, warning Knick...

DEVILS SCRAMBLING FOR HELP

So gladly, the Devil coach bought the Avalanche becoming the Stanley Cup favorite. "You'd have to think so after that trade," Larry Robinson said yesterday, after the Avs acquired star...

ISLE WINGERS TO PUSH HARD FOR ROENICK

It won't be an easy sell, for sure. But when the Islanders visit the Coyotes next month, Mariusz Czerkawski will try to recruit unrestricted free agent Jeremy Roenick to sign...