January 23, 2003

A&P: BEAN THERE, DONE THAT - GROCER SHOPPING ITS FLAGSHIP EIGHT O'CLOCK COFFEE BRAND

A sale may be brewing in java land, now that A&P has decided to take a coffee break. A&P, formally known as The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., is...

SPITZER, SEC EYE PRE-PAID LEGAL'S BUSINESS DEALINGS

The New York Attorney General's Office and the SEC are looking into the business practices and the stock market activity of Pre-Paid Legal Services, The Post has learned. The Post...

ANEMIC EARNINGS SHOW THAT WALL STREET WOES AREN'T OVER

J.P. Morgan Chase and Merrill Lynch looked like they were announcing different news yesterday - one a loss and one a small profit. But they both made it clear that...

NEWSWEEK'S PETTIT DIES

Sarah Pettit, 36, a Newsweek senior editor and a pioneering lesbian journalist who co-founded Out magazine, died yesterday after battling lymphoma for the past year. She joined Newsweek in 1999...

NAPSTER FIGHTER TO LEAVE RIAA BY YEAR-END

Hilary Rosen will step down as head of the Recording Industry Association of America by the end of the year. Rosen made the decision to leave on her own and...

IMCLONE-SAC LINK - HEDGE FUND CALLED WAKSAL SAME DAY AS MARTHA

DID hedge fund operator Stevie Cohen get a heads up from ImClone's Sam Waksal about problems with ImClone's stock? Martha placed a phone call to Waksal, a personal friend, in...

FOUR DOWN YEARS - DOW, S&P SLIDES ERASE ALL GAINS SINCE DECEMBER

It's official - four straight years of market declines. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index officially fell into year-to-date losses yesterday after falling for five straight...

COMPTROLLER: CORPORATIONS CAN'T IGNORE SHAREHOLDERS

Shocked that companies are legally allowed to ignore their shareholders' wishes, New York City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. is doing something about it. Thompson said he and trustees from five...

KMART PAYS EXEC BONUSES A YEAR AFTER CHAP. 11

A year to the day Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the mass merchant disclosed it will pay new CEO Julian Day a $1 million annual salary and a...

HOME IMPROVEMENT - MARTHA'S BEDFORD BUDGET RUNNING UP TO $25M

MARTHA Stewart's company may not be in the healthiest condition, but her estate in Bedford seems to be shaping up nicely. Sources familiar to the lengthy project say the domestic...

STARR REPORT

It's Pat! Sajak wearing Sunday best for FNC "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak is joining Fox News Channel to host a weekly, one-hour entertainment show. "Pat Sajak Weekend" will...

FLYING FOX SCORES BIG WITH IDOL 2

'AMERICAN Idol 2" bowed to whopping numbers Tuesday - as nearly 27 million viewers tuned into the Fox reality show. "Idol 2" led Fox to its second consecutive prime-time win,...

BAM CRIES 'UNCLE'

TWELFTH NIGHT BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100. Through March 8.UNCLE VANYA Through March 9. ------ BEFORE he directed "American Beauty" and "Road to Perdition," Sam Mendes...

MARTHA'S BACK, BY GEORGE

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th Street, (212) 242-0800. Season runs through Feb. 2. ------ YOU can't keep a good genius down - even...

DRUGGIE SOAP STAR SHOCKED BY FIRING

TROUBLED soap actor Michael Nader says he was "shocked" when ABC fired him from "All My Children" - after he was busted for using cocaine. Nader is suing ABC for...

A 'CAESAR' SALAD

JULIUS CAESAR At the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St. Through March 2. TeleCharge, (212) 239-6200. ---- UNDER Karin Coonrod's direction, Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" becomes a nasty, painful personnel change...

HOSPITAL BRIDE GETS A CASE OF COLD FEET

'GENERAL Hospital" starlet Vanessa Marcil (Brenda) is leaving the show - after failing to work out a deal with ABC. TV Guide is reporting in its Feb. 1 issue that...

BIDDING ENDS ON EBAY

GOING once, going twice . . . the race to bring an eBay- themed TV show to the air has finally gotten the green light. The syndicated show, co-produced by...

MOVE OVER SUNDANCE KIDS, THERE'S A NEW . . . STAR OF INDIES

EACH year, one actress emerges from Sundance unofficially crowned Queen of the Indies. Past winners of the title include Christina Ricci, Parker Posey and Maggie Gyllenhaal. This year, husky-voiced New...

AMERICAN IDLES - REALITY TV BUG BITES NEW YORK

DON'T feel bad if the hottest spot you've visited lately is your living room couch and your new best friends are Evan Marriott and Trista Rhen. "If someone said 'Come...

MAGICIANS HIT A TRICKY PATCH - PENN & TELLER ARE JUST NO FUN ANY MORE

"Penn & Teller: Bull%$#*" [½ ] Tonight at 11 on Showtime ----- PENN & Teller, hilarious magicians that they are, must have used some serious magic to convince Showtime that...

DRAMATIC EFFECT

ABC has unveiled a slate of dramas for next season. The network has ordered pilots for eight series in order to capitalize on the success of "The Bachelor" and "The...

HOW I LUV YA, GRAMMY

AS New York City gears up for the Grammys, a month of pre- awards festivities will kick off on Jan. 30 with "Songs of the City: A Celebration of New...

DOWN-HOME COOKIN'

COOKIN' AT THE COOKERY At Theatre 3, 311 W. 43rd St. Through March 2. Call Ticket Central, (212) 279-4200. ----- THE unusual career of blues singer and song writer Alberta...

THE DAY THE DANCING DIED - CATCHING UP WITH THE CLUB KIDS IN TRUE-CRIME INDIE

LIKE Andy Warhol before him, New York's notorious clubland killer Michael Alig played Pied Piper to a gaggle of fabulous creatures of the night. They dressed in outrageously garish costumes,...

HERO COP IN FIRE RESCUE

A Brooklyn cop rescued his neighbor and her dog from a three-alarm blaze last night that destroyed his apartment and killed his two dogs. Nobody was hurt when fire erupted...

YOU'LL BRISTLE AT NEWS OF BEST INVENTION

Americans can live without a car, computer, cell phone and microwave oven - but don't take away their toothbrush. That's the startling conclusion of a survey that found the one...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Tired of waiting in line to buy stamps? Then why not just buy your own post office? The Oskaloosa, Iowa, post office will be put up for sale on eBay...

BRONX DOG FIGHT - NEIGHBORS ACCUSED OF SNATCHING POOCH

A woman whose pint-sized Yorkshire Terrier disappeared in November claims her precious pooch was dognapped and fears it was sold on a canine "black market." "My dog is not with...

HOLD THE FRIES FOR FIT-AS-A-FIDDLE JURIST

Judge Robert Sweet (right) - the svelte 80-year-old who tossed out the McDonald's lawsuit - can't recall the last time he had a Big Mac and fries. "I really couldn't...

BURNED-UP KID BURNS DOWN HOME

A 14-year-old Long Island boy - who defiantly set school tests that he had failed on fire and tossed them out his suburban bedroom window - accidentally torched his home...

RIDGE OK IS UNANIMOUS

WASHINGTON - The Senate yesterday unanimously approved Tom Ridge to be homeland security chief, and he'll be sworn in by President Bush on Friday to lead the new Cabinet department....

U.S. 'READY NOW' TO SLAM IRAQ - SIGNS POINT TOWARD THREE-PHASE MID-FEBRUARY INVASION

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's top general said yesterday that U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf are prepared now to wage war against Iraq as signs increasingly point to a mid-February...

DRIVER JAILED AFTER 297TH SUSPENSION

A Long Island man whose driver's license has been suspended an incredible 297 times is no longer on the road - he's parked in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail....

$AVING SUNY STUDENTS

IF Gov. Pataki and the state Legislature truly believe that all New York kids are entitled to "a first-class" college education, they'll reject the SUNY board of trustees' recommendation to...

WOMAN ADMITS LURING CABBY TO HIS DOOM

A young woman broke down in tears yesterday after confessing she lured a Brooklyn cabby to his death during a botched robbery attempt last year. Rosa "Angie" Ocasio, 22, the...

ID THEFT TOPS LIST OF N.Y. FRAUD WOES

WASHINGTON - Identity theft is the No. 1 consumer-fraud complaint among New Yorkers, the feds said yesterday. The second most frequent gripe is Internet-auction rip-offs, according to a Federal Trade...

COUNT MIKE IN ON HOMELESS CENSUS

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday defended the city's plan to recruit 1,000 volunteers to go out in the middle of the night next month to try counting the homeless in Manhattan. "You...

CENTRAL PARK ART AN ORANGE APPLE

Central Park is usually gray in February, but two years from now it'll be bright orange - thanks to the conceptual artist Christo. "The Gates, Central Park, New York," a...

STRAPPED CITY TO GET $500M FROM PA FOR AIRPORT LEASES

Gov. Pataki yesterday handed a budget boost to Mayor Bloomberg, announcing the Port Authority will pay the city $500 million to settle a long-running dispute over leases for Kennedy and...

BAD NEWS FOR GOOD DRIVERS

ALBANY - The administrator of the state's costly high-risk auto-insurance pool is looking to put the brakes on discounts offered to good drivers. If the plan is approved by the...

NEW BRIDGE TOLLS DUE

Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to impose tolls on now-free East River bridges is "very likely" to be enacted, the mayor's budget chief predicted yesterday. "The city administration is moving forward on...

GRANNY IS A JUNKIE - ACCUSED PUSHER SEEKS REHAB

An accused pill-pushing granny is also a pill-popper who needs help - but her lawyer says he's having trouble finding the right rehab for a Russian-speaking grandma who swallows 200...

BORIS MAKES RACKET OVER $1M DEPOSIT

Former tennis ace Boris Becker was so keen to make New York his city, he plunked down a deposit of nearly $1 million on a $10 million SoHo penthouse that...

NO HEAT LEAVES FIREFIGHTERS HOT

The firefighters union yesterday blasted FDNY brass for leaving the Bravest out in the cold. At a time when the city is enduring the harshest January in years, more than...

SHARPTON CANDIDACY GIVING DEMS THE JITTERS

ON his debut day as a presidential candidate, Al Sharpton upstaged most other Democratic wannabes at the first 2004 cattle show and showed why he gives big-time agita to a...

HOMELESS ACTIVISTS TARGET SONY

Lawyers for the homeless people allegedly being tossed out of Sony's indoor public plaza in Midtown yesterday demanded to meet with company officials to settle the dispute in a boardroom...

'BRIBE' FIRM TARNISHES SILVER, TOO

ALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver helped a bribery-linked correctional-services company win nearly $2 million in special state funds, The Post learned yesterday. State budget officials said Silver's budget negotiators...

'CRASH-CASH' COP CLEARED

The case against one of three cops busted in a $1.5 million "Crash for Cash" probe was dismissed yesterday in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Insurance fraud and other charges against Officer...

CANADA DEPORTS KIDNAP SUSPECT

The man accused of masterminding the kidnapping of Connecticut hedge-fund tycoon Edward Lampert has been ordered deported from Canada, officials said yesterday. Renaldo Rose, 23, was arrested in Toronto last...

AL GETS FIRED UP - VOWS TO CARRY ON AFTER BLAZE TEARS THROUGH HQ

The Rev. Al Sharpton's Harlem headquarters were badly damaged by a two-alarm fire that ripped through the second floor of the building at 1941 Madison Ave. No one was seriously...

WTC DESIGN CANDIDATE BOWING OUT

Architecture powerhouse Skidmore Owings & Merrill has pulled out of the Ground Zero design process - saying it wants to pursue more lucrative business elsewhere. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp....

OFF-'TARGET' SLAY A TRAGIC CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Federal prosecutors believe former colleague William Aronwald was the intended target of a botched Colombo hit - but Aronwald said the Gambinos had more reasons to whack him. Six months...

NEW KELLY KID-SEX CHARGES

R&B Romeo R. Kelly's kiddie-sex woes got worse yesterday when cops in Florida busted him on charges of possessing photos that apparently depict an illegal sex romp between him and...

RUMSFELD RAPS RELUCTANT EUROPEANS

WASHINGTON - France and Germany yesterday escalated their opposition to military action against Iraq as "the worst of all solutions" - and blocked NATO from agreeing to offer support to...

DYING COP GETS SARGE STRIPES

Mayor Bloomberg personally reached out to a decorated, cancer-stricken Bronx cop and granted him his dying wish - to become a sergeant. Michael Murphy, 34, a six-year veteran assigned to...

HAMPTONS TRIBE WANTS TO ROLL DICE ON CASINO

A group of Long Island Indians are considering opening a Hamptons casino on tribal land - which would make it the closest gambling establishment to the city. The Shinnecock Indian...

W. TO SADDAM'S GENERALS: REVOLT

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday urged Iraqi soldiers and generals to defy any orders to use doomsday weapons if there's a war against Saddam Hussein, openly inviting a mutiny in...

TUBE BOOB APPEALS HIS WAY INTO JAIL

A defendant displeased by a judge's order not to turn on his television while serving a sentence of home detention can watch the tube - in prison. Manhattan federal Judge...

INITIAL DEFENSE WITNESS PROVES QUEER CHOICE

Leona Helmsley began her defense of charges she's biased against gays yesterday - and her first witness was a homosexual employee who said she'd illegally asked him his sexual orientation....

LEONA'S INDIGESTION - FOE CHOWS DOWN JUST TWO TABLES AWAY

POOR Leona Helmsley just can't get a break when it comes to men. It was lunch time yesterday in Manhattan Supreme Court. Time for Leona to ride in her limo...

MARIAH DOESN'T CARE IF HER KNEES FREEZE

Is Mariah Carey trying to catch pneumonia? That's certainly what it looked like as the comeback pop princess strolled along Park Avenue yesterday - clad only in a miniskirt and...

THE WHACK-Y WISEGUY WORLD - MOB BOSS CHARGED IN BOTCHED '87 RUBOUT

A reputed mob boss was charged yesterday with arranging to whack a former Mafia-busting prosecutor in a 1987 hit that was botched when misfit mobsters took out the lawyer's elderly...

POST OFFICE HIT-RUN HUNT

Cops are still hunting for the motorist whose out-of-control vehicle pinned a revered grandmother against the wall of a Bronx post office, killing her instantly. The suspect, whom police say...

B'KLYN SCHOOL SUPT. RETIRES

A veteran district superintendents announced his retirement yesterday. John Comer, who headed Brooklyn's District 22, is stepping down after 16 years overseeing 32 elementary and middle schools. Chancellor Joel Klein...

'BLACK WIDOW' UNLUCKY IN LOVE

They call her "the Black Widow." Kim Kennaugh's first and third husbands were shot dead. The second is a reputed mob boss. Now investigators say a probe into the unsolved...

JUDGE TAKING ON 'MCFRANKENSTEIN'

A Manhattan judge has chucked the Big Mac attack lawsuit brought on behalf of eight tubby teens who sued McDonald's for making them fat. But Robert Sweet, a sprightly, 80-year-old...

U.N. 'PERV': LEAK RUINED MY IRAQ PEACE MISSION

Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter yesterday suggested that court-sealed details of his Internet sex-sting arrest were intentionally leaked to sabotage his planned peace mission to Iraq. Because of "the...

MAN CHARGED IN 1981 BRONX SLAY

Cold-case detectives yesterday cracked the murder of a Bronx working mother in a plumbing store robbery 21 years ago. Francisco Rodrigues, 44, was charged in the November 1981 slaying of...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * Police released sketches (above) of two thugs who forced their way into a Brooklyn home at gunpoint and hog-tied and raped one of the residents. The violence occurred...

BUSH'S ABORT TIGHTROPE

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday vowed to sign a law banning controversial "partial-birth abortions" - but said nothing about a constitutional amendment to ban all abortions as he marked the...

U.N. 'PERV': LEAK HURTS PEACE BID

Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter yesterday suggested that court-sealed details of his Internet sex-sting arrest were intentionally leaked to sabotage his planned peace mission to Iraq. Because of "the...

BUSH SAYS HEAT WON'T MELT SNOW

WASHINGTON - The White House is confident Treasury nominee John Snow will be confirmed by the Senate, despite a 1982 drunk-driving arrest and an admission that he might have missed...

JUDGE BAGS HEFTY KIDS' MCLAWSUIT

A Manhattan judge has chucked the Mac Attack lawsuit brought by eight porky kids who sued McDonald's for making them fat. Robert Sweet, a sprightly 80-year-old federal jurist in fine...

ALLAN GIVES KNICKS LIFT

The Knicks and Marcus Camby had something in common last night. Neither broke a sweat in the first half. Maybe the sight of watching the Nuggets' Rodney White get sick...

WADLEIGH WONDER COLLAPSES IN FORFEITS

Carlton Screen appeared to be working wonders at Wadleigh H.S. The former Providence star had returned the Tigers back to near the top of the PSAL in just his second...

KIDD A BAY-GROUND LEGEND - LEARNED GAME ON OAKLAND COURTS

OAKLAND - Whenever Jason Kidd steps foot inside Oakland Arena, so much of Bay Area basketball history walks alongside him. This is where Kidd played many of his high school...

NETS FALL ON TRIP - DEFENSE STRUGGLING AT HALFWAY POINT

OAKLAND - Win on the road. Get acclimated to new lineups. Come ready every night. Just get better. Those are among the self-explanatory goals the Nets hold as they start...

JEFFERSON ON ROAD TO SUCCESS

NET NOTES OAKLAND - The Nets had just lost to the Knicks on Dec. 17 in the Garden. Richard Jefferson's home-away numbers were ridiculous. In 13 home games, Jefferson was...

DUNHAM'S GOAL IS A NASHVILLE STOP

Now Ranger goaltender Mike Dunham knows how his coach felt these past few days. After fielding the same "how does it feel to be back in the Coliseum" questions, coach...

ISLES LICKING THEIR WOUNDS

Tuesday night's excruciating loss to the Rangers is going to hurt the Islanders for longer than expected. Not only did they get blown out 5-0 on the scoreboard, but the...

NO ORDINARY JOE - GOOD-GUY JUREVICIUS' HEART WITH AILING NEWBORN SON

SAN DIEGO - It was late back home in Lutz, Fla., not that it mattered. For eight days, Joe and Meagan Jurevicius have lived something of a permanent midnight, unable...

GUTTY GARNER IS RAIDERS' SUPER 'SECRET' WEAPON

SAN DIEGO - Given his startling statistics, it's difficult to believe Charlie Garner can be overlooked by anybody. Yet it seems the Raiders' multi-talented running back spends his life flying...

FOR REBORN PUNTER, IT'S THE TUPA BOWL

SAN DIEGO - Tom Tupa never looked so fresh and relaxed as he did yesterday, lounging at his table during the Super Bowl media session. Tupa looked years removed from...

BRAD TO RICHES

SAN DIEGO - The story with Brad Johnson is that there's no story. Well, of course there's a story, but there's no label. He's not a star, not a bum,...

KEY: I'M LIKE PETE ROSE

SAN DIEGO - Outspoken Tampa Bay receiver Keyshawn Johnson yesterday compared himself to disgraced baseball legend Pete Rose. According to Johnson, he and Charlie Hustle are both sports figures whose...

SHOCKEY: I'M NOT BAD GUY

SAN DIEGO - A contrite Jeremy Shockey, moments after capturing the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year award, yesterday apologized for his water- and ice-heaving incident that splashed two small...

LAYDEN LIKES LOOK OF VUJANIC

For the first time, Scott Layden got to see his second-round stud, point guard Milos Vujanic, play live last weekend in Yugoslavia, and the Knicks GM met with the player...

WINGS IN THE WAITING - TB HAS ANOTHER JOHNSON TO CALL ON

SAN DIEGO - It hit Rob Johnson Tuesday, hit him with a jolt, that yes, indeed, he's in the Super Bowl. "It kind of sunk in when they asked me...

RAIDERS' PAIR CAN PICK UP GANNON

SAN DIEGO - Marques Tuiasosopo is just happy to be here, and Rick Mirer says he's learning even without playing. There's probably no NFL job with fewer on-field rewards than...

HERMAN OFFERS HINTS TO BUCS' DB

SUPER BOWL CONFIDENTIAL SAN DIEGO - Herman Edwards telephoned Bucs safety John Lynch Tuesday night. "He was giving me the scoop on how to get after the Raiders," Lynch said....

BOLD BOAST FROM SIMEON: 'I'M THE BEST'

SAN DIEGO - The way Simeon Rice sees it, he hasn't had a bad game this season. "If you look at my year in its entirety, I pretty much dominated...

YANKS GRAB LIEBER

As if the Yankees were not upsetting their competitors (mainly the Red Sox) with the money invested and the number of pitchers signed for their 2003 rotation, they have now...

YUGO, GUARD - LAYDEN IMPRESSED BY VUJANIC

During his recent scouting trip to Europe, Knick GM Scott Layden liked what he saw from Milos Vujanic, the Yugoslavian point guard whom Layden saw play in person for the...

NUGGETS FOUND GEM IN HILARIO

It was almost enough for you to feel sorry for Othella Harrington. In the third quarter of last night's 97-88 Knick win, a Denver jumper caromed off the rim. That's...

SIMEON SAYS HE 'BEST IN LEAGUE'

SAN DIEGO - The way Simeon Rice sees it, he hasn't had a bad game this season. "If you look at my year in its entirety, I pretty much dominated...

KNICKS' POWER TURNS ON & OFF

KNICK NOTES After the Knicks' power-forward platoon of Clarence Weatherspoon and Othella Harrington were heroes Saturday in Atlanta, combining for 30 points, it raised speculation Don Chaney might start including...