April 7, 2004

MUM'S THE WORD - CREDIT FIRM WARNS: DON'T SHIP TO ATHLETE'S FOOT

The Athlete's Foot has become so secretive about its finances since management bought the company from its French parent last year that at least one credit agency is recommending suppliers...

MICROSOFT OFFERS FIRST-AID KIT FOR WINDOWS USERS

Sniffling after a year of dangerous virus attacks, Microsoft is reaching out to clients with the promise of better antibiotics. The software giant is holding a series of security seminars,...

-ALHAMBRA SITE PICKED FOR BOWLING (M)-HARLEM DUO PINS HOPES ON THEATER (S, LCF)

STRIKES and spares are coming to Harlem, thanks to two families and a former president. A portion of the former Alhambra Theater at 2110-2118 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. has...

BAUER ON THE BLOCK IN REVAMP

The Spiegel Group said yesterday it will seek buyers for its Eddie Bauer retail chain and that it has struck a deal to sell its Newport News catalog as part...

D. ELLIMAN ACQUIRES GOODSTEIN

Takeover fever is still running rampant in the real estate brokerage industry. The latest acquisition has residential real estate giant Douglas Elliman buying Goodstein Realty, the brokerage arm of the...

NEWS CORP. MAKES MOVE TO REINCORPORATE IN U.S.

Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp. is moving its corporate home from Australia to the United States. News Corp., the parent company of The Post, made the announcement yesterday, saying...

SCHUMER'S CALL: PITCHERS, NOT PITCHMEN

Sen. Chuck Schumer is lashing out at Major League Baseball for considering whether to allow advertisements on player uniforms. The Yankees' recent trip to Japan was sponsored by Ricoh, and...

AND ON THE 8TH DAY, TYCO CREATES WATER

After the miracle mistrial of Tyco's tarnished former boss, the company is celebrating a miracle of its own - creation of a new fire-suppressing water that won't ruin anything. The...

BIG BOARD BUZZ - NYSE PUTS NEW GREENBERG ON ADVISORY PANEL

The New York Stock Exchange named Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina and Marsh & McLennan CEO Jeffrey Greenberg to its executive board yesterday. Each pick, however, may keep controversy stirring around...

ESSENCE SPINOFF PICKS NEW NAME: SUEDE

SUEDE will be the name of a new young fashion and beauty title helmed by Canadian import Suzanne Boyd at Essence Communications. The plan now calls for two issues of...

CRY FOR THEM, ARGENTINA

THE BLONDS[] (three stars) A daughter's tribute. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 89 minutes. Not rated (mature subject matter). At the Film Forum, Houston Street, west of Sixth...

CEDRIC'S 'FAMILY VACATION' MERELY SAD DRECK

JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION[] (one star) Pitiful ripoff. Running time: 97 minutes. Rated PG (sexual and drug references, crude humor). At the 2nd Ave and 62nd St., the Union Square, the...

NO PRIZE AT BOX OFFICE

WHAT'S the Pulitzer worth to "I Am My Own Wife"? As far as the box office goes, not all that much. Yesterday, the day after it won the Pulitzer for...

POWER TO THE PEEPS - AT 51, THIS MALLOW LITTLE CHICK IS HOTTER THAN EVER

TO some, it's a squishy candy chick. To others, it's practically a religious symbol. The beady-eyed Peep has not only ousted the Easter Bunny as the face of this season,...

'JACKASS' FOR GIRLS - MTV HIT TOO MUCH TOO SOON

MTV has an unqualified hit on its hands with "I Want a Famous Face," the show about young people who go through painful, often grueling plastic surgery to look like...

THE SCALES OF INJUSTICE - 'FRONTLINE' WEIGHS IN ON DIET INDUSTRY

"Frontline: Diet Wars" Tomorrow night at 9 on PBS * * * (Three stars) I don't like to brag, but I do want to say that if the diet industry...

STARR REPORT

Lunden's calling Joan Lunden, the former "GMA" host who most recently hosted A&E's "Behind Closed Doors," tells the May issue of Ladies Home Journal that she's thinking about returning to...

ON THE SIDE - SURPRISE CHANGE OF GAME

IN the most startling kitchen coup in a long time, Christian Delouvrier, the former four-star chef of Lespinasse, will become the new head chef at Alain Ducasse at the Essex...

MENUS FROM HELL - SUSHI JOINT TOPS LIST WITH 14 PAGES OF CONFUSION

WELCOME news comes from Mix, the underperforming Franco-American eatery of Alain Ducasse and Jeffrey Chodorow, which plans to dump its fiendishly complicated menu in favor of one you can understand...

S.I. COPS HOOK FISHY CUSTOMER

The Staten Island squid-napper is out of business. Police yesterday busted a man who was caught on video stealing more than 20 pounds of calamari, chicken and bacon, authorities said....

FEC ON REV. AL'S CASE AGAIN

The Rev. Al Sharpton may be in trouble with the Federal Election Commission yet again - over a bank loan. The FEC has issued Sharpton's halted presidential campaign a request...

BRIDGE FIX IN ENDLESS CYCLE

New Jersey-bound cyclists will have to cool their wheels for a little while longer. Long-awaited repairs to the bike path along Staten Island's Goethals Bridge, which has been closed for...

DRUNK DRIVER KILLS MAN: COPS

A drunk driver ended the life of a hard-working Chinese immigrant yesterday morning, mowing down the 64-year-old custodian at dawn as he left for the first of his two jobs,...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A 44-year-old Bensonhurst woman was busted yesterday for robbing $7,500 from four banks over three months, cops said. Catherine Kaczanowski was nabbed for the string of robberies, which...

TYCO WAS MISTRIAL ANYWAY - JUROR 4'S STARTLING REVELATION

Tyco's infamous juror No. 4 insisted yesterday that she intended to hold out for an acquittal - meaning the case would have ended in a mistrial even if the judge...

CYCLE OF DELAY OVER BRIDGE BIKE PATH

New Jersey-bound cyclists will have to cool their wheels for a little while longer. Long-awaited repairs to the bike path along Staten Island's Goethals Bridge, which has been closed for...

LAWSUIT A LOWLIGHT FOR NISSAN

Thousands of Nissan Maxima owners were in the dark about the car's easy-to-steal headlights because the company kept a tight lid on the problem, three New York men are charging...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Mexican woman, in labor and eight hours from a hospital, gave birth to a healthy boy - after performing a Caesarean on herself with a kitchen knife. "She took...

TV TESTIMONY GETS BLANKET COVERAGE

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's testimony tomorrow before the 9/11 Commission in Washington will air live, even on the broadcast networks. Cable's Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC are all...

DEADLY FIRE TRAP - YONKERS FAMILY HAD NO ESCAPE

A blocked stairway may have sealed the doom of a Mexican immigrant family killed in a four-alarm fire in Yonkers, authorities said yesterday. Mario Castelan, 28, his wife, Augustina Calisto,...

FLORIDA SHINES FOR PREZ - HAS 8-POINT LEAD

WASHINGTON - President Bush has an eight-point lead over John Kerry in all-important Florida - the state that swung the election four years ago - according to a new poll....

JOHN, DUBYA ARE ON THE JOBS

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday visited Arkansas to promote his new job-training program, while John Kerry charged that Bush's jobs record is a loser. Speaking in El Dorado, Bush said...

GOP MAY KO P.O. - CONVENTION COULD SHUT MAIN POST OFFICE

The feds are considering shutting the main James A. Farley Post Office during the four-day Republican National Convention this summer, The Post has learned. They fear that the block-long facility,...

WATER BD. SETS 5.5% RATE HIKE

Citing increased security costs at reservoirs, the city's Water Board wants to raise water rates by 5.5 percent, effective July 1. The average homeowner now pays $526 a year for...

MCCAIN PITCHING BID TO STRIKE OUT STEROIDS

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain will introduce a resolution - possibly as early as this week - calling on Major League Baseball to immediately implement a new steroid-testing program. In...

THE U.N. SHRUGGED - AND FRANCE AIDED RWANDA'S GENOCIDE

TEN years ago today the Rwanda massacres began in earnest. It was the worst genocide since the Holocaust. And it will forever be a stain on the record of the...

NAILING NIELSEN - TV-RATER SETS 'FAIRNESS' PANEL

The powerful Nielsen television rating system backed down yesterday from its launch of a controversial new method for tracking viewership in New York after minority leaders said blacks and Latinos...

INSIDE CONDI'S PRIVATE WORLD

Tomorrow, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will be grilled before the 9/11 Commission in a pivotal moment for the presidency of George W. Bush. As an entire nation gets ready...

'CORNERED RAT' - COPS LET MISSING WOMAN'S DAD GRILL SUSPECT

A missing Long Island woman's dad said he had a face-to-face talk with her co-worker after his arrest for allegedly torching her car - and "he looked like a cornered...

CHI. SCHOOLS' SPLIT DECISION

Chicago's strict promotional policy failed to help students who were left back - but the rest of the city's kids did better on exams, according to studies released yesterday. The...

RAPE DUO HUNTED - ATTACKED GALLERY-GOERS IN WILLIAMSBURG

Two women returning home from a Williamsburg art gallery were raped and robbed by a pair of thugs who pounced on them in an apartment building. One man raped both...

WISEGUY 'BELTED' IN TRAFFIC STOP

A very unlucky mob associate learned the hard way to always buckle up - and has put his family in danger of losing $1.25 million in bail money. Ronald Petrino,...

RETIRED COP KILLS SELF 2 DAYS AFTER REJOINING NYPD

A veteran NYPD cop who left the department last year was found dead yesterday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, just days after coming out of retirement for another tour of...

BIG-TOP HORROR - TIGHTROPE WALKER IN GARDEN PLUNGE

A high-wire circus daredevil cheated death yesterday after plummeting 35 feet to the ground before a crowd of thousands of screaming kids and parents at Madison Square Garden. Ringling Bros....

EX-SOLOMON BIG IN GRAFT BUST

The FBI yesterday arrested a former Solomon Smith Barney manager on charges of demanding kickbacks on printing contracts. Federal prosecutors said that in early 2000, Solomon manager Maria Shaw told...

BUILDING RESUMES AT TIME WARNER

Construction will resume at the mammoth Time Warner Center today, after contractors held day-long negotiations with city officials to come up with a plan that ensures dangerous debris doesn't drop...

'QUACK' DEATH BAFFLES CORONER

Prosecutors building a murder case against quack doctor Dean Faiello have a new obstacle - a New Jersey medical examiner couldn't determine how alleged victim Maria Cruz was killed, law-enforcement...

PITCH TO DEREK - YOUR SHOT TO BLOW ONE PAST JETER

Think you can strike out Derek Jeter? Here's your chance to try! The Yankee heartthrob - actually a realistic wax version of him - debuts today at Madame Tussaud's in...

CRASH TEEN'S CALL TO MOM

A Staten Island teen killed in a high-speed car chase last weekend made a terrified call to his mother minutes before he died, a source said yesterday. Leonardo Ingrassia, 16,...

DOCS POINT TO PATCH IN TEEN'S DEATH

The tragic death of 18-year-old Manhattan fashion student Zakiya Kennedy is the first linked to the use of a contraceptive patch, officials for both the manufacturer and the Food and...

COKE RING'S SNOW-WHITE BRIDAL GOWNS

The feds have rounded up 13 members of a Guyanese cocaine ring with a flair for fashion who allegedly used a Queens bridal shop and a textile company to distribute...

$81M FOR 9/11 RESCUERS' HEALTH

The feds are giving $81 million in grants to continue the long-term health monitoring of Ground Zero rescue workers. The eight grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human...

HEALTH VIOLATIONS PILED HIGH AT CARNEGIE DELI

One pastrami sandwich, please - and hold the e-coli. The Carnegie Deli - famous for its celebrity-monikered meals - was closed by the Health Department on Monday for not storing...

THUG RAIDERS KILL DOZEN GIS - * HIT MARINE SITE OUTSIDE FALLUJAH * BOMBS, BATTLES ROCK ENTIRE NATION

WASHINGTON - Diehard Saddam loyalists launched a massive sneak attack on U.S. soldiers just outside Fallujah yesterday, slaughtering up to 12 Marines in yet another horrific day of widespread violence....

CHASE-CRASH TEEN'S DESPERATE LAST CALL TO MOM

A Staten Island teen killed in a high-speed car chase over the weekend made a terrified call to his mother minutes before he died, a source said yesterday. Leonardo Ingrassia,...

SUBWAY TEEN 1ST 'PATCH' DEATH

The tragic death of 18-year-old Manhattan fashion student Zakiya Kennedy is the first linked to the use of a contraceptive patch, officials for both the manufacturer and the Food and...

JUROR 4 DENIES 'OK' SIGN - 'JUST BRUSHING HAIR AWAY'

Ruth Jordan, the infamous Juror No. 4 in the Tyco embezzlement trial, has used a television interview to say she "absolutely, flatly and repeatedly denied" flashing the "OK" sign to...

TRANSIT STAFF DEMAND DRILLS

Transit workers want to be involved in terror training drills in order to help straphangers evacuate from subway cars and stations in the event of an attack, union officials said...

MUSSINA MUSSED UP

Devil Rays 9 Yankees 4ST. PETERSBURG - In the span of one week, 14,000 miles and two hemispheres, Mike Mussina transformed from the Yankees' No. 1 starter to No. 1...

JOE'S GOT NO QUARREL WITH KENNY

YANKEE NOTES ST. PETERSBURG - Kenny Lofton's words about hitting ninth in Japan and not playing center field when the Yankees get on grass starting tomorrow have been pointed and...

ARNIE PLANS BIG FINISH

AUGUSTA - He is 74 years old and will be playing in his 50th and final Masters beginning tomorrow. But Arnold Palmer isn't settling for a 36-hole ceremonial salute to...

LOOK OUT, KNICKS ; INDY FIRES WARNING SHOT FOR PLAYOFFS

Pacers 107Knicks 86 INDIANAPOLIS - The Knicks continued to back into the playoffs last night. With Isiah Thomas watching his old and new teams placidly from inside the Conseco Field...

ACHY REYES' STATUS REMAINS DOUBTFUL

MET NOTES ATLANTA - Don't expect Jose Reyes back on Saturday. And at this point, Reyes' status for the Mets' home opener Monday remains murky as well. "I am not...

'IT WAS MY GREATEST DAY'

ATLANTA - Just call him Godzilla II. What else can you say after Kaz Matsui shocked the world, and himself, last night with the greatest opening game a major league...

GIAMBI'S GURU GRIPE GETS CASHMAN'S GOAT

ST. PETERSBURG - Bobby Alejo has a seat on the Yankees' charter, but Jason Giambi is far from mollified. One day after the Yankees and Major League Baseball consented to...

METS HAVE KAZ TO CELEBRATE ; MATSUI STARS IN SEASON OPENER

Mets 7 Braves 2 ATLANTA - One pitch. One pitch was all Kaz Matsui needed. It was all Art Howe needed. It was all Tom Glavine, the Mets and their...

PEERING CLOSER INTO PETA

WE ARE a long way from the hunting season, but an interesting story appeared yesterday stating that whitetail deer cause close to $59 million in crop damage every year in...

DEVILS DIGGING IN TO DEFEND TITLE

The playoff warriors are snorting to start again, acting like actual Stanley Cup champs. "I wish I could live every day of my life feeling this excitement. What a great...

HUSKIES SEE VOLS AS FINAL ROADBLOCK

NEW ORLEANS - Connecticut was trying to become the second team in NCAA women's basketball history to win three straight titles last night, ironically against Tennessee, the first school to...

DEPAUL COACH IN STORM DERBY

Within the next 48 hours, St. John's should have decided on who will be its next coach. Yesterday DePaul coach Dave Leitao was the third and final candidate to interview...

UCONN'S RIGHT AT THE TOP

SAN ANTONIO - The Connecticut contingent landed at Bradley Airport and picked up an April 2, 1985, edition of the Hartford Courant that stated the Huskies would never succeed in...

KASTOR SET FOR NYC RETURN

After an emotional debut in 2001, Deena Kastor is set to make her much anticipated return to the New York City Marathon. The California native has greatly matured since her...

NO DOUBTING THOMAS - TINSLEY, MARBURYLOOK UP TO ISIAH

INDIANAPOLIS - Isiah Thomas loves Brooklyn point guards. Before he had Stephon Marbury, Thomas pinned his hopes to a rookie, a late-first-round late bloomer named Jamaal Tinsley out of Brownsville....

WINGS WILL CASH IN ; THESE PLAYOFFS LAST OF BIG-TIME SPENDERS

YES, some of the big spenders have a credible chance of winning the Stanley Cup, clubs such as the Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Flyers and Stars. But so do a...

LOTS OF LABATT'S AT CHAMPS' DINNER

MASTERS NOTEBOOK AUGUSTA - Some players were bracing for last night's annual Masters champions' dinner inside the Augusta National clubhouse, curious about the menu with defending champion Mike Weir providing...

METS NEED A KAZ FOR CELEBRATION - MATSUI HOMERSIN HIS FIRST AT-BAT

ATLANTA - Kaz Matsui greeted a reporter at his locker yesterday with a friendly, "Conichiwa," which is Japanese for "good afternoon." Matsui then greeted the Braves much more rudely, leading...

TIME TO PHIL 'ER UP

AUGUSTA - Augusta National member Billy Morris, regaling in one of those green jackets that comes complimentary with prestigious membership to the fabled club, sat at the podium in the...

NO DEFENSE IF GLAVINE FAILS NOW

ATLANTA Break down the Mets' season any way you want, but there is no doubt the success or failure of the team starts with Tom Glavine. After a disastrous first...

ACHY REYES STATUS STILL DOUBTFUL

MET NOTES ATLANTA - Don't expect Jose Reyes back on Saturday. And at this point, Reyes' status for the Mets home opener remains murky as well. "I am not planning...

VAN HORN ADJUSTING TO BUCKS

Sprained ankle. Bruised calf. Hurt pride. Keith Van Horn was cast aside by the Nets, and then shipped out to Milwaukee by the Knicks. Last night the oft-moved and banged-up...

GIAMBI'S GURU MAY LOSE SEAT - JASON'S WORDS ANNOY CASHMAN

ST. PETERSBURG - Bobby Alejo has a seat on the Yankees' charter, but Jason Giambi is far from mollified. One day after the Yankees and Major League Baseball consented to...

A-ROD: ONE AT A TIME

ST. PETERSBURG - The difference between a road opener at Tropicana Field and a home opener at Yankee Stadium is the difference between an Extra Value Meal and a seven-course...

COOL JOE HAS NO BEEF WITH LOFTON

YANKEE NOTES ST. PETERSBURG - Kenny Lofton's words about hitting ninth in Japan and not playing center when the Yankees get on grass starting tomorrow have been pointed and have...

THE COMEBACK KIDD - NETS GLAD TO SEE JASON RETURN

Tip-off was still 90 minutes away, yet those in the Meadowlands Arena, mostly kids, simply exploded. Here was Jason Kidd walking out to warm up on the court. In uniform....

BERNIE BATS AGAINST TIME

ST. PETERSBURG - This is what the beginning of the end looks like. It looks like a timeshare at your position and the seventh place in the batting order. It...

ISIAH: I WAS INDIANA GONER

INDIANAPOLIS - Knicks boss Isiah Thomas, underscoring the notion he and Larry Bird could never work together, made a startling remark last night, saying he would've been fired as Pacers...

A-ROD HR EARLY SPARK

ST. PETERSBURG - Don't blame A-Rod. Sure, the Yankees combined poor pitching with limp, listless offense last night against Tampa Bay. And sure, Alex Rodriguez ended the depressing 9-4 defeat...

MEN TAKE PLACE AMONG ELITE

SAN ANTONIO - The Connecticut contingent landed at Bradley Airport and picked up an April 2, 1985, edition of the Hartford Courant that stated the Huskies would never succeed in...

RAYS FEAST ON COOKED MOOSE - YANKEES' ACE FALTERS AGAIN

Devil Rays 9 Yankees 4 ST. PETERSBURG - On a staff dotted with question marks Mike Mussina was supposed to be the known factor. He was going to front the...

GLAVINE GETS IT DONE

ATLANTA - Two batters and six pitches into Homecoming III, Tom Glavine surrendered a single and a moon-shot home run to dead center. In a matter of two minutes, Glavine...

HOT ROD KICKS INTO HIGH GEAR

Overshadowed by the return of Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin last night - and that's one long shadow - was the performance of Rodney Rogers. The Nets' bench has been...

COMEBACK KIDD - JASON, K-MART OK DESPITE LOSS

Bucks 103 Nets 98 The highlight reel offering began almost immediately. Richard Jefferson took a touch pass from Jason Kidd and scored on a layup. A short time later, Kidd...

HUSKIES TOP VOLS, COMPLETE THREEPEAT

UConn 70Tennessee 61 NEW ORLEANS - Connecticut, the state of Euphoria, today celebrates the greatest dual triumph since the creation of Adam and Eve. Joined back at the hip are...

PACERS POUND RAGGEDY KNICKS

Pacers 107Knicks 86 INDIANAPOLIS - The Knicks continued to back into the playoffs last night. With Isiah Thomas watching his old and new teams placidly from beneath the Conseco Field...

OTHELLA MAY SEEK TRADE

INDIANAPOLIS - Othella Harrington was to the point. Asked if he's not activated for the playoffs would he want a change of scenery, Harrington declared, "Definitely." Harrington can be a...

GLAVINE EXORCIZES HIS BRAVE DEMONS

ATLANTA - Rafael Furcal singled, Marcus Giles homered and Chipper Jones walked. And suddenly Tom Glavine was back in 2003. It was the first inning of last night's season opener,...

FORGOTTEN HARRINGTON MAY ASK FOR TRADE

KNICK NOTES INDIANAPOLIS - Othella Harrington is a man of few words, so his answer was succinct and to the point. Asked whether he would want a change of scenery...

HUSKIES COMPLETE THREEPEAT

UConn 70 Tennessee 61 NEW ORLEANS - Connecticut, the state of euphoria, today celebrates the greatest dual triumph since the creation of Adam and Eve. For the first time ever,...

DIPIETRO COULD BE TALK OF PLAYOFFS

Rick DiPietro is 22 years old. He talks trash, cracks jokes, wears his hair pushed up in a spike down the middle, and occupies free time on the ice by...