February 20, 2001

SOLOW'S LATEST COUP - TALKS BANC OF AMERICA INTO TOP RENT AT 57TH ST. FLAGSHIP

SHELDON Solow, famed for his uncanny timing, has done it again. The enigmatic developer/owner just pulled off another leasing coup at 9 W. 57th St., his flagship tower that's home...

THE PRICE OF LIBERTY - ANTITRUST SUIT COST AOL TIME WARNER UP TO $90M

AOL Time Warner will pay out a whopping $80 million to $90 million to settle a 1996 antitrust suit filed by Liberty Cable, a tiny supplier that waged an aggressive...

A NEW CELL-ING POINT: MICROSOFT DEBUTS STINGER

Microsoft inched toward its entry into another new market yesterday - cell phones. British company Sendo unveiled the first cell phone that uses Microsoft Pocket PC software. The software, code-named...

LAYABOUT IN LANAI - THIS QUIET HAWAIIAN ISLAND OFFERS MISTY HILLS & SUNNY BEACHES

BEFORE tourism hit the island of Lanai, it was best known for Dole pineapples. The company is long gone (to South America), and today, visitors discover a remote Pacific paradise....

TIMELESS TRIP TO 'HOODS WITH FUNK, FOLK & BLUES

OLU DARA "Neighborhoods" ( 1/2) Atlantic During "Massamba," the jazzy, funked-up first cut on "Neighborhoods," Olu Dara's new album, he lets us know why his music is so unique and...

THIS HOT BEBE DOES IT

CHICAGO ( 1/2)The Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St., between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. (212) 239-6200. ------------- For a special New York Pulse series, Post critic Clive Barnes has been...

THE STARR REPORT

Ex-Ch. 2 anchor cops to kiddie porn charge Former Ch. 2 anchor Gerry Grant has now admitted that he purchased kiddie porn after being arrested last October in Texas. Grant,...

'MYSTERY' DEAD AND OVER? - PBS HOPES FOR ADDITIONAL SERIES FUNDING

THE mystery is: Will an underwriter come forward in time to save PBS' "Mystery!" from cancellation after 21 seasons? That's the situation facing the public-television staple, which last week received...

'POPSTARS' BEGINS TO FIND ITS GROOVE, SEVEN WEEKS LATER - ENGROSSING STORY OF TEEN GROUP SNARING WB VIEWERS

WITH tears, fanfare and stellar ratings, the WB's "Popstars" began helping five unknowns take their first steps toward fame this week. A reality show that has been airing since January,...

ANIMALS' BEST FRIEND, ROGER CARAS, DEAD AT 72

IF the Westminster Kennel Club's annual dog show last week seemed a bit flatter than usual, it was because it's longtime voice, Roger Caras, was ill and missing from the...

THE DAIRY AIR OF KOHLER - IN WISCONSIN, A RESORT COMBINES NATURE WITH LUXURY

IN most hotels, when a bellhop does anything more than wave dismissively at the bathroom, you ignore his shameless pandering and send him on his way. At the American Club...

WHEN YOUR NOSE IS RUNNY - IT'S NOT FUNNY - BUT IS IT A COLD, FLU OR ALLERGIES?

WHAT the heck is wrong with you? That's what you may be wondering if you're sneezing, sniffling and wheezing, like so many New Yorkers these days.Should you stay home and...

NO NEED TO RACE TO 'RACE'

RACEClassic Stage Company, 136 E. 13th St. Through March 11. Call (212) 677-4210, extension 2. ------ HISTORY seldom moves as fast or as cataclysmically as it did in Europe in...

END OF THE LINE - ONE OR TWO WELL-KNOWN SHOWS HEAD INTO THE SUNSET EVERY YEAR. THIS YEAR, FIVE CALL IT A DAY

GREAT TV shows are never cancelled - they are retired. And so the countdown has begun on the final few episodes of some of TV's oldest shows which, come spring,...

TRAVELER'S UPDATE

Wallow in bargains Warm weather must be close at hand - it's time for another round of Pennsyl- vania Mud Sales, beginning Feb. 24 in Lancaster County. The Saturday gatherings...

'BLAME THE JEWS' - BILL'S ONE-TWO PUNCH AGAINST ISRAEL

AS a typically generous parting gesture toward a nation whose security he endangered with his reckless pursuit of peace at any price, Bill Clinton is now trying to lay the...

CZECH-OUT TIME FOR SUPERMODEL EVA

Eva Herzigova - who pulls down more than $10 million a year wearing eye-popping fashions on the world's catwalks - says she's bored being a supermodel and plans to quit....

EGAN PLANS SERMON FOR ALBANY POLS

ARCHBISHOP EGAN, you've just been named to the College of Cardinals. What are you gonna do next? Egan: I'm going to Albany! The archbishop confirmed yesterday in a telephone interview...

HOW ANGELA OUT$LICKED OILMAN EX - $16M GUSHER AS SHE PLAYS HARDBALL IN KOCH DIVORCE

FOR a woman whose husband once knowingly sent her dead roses, Angela Koch's Valentine's Day was particularly sweet: a $16 million divorce payout, courtesy of the same man. Multimillion-dollar oil...

KHALID'S FINAL TRIBUTE SLATED AT HARLEM CHURCH

After a life of controversy, Khalid Muhammad will come home to Harlem so he can be memorialized in the community that has given the final tribute to so many of...

STAR-SAVER FLOSSIE'S A TOP-DOG CONTENDER

The fearless pooch who saved the lives of Drew Barrymore and Tom Green has been nominated for Dog Hero of the Year. Pet lovers yesterday submitted the name of Drew's...

CARL VS. ANDY IS ALREADY MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

GOOD grief. Not again. It feels as if five minutes have passed since the conclusion of that grueling, divisive presidential race. And 10 since that excruciating Senate campaign that put...

AFGHAN TROOPS TIED TO MASSACRE

Afghanistan's Taliban was accused yesterday of the systematic slaughter of hundreds of civilians in bloody retribution for opposition to its fanatical rule. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said in...

COPS: TEEN BELTS RACE-SLUR GUARD

A Brooklyn store security guard was in critical condition yesterday after being hit on the head - allegedly for using a racial epithet with a customer. The incident occurred Sunday...

L.I. MOM SAYS COP WANTED TO SEE HER UNDIES

A sobbing Long Island mom yesterday recounted in sickening detail how a Suffolk County cop allegedly asked to see her panties and pulled open her slacks in a station house...

VOTE TODAY FOR COUNCIL PITS WARRING BX. FACTIONS

Rival factions of the Bronx Democratic party are going to war at the polls today in a special election to fill a vacant City Council seat. The contest pits party...

THESE BUNS FOR HIRE: J.LO CAN BE LIFE OF YOUR PARTY

Believe it or not, you can hire Jennifer Lopez to come to your next party. But get ready to shell out some big bucks - a one-hour appearance by the...

CITY CATHOLICS SAY RED HAT FITS HIM

Excited New York Catholics yesterday said they have faith that Archbishop Edward Egan - set to become a cardinal tomorrow - is a worthy successor to their beloved John Cardinal...

IT'S RISKY (FAMILY) BUSINESS - EARNHARDTS FOLLOWED LONG LINE OF FATHER-SON TEAMS IN DEADLY WORLD OF NASCAR RACING

GENERATIONAL pride runs deep in the South - where NASCAR reigns and its most famous racers are bred. It's this pride that goes some way in explaining why driver fathers,...

COULD DEVICE HAVE SAVED DALE?

Heartbroken fans mourned NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt yesterday as his fatal crash added more fuel to the debate over use of a head-restraining safety device. Admirers left tributes at the...

CITY STUDENTS ARE FORCED TO 'CRAM': 1,619 CLASSES OVERCROWDED

A staggering 1,619 classes in 400 public schools violate city guidelines for overcrowding, according to Board of Education and teachers-union records. Six elementary schools busting class-size rules are in one...

SHOWDOWN LOOMS OVER PARDON DOCUMENTS

WASHINGTON - The deadline for Denise Rich to turn bank account records over to Congress arrives today, as the Bill Clinton pardon probe cranks forward. Congressional Republicans vow a court...

STRAW OFFERED JOB TO WARN YANKS OFF DRUGS

Yankee boss George Steinbrenner has raced to Darryl Strawberry's rescue again - offering the tarnished slugger a job coaching minor leaguers on how to avoid the pitfalls of drugs and...

WOMAN FREEZES TO DEATH LOOKING FOR LOST HUSBAND

In a case with a tragic O. Henry-style ending, an 85-year-old woman with Alzheimer's was found frozen to death in Brooklyn yesterday after she went searching for her husband, who...

BUSH PAYS SAD TRIBUTE TO OKLA. CITY BOMB VICTIMS

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday grieved with the survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing as he dedicated a memorial and evoked the Bible to talk of the need to "confront...

GRANDMA PUSHED TO HER DEATH: COPS

A deranged man pushed his "very sweet and kind" grandmother off the balcony of her 21st-floor apartment in Harlem yesterday - then tried to leap from the death terrace before...

TUGBOAT PLUNGE FEARED FATAL

A tugboat worker was presumed drowned yesterday after falling into the water near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge off Brooklyn while trying to climb aboard a tanker that needed fuel, authorities said....

WOMAN BURNED IN S.I. APT. FIRE

A 78-year-old woman was critically burned in a blaze that began inside her Staten Island apartment yesterday afternoon, fire officials said. The fire may have been caused by careless smoking,...

TEEN SUSPECTS CAUGHT: CB-RADIO CALL TIPS OFF INDIANA COP

An Indiana cop used his CB radio yesterday to track down two teens suspected of murdering a pair of Dartmouth professors - but police are still hunting for a reason...

PALS CAN'T BELIEVE 'CLOWNS' COULD KILL

To their pals, Dartmouth double-murder suspects Robert Tulloch, 17, and James Parker, 16, were class clowns itching to ditch small-town Vermont. To the local police, they were a couple of...

CENTRAL PK. THUGS MUG LAWYER

Two teens mugged a 34-year-old lawyer walking in Central Park last night, police said. A 14-year-old carrying a pellet gun attacked the victim from behind around 7:15 at Center Drive...

IRAQI TERROR THREAT DRAWS BUSH AND SHARON TOGETHER

It may be a coincidence that a sophisticated joint U.S.-Israeli anti-missile exercise is taking place just three days after American jets bombed Iraqi sites. But there was no coincidence that...

LOUIMA COP NIXED BID FOR BILL PARDON

Top city police-union officials suggested seeking a presidential pardon for Charles Schwarz, the officer who claims he was wrongly convicted of helping assault Abner Louima, Schwarz's lawyer said last night....

EX-PRESIDENT EXPOSED AS HIS PR EFFORT TURNS TO DISASTER

WASHINGTON - Bill Clinton's damage-control team is suddenly looking pretty rusty. The spin doctors who helped Clinton survive Sexgate tried to spiff up his tarnished image by having him pen...

MAN PUSHES GRANDMA TO HER DEATH: POLICE

A deranged man pushed his "sweet" grandmother off the balcony of her 21st-floor apartment in Harlem yesterday - then tried to leap from the death terrace before cops grabbed him,...

DARTMOUTH SLAY SUSPECTS ARE CAUGHT

An Indiana cop used his CB radio to track down two teens suspected of murdering a pair of Dartmouth professors yesterday - and police are still hunting for a reason...

ROGER LIES LOW AS NEW CHARGES SURFACE

TORRANCE, Calif. - The brother of former President Bill Clinton kept a low profile yesterday after a rough weekend that saw him accused of drunken driving and influence peddling. Roger...

HEAT SHOW NO MOURNING-AFTER SIDE EFFECTS

When Charlotte dealt Alonzo Mourning to Miami back in 1995, Charles Oakley couldn't believe the news. So the bewildered Oak approached a Hornets ballboy, seeking an explanation for the mystery....

HARDAWAY TRIES TO DIG HIMSELF OUT OF A HOLE

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on a second. Because before you write that scathing letter to Tim Hardaway or construct a hateful sign to bring to the game tonight, he'd like...

REPLACING JEFF NO EASY TASK

TAMPA - Jeff Nelson accomplished two extraordinary feats as a Yankee: He dominated Frank Thomas and flustered Joe Torre. Because Nelson achieved the former, Torre was somewhat muted in his...

VAN HORN AIMS TO REGAIN SHOT

The discussions have ranged from his position, to his relaxation process, to his toughness, to his slump. Who knows what will turn it around for the Nets' Keith Van Horn?...

PEEPING TOM LOOKS GOOD AT LAUREL

Peeping Tom stamped himself as the best sprinter in the northeast as he took the lead in midstretch and drew off under Shaun Bridgmohan to win the Grade 2 $200,000...

IN THE END, DALE DID IT HIS WAY; DALE LIVED AND DIED IN THE FAST LANE

DALE Earnhardt drove a racecar the way Angel Cordero rode a racehorse. He drove the way Karl Wallenda walked the wire. The way Manolete fought the bull. The way Thomas...

WHITE KNOWS MOVE'S LIKELY - AMAZIN' BULLPEN TOO CROWDED

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Have you heard that your name has come up in trade talks? "I have?" Rick White said before a wide grin swept his face....

FAMILY RUNS FROM XFL'S SEX, BOOZE AND SLEAZE

A Hitmen fan and his kids have been chased from Giants Stadium by rowdy fans shouting lewd comments and throwing dollar bills at the team's popular cheerleaders. The non-stop verbal...

MENDOZA COULD BE LEFT BEHIND

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - If 14 additional days working in the Florida sun is the best way to handle Ramiro Mendoza's comeback from shoulder surgery, Joe Torre won't hesitate to...

DEFENSE KEEPS RESTING - STRUGGLING KNICKS HOPE TO RECAPTURE TENACITY VS. HEAT

Maybe their confidence started to fail before their defense; or maybe it was the other way around. But whatever the case or the cause, the results are undeniable: The Knicks'...

RIGGAN'S HOPING DRIVE WAS WORTH IT

PORT ST. LUCIE - Jerrod Riggan, an up-and-coming reliever, hopes his trip to the majors is smoother than the one he took from his Brewster, Wash., home to Port St....

RICE'S FOOT WON'T KEEP HIM ON SEAT

Glen Rice sat out yesterday's grueling two-hour practice with a sore left foot. But the veteran small forward said his other various injuries haven't been able to keep him out...

SHEFFIELD OF DREAMS - BOSS PRAISES GARY BUT IS WARY OF COST

TAMPA - Gary Sheffield may be too rich for even the Yankees' champagne taste. And it's not like The Bombers are lusting for an outfielder. However, whenever a stud player...

YANKS IN NO RUSH ON BROSIUS PACT

TAMPA - This is the second time in four seasons that Scott Brosius is entering the final year of a contract. Three years ago Brosius was entering his final season...

AS DISASTERS GO, A 10 ON THE RICHTER SCALE

Rangers 4 - B'hawks 2 Let's face it. Within context, nothing worse could have happened to either the Ranger team or the organization than what took place at the Garden...

TRADE-WIND WARNING! - NOW KNICKS COULD LAND MUTOMBO AND BIBBY

AS Thursday's trading deadline advances far too slowly for my good mental health, the Knicks and Blazers and, to a lesser degree, the Grizzlies continue to have serious dialogue with...

DODGERS' ASKING PRICE FIGURES TO COME DOWN

VERO BEACH - In a clumsy attempt at turning back the clock to the days of the Soviet Union, a Dodger official informed the dozen reporters surrounding GM Kevin Malone...

METS PASS ON L.A. TRADE - AMAZIN'S WON'T PART WITH PIAZZA, ALFONZO

PORT ST. LUCIE - You want Gary Sheffield? OK, let's start with Mike Piazza or Edgardo Alfonzo. To this, GM Steve Phillips said, "No, thank you." That's basically how the...

STORM'S NOT DUKE, BUT NOT FAR OFF EITHER

After Duke had overwhelmed St. John's 91-59 on Sunday, a couple of disgruntled fans leaving The Garden grumbled that the Red Storm wasn't in the same class as the Blue...

DEVILS' BACKS TO WALL IN CUP DEFENSE

TORONTO - The Devils' dream to repeat as Stanley Cup champs hinges on what doctors find amiss in the backs of their two top offensive centers. Jason Arnott is expected...

POMPEII ERUPTS AT BIG A

Five weeks ago, making her first stakes start in the Affectionately Handicap at Aqueduct, the rapidly improving filly Pompeii opened a two-length lead in midstretch, only to fade late to...

MARTY'S MONEY IN THE BLANK - HANGS '0' AS ERIC-TO-LEAFS RUMOR SWIRLS

Devils 2 - Maple Leafs 0 TORONTO - When in doubt, the Devils revert to Jacquey Hockey, which also means relying on Martin Brodeur. The Maple Leafs appeared to be...

DEVS NEED BACK SUPPORT

TORONTO - The Devils' dream to repeat as Stanley Cup champs hinges on what doctors find amiss in the backs of their two top offensive centers. Jason Arnott is expected...

LINDROS-TO-LEAFS DEAL BACK IN LIMBO

TORONTO - The trade that was expected to send Eric Lindros from the Flyers to the Maple Leafs appeared to hit yet another snag yesterday, just as Toronto was poised...