August 9, 2002

CABLE PULLS PLUG; COMPANY TO FIRE 7%, SELL CLEARVIEW THEATERS

It's getting bloody at Cablevision. The Long Island-based cable giant announced yesterday that it's slashing 7,000 jobs and selling off its movie theater chain, which includes the famed Ziegfield theater....

WALL STREET'S 3-DAY RALLY BOOSTS DOW BY 8.3%

It's like hitting the trifecta. Investors' portfolios have been boosted by $757 billion since Tuesday as the U.S. stocks markets, as measured by the Wilshire 5000, registered their first three-day...

WRITER CARLSON OUT OF TIME

MARGARET Carlson, the first female columnist in the history of Time magazine and a fixture on CNN's "Capitol Gang," is about to sever her ties to the magazine, Media Ink...

GAP INTRODUCES NEW EXEC LINE: SHAKE-UP COMES WITH 19% FALL IN SAME-STORE SALES

The Gap Inc. is playing "shuffle the executive." The long-suffering retailer has named Gary Muto, president of Banana Republic, president of its namesake brand. To replace Muto, Maureen Chiquet, executive...

MARTHA SEES STOCK FALL TO RECORD LOW

Martha Stewart's stock plunged to an all-time low - even as the rest of the stock market rallied to triple-digits gains - as reports surfaced that the domestic diva would...

BANK OF NEW YORK INKS B'KLYN MOVE

The Bank of New York, fast reoccupying its Downtown space that was sidelined on Sept. 11, has decided to stretch its legs across the river - to Brooklyn. In a...

CITI ACCUSED OF SOLLY-GAGGING

Frustrated lawmakers accused Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney investment bank of foot-dragging in response to written requests for documents, and looks set to subpoena them. The deadline for Salomon to deliver...

IT'S DOG DAYS FOR LEONA & HER PET POOCH TROUBLE

Leona Helmsley loves Trouble. And soon, all of New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston and Atlanta will too. Trouble, Helmsley's beloved Maltese and a long-time resident of the Helmsley Park...

STARR REPORT

Tell it to the Boss: Jay beats Dave Bruce Springsteen's consecutive-night performances on "The Late Show with David Letterman" certainly helped boost the CBS show here in New York -...

EX-'ANGEL' BATTLES CANCER ; 'JACLYN WAS TERRIFIED AT FIRST'

FORMER "Charlie's Angels" beauty Jaclyn Smith is battling breast cancer - just like her former "Angels" co-star Kate Jackson. "Jaclyn caught it early and is taking a safe and conservative...

SPRINGSTEEN PROVES IT ALL NIGHT AT MEADOWLANDS

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and the E STREET BAND The next performance is at Madison Square Garden Monday, 7:30 p.m. This review appeared in the late editions of yesterday's Post. NOBODY gives...

ONLY END OF 'ONLY THE END' IS A RELIEF

ONLY THE END OF THE WORLDAt Theatre 3, 311 W. 43 St.; (212) 252-4437. IN a remarkable coincidence, Jean-Luc Lagarce's "Only the End of the World" is the second French...

LOVE AND HATE ; LINDA ASKS: HOW CAN ONE SHOW BE SO GOOD AND THE OTHER ... OOOPH?

"Love, Hate & Joy" Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on ABC Family 1/2 "The Last Resort" Sunday at 10 p.m. on ABC Family Absolutely no stars IT is the best of...

'CHATEAU': BRING ON ZEE WRECKING BALL

THE CHATEAUHalf a star Just appallingIn English and French, with English subtitles. Running time: 93 minutes. Not rated (profanity, sexual references). At the Lincoln Plaza, Broadway and 63rdStreet. JUST about...

WESTWARD HO-HUM

LEWIS & CLARK: GREAT JOURNEY WEST THERE are a few spectacular visuals in this dramatization of the famed explorers' 8,000-mile trek in the early 19th century. But considering this is...

A TOUR OF ASIA

SCARLET DIVA 1/2 Sexy and sordid.In English, Italian and French with English subtitles. Running time: 91 minutes. Not rated (sex, nudity, language and drug use). At Cinema Village, 12th Street,...

IRAN VOTE SLOW, MOVING

SECRET BALLOT 1/2 Clever but slow.In Farsi, with English subtitles. Running time: 105 minutes. Rated G (nothing offensive). At the Quad, 13th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. EVEN by...

FROM PUNK TO RAVE, A WILD MANCHESTER SCENE

24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE 1/2 Crash this party.Running time: 117 minutes. Rated R (strong language, drug use and sexuality). At the Sunshine Cinema, Houston Street and Second Avenue. MICHAEL Winterbottom's...

STILL IN LIKE CLINT

BLOOD WORK 1/2 The Good, the Bad and the WomenRunning time: 105 minutes. Rated R (graphic violence, profanity, sexuality). At the Empire, the Lincoln Square, the Sutton, others. AS a...

REEL BIG WISH ; CALIFORNIA BOYS SHOCKED TO EARN LIVING IN MUSIC

SOUTHERN California's Reel Big Fish started off in a very small pond."We began playing for fun, in a garage," the band's loopy lead singer, Aaron Barrett, told The Post from...

DIESEL POWER RIDE

XXX 1/2 Pumped-up, dumbed-down Bond, with tattoos instead of brains.Rated PG-13 (brutal violence). Running time: 124 minutes. At the Empire, the Loews 84th St., the Kips Bay, others. THE thriller...

'CLAIR' PAIR IS PERFECT

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE 1/2 At the Belasco Theatre, 111 W. 44th St.; (212) 239-6200 FOR all its rough language and nudity - full frontal and...

OUT-OF-TOWN TRYOUTS ARE USELESS - CLOSE 'EM!

EVER since Newsday published a pan of Billy Joel's "Movin' Out" in Chicago, producers have fretted that the out-of-town tryout is on the way out. No more will a show...

'IDOL' SINGER KNEW

AILING "American Idol" contestant Christina Christian was released from a Los Angeles hospital Wednesday evening, shortly after she was informed she'd been voted off the red-hot Fox series. Paramedics were...

SORIANO HAS 30-30 VISION

Think for a moment about all the great second basemen in baseball history. Among others, Joe Morgan, Rogers Hornsby and Roberto Alomar come to mind. Now consider this: Alfonso Soriano,...

ISRAEL BOOTING ARAFAT'S N.Y. PAL

JERUSALEM - Israeli forces arrested nine foreign protesters, including Brooklyn's Adam Shapiro, and authorities said yesterday they would be deported in a crackdown against "provocateurs." Officials in Jerusalem said the...

SIEGE MENTALITY AT FBI'S N.Y. HEADQUARTERS

Security around the FBI's Manhattan headquarters will be stiffened and Duane and Reade streets are likely to be sealed off to protect the building from terrorists, federal and city officials...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

These birds are no birdbrains. Two Arizona researchers have found that more birds tend to live in wealthy areas than in poor ones. The two studied urban parks throughout Phoenix,...

GIRL HELPS KIDS HIT BY TERROR TRAGEDY

She's only 14 years old, but Molly Stramberg has already made her mark as a creative dynamo with a huge heart. "Lots of people have compassion, but she turns it...

JUDGE TELLS SHEIK'S LAWYER TO BUG OFF

The lawyer accused of helping imprisoned blind terror sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman smuggle communiqués out of his cell lost a bid yesterday to force the government to reveal whether her conversations...

'BACHELOR'S' TV PROPOSAL RINGS FALSE

Don't make any wedding plans for "The Bachelor" star Alex Michel and his handpicked intended, Amanda Marsh - it appears their made-for-TV romance is kaput. "I'm sure that ring is...

BROOKLYN POL'S SON JAILED IN $1M FRAUD

A former Bay Ridge lawyer was hauled off to prison yesterday after a state judge ordered him held in lieu of $250,000 bail for allegedly bilking clients out of $1.1...

ROBO-SOLDIERS: STUDY CALLS ON SCIENCE TO BUILD A BETTER GI

EXCLUSIVE WASHINGTON - U.S. Special Operations commanders are asking the nation's top scientists to develop Space Age drugs and weapons so future commandos can fight longer, heal faster and kill...

'GOD TOOK HIM': MOM GRIEVES FOR SKATEBOARD KID KILLED IN HIT-RUN

The heartsick mom of a 9-year-old Queens boy killed Wednesday in a hit-and-run crash wailed, "God, I hate you!" as she gathered with family members yesterday and struggled to understand...

YASSER IGNORED IN U.S.-PALESTINIAN TALKS

WASHINGTON - National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice yesterday avoided talking about Yasser Arafat during a "cordial" meeting with three Palestinian ministers yesterday, the White House said. Even though President Bush...

ANDY FLIES 1ST CLASS WITH BIG $$ DONORS

WHILE Andrew Cuomo insists his trip to Israel this week wasn't political, his 14 traveling companions ponied up $271,000 for his campaign for governor. All but two members of Cuomo's...

N.J. SHRIMP SCAMPS NET 250G: FEDS

The FBI has busted four men in New Jersey for the jumbo theft of nearly half-a-million pounds of frozen shrimp. "It's a fishy story," said FBI Special Agent Joseph Riley,...

BIG BUCKS GO BEGGING AS VICTIMS' KIN AVOID AID FUND

The vast majority of families of 9/11 victims are still too traumatized or suspicious of the government to apply for compensation for their suffering, even though million-dollar-plus packages are already...

HILL WANTS RANCH CHAT WITH BUSH

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday asked for a powwow with President Bush at his Texas ranch to confront him over White House reluctance to OK extra money to...

SCHOOLS PILL-ORIED: PARENTS FORCED TO DRUG KIDS: ACTIVIST

City educators are violating the law by banning students with behavior problems from schools if their parents refuse orders to give them Ritalin or other drugs, the head of a...

TIGER TEED OFF OVER NUDIE 'GAL PAL' CYBER-PIX

Tiger Woods is steamed hotter than his golf game - all over some naked photos purporting to be of his girlfriend, Elin Nordegren. The photos, which have been popping up...

BLOOMY HOPEFUL COPS WON'T CATCH 'BLUE FLU' NEXT MONTH

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday blamed hotheads for spreading rumors of a police walkout, and said the city is prepared to pay cops more than other workers if they'll agree to "productivity"...

B'KLYN-MANHATTAN FERRY SET TO LAUNCH

A commuter and pleasure-trip ferry service will start operating between Brooklyn and Manhattan on Sept. 24. New York Water Taxi will run three ferries from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m....

OUT-OF-BIZ WIZ: CABLEVISION TO SHUTTER MOST STORES

Somebody beats The Wiz. In an effort to get some cash flowing, communications giant Cablevision is closing the majority of its Wiz home-electronics stores and putting the Clearview Cinemas chain,...

CUOMO ON LOW ROAD: BEGINS STRING OF NEGATIVE TV ADS TAKING SLAP AT MCCALL

Andrew Cuomo yesterday unveiled the first negative ad in the governor's race, charging that his Democratic opponent, Carl McCall, is "attacking my father, my wife and calling the campaign a...

VINEGRAD VENDETTA AGAINST SCHWARZ MUST END

JUSTICE is blind - but doesn't have to be deaf, dumb and stupid. I am at the point where I will throw up if I hear another crimp in the...

BRAVEST, FINEST GET REA$ON TO STAY

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday signed into law a bill designed to offer veteran New York City cops and firefighters incentives to stay on the job. "A lot will go...

JAILBIRD BLAKE

The actor has "criminal law" experience - in 2000 (right), he was at a cast reunion for "In Cold Blood."AP (left); David McNew/Getty Images Here's actor Robert Blake in his...

PASSING VIOLATIONS: PARENTS RIP GOOD GRADES FOR TEACHERS

EXCLUSIVE Nearly all the city's public school teachers received passing grades from their bosses this year - even though most city kids are flunking standardized exams, according to Board of...

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BETSY

THE second highest elected office in New York City is being held by an official who suggested that to prepare for another terrorist attack, we New Yorkers should all pack...

GAL 'BAGGED' GRAMPS' 15G IN CLASSIC HUSTLE: COPS

A woman with a long record of theft has been arrested for stealing $15,000 from an 89-year-old man in a classic con game in uptown Manhattan, police said. Sheryl Cummings,...

HE'S UNTRUE BLUE: DISGRACED EX-COP TELLS TALL TALES IN STATE SENATE RUN

Charles Castro claims he is a "decorated" cop whose life "reads like a movie script" - including eight medals during a "distinguished" 17-year career in the NYPD - and is...

COLIN TANGLES MIKE'S DIPLO-SCOFFLAW HOOK

A word from Secretary of State Colin Powell put the brakes yesterday on Mayor Bloomberg's plans to tow the cars of diplomatic scofflaws. Powell made a last-minute personal appeal to...

DAD GETS LIFE IN TOT'S STARVE DEATH

A ranting ex-Marine was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison yesterday for the horrific starving death of his 4-year-old daughter, a little girl who "never stood a chance."...

TORCH, GOP FOE IN DEAD HEAT: POLL

WASHINGTON - New Jersey Sen. Bob Torricelli's re-election bid has been hurt by an ethics ruling last week that "severely admonished" him - and he's now tied with little-known GOP...

MIKE: NOT SO FAST ON AIRPORT 'SWAP'

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday the city has to have a say in how its two airports are run, as his aides formally presented a framework for a land swap to...

HILL'S FILTHY LUCRE: HOLDS ON TO 27G FROM IMCLONE SAM

WASHINGTON - A day after disgraced ImClone chief Sam Waksal was indicted for insider trading, bank fraud and obstruction of justice, his favorite politician - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -...

BX. TEEN STABBED TO DEATH NEAR HS

A feud that began last month, when one Bronx teen threatened to punch another's sister, ended in a bottle-throwing melee yesterday in which a third teen was stabbed to death,...

GOP POL REQUESTS PROBE OF BILL AIDE ON ENRON

WASHINGTON - A Republican congressman wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to probe Bill Clinton's treasury secretary, Robert Rubin, for trying to get top Bush aides to help scandal-scarred Enron...

BLOOMY DOESN'T THINK COPS WILL WALK

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday blamed hotheads for spreading rumors of a police walkout and said the city is prepared to pay cops more than other workers if they'll agree to "productivity"...

NET GAIN FOR YES

In a less-than-shocking development yesterday, the YES Network announced it has acquired the rights to broadcast Nets games. The agreement only needs approval from the NBA. The next major step...

MADDEN & MICHAELS LET COMMISH OFF HOOK

IN THEIR first telecast as ABC's Monday night team, Al Michaels and John Madden twice, within minutes, seized a golden opportunity to make nothing out of something. Late in the...

LL TELECAST NO PLACE FOR PUTDOWN

STOP, in the name of love. The YES Network has joined ESPN/ABC in mindlessly televising late-season, "big-stakes" Little League games. Sunday, a telecast appeared of a regional final, between teams...

B'KLYN BOXER SET FOR DEBUT IN ATLANTIC CITY

Sechew Powell, who recently graduated from Northern Michigan University with a degree in auto-body repair, laughed when it was suggested they could be pulling dents out of Judson Washington's head...

BENCH WOES TAKING TOLL ON LIBERTY

Any time a first-place team loses with a playoff spot on the line, the coach is disappointed, particularly when it comes against a squad that is at the bottom of...

ORDONEZ' DIVE NOT HEAD'S UP

MET NOTES MILWAUKEE - Rey Ordonez nearly simultaneously gave himself a concussion and dislocated his right shoulder with a headfirst dive into first base Wednesday night. He missed yesterday's matinee...

GIAMBI TO WELCOME EX-MATES TO BRONX

Tonight's Yankee matchup with the A's is more friendly than fierce for Jason Giambi. He didn't leave any bad feelings in Oakland, so when the A's arrive in The Bronx,...

VAN HORN: NO HARD FEELINGS

PHILADELPHIA - Despite a tumultuous five years, Keith Van Horn said he will remember only the "fond memories" in New Jersey and has "no hard feelings" toward the Nets organization....

NICK OUT 3-5 DAYS WITH WRIST

YANKEE NOTES Nick Johnson missed the entire 2000 season with a mysterious right wrist injury. He was asked yesterday if the bruised bone in his left wrist resembles the former...

ANDY GETS BY KC IN THE SUNSHINE ; YANKEES' ACE PREVAILS WITHOUT HIS BEST STUFF

Yankees 6Royals 3 There are days when a pitcher knows he is going to absorb a beating because his arsenal is empty. The fastball lacks juice, the curveball is flat...

FASSEL LIKES ENERGY OF CAMP

GIANT NOTES ALBANY - Jim Fassel loved yesterday's afternoon practice, which featured heavy hitting, some bruising knocks on running back Sean Bennett, defensive end Frank Ferrara leveling tight end Marcellus...

EVERYBODY LOVES SHOCKEY: ROOKIE TE LOOKS GOOD TO TOOMER

ALBANY - His eyes brightened and his smile grew wide and then wider, as if he was in on a secret that he couldn't wait to reveal. Amani Toomer, one...

FAMILIAR ENDING TO MO'S NEW BEGINNING

THE music arrived before the man. The opening chords of "Enter Sandman" alerted what remained of a crowd of 55,142 at the Stadium that Mariano Rivera was coming, so a...

TRACHSEL DERAILS SLUMP ; METS RESPOND AFTER MEETING

Mets 9Brewers 0 MILWAUKEE - Bobby Valentine was angry late Wednesday night, agitated that his team had played a poor game against a terrible opponent. "I'm always upset with games...

BAVARO: HE HAS WEAPONS TO BECOME NEXT 'RAMBO'

ALBANY - As a player, Mark Bavaro was silent but deadly. He rarely, if ever, engaged in any banter with the media, yet on Sundays he did his rampaging thing,...

I'M ALL YOURS AIMS TO TAKE WEST POINT

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Jockey Jerry Bailey rarely gets a nightmare trip on a horse, especially a strong favorite in a turf stakes, but one such instance occurred in the May...

'WAR' MULLS TRAVERS

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Hold yourhorses! Reports that Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner War Emblem, who won the Haskell at Monmouth Park last Sunday, definitely will not run in the $1 million Travers...

PICK YOUR SPOTS

IT was another good week for inshore anglers, with fluke, bluefish and porgies topping the list. Offshore fishing south of the East End has been a big plus, but off...

FALK UPSET KNICKS DIDN'T GET DIKEMBE

PHILADELPHIA - Superagent David Falk couldn't hide his disappointment the Knicks failed yet again to land his client Dikembe Mutombo. While Falk thinks Mutombo will be a nice fit across...

LIBERTY SNAG PLAYOFF SPOT DESPITE LOSS

Mystics 65Liberty 54 The Liberty managed to clinch a spot in the playoffs last night, but they were hardly impressive in the process. Lethargic other than a five-minute stretch midway...

BLOCKED PUNT ERASES DOUBTS ABOUT THOMAS

JET NOTES PITTSBURGH - Jets fans anxiously awaited a sack from No. 1 draft pick Bryan Thomas, who made his pro debut in the Jets' 16-6 preseason victory last night...

JETS OFF AND FLYING ; WIN OVER STEELERS MAKES HERM FEEL GOOD

PRESEASONJets 16Steelers 6 PITTSBURGH - Disclaimer: This was merely the first of four preseason games, and like all of these things, it turned into what looked like a disorganized yard...

SCORELESS MATCH STILL HUGE DRAW

Real Madrid 0AS Roma 0 While Real Madrid and AS Roma couldn't settle matters on the pitch last night - two of the world's finest soccer teams played to a...

DAVID VS. GOLIATH : LOW-BUDGET A'S BATTLE FREE-SPENDING YANKEES

The nearly $100 million difference in payrolls makes the A's-Yankees matchup a classic story of the little guys trying to conquer the big guys. "The Yankees serve as the perfect...

MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: MICHAEL KAY VS. CHRIS RUSSO WHO IS RIGHT?

Ultimately, the question here is the original one raised by Chris Russo: Does Michael Kay's Yankee play-by-play job influence his ESPN Radio talk show? The answer is, um, YES. But...

5 QUESTIONS WITH GARY MCCORD

With the PGA Championship starting Thursday, The Post's Andrew Marchand caught up with CBS golf analyst Gary McCord. The 54-year-old is in his 16th year as a commentator. Q: When...

RADIO WAR OF THE WORDS: MAD DOG SAYS KAY CAN'T BE OBJECTIVE ABOUT YANKEES

In sports talk radio, there is only one type of war: a war of words. The best battle these days pits WFAN's Chris Russo against ESPN Radio's Michael Kay. It...

MAYOR'S BOSTON ROOTS DON'T FAZE BOMBERS

Mayor Bloomberg finally showed his true colors yesterday - openly displaying allegiance to the dreaded Boston Red Sox. In the presence of four Yankee greats, the mayor playfully donned a...

MADRID CLUB MAKES ROYAL APPEARANCE

Real Madrid is the premier club for the planet's most popular sport. It's won more European Cups than any team in history - and is like a worldly version of...

HEY PITT, THIS WON'T COUNT: WRITER SAYS STEEL CREW WILL ROLL IN EXHIBITION

PITTSBURGH - In an amusing bit of journalism - for lack of a better word - a writer from one of the local papers here yesterday delivered a scathing assessment...

EX-GREEN GUY FARRIOR GETTING FEEL FOR STEEL

JET NOTES PITTSBURGH - Last night was not only an unveiling for a lot of players wearing the Jets' green and white uniform for first time, it, too, was a...