
##3000974 <p> Even if the National Hockey League cancels its season this week , Sean Avery has a job playing the game . But some of his new opponents resent him . <p> Instead of earning $600,000 as a forward with the Los Angeles Kings of the locked-out N.H.L. , Avery gets $750 a week with the Motor City Mechanics , a last-place expansion team of the salary-capped United Hockey League . <p> He battles for his wages against teams like the Rockford Ice Hogs and the Richmond River Dogs . On Saturday night in a home rink in suburban Detroit called the Garage , Avery made the Muskegon Fury furious . <p> After getting early penalties for high-sticking , unsportsmanlike conduct and fighting , Avery took a double minor in the third period for spearing an opponent in the groin and fighting at length with a defenseman named Jordan Flodell . <p> Before , between and after these incidents , Avery argued frequently on the ice , on the bench and in the penalty box with various members of the Fury . <p> " They said , ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The implication was that Avery might be taking a job away from veteran minor leaguers who have worked many years at low wages . <p> Avery said he replied by calling his opponents the kind of professional athletes who might replace him next season if the N.H.L. tries to declare an impasse , impose a new collective bargaining agreement and return with replacement players . <p> " I said , ' You guys will probably be in the N.H.L. next year , " ' Avery said . " ' You 'd better watch yourself . " ' Avery paused , glanced downward as if reviewing his own words , then looked up and added , " Maybe I 'd better watch myself . " <p> Avery is one of four N.H.L. players to join the Mechanics this month . The others are forward Bryan Smolinski of Ottawa and two defensemen from the Detroit Red Wings , Derian Hatcher and Chris Chelios . Kris Draper , a Wings forward and a Canadian citizen , is practicing with the Mechanics and seeking visa clearance . <p> Also in the league are Barret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now with the Missouri River Otters . Should N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman announce the cancellation of the season , as he has threatened , it is possible that more N.H.L. players will join the U.H.L. , a 14-team circuit located primarily in the Midwest . More than 375 N.H.L. players have found work in Europe . <p> At age 24 , Avery is the youngest of the N.H.L. players on the Mechanics . Chelios , 43 , is the oldest , and he looked weary Saturday night against the Fury . Sunday night 's home game against Port Huron was to be his third in three nights , and he said he was planning to talk with team management about his workload . <p> " Playing 30 or 35 minutes a game is something that really takes away from your game , " Chelios said . " I want to help out and make it fun for everybody , but not try to kill myself doing it . " <p> Hatcher grew up near the arena in Fraser and said he and his friends rented ice time here at midnight on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's . The souvenir stand in the Garage is called the Tool Box , and the refreshment stand is the Lunch Box . <p> The franchise is owned by Walter Cohen , a local real estate developer who said it was good for business to hire the major leaguers , even if it put his team over the $260,000 salary cap for the season . <p> Each dollar over that figure forces the team to pay a $2 tax to the league . But the Mechanics were last in league attendance , with an average of 1,601 going into the weekend . They drew 2,093 on Saturday -- tickets cost $8 to $25 -- while losing to Muskegon , 3-1 . <p> Hatcher said fan reaction had been mixed on the road . " Some boo at us and some yell at us , but they are selling out , " he said . <p> Steve Shannon , the Mechanics ' coach , said Hatcher was so besieged by autograph seekers in Port Huron on Friday night that it was like trying to get Paul McCartney to the limousine after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there in five years . <p> Hatcher , Cohen and several others associated with the team said no previous Mechanics players would lose salary because of the new arrivals . " That was one of the conditions , " said Hatcher , who is sensitive about putting other players out of work . <p> But some have lost ice time and others have lost roster spots while remaining on the payroll . <p> Chelios is not overly sensitive on this point . " It 's the nature of the game that there is always someone to take your spot , " he said . " If it 's not us , it 's a young guy . It 's no different than us going to Europe or Europeans coming here . " <p> Smolinski and Hatcher are both 32 , and the two said it hurt to get back into shape against players in midseason condition . Hatcher had several ice bags on his body after Saturday 's game , and Smolinski said " all my aches and pains came back . " <p> The salary cap in the U.H.L . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . The N.H.L. Players ' Association 's resistance to a cap is a big issue . <p> Hatcher was asked about reports over the weekend that union members were putting pressure on their executive director , Bob Goodenow , to accept a cap and save the season . <p> " I do n't get the feeling Bob is under a lot of pressure , " Hatcher said . " I 'm sticking with the union . " Hatcher said he found it revealing that Bettman had not canceled the season despite his threats . <p> " There must be a reason , " Hatcher said . " They 're still looking at something to happen . " <p> Avery said his vision of a solution was for Bettman to be fired , then for player representatives to get in a room with all 30 owners , not just those viewed as hard-liners who are Bettman 's biggest supporters . <p> " Good faith would come to the table , " Avery said . <p> Before the lockout , Chelios had tentatively agreed to a $2.2 million contract with Detroit for what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a Hall of Fame career . He was the United States ' captain in two Olympics . He said he had called Goodenow " to question him , because the bottom line is the guys want to play . " <p> Chelios is one of the sport 's most influential personalities . During the 103-day lockout of 1994-95 , he was chastised for making vaguely menacing remarks about Bettman 's well-being . Chelios said he had also taken calls from Red Wings executives . <p> " They sniff around and try to figure out what we 're thinking , if we 're behind Bob or not , " Chelios said . The players " have made it clear , " Chelios said , that they will not settle for a salary cap or a link between salary and revenue . <p> " It 's just a rotten deal they are offering us , " Chelios said . " Sometimes life is n't fair . We 're going to try to fight this . " He maintains a bit of optimism . " I really do n't see how they can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bettman and the owners . " I can see them push it right to the edge and get as much as they possibly can . " <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com Derian Hatcher and Chris Chelios on a minor league bench . Below left , Chelios with the N.H.L. player Bryan Smolinski . ( Photographs by Tom Pidgeon for The New York Times ) ( pg . D1 ) Sean Avery made $600,000 with the Los Angeles Kings , and now earns $750 a week with the Mechanics . ( Photo by Associated Press ) ( pg . D7 ) 
##3000975 <p> As diverting as the Australian Open was last month during its 100th anniversary , it was hard to forget the guests who never made it to the party . Among the absentees were last year 's women 's champion , Justine Henin-Hardenne ; her opponent in that final , Kim Clijsters ; and the 2001 and 2002 champion , Jennifer Capriati . <p> All three were once ranked No. 1 , and all three were forced to skip the first Grand Slam event of 2005 because of significant injuries . <p> The men have hardly been spared the litany of pain . Of those who have reached No. 1 since 1998 , five have had major injuries : Marcelo Rios , Carlos Moya , Marat Safin , Patrick Rafter and Gustavo Kuerten . <p> In the past three years , such forced layoffs have been as much a part of the game as grunts and ground strokes , disrupting emerging rivalries along with overwrought tournament directors ' sleep patterns . <p> The most obvious explanation is the lack of a true off-season and the increasing depth and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risks caused by modern , trunk-twisting technique . Some players and trainers say the trend toward slower surfaces and balls in men 's tennis , along with stiffer , polyester strings , have also been detrimental . <p> " It 's a brutal game now , " said Wayne Ferreira of South Africa , who retired from the Tour last year . " Guys have become stronger ; the points are lasting longer . You 're having to run a lot more , and the rallies take a lot more out of you . " <p> Two other top women 's players , Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport , have had major knee surgery , with Davenport missing most of 2002 and Williams missing eight months in 2003 and 2004 . <p> " It 's a shame , but it does seem like we all end up taking our turn getting hurt , " Davenport said . " The women 's game could be going through this amazing period , but we have n't been healthy at the same time . " <p> In the men 's game , Rios and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Norman , a former French Open finalist from Sweden who reached No. 2 but was never able to recover fully from a hip condition . <p> It is a similar condition to the one that has forced Kuerten , the elastic , charismatic Brazilian , to have two hip operations . <p> Other former top-five players who have missed several months or more of play the past few years include Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian of Argentina ; Tommy Haas of Germany ; Greg Rusedski of Britain ; and Mark Philippoussis of Australia . <p> The sport at the professional level has , until now , not done a complete job of studying and cataloging injuries . There are no studies of the number of injuries in the professional ranks 10 years ago . <p> " But it does appear that more professionals are disabled , " said Dr. Ben Kibler , the medical director of the Lexington Clinic Sports Medicine Center in Kentucky and a leading authority on tennis injuries and biomechanics . " At a participatory level , in terms of people who are serious players but not professional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 to 15 years ago . " <p> Officials with the WTA maintain that the rate of injuries is not increasing in the women 's game . Henin-Hardenne , the world 's No. 1 player in 2003 , missed much of last season because of a virus , not an injury , although she did miss the Australian Open with a knee injury . <p> " I think what we 've seen is a cycle , " said Kathleen Stroia , the Tour 's vice president for sports science and medicine . " It 's some of the top players right now who 've had injuries , so it 's in the forefront in the media . <p> " What we are seeing are different types of injury . " <p> Stroia , who joined the WTA Tour 16 years ago as a trainer , said that chronic conditions , like knee tendinitis , were rarer now but that " episodic injuries , " like leg strains and wrist sprains , were on the rise . <p> Relatively new techniques -- the open-stance forehand ; the semi-open-stance two-handed backhand ; and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> " The biomechanics have changed , and when that happens , the training has to change , " said Dr. Brian Hainline , chief medical officer of the United States Open . " For the training to change , sports science has to determine what 's happening . The problem is that this lags behind . <p> " The game has gone in such a way that it has placed a much greater demand on what we call the core stability , and that has to do with the lower extremities , the buttock , the hip , the abdomen . If you compare the forehand or even the backhand of now to 10 or 15 years ago , there is such an incredible acceleration and rotation that occurs at the hip and trunk level . " <p> Core training has been in vogue in professional sports for the last decade , and the overwhelming consensus in tennis medical circles is that it is essential to survival in the modern game . " Core stability is a major issue , " Kibler said . " If you do n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or leg or groin . " <p> According to Kibler , a 1989 survey of young amateur tennis players from age 16 to 20 found that the most common injuries were to the shoulder and back , " but that groin and wrist injuries are really coming up . " <p> Kibler said groin injuries were on the rise because players were being jerked around the court more violently by the pace of the game . When yanked wide , they are now trying to hit full-force shots from more extended , vulnerable positions instead of settling for the defensive slices or lobs of previous generations . <p> " These rackets they use today , you can go to the moon with them , " said Guillermo Vilas , the former French Open and United States Open champion from Argentina . " You can do anything you want with them . You have so many choices , but the whole body has more chance of getting injured because every shot is possible from every position . " <p> Players are also taking bigger cuts at the ball because they feel that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are generally slower , a move made by tournament organizers to increase the length and entertainment value of rallies . The players ' desire for control while they swing away helps explain the rise in popularity of polyester string . <p> " It 's changed the way the game is played , " Dean Goldfine , who coaches Andy Roddick , said . " There 's not as much point construction , and more of these guys are learning from the time when they 're young to go out and swing as hard as they can on every single ball . That 's not good for the body . " <p> Bobby Reynolds , an American who reached the third round at the Australian Open , said he began experiencing numbness in his right pinkie and index fingers after using polyester string during his junior year at Vanderbilt , when he was the nation 's top-ranked collegiate player . After he started having only half his racket strung with polyester , he said the numbness dissipated . But he was displeased with his results and resumed using all polyester in Australia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ball down in the court , " he said . " I 'd rather try to win and not feel my fingers than not feel I was giving it my best shot . " <p> Kibler said existing scientific data did not support the theory that the string was the culprit . " Strings weigh so little , and the difference in the dwell time of the ball on the strings is very small , " he said . " As far as we can tell , the weight of the racket and stiffness of the racket has much more to do with vibration than the stiffness of string , types of string or tensions of string . " <p> Tennis players have long run the risk of suffering for imperfect technique . " If you do an open-stance forehand correctly , the arm moves rapidly along , and you can flick your wrist easily , because the whole trunk and body are moving , " Kibler said . " But if you get out of sync and do n't have good core stability , you end up using the wrist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the modern two-handed backhand , whose practitioners , including Clijsters and Safin , have had major wrist injuries on their left , or nondominant , arms . " The reason for this is the new style , " Kibler said . " Look at Jimmy Connors 's or Chris Evert 's two-handers . It was a one-handed backhand with the other arm going along and helping to stabilize . " <p> But for all the biomechanical peril , doctors , coaches , players and some administrators continue to reserve the bulk of the blame for the length of the season . The 2005 men 's season began with three low-level tournaments on Jan. 3 and will not end until the last day of the Davis Cup final on Dec. 4 . The 2005 women 's season will end three weeks earlier , on Nov. 14 , with the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles . <p> " Personally , I think they need three months minimum ; look at other sports , " Hainline said . <p> For now , Larry Scott , the chief executive of the women 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perhaps by 2007 . The men 's tour , with its denser tournament schedule and four-week obligation to Davis Cup , will have more difficulty , although the Australian Open 's decision to start one week later , beginning in 2007 , will create slightly more room to maneuver . <p> Hainline added a word of caution . " In some ways the players are in much better shape , " he said . " That , I know for a fact . But the demands are so much greater . " <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com Serena Williams hurt her back last month during the Australian Open . She went on to win the title . ( Photo by William West/Agence France Presse -- Getty Images ) ( pg . D1 ) Tommy Haas of Germany , above , after a groin injury forced him to abandon a match last month . Kim Clijsters of Belgium uses a two-handed backhand and has missed time after having surgery on her left , or nondominant , wrist . ( Photos by Above , Tony Ashby/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images Franka Burns/Associated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 
##3000976 <p> They are dressed in matching black suits , black shoes , black hats , yellow socks , yellow shirts and skinny ties . They are sitting on the hood of a police cruiser holding five-foot baseball bats , their eyes disguised by identical black sunglasses . <p> Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire looked like buddies in this poster from 1988 . They were supposed to look like brothers , too . McGwire and Canseco were nicknamed the Bash Brothers , so the marketers outfitted them to look like bigger , meaner Blues Brothers who favored a dash of yellow in their wardrobes . <p> The poster is obsolete , and the relationship between Canseco and McGwire is , too . They were never that friendly while bashing their forearms together for the Oakland Athletics after home runs , but they were civil to each other . Any shred of civility has vanished . <p> When Canseco appears on " 60 Minutes " tonight , he will make statements about McGwire and steroids use . Canseco is promoting his new book , " Juiced : Wild Times , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Big , " and he will sit in front of Mike Wallace and assert that he and McGwire used steroids while playing for the A 's and that he even injected McGwire with them . <p> Although Canseco links other marquee players to performance-enhancing steroids , his prime target is McGwire . They played together for seven seasons in Oakland and helped the A 's win a World Series title in 1989 . Now , Canseco is accusing McGwire of using illegal steroids , something Canseco admits he did throughout a once-superb career . <p> " Canseco has made it really personal with Mark , " said Tony La Russa , who managed them with the A 's . " It 's inaccurate . It 's unfair . It 's not right . " <p> Are Canseco 's charges inaccurate , unfair and incorrect ? McGwire did not respond to requests to interview him , but Canseco has put him and other former teammates -- Jason Giambi , Ivan Rodriguez , Juan Gonzalez and Rafael Palmeiro -- in an uncomfortable position with his assertions , true or untrue , embellished or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's credibility is questionable : he once threatened to sue a reporter who connected him to steroids . But Canseco spent several seasons in the same clubhouse with these players and has vast knowledge of performance-enhancing drugs . <p> Since McGwire admitted in 1998 to using androstenedione , a precursor to steroids that was allowed by the major leagues at the time , there have been questions whether he used steroids . Major League Baseball did not institute a drug-testing policy until after he retired in 2001 . McGwire has a much leaner physique as a retiree ; Canseco , who also last played in the majors in 2001 , still looks bulked up . <p> " I 'm starting to think that maybe Jose has something wrong with him , " said Dave McKay , who coached Canseco and McGwire with the A 's . " He 'd tell you a story and you 'd know he was making up , and he 'd know it , too . A couple of months later , he 'd tell it again and he believed it . You 'd tell him it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maybe he believes he injected Mark McGwire . " <p> Still , Dave Stewart , a former teammate of McGwire 's and Canseco 's with the A 's , told The San Francisco Chronicle that steroid users are usually able to identify the players who are doing what they are doing . <p> " I could never say Josey is a liar , " Stewart said . " I do n't like his work ethic , and I do n't like him as a teammate . But one thing I ca n't say about him is he 's a liar . " <p> Canseco and McGwire have taken divergent paths since they were at least friendly enough to dress up like oversized mannequins for the poster . McGwire finished with 583 home runs in a probable Hall of Fame career ; in retirement , he has stayed out of the public eye and spends countless days on the golf course near his home in Orange County , Calif . He has a zero handicap and has distant hopes of playing professionally some day . <p> Canseco , who also lives in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He limped to the end of his career and accused teams of blackballing him after he could not find a job , falling 38 homers short of 500 . He was put under house arrest after a brawl in a nightclub in 2001 , then he charged fans $625 an hour to hang out with him . He recently hocked his American League Most Valuable Player award for $30,000 . <p> Because of the book , Canseco and McGwire have crossed paths again . <p> La Russa , who now manages the St. Louis Cardinals , said McGwire was angry with Canseco , but La Russa added that McGwire was in a dicey position . If McGwire responds to Canseco 's book , he could give credence to Canseco 's words . If McGwire stays quiet , the suspicions about him , heightened by the book , will linger . <p> La Russa and McKay , who supervised the Oakland workouts , said McGwire never mentioned steroids to them . They said he was so diligent about his workout regimen , even about which protein shake he would drink , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> La Russa emphasized that Canseco and McGwire were not close friends , saying McGwire would not have shared a syringe with someone he never shared lunch with . <p> La Russa said doing something that intimate would be like two players deciding to " have a drink before the game or smoke a joint . " <p> " Mark did n't have that kind of relationship with the guy , " La Russa said . <p> Walt Jocketty , who was then the assistant general manager of the A 's and is now the general manager of the Cardinals , agreed , saying Canseco " did n't have any friends " on the A 's . <p> As La Russa reflects on nine years of managing the A 's , he said he " could count on one hand " the number of players he suspected had used steroids and that " it would n't be all the fingers . " Other than Canseco , La Russa declined to say which A 's fit the profile of a steroid user . <p> Canseco had superior talent to McGwire and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in batting practice . La Russa said Canseco was the better player in 1988 , when he won the M.V.P. award . <p> But La Russa said Canseco changed after signing a five-year , $23.5 million contract , the biggest in baseball in 1990 , and was not interested in working to remain such a tremendous player . <p> " He quit working , " La Russa said . " He quit caring . " <p> While Canseco was an intelligent , charming fellow who La Russa said was " fun to be around , " McGwire was brooding and reserved . Canseco adored attention as a player and still embraces it . McGwire did not enjoy the glare that his achievements brought , and he surely dislikes the scrutiny he is under now . <p> La Russa said those stark personality differences were another reason that McGwire and Canseco never grew chummy . And those traits , one player who desires the spotlight and one player who despises it , are evidenced again . <p> When Canseco was reached on his cellphone last week , he politely declined to comment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agent , said Canseco had major plans that included performing in a music video . That will probably not get Canseco featured on another poster , nor on " 60 Minutes . " <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com Teammates seven years , Mark McGwire , left , and Jose Canseco helped the A 's win the World Series in 1989 . ( Photos by Left , Ben Margot/Associated Press Pat Wallenbach , Associated Press ) ( pg . 7 ) 
##3000977 <p> No one has had a better view of the capriciousness of the N.B.A. <p> As Kenyon Martin returns to play in New Jersey today for the first time since the Nets let him go in a controversial sign-and-trade with Denver last summer , he carries this distinction : He has had 5 coaches in 13 months . <p> With the Nets , he played for Byron Scott , then Lawrence Frank . With the Nuggets , Jeff Bzdelik was replaced by the interim coach Michael Cooper , and now Martin is settling in , appreciatively , with George Karl . <p> " Pretty crazy , " Martin said last week in a telephone interview . " I was just talking about that the other day . But it 's good , we 're starting to play better now . We 've got more confidence . You can tell Coach Karl has a lot of passion for the game . " <p> As for the major change in his life , he said he was gratified that the Nets ' new principal owner , Bruce C. Ratner , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to re-sign him as a free agent . <p> " They should have ; he was right , " Martin said . " But I 've moved on , and so have they . " <p> Martin has kept in touch with his former teammates and spoken with Frank on the phone . " I miss the guys , " Martin said . " We had such a great group . The fans were terrific to me . " <p> He is trying to get fans involved in Denver the way he did in New Jersey , waving his arm and cupping his ear . For the first half of the season , fan enthusiasm waned as the Nuggets ' losses mounted . <p> Since Karl 's hiring , the Nuggets have gone 6-2 , coming into the Meadowlands off Friday 's nationally televised victory over Cleveland . In that game , Martin had 19 points and 8 rebounds . <p> " I did n't think the team was incorporating its talents very well , " Karl said . " They 're all great passers , almost in every position , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> It is no secret that guard Andre Miller can be a reluctant passer . He and Karl clashed when Karl coached the United States team at the world championships in 2002 . The Nuggets were clearly sending a message . <p> " If you run the right way , and everybody touches the ball , there 's a reason there are no unhappy players in Phoenix , " Karl said . " The big guys blame the little guys , the wing blames the guards ; for everybody to be happy , you have to forget about blame and run . " <p> Karl sympathizes with Carmelo Anthony , who is continually compared with a fellow second-year star , LeBron James . " He 's not having a bad year ; he 's having a bad year in comparison to LeBron , " Karl said . " Wow , what a way to live . " <p> As for Martin , Karl said : " I just think he 's got to be one of our top players . He 's a great defender , and he always guards the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him become a better team defender . " <p> Karl , who was fired by Milwaukee 18 months ago , said his players understood that he was hired to execute a swift turnaround . " They know that we 're in it together and there 's this spirit of fighting , " he said . " We want to try to shut up the critics a little bit . " <p> Martin can identify with disproving critics , as well as with overcoming adversity , something he has been doing throughout his life . <p> Yesterday , he sponsored an afternoon at the N.B.A. Store in Manhattan for more than three dozen children affected by stuttering , as he was . Martin , on the board of the American Institute for Stuttering , said he felt strongly about getting his message across to them . <p> " I just want kids to feel comfortable being themselves , " he said . <p> Big Jump <p> Stephon Marbury has been vilified for proclaiming his pre-eminence as a point guard and because teams that have traded him have improved . Marbury 's reputation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sebastian Telfair , another point guard from Lincoln High School in Coney Island who made an early leap to the N.B.A. <p> The book , " The Jump : Sebastian Telfair and the High Stakes Business of High School Ball " by Ian O'Connor , describes the rift between the cousins ' families and relates how some general managers scouting Telfair for last year 's draft were concerned that he might be like Marbury . In the book , Telfair says : " I ca n't tell you how many N.B.A. people , that 's the first thing they ask : ' Is he anything like Stephon ? ' When they find out I 'm not , they 're relieved . " <p> The implication was that executives had tired of Marbury 's negative attitude and his habit of haranguing teammates . In contrast , Telfair , the book says , is a guard who pats teammates on the back after misses . <p> The Telfairs , who lived on the floor above the Marburys in the Surfside Gardens project , blame Marbury for ignoring them financially . But O'Connor writes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handling the financial burdens of N.B.A. life , making solid points about supporting his immediate family . <p> Marbury was prescient about Telfair 's limitations on the court . Before the draft , Marbury said the 5-foot-11 Telfair could play in the N.B.A. but cautioned about his size and his long-range shooting . <p> " I figured out the game only three or four years ago , " Marbury says in the book . " It 's hard . Point guard is not just another position to be coming to right out of high school . " <p> Marbury , who played one season at Georgia Tech , is now with the Knicks , his fourth N.B.A. team since 1996 . Telfair , 19 , averages 4.5 points and 10.9 minutes a game for the Portland Trail Blazers . <p> Give Him a Break <p> San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich blamed his players for the predicament . Instead of taking a break next weekend , he will coach the Western Conference All-Stars , joining Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili in Denver . <p> " I sat Timmy , I tried to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said half-seriously . Nothing worked . The Spurs played one more game than Phoenix by the Feb. 6 cutoff and finished percentage points ahead of the Suns . Duncan missed two games with a right ankle injury . <p> " Truth be told , coaches look forward to that All-Star break , just like players do , " Popovich said . " I look forward to it because it 's a great time to assess the first half , change a few things , figure out what you did well , what you did poorly , rest and mentally get away . <p> " Our players did a good enough job to send our coaching staff . That was Timmy 's prime motivation : if he has to go , we have to go . He worked hard to make that happen . " <p> Raptors ' Downward Spiral Continues <p> When Toronto 's first-year coach , Sam Mitchell , got into a locker-room shouting match after yanking guard Rafer Alston from last Wednesday 's game in Cleveland , the Raptors spiraled further out of control . <p> Mitchell has sparred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard line by benching and suspending him , actions that made him more angry . <p> The team 's first-year general manager , Rob Babcock , took his player 's side on Friday , either a bad omen for Mitchell or a way to soften Alston 's troubled image for a future trade . <p> " This last incident was not Rafer 's fault ; it was Sam 's fault , " Babcock said . " They are very similar personalities . They want to win , they have high expectations of their teammates , they are both very confrontational . They are each part of the problem . " <p> Babcock said that he would stand by Alston , his premier off-season acquisition , and that he had had a discussion with Mitchell about his rookie mistakes . <p> " You do n't just give up on somebody because he has some areas to work on , " Babcock said . <p> Alston is not the only one who is upset with Mitchell 's methods and rotation . Eric Williams , the key player acquired in the Vince Carter trade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the last few weeks . Babcock said he did not want to trade Williams , either . <p> Durable Old Guard Is Going <p> Karl Malone and Reggie Miller let it be known last week that they would retire . Malone , who has not played since having knee surgery last summer , decided against joining San Antonio . Miller will finish the season with Indiana . <p> Two of the league 's most durable stars who primarily played for one team each throughout their careers , Malone and Miller share one frustrating distinction . Despite their playoff feats , neither has won a championship . Miller has one last shot . <p> Malone , who spent his final season with the Lakers , played in 1,476 games and scored 36,928 points . Remarkably , he missed only nine games in 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz . <p> Miller has played in 1,356 games and scored 24,696 points . Despite sitting out 16 games this season because of a broken hand and a suspension , Miller has missed only 45 games over 18 seasons . <p> URL : http @ @ 
##3000978 <p> THE sun is dazzling , the trade winds are blowing , and the sea spray is tingling my toes . My husband is captaining a tiny Hobie catamaran skimming over the crystal-clear Caribbean , with only me for crew . The rest of our family is scattered across a vast waterfront playground : our older son is windsurfing , our younger son is tubing , our daughter is paddling a kayak . My parents race around the harbor in a Hunter 216 sloop , heeling sharply as their sails swell with the breeze . <p> We are on a three-generation holiday vacation and everyone is happy . <p> This is something of a miracle . <p> Previous attempts to satisfy an adventuresome group ranging in age from 7 to 72 have often gone awry . One holiday we visited an Austrian-style lodge in Vermont , where the downhill slopes were bare . My parents tried cross-country skiing but my children balked ; they preferred to play Parcheesi and listen to lederhosen-clad hotel staff members sing Christmas carols . <p> During a frigid spring trip to Florida we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ course closed to kids ; we spent our afternoons at the local outlet mall . Suffice it to say that we have never been to the same destination twice -- and have even left in advance of our planned departure date . <p> Yet the laid-back charm of the Bitter End Yacht Club has captivated us all . This sprawling property stretches along a mile of white sand beach on the North Sound of Virgin Gorda , considered one of the most unspoiled and secluded deep-water harbors in the Caribbean . The Bitter End acts as a base camp for water-sports enthusiasts , with a fleet of more than 100 boats , along with daily snorkeling excursions , scuba diving outings and fishing charters . The resort also caters to visiting yachts and ships ; cruisers can dock or pick up a mooring , then come ashore to shop and dine . <p> The Bitter End bills itself a " rollicking nautical village " and it is indeed a nonstop hub of activity -- although not the usual activity associated with expensive Caribbean vacations . There is no golf or tennis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is no TV or Internet hookup in the rooms . There is no room service . There are no blow dryers or irons supplied in rooms -- instead , guests in the resort 's 77 suites and villas are greeted with free bottles of bug spray and Mount Gay rum . <p> There are also no roads -- the Bitter End is accessible only by boat . Most guests fly to San Juan , then take a half-hour puddle jumper to Beef Island Airport on Tortola , followed by a 45-minute ferry to the resort . <p> The Bitter End -- so named as the last outpost of civilization before the open waters of the Atlantic -- was first developed in the 1950 's by Basil Symonette , a British yachtsman who built a shorefront pub and several cottages for charter captains . In the early 1970 's , the Hokin family of Chicago bought it as a private family retreat . They gradually expanded it into a self-contained complex . The Hokins continue to control the Bitter End , although in January they sold an interest to the Grand Heritage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to retain the resort 's rustic feel . <p> Upon arrival , guests receive a bamboo folder full of information on the Bitter End 's programs . Included in weekly packages are day trips to destinations such as Norman Island ( supposedly Robert Louis Stevenson 's inspiration for Treasure Island ) and the Baths , a set of massive boulders forming grottoes and caves . Our favorite was Anegada , a sparsely-inhabited atoll with an open-air restaurant serving succulent fresh lobster . Guests can also sign up for hourlong guided snorkeling tours of local coral reefs , or for sunset cruises aboard the Paranda , the resort 's 48-foot catamaran . <p> The Bitter End 's highlight , for most visitors , is the unlimited use of an endless variety of vessels : large and small sailboats , dinghies , kayaks , windsurfers , kite boards , rowing shells and more . <p> Cheerful young members of the staff at the water-sports desk provide maps of the North Sound , with suggested routes around Prickly Pear Island , Saba Rock and Necker Island ( owned by Sir Richard Branson ) . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classroom and dockside demonstration , or sign up for a series of lessons at the Nick Trotter Sailing and Windsurfing School . There 's also a scuba shop , Kilbride 's , which offers certification courses and schedules daily dives . <p> During holiday weeks , the Bitter End runs a free kids ' camp from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m . During our stay , the energetic and experienced counselors supervised sailing , tubing and kayaking ; they also ran swimming races , diving contests and arts and crafts programs . They even were hosts to a Parents ' Night Off , where they took a pontoon boat of kids out for a sunset cruise , then to dinner and a movie ( all on the resort 's premises ) . <p> By 4 p.m. the waterfront closes , and a steady parade of resort guests and visitors browses among the resort 's shops , mingling and swapping stories of the high seas . Families can be found at the freshwater pool , adjacent to a recreation area with a tetherball set and bocce court . Die-hard gym buffs hike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a rusty pile of weights and benches in its center . ( Memo to Grand Heritage : start the renovations here . ) <p> All Bitter End weekly packages include a full meal plan . The Clubhouse serves breakfast , lunch and dinner in a casual waterfront setting with colorful burgees fluttering in the breeze . The Carvery has lavish themed buffets several nights a week . The Pub and the Poolside Bar serve burgers , salads and sandwiches throughout the afternoon . While none of the food was outstanding -- and much was repetitious -- meals were fresh and filling . The children 's menu features chicken nuggets , pizza and pasta . <p> At dusk , when the harbor twinkles with rigging lights , the night life gets going . Forget quiet dining in a serene setting ; most evenings feature entertainment by the Reflections , the Bitter End 's own steel band , or the Latitude Stars , a local reggae-calypso band . If you 're not up for steel drums and limbo dancing , visit the Bitter End 's open-air theater , the Sand Palace , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Story " and " Pirates of the Caribbean . " Or hang out at the Clubhouse bar , sipping Painkillers and Bushwackers , the resort 's signature drinks . <p> The Bitter End has two sets of accommodations . The recently renovated North Sound Suites , nestled in the hills , feature air-conditioning , private decks and panoramic views . Our unit had rattan furnishings , batik fabrics and a clever indoor-outdoor shower surrounded by palms , bougainvillea and cactus . The Beachfront Villas -- now being renovated -- have ceiling fans , hammocks and wrap-around verandas . Guests can climb a network of wooden stairs to their rooms , or hitch a ride with the chauffeured motorized carts that roam the resort . The higher your perch , the better your view -- but the more you have to rely on the staff to get you to and from your room . <p> Our week at the Bitter End flew by in a flash . On the last day , all three generations agreed to participate in a regatta . My husband raced with my younger son , my older @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and my parents raced with a couple they met on the beach . I slathered myself in sunscreen , hopped into a skiff and snapped photos to document a family vacation we could n't wait to repeat . <p> WHERE TO BEGIN <p> The Bitter End Yacht Club is on the northern tip of Virgin Gorda , in the British Virgin Islands . Getting there requires flying to Beef Island Airport on Tortola ; most United States passengers arrive via San Juan . The North Sound Express operates ferries every other hour between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. for $25 each way . The trip takes about 40 minutes ; van transportation is provided between the airport and the dock , although it is close enough to walk . <p> Double rooms ( including all meals ) at the Bitter End range from $465 to $920 a night , depending on the season . Besides the first two guests , children ages 2 to 12 stay for an extra $50 a night , and older guests stay for an extra $100 a night , with a maximum of five people in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> Weekly packages include summer family specials and land-sea combinations featuring a few nights on a Freedom 30 , which sleeps four adults . Some activities cost extra ; a Learn to Sail package , for example , is $250 a person . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com <p> CORRECTION-DATE : February 27 , 2005 <p> CORRECTION : <p> An article on Feb. 13 about the Bitter End Yacht Club , a resort in the British Virgin Islands , referred incorrectly to the relationship between the Grand Heritage Hotel Group and the Hokin family , the resort 's owners . Grand Heritage is under contract to manage the resort ; it has no ownership share . 
##3000979 <p> The show is back , complete with a soundtrack everybody can enjoy . <p> Last week before the Nets-Sixers game at Continental Arena , Vince Carter warmed up with a few trick shots , bouncing a ball from halfcourt into the basket and floating the ball 10 times into the basket from behind the backboard . He then sank a dozen consecutive 3-pointers , the shots falling in hypnotic rhythm to the squeals of early-arriving fans who , still not satisfied , begged him to dunk . <p> When he was with the Raptors earlier this season , before the N.B.A. barred the practice , he wore his iPod during pregame warm-ups , trying to escape into himself . <p> Since joining the Nets from Toronto on Dec. 17 in a trade that is looking more lopsided than ever , Carter has played as if he were liberated from basketball exile . <p> A 6-foot-6 swingman , Carter has been dancing in the layup line , swaying to the music blasting over the arena speakers . But that has only been his warm-up act . He has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scored more than 40 points in three of his last four games . His controversial ejection from Friday night 's loss to San Antonio stopped what might have been a record barrage . <p> Throughout his enigmatic seven-year career , Carter has often made the seemingly impossible look easy on the court . But as much as he loves to perform , he is one celebrity who does not want to be a superstar . <p> " I like being a normal person , " Carter said Wednesday after the Nets ' 104-103 loss to the Lakers . " I enjoy playing basketball , just bringing the energy and being another guy . If I have to play like a superstar , I 'll do it . I do n't care . " <p> That is Carter 's mission statement , the mixed blessing and burden of his career . <p> " I think that 's who he is , " said Antawn Jamison , his brother-in-law and former teammate at the University of North Carolina . Jamison , who now plays for the Washington Wizards , has been honest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though he gets a lot of notoriety and exposure , he just loves to play the game , " Jamison said . " He 'll give you a pose every now and then . But at Carolina , he did n't care about the attention . He just wanted to win . <p> " In Toronto , all of a sudden , when you 're getting the big contract and expected to be the man , you 're losing , it 's all on you . " <p> " Let 's be real , " Jamison added . " It comes with the territory . I thought Vince handled it well , but toward the end , it backfired a little bit . " <p> In his first two seasons , Carter was dubbed Air Canada and Half-Man , Half-Amazing , and he was fitted for Michael Jordan 's mantle . But the comparisons began to disappear in his last four full seasons with Toronto . A string of injuries caused him to miss 77 games , including 61 in the 2001-2 and 2002-3 seasons . He seemed to lack a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Half-Man , Half-a-Season ; and Wince . <p> He requested a trade from the Raptors last summer , frustrated with the direction of the team and with the organization 's halfhearted efforts to interview Julius Erving for its general manager position . <p> When the season started , Raptors fans greeted him with boos . Once with the Nets , he admitted to John Thompson on TNT that he did not always work his hardest in Toronto . <p> Raptors General Manager Rob Babcock said : " When you come out and make a statement that you want to be traded , you become a distraction . No one likes to be booed , and his teammates know he wants to be traded . It just was n't working . He had career lows in everything . " <p> Carter embraced the trade to the Nets . " This is just a chance to start over and be who I am , " he said last week . <p> Who is he , exactly ? Carter , who turned 28 last month , is a devoted son , a quiet homebody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hear him talk , a $13-million-a-year sidekick . Jason Kidd is still the Nets ' franchise player . <p> " I know it 's his team and he 's going to need help with it , " Carter said . " In the beginning , with the controversy about whose team it was , I was like : ' I 'm here to help him . This is his team , he 's the captain and I do n't have a problem with it . " ' <p> Carter 's career has flourished when he has had coaches and teammates -- like Charles Oakley and Kidd -- who push him to drive aggressively to the basket , to work hard and to play consistently . <p> " We 'd tell him , ' You 're the man , ' but he did n't want to accept the role , " said Oakley , a teammate from 1998 to 2001 . " We had it out several times . " <p> He reminded Carter that a " leader is a guy who leads every day . " <p> From the minute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ follow Kidd 's example . <p> The Nets ' president , Rod Thorn said , " When you play with Jason , you have to be tough ; you got to play with intensity because he wo n't accept anything less . " <p> Kidd said : " I do n't know how much I 'm the influence . I think he 's always played hard , but not maybe played at a high level consistently . When you have purpose , you tend to look at things a little bit differently . " <p> At the end of his time in Toronto , Carter , lacking confidence and hampered by a strained Achilles ' tendon , did not seem to want to lift even his eyes . The Raptors ' first-year coach , Sam Mitchell , benched him in fourth quarters . <p> " Sometimes I just felt like I was on an island by myself , " Carter said . " I did n't feel like I had any support , other than from my family . " <p> His mother , Michelle , his confidante and protector , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city and the team , but people did n't want to see that , " she said . <p> His wife , Ellen -- who is expecting their first child , a daughter , in May -- shook her head . " When somebody is very unhappy , it makes life miserable , " she said last week . " He 'd say : ' I do n't want to go to work today . Do I have to ? ' Now it 's like , ' Love you , bye ! ' and he 's gone . " <p> With the Nets , Carter is averaging 26.3 points , his highest since he averaged 27.6 in the 2000-1 season , when he took the Raptors to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals . <p> Filling a void left by Kenyon Martin , Carter has brought flair , though none of Martin 's defensive edge . Playing on without Richard Jefferson , who is expected to miss the rest of the season after surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist last month , Carter and Kidd have combined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> " He does n't have the pressure of having to be the franchise , and he wants to be there , " Babcock said . " I knew he would play well . But we could n't make a decision based off what he was going to do . " <p> Carter and Kidd are thriving in a two-man game . <p> " He tees the ball up , I get wide-open looks , " said Kidd , who has shot 50.8 percent from 3-point range in the last nine games . In that span , Carter has averaged 6.2 assists . <p> Nets Coach Lawrence Frank said : " You just do n't appreciate what he can do until you see him . I did n't know he was nearly as good a passer as he is . He 's got vision that not many people have . " <p> His teammates delight in the 360-degree dunks and circus shots he performs in practice . " When you make hard stuff easy , then you 're a special player , " forward Brian Scalabrine said . Two weeks ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ block from Madison Square Garden , almost taunting the Knicks , who could not make a trade for him . Nets ticket sales are up 30 percent since Carter 's arrival , team officials said . <p> Still , Carter 's team achievements are few . His Olympic gold medal from the Sydney Games in 2000 may be the highlight . Critics wonder about his ability to help win an N.B.A. title . He acknowledged the divide between image and substance . Perhaps that is why he said he was through with the dunk contest , even if that was what made him famous . <p> " Yeah , exactly , " Carter said , rolling his eyes . " That gave me the opportunity . Now I want to get to the playoffs and show what I can do . " <p> The Raptors may be watching , but Carter said he would be focusing on a new audience . <p> " I 'm glad I could come here and make a difference , " Carter said . " It 's really nothing against Toronto . Nothing like , ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care of itself . " <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com Carter has been more than happy to defer to Nets point guard Jason Kidd . ( Photos by Left , Jeff Chiu/Associated Press above , Jim McIsaac/Getty Images ) ( pg . 1 ) Vince Carter struggled with injuries in his last few seasons with the Toronto Raptors and became disenchanted with the team 's direction . A healthier and happier Carter has found his groove with the Nets . ( Photos by Above left , Aaron Harris/Associated Press above , Suzy Allman for The New York Times ) ( pg . 5 ) 
##3001758 <p> It is 1965 , and the brick walls of St. Teresa elementary school , in an area of Queens once known as Irishtown , are bursting at the seams . Fifty-four boys crowd into Sister Mildred Marie 's sixth-grade classroom , while her counterpart , Sister John Marie , rides herd over 46 sixth-grade girls . Enrollment has just hit a new high of 1,000 . <p> Now it is 2005 , and St. Teresa 's , population 176 , is all but an educational ghost town . The peeling red " SILENCE " sign hanging in the stairwell seems superfluous . There are 19 children in the sixth grade . Next year , there will be none . <p> By now , the whipsawing forces that led the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens to announce the closing of 22 schools this month , a forced contraction unprecedented in the annals of New York City Catholic education , are familiar . <p> Enrollment is down , after decades of flight from the boroughs by the Irish- and Italian-American Catholics who built the parochial school system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the schools of their source of cheap labor , driving tuitions up , and in turn driving enrollment down , driving tuition higher still . <p> But questions remain . How did the broad social changes play out at these particular schools ? Why now , after years of decline , did the diocese , and in this case the school , conclude that the situation was beyond help ? <p> Unlike many parishes in the diocese , St. Teresa 's , in Woodside , is not flat broke , at least not yet , and has never gone begging to the diocese for money . And unlike many of the other parishes that are losing their schools , St. Teresa 's , a pocket of small brick houses and apartment buildings a half-mile square , is still home to plenty of Catholic school-age children -- probably more than a thousand , census figures show -- 350 of whom attend the church 's Saturday catechism classes . <p> But the bottom line is the same as elsewhere , said the school 's principal , Martin C. Abruzzo . <p> " The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his office last Wednesday , " and unless we have something to back that financial pool , then the operation must cease to be . " <p> Mr. Abruzzo , who has run St. Teresa 's for 30 of his 66 years , made a face as if he had tasted ashes . " I hate calling it an operation , " he said . " It 's a living organism . " <p> This is the story of the birth , life and death of one school , an attempt to make one closing more comprehensible , if not less painful . It may hold some lessons applicable in some ways to the other 21 elementary schools that will be closed and the 125 in the diocese that will remain open , many of them challenged within an inch of their lives . <p> Before there was St. Teresa 's parish or St. Teresa 's Church , there was St. Teresa School . <p> In the 1920 's , northwest Queens was booming . The Woodside and Corona subway line , now known as the No. 7 , was up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the slums of Manhattan to move out to " the country . " The parish in Woodside , St. Raphael 's , needed a school , and decided to build a mission school half a mile east of the church . St. Teresa , a four-story brick-and-white fortress on 44th Street off 50th Avenue , named for the newly canonized Therese of Lisieux , opened its doors to 200 students in 1927 . On Sundays , the school doubled as a church . Mass was said in the basement . <p> After the lean years of Depression and war came the baby boom , and Woodside exploded again . St. Raphael 's built another school and St. Teresa 's became a full-fledged parish with its own church in 1950 . Even with other new schools opening around St. Teresa 's , the supply of Catholic schoolchildren seemed limitless , said Msgr . Denis Herron , pastor of St. Teresa 's . <p> " When people were moving they 'd first look to see if you could get into school before they bought the house , " he said . " People @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ No . ' Then they 'd ask the pastor and he 'd say , ' We 'll try to sneak them in . ' That 's how you would end up with class sizes that people now would think are insane . " <p> By 1965 , Monsignor Herron said , every inch of available space had been given over to general classrooms , including the old worship hall in the basement that had become the school 's gym . <p> One member of the class of 1965 , Michael J. Hardiman , said that when there was a fire drill , the children filled the sidewalks on both sides of the school , all the way up to 50th Avenue . The school employed not just a nurse but a doctor and a dental hygienist . All while charging tuition of just $40 a year , in part because 19 of the 22 teachers were nuns , Dominican Sisters of Sparkill , but mostly because healthy parish collections paid for the running of the school . <p> During the late 1960 's and 70 's , as the baby boomers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to the suburbs , enrollment at St. Teresa fell slowly but steadily , by about 30 students a year . At the same time , the nuns , who worked for stipends of a few thousand dollars plus room and board , were growing scarce . By 1970 they were outnumbered at the school by lay teachers . <p> In 1972 , the school levied its first major tuition increase , to $325 from $80 a year . Enrollment dropped by 80 students the next school year . <p> When Mr. Abruzzo arrived , in 1975 , St. Teresa was down to its last nun . The church fathers asked at his interview if he felt he could keep the school open another five years . Enrollment continued to drop , so tuition kept going up . Mr. Abruzzo said that the trend , while unhappy , did not seem fatal . " I thought it would level off , " he said . St. Teresa added music and art programs and started a kindergarten and a pre-K , which slowed the drain . <p> By 1992 , the school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at an average of 27 students per grade , enough to keep things running . <p> By then , Woodside was filling up again , this time with a new crop of working-class immigrants from every corner of the globe : Bangladesh , Korea , the Congo and all over Latin America . For financial and cultural reasons , not many of them sent their children to St. Teresa , but enrollment finally stabilized , and for the rest of the 1990 's , it hovered around 265 . Tuition was gradually increased to $2,500 a year . <p> Then in 2000 , enrollment tumbled again . Now there were fewer than 250 students . Mr. Abruzzo , who acknowledges that he knows more about educating children than about marketing , said he was not too worried . " I thought it would level off again , " he said . It did n't . From 2001 to 2002 , the enrollment fell to 205 children from 239 . <p> St. Teresa 's was running out of wiggle room . <p> Mr. Abruzzo went to the 2002 National Catholic Education Association @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development . <p> The mood , Monsignor Herron recalled , was growing tense . " You 're sort of heading toward Niagara Falls , " he said , " and you say , ' We 've got to turn this around , we 've got to turn this around . ' But it keeps getting closer and closer . " <p> In 2003 , Mr. Abruzzo said , " We went from a bleed to a hemorrhage . " Many families who had lost jobs after the 9/11 attack were moving out of the area . Only 165 children signed up for school . <p> Drastic measures were in order . St. Teresa 's raised tuition by $500 , to $3,800 a year . Parents were enlisted to beat the bushes . They printed up fliers . They staked out corners near the public schools . " We stood a respectable distance away , " said Monica Markowitz , head of the Parents Guild , and buttonholed other parents dropping off their children . They held fashion shows to raise money . <p> In the spring , St. Teresa 's held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community know about the school . " We advertised , we prepared , we decorated , " Monsignor Herron said . Perhaps 20 people showed up . <p> In October 2003 , a new bishop , Nicholas A. DiMarzio , was installed in Brooklyn and put more pressure on the failing schools . <p> In November 2003 , an Alumni Day drew 1,200 sons and daughters of St. Teresa 's from as far as California . They donated more than $30,000 . " Ordinarily you do n't expect any kind of contribution from elementary school alumni , " Mr. Abruzzo said . <p> But it was easier to attract people from across the country than from across the street . " When we did exit interviews , " he said , " people were moving out of the neighborhood , out of the state or out of the country . " <p> Following the lead of a handful of other schools in the diocese , St. Teresa 's made a $170,000-a-year deal with the city 's public schools to rent out its ground floor to Public School 199 , whose building @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had decades before . St. Teresa 's also tapped the parish coffers for a big contribution , $117,000 , for the first time in a very long time . <p> Registrations for the 2004 school year actually ticked up , thanks in part to generous scholarships given by alumni . But a future could not be sustained . <p> A few months ago , Mr. Abruzzo ran some projections . " Next year , to get back on our feet " and meet a million-dollar budget , he said , " we 'd need $500,000 , maybe $600,000 . Then we would need it again the following year . " <p> Mr. Abruzzo passed the information on to the diocese . Early in February , Michael Hardiman , class of 1965 , now the diocese 's vicar of education , called St. Teresa 's to break the news that his alma mater would close . " It was not an easy call to make , " he said . " The school has been part of my life . " <p> While St. Teresa 's current students are all promised spots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the future of the building , which is owned by the parish , is unclear . <p> At midday on Wednesday , Mr. Abruzzo , a jowly man with bushy , arched eyebrows , left his small yellow office for a brief tour of the school . <p> He stopped by a second-grade classroom to hear the children recite their pre-lunch prayer . He paused in the hall to greet Dr. Elizabeth Lutas , a cardiologist who visits the school one week a year with her model eyeball and inner ear to teach the children anatomy . <p> Down a long dim hallway with linoleum floors the color of raw salmon , he pointed out a statue of St. Teresa herself . <p> He swung through the ground floor , where the air buzzed with five classrooms of kindergartners from P.S. 199 , a reminder of the untapped market . <p> Mr. Abruzzo returned to his office . It is no longer exactly a seat of power . He has no idea what he will be doing come September . He says he can not afford to retire . <p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , and picked up a fax that had come the day before from a school in Forest Hills . The letterhead was in Hebrew . <p> " To Whom it May Concern , " the fax said . " We are sorry to hear that your school is merging with another school . Perhaps we can help . If you have any teachers who are looking for a job in a private school , elementary or middle school , we have positions available . <p> " Sincerely , " it was signed , " Rabbi David Abramchik , Principal . " <p> Principal Abruzzo smiled ruefully . " At least someone cares , " he said . " I do n't know what they 'll pay . But I 'll send in a resume . " <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com St. Teresa School opened its doors in 1927 to 200 children . Diocesan officials said this month that the doors would not reopen in September . Martin C. Abruzzo , the principal of St. Teresa 's , said enrollment went " from a bleed to a hemorrhage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) ( pg . 36 ) Chart/Map : " Decline of a School " Like many Catholic schools , St. Teresa 's in Woodside , Queens , fell into a vicious cycle . Enrollment dropped , forcing the school to increase tuition , which caused enrollment to drop further.Enrollment Selected years.Graph tracks enrollment in Catholic schools for selected years since 1964.1964 : 1,0002004 : 176TuitionGraph tracks cost of tuition since 1965 . Teachers Selected years.RELIGIOUSGraph tracks number of teachers in selected years since 1964 . Map of Queens , New York highlighting St. Teresa 's Parish . ( Source by St. Teresas School ) ( pg . 36 ) 
##3001759 <p> Tonight 13 members of an evaluation commission of the International Olympic Committee will arrive in New York to assess the city 's bid for the 2012 Summer Games . But it is increasingly clear that they will leave four days later without knowing the answer to the biggest question of all : <p> Will the city be able to build the Olympic stadium that is the linchpin of its multimillion-dollar gamble to get the Games ? <p> A few months ago , leaving that question unanswered would have been unthinkable to the Bloomberg administration , which had hoped to have a firm political commitment for the stadium in time for this week 's Olympic Committee tour . Along with the Jets , which would pay most of the stadium 's costs , the city had warned that the stadium project had to have final approval by now , or opponents would put at risk the city 's bid for the 2012 Olympics . <p> But in a tumultuous series of events over the past two weeks , most notably Cablevision 's competing bid for the development rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city 's seemingly unstoppable drive for approval has veered into a ditch . The Cablevision offer ultimately forced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to open up the bids for the site to any developer , preventing a quick decision this month about a sale . And Albany 's legislative leaders , who will have the final vote on the project , say there is no hurry to act . <p> As a result , the mayor 's Feb. 16 deadline has come and gone . Since then , city officials have redrawn the line in the sand again and again , saying final approval must occur " over the next month , or so . " Or , at the absolute latest , they say , the stadium 's fate must be clear by July 6 , the day the I.O.C. plans to select the winning city . <p> " This thing is going down to the wire , " said Assemblyman Keith L. Wright , a Democrat , possibly the only one of nine candidates for Manhattan borough president who supports the stadium . " This is going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or you miss a field goal at the end . " <p> And as the stadium hangs in political limbo , the city 's Olympics backers have backed themselves into an uncomfortable corner as the evaluation commission arrives -- they say they have not prepared a detailed alternative to the West Side if the stadium plan collapses . Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff , the founder of the Olympic bid , said that no matter how bad things looked , there was no backup plan . <p> " We do n't have one , " he said in a recent interview . " We 've said it all along . " <p> That stance may have helped in building momentum for developing the stadium plan to this point , but it also means the city 's Olympic proponents can offer the I.O.C. no cushion from the latest threatening developments . <p> Among the city 's Olympic competitors , by contrast , Paris , Madrid and Moscow are using existing facilities as their proposed Olympic stadiums , although Madrid 's and Moscow 's will require renovation . London officials say they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is won . <p> The city 's Olympic planners have over the years investigated alternative sites , particularly when the United States Olympic Committee asked for a backup plan in 2002 before choosing the United States city that would be a finalist for the 2012 bid . They proposed renovating Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows , Queens , on the assumption that the Mets would have already moved into their own new building next door -- an unlikely move without a huge city subsidy that has not been forthcoming . <p> A renovated Shea without the Mets would have little use after the Olympics , but city planners did not publicly explore building an Olympics stadium in Flushing that could later be turned over to the Mets , similar to a plan used in Atlanta for the 1996 Games . That may be an idea that local Olympics planners will now have to consider , though there remains no public discussion of such an alternative . <p> Charles Moore , who led the United States evaluation commission in 2002 , said he thought the city could offer a Queens alternative again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't think it will hurt the bid , " Mr. Moore said . " It might hurt that the leadership said they could do it and they could n't do it . But Bloomberg and Doctoroff are really good . " He said the city could come up with an alternative site that fits into the existing Olympics plan and make it look great . <p> Mr. Doctoroff said past discussions with the Mets did not produce a satisfactory solution for either the Olympic organizers or the team . He would not waver from his public position that killing the West Side plan kills the Olympic bid , but said he expected to be grilled by evaluation commission members this week about needing an alternative to the Manhattan stadium . <p> " There is no question they will ask , " Mr. Doctoroff said . " We are going to have to explain how far we have come in a relatively short time . And we are going to have to express our confidence that it will get done . My expectation is that it will not be an issue at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . " <p> In looking back on the events that led to the city 's precarious position , Assemblyman John W. Lavelle , a Democrat from Staten Island who recently became a stadium supporter , said it might have been a tactical error to have set firm deadlines that have now come back to haunt City Hall . <p> " I think the mayor made a big mistake saying no stadium , no Olympics , " Mr. Lavelle said . " I think it was something he used to push this along . No one in government thought it was true . " <p> Mr. Lavelle recently left the stadium opposition out of a conviction that the New York Sports and Convention Center , as the stadium would officially be called , would be a significant job generator because of its ability to attract trade shows and conventions . But he also said that the city should listen to the views of local residents , many of whom oppose the stadium . <p> There is no question that final approval will not come quickly and without a lot of struggle . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development arm , must still reaffirm its support for the project . The project would then go to the state 's Public Authority Control Board , whose three members are selected and controlled by Gov . George E. Pataki , Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the Senate majority leader , Joseph L. Bruno . <p> Charles A. Gargano , chairman of the state 's Development Corporation , said there was no point in bringing the project before either state board until the Jets strike a deal with the transit authority on the sale of the development rights over the railyard . And that will not be resolved until at least March 31 , when Peter S. Kalikow , the authority chairman , hopes to bring a deal to his board for approval . <p> " The control board will never act on it if the M.T.A. has n't approved a deal to buy the development rights , " Mr. Gargano said . <p> But even if the Jets buy the rights , their project is then subject to approval by Mr. Bruno and Mr. Silver , who both have expressed misgivings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said they saw no reason to make a decision on the stadium on the Far West Side before July 6 , when the I.O.C. selects a city for the 2012 Games . Until last week , Mr. Doctoroff had insisted that would be a mortal blow to New York 's bid . <p> If New York is given the Olympics in July , Mr. Bruno said , the roadblocks to a stadium would disappear . Stadium opponents , who insist they are not against the Olympics , are hoping that by then there will be momentum for a stadium in Queens , not Manhattan . <p> " Everyone knows that if the Olympics are going to come here they are going to be accommodated , " Mr. Bruno told reporters on Feb. 9 . <p> At the same time , New Jersey officials are hoping to persuade the Jets to stay in the Meadowlands , where the Giants are negotiating to build a new $700 million stadium . In talks with the Jets , New Jersey officials have shown them a report indicating that a two-team stadium could be a bonanza @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ underestimate Mr. Doctoroff 's political will to deliver a West Side stadium for the Jets and the Olympics . A few years ago , few people expected him to get approval for an ambitious rezoning of a 42-block stretch of the Far West Side , or with the governor 's help , an expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center . <p> " Even before he became deputy mayor , this was all he was talking about , " Mr. Wright said of Mr. Doctoroff . " He 's very focused . " <p> But despite years of effort by Mr. Doctoroff , it is by no means assured that the Jets will gain control the development rights at the yard , now that the authority has opened up the rights to a virtual auction . <p> Jets officials , who have already spent $40 million , say they believe that they have an advantage over other bidders , who would risk buying property rights they may not be able to use for many years . But at least one major New York developer , who requested anonymity , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the development rights . <p> He said they were weighing the time it would take to begin construction against the value of owning land near the waterfront in the last neighborhood available in Manhattan for large-scale projects . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 
##3001760 <p> When George E. Pataki campaigned for governor in 1994 , he vowed to do what the incumbent , Mario M. Cuomo , had proposed but could never fully deliver : to cut taxes across the board in New York , beginning with the state 's notoriously high income tax . <p> Shortly after taking office , Mr. Pataki pushed through an average 20 percent reduction in the state 's income tax rate , with the top rate dropping to 6.85 percent from 7.875 percent , bringing it to the lowest level in New York since 1953 and removing half a million low-income workers from the tax rolls . <p> At the same time , a growing state economy and changes in the tax code have allowed New York to gradually reduce its dependence on business taxes in the 10 years Governor Pataki has been in office . In 1995 these taxes accounted for 18 percent of the tax revenues in New York State ; now they are projected to make up about 12 percent , a change the governor says has helped let the state shed its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time creating new jobs . <p> The governor 's success in cutting taxes in a Northeastern state with a huge Democratic electorate has helped him as he seeks to burnish his conservative credentials and explore a run for national office . But after the budget austerity of Mr. Pataki 's first term , a different fiscal reality has settled in : State spending has regularly outpaced inflation , with the size of New York State 's budget rising from $77.8 billion in the 1997-98 fiscal year to $96 billion in the 2003-4 fiscal year , adjusted for inflation to 2004 dollars . <p> Fiscal analysts warn that such unchecked spending could , in the coming years , help undo one of Mr. Pataki 's most significant achievements as governor . <p> Those spending increases of the last few years , coupled with the post-9/11 downturn in the state 's economy , have put intense pressure on the state budget , and New Yorkers are now feeling the impact on their pocketbooks : the governor 's tendency to use incremental increases in fees and assessments -- taxes by other names -- to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher costs for state-financed services -- through public university tuition and mass transit fares , for instance -- as the state has paid a smaller share of these systems ' budgets . And the state debt load has increased to $47.9 billion so far this year from $27.6 billion in 1995 , saddling future taxpayers with growing costs to pay for that debt . <p> So difficult were the state 's budget problems in 2003 , when an $11.5 billion gap opened up , that Joseph L. Bruno , the State Senate 's Republican majority leader , allied himself with Sheldon Silver , the Democratic speaker of the State Assembly , to unravel some of Mr. Pataki 's early tax-cutting successes . Over the governor 's vetoes , the state 's two top legislative leaders instituted a temporary income tax surcharge on the state 's top earners , including married couples filing jointly and earning more than $150,000 and individuals earning above $100,000 . <p> That income tax surcharge single-handedly brought the top rate , 7.7 percent , to just under the level Mr. Cuomo left it nine years before . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , New York 's state and local tax burden is among the highest in the nation , driven especially by high local taxes . <p> " There is no question that when you add it all up , Governor Pataki has initiated or approved more tax cuts than any governor in New York 's history , " said Edmund J. McMahon , director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy of the Manhattan Institute , a conservative policy research group . " The unanswered question is whether the budgets he leaves will be able to sustain his tax cuts , because they are already starting to unravel . " <p> The Reckoning Burden Is Reduced , Then Spending Rises <p> James W. Wetzler , a Democrat who was Mr. Cuomo 's tax commissioner from 1988 to 1994 , said that Mr. Pataki 's tax successes are notable compared with the state 's historical track record , and that they have helped spur the growth of New York 's economy during a difficult era . <p> " His major tax accomplishment has been addressing some of the nettlesome taxes that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate , " said Mr. Wetzler , now director of the city office of Deloitte Tax L.L.P. " In my view , that is a significant accomplishment . " <p> Mr. Pataki has contended that his tax cuts have helped spur the job and salary growth that has in turn generated more tax revenues and kept the state 's budget in balance . The governor , his aides say , has built a tax structure devised to help the financial services industry to keep the state more competitive in a global economy . Even as he cut the personal income tax rate , the amount of revenue collected from that tax , when adjusted for inflation , increased by 17 percent from the time Mr. Pataki took office and rose as a portion of total tax revenues to 58 percent from 51 percent . <p> " The cornerstone of our efforts to create jobs has been cutting taxes , " Mr. Pataki said in a Jan. 18 speech introducing his budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins April 1 and urging lawmakers to join him in speeding the demise of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between 1995 and 2000 we cut taxes more than any state in the nation . " <p> The Pataki administration recites a lengthy list of taxes that have been cut during his 10 years as governor . He signed into law a cut to 7.5 from 9 percent in the general tax rate on corporations , including banks and insurance companies ; he created virtually tax-free zones for businesses called Empire Zones ; he eliminated the gross receipts tax paid by businesses that buy energy from utilities in New York and reduced it for residents ; he cut the tax on gasoline , diesel and aviation fuel ; and he reduced the state 's estate taxes . <p> But from the 1997 to 2003 fiscal years , state spending rose 46 percent , while inflation rose just 18 percent , and even conservatives have been raising alarms . This month , a National Review cover article questioned Mr. Pataki 's commitment to fiscal restraint . Those concerns were crystallized in 2002 by his role in helping to engineer $1.8 billion in raises for hospital workers to be financed through the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politically potent hospital workers ' union as he ran for re-election . <p> New York 's fiscal problems were magnified after the Sept. 11 attack , when the state lost 300,000 jobs . To deal with the resulting budget gap , Democratic and Republican lawmakers said that they were forced to impose the temporary income tax surcharge merely to support spending levels Mr. Pataki helped create , and that his planned cuts would have forced localities to raise property taxes even higher . <p> " The governor was not willing to be labeled as someone who would increase taxes in order to sustain the government that he had let grow in good times , " said Charles Brecher , research director at the Citizens Budget Commission , referring to the veto-override fight in 2003 . <p> Tax Alternatives Increasing Fees To Balance Budget <p> To help balance the budget , particularly in hard times , the governor has occasionally turned to fees , assessments and other creative revenue sources , a practice he once criticized Mr. Cuomo for using . Mr. Pataki used this strategy sporadically early on , and has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial crisis , increasing the costs for a grab bag of state-supported services , including hospitals , nursing homes , campgrounds and driver 's licensing . One example is that state and local taxes on cigarettes in New York City are now the highest in the nation at $3 per pack , with much of the state 's share of that tax going to pay for health care . <p> The governor 's budget officials estimate that , cumulatively , all of the tax cuts Mr. Pataki has so far enacted will save New Yorkers $14.6 billion this year . And revenues derived from user taxes , fees and assessments for state expenses have gone up slightly during the governor 's tenure , to just under $7 billion from $4.6 billion , according to Pataki administration figures . <p> " The state has increasingly relied on revenues from fees during the governor 's tenure , as opposed to tax increases , and that is reflected in a slight overall increase in many fees , " said Michael Marr , a spokesman for the State Division of the Budget . <p> The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raised in decades , feed pools of money to improve specific services , like trails for riders of all-terrain vehicles . Two years ago , the governor proposed $1.4 billion in new fees and surcharges , including a $2.25 levy for every new tire sold . He has also tapped drivers : this year he proposed doubling the fee , to $10 , for license photos ; last year , one of his proposals led to fees of at least $300 being imposed on drivers who have six penalty points tacked onto their licenses in an 18-month period . <p> " In that case , it is certainly aimed at people 's behaviors on the roads , " Mr. Pataki said in a telephone interview . " And every time you have to do the traffic enforcement , you have to put out the law enforcement , you have to go through the processes of whether it is a traffic ticket or an appearance in court ; the expenses are very significant . " <p> State Services Costs Are Shifted To the Users <p> Budgets are reflections of state leaders ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financed partly by the state have been passed directly to those who use them . <p> So during the period that Mr. Pataki cut taxes , costs for higher education and transportation have gone up . Fares have increased for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , while tuition and fees have risen at the State University of New York . <p> For example , in 1994-95 , state subsidies made up 63 percent of revenues in the budgets for public colleges , while tuition made up 37 percent , according to an analysis by Assembly Democrats . In 2005-6 , state subsidies made up 49 percent and tuition 51 percent , their analysis shows . <p> In the public college system , Mr. Pataki acknowledged that SUNY tuition has gone up to $4,350 this year from $3,400 in 1995 , though tuition increases are something " I do n't like to see . " SUNY has plans to raise tuition $600 next fall . As the state has reduced its role in financing the system , the Pataki administration has challenged the public colleges to come up with new revenue sources . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said . " We want them to create their own endowments ; we want them to look at other ways to get private commitments and to make them more cost conscious . " He said that enrollment at the colleges had increased , and that campuses had improved partly because of two multibillion-dollar capital programs the state financed . <p> A parallel situation is occurring at the transportation authority , another agency that has traditionally relied heavily on state financing . Its subway and bus riders have seen the one-way regular fares increase to $2 from $1.25 since Mr. Pataki took office , though average fares are slightly lower because of unlimited and discounted MetroCards . Another round of increases in commuter railroad fares and some MetroCard fares is imminent . <p> In 1995 , state subsidies for the authority 's operating budget were about $200 million , a figure that has remained roughly the same each year since then , according to the Fiscal Policy Institute , a nonprofit research organization financed in part by unions . <p> Hungry for revenues to supplant state subsidies that failed to keep pace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in subway , bus and commuter rail fares and bridge and tunnel tolls . Since 1995 , the portion of its operating budget drawn from fares and tolls has increased to $4.5 billion from $3.1 billion , while regional taxes to support it have more than doubled to $2 billion , said Frank J. Mauro of the Fiscal Policy Institute . <p> During that time , the authority 's debt has sharply increased in part because of flat state operating aid , and since 1982 state and city government subsidies for capital plans have declined rapidly . That has put more pressure on fares and tolls to pay for projects to keep an aging transit system running . <p> " To balance his budget in the face of the tax cuts , he could not give the M.T.A. enough money to maintain the state share , thus putting increased pressure on fares ; so he made a policy choice , " Mr. Mauro said . <p> The governor said that as the city began to significantly reduce its financial commitment to the M.T.A. , the state did so as well . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the introduction of the MetroCard , helped offset fare increases . <p> " It is a far better system , " Mr. Pataki said . " The fare on the M.T.A. is still lower than it was . Even after all this , the average cost of a ride with a MetroCard , today , is less than it was years ago . " <p> The Local Burden Debating State Role In Property Taxes <p> In New York , the state tax bill is only part of the equation . The other is local taxes , considered among the highest in the nation . <p> In New York , state and local tax burdens are inextricably linked , particularly through the state 's leverage on local spending . Albany helps finance local schools , and it shares with localities the cost of Medicaid , the costly health care program for the poor . It requires localities to provide certain services , and when the state enhances public sector pensions , that forces up payroll costs for local governments . <p> For years , New Yorkers have seen local taxes go up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other state mandates have grown much faster than the rate of inflation . Those officials say the costs have forced them to increase property taxes , cut spending or lay off workers . <p> Seeking to ease the local tax burden , in 1997 Mr. Pataki introduced STAR , the School Tax Relief Program , which uses a portion of state income tax revenues -- now more than $3 billion -- to pay school districts to reduce property taxes for homeowners . Originally , the governor wanted to send rebate checks directly to homeowners and tie the program to a cap on school spending , an idea lawmakers rejected . <p> A debate has ensued about whether Mr. Pataki 's taxing and spending policies can be blamed for shifting the financial burden onto local property taxes . Mr. McMahon of the Manhattan Institute said that Mr. Pataki had failed to rein in state mandates to reduce pressure on local taxes , and that he had also overseen lavish increases in Medicaid spending . At same time , he starred in television commercials to promote these costly programs . <p> But aides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ led to high local taxes in the state , and that he has worked through STAR and other efforts to reduce that burden . But they add that factors like the unusually high values of homes in places like Long Island or Westchester County are artificially inflating local taxes . <p> Recent studies have backed up what many taxpayer groups and others have long asserted : New York 's state and local taxes are among the highest in the nation . A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found that New York ranks first among states -- and second overall behind the District of Columbia -- in the intensity with which it taxes its resources . It draws the most tax dollars from its overall pool of available per capita taxable resources , including , among other things , income , sales and property . New York 's level of taxation is 43 percent above the national average , according to the study , released in December and based on figures from 1999 -- before the income tax surcharge was instituted . <p> The governor said he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sent to localities had not led to lower local taxes . And since he has no recourse when the Legislature fails to enact his proposals , his budget this year has several built-in incentives to require localities to control their property taxes . <p> " Certainly we have done everything in our power to lower the tax burden that the state either directly imposes or indirectly imposes on other levels of government in this state , and I think it has been very successful , " Mr. Pataki said . " Having said that , our tax burden is still way too high . " <p> 10 Years Later <p> This is the second in a series of articles examining aspects of state government in the time since Gov . George E. Pataki took office . A previous article examined efforts to overhaul the government and is available at nytimes.com/metro . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com Gov . George E. Pataki at a new Fujitsu research center in Pearl River in 1997 . He says his tax cuts have improved the state 's business climate . ( Photo by Joyce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chart : " Cutting Taxes While Spending More " During Gov . George E. Pataki 's 10 years in office , spending has increased substantially . . . Graph tracks total state spending from 1995 to 2004 .. . . while tax receipts have not risen as much , largely as a result of tax cuts.Note : All figures adjusted for inflation to 2004 dollarsGraph tracks total state tax receipts ( actual and without Pataki tax cuts ) from 1995 to 2003 . Note : Figures for tax receipts without cuts assume no effect of tax policy on the economy . The state also receives revenue from other sources.At the same time , the amount of debt held by the state has risen by 30 percent ( adjusted for inflation ) . Graph tracks state-funded debt from 1995 to 2003 . Personal income tax and sales tax have also come to make up a larger share of state taxes.Graph tracks percentage of all state taxes ( personal income tax , sales tax , business taxes and other fees and taxes ) from 1995 to 2005 . Note : Figures do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act , which are not formally a part of the state budget . ( Source by New York State Division of the Budget ) ( pg . B6 ) 