Dissolve

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's main coalition partner decided to support a bill to dissolve parliament, which could paralyze the government and force early elections. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, head of the Labor Party, said he was "very satisfied with the decision" by his faction to vote in favor of the motion, scheduled to take place Wednesday. Olmert has vowed to stay in office and continue to lead his Kadima party unless indicted in a corruption investigation that has prompted calls for his resignation.

The on-again, off-again arena partnership in Toronto between the NBA's Raptors and the NHL's Maple Leafs is off again as the Raptors announced that they will build a 20,000-seat arena on their own at a long-ago purchased site near the city's waterfront. Construction is to begin Wednesday. It is scheduled to be finished in February 1999--two years later than originally proposed. The hockey club didn't like the Raptors' site, nor its design, which will provide better sightlines for basketball. . .

Ending a 117-year-old tradition, the City Council has voted unanimously to dissolve the Library Advisory Board and replace it with a smaller, more goal-oriented committee. The new, reorganized Library Advisory Committee will advise the council on a number of issues, including whether to drop out of the county library system, consolidation of library facilities and hours of service.

Soon after British writer Roger Cardinal coined the term "Outsider Art" in 1972, the art form hit a popular nerve. Museums mounted exhibitions in its name. Publishers capitalized on its novelty. American culture quickly brought the outside in.

She would leave her one-bedroom Bronx flat in the early afternoon on most days, en route to her late-shift job as a stockroom employee at a Manhattan hospital. In the dingy lobby of her six-story apartment building, Kathy Nguyen would often run into the mailman--saying a quick hello as he put letters in the double row of brass-colored metal boxes. Then it was out the door and into the courtyard where children played, a few dozen steps farther and through the locked gate.

Indian President Kocheril Raman Narayanan dissolved Parliament, opening the way for early elections after the country's fractious parties were unable to cobble together a government to replace the one that fell last week. The move means elections must be held for the 545-seat Lok Sabha--the only chamber of Parliament directly elected by voters--three years ahead of schedule. The vote is likely to be held in late February or early March, news agencies said.

For more than a decade, the North Tustin Municipal Advisory Council has fought commercial developments and piecemeal annexations to maintain the rural, open atmosphere of the prestigious unincorporated area that includes Cowan Heights and Lemon Heights. Although the council is a strictly advisory body to the County Board of Supervisors, its members say they have been instrumental in controlling building in the area.

Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai dissolved parliament and scheduled general elections for Jan. 6, preparing for an uphill battle against a billionaire opponent and an electorate unhappy with his economic policies. Chuan's Democrat Party is facing serious criticism over his finance minister's policies. Opponents say the minister botched a program to resolve problems stemming from the 1997 economic crisis that devastated Thailand's financial structure.

Traffic was backed up leaving San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium Saturday night. This was to be expected, to be sure, what with a crowd of 52,108 gathered to watch San Diego State play top-ranked Miami. Except this was at 6:30. This was at halftime . Miami, en route to a 63-17 victory, was already up 28-3. These were obviously shrewd people who realized they could still make something of their Saturday night, something the Aztecs were not doing.