BROOKLYN

CHICKEN SALAD RECALLED

WASHINGTON – A Brooklyn company is recalling about 250 pounds of chicken salad distributed in New York that may have been contaminated with listeria, government officials said yesterday. T&L Creative Salads is recalling 5-pound containers of chicken salad made on March 7 and distributed to stores in New York City, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The USDA said the problem was discovered through routine sampling by the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Listeriosis can be fatal. It can cause high fever and nausea and, for pregnant women, miscarriages and stillbirths. The USDA said the products subject to recall are approximately 5-pound plastic containers of “T&L Creative Salads, Incorporated CHICKEN SALAD.” The products bear the code “038327” and the establishment code “EST. P-19930.” A telephone call to the company was not immediately returned.

– Associated Press

WESTCHESTER

CLINTON RECOVERING FROM SURGERY

CHAPPAQUA – President Clinton’s neighbors said yesterday they were glad to have him back from the hospital and happy to leave him alone while he recovers from his latest surgery. Things were quiet outside the Clinton home and on the streets of Chappaqua, which sometimes erupt when the former president or his wife, Senator Clinton, take a stroll on the way to a shop or restaurant. Mr. Clinton, 58, left New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center on Monday, four days after undergoing surgery to remove scar tissue and fluid that had reduced his left lung capacity by 25%.The condition was a rare but low-risk complication of the heart bypass surgery Mr. Clinton underwent six months ago. “I took him home from the hospital last night and got him settled in,” Mrs. Clinton said yesterday. “He was doing really well. He felt good and I’m very optimistic that he’s going to be better than ever.” Zyrafet Osmani, who lives across Old House Lane from the Clintons, said, “Thank God he’s okay. We’re so glad he’s back. I understand he’ll be fine. He’ll need a little time. We’ll see him walking, I’m sure, in a couple of weeks.”

– Associated Press

MANHATTAN

KLEIN FACES TOUGH QUESTIONING

City lawmakers ripped into the Department of Education’s bookkeeping competency and priorities yesterday at a City Council budget hearing. Schools chancellor Joel Klein, who testified at the hearing, detailed his accomplishments before talking about budget priorities for the coming year, including academic interventions, gifted-and-talented education, and vocational education. “I know this is not easy. Money is tight, and needs are great,” he said in his testimony. “Still, I submit there is no more urgent or pressing need than meeting our educational obligations to our students.” The chairwoman of the council’s education committee, Eva Moskowitz, demanded to know from Mr. Klein how the department exceeded its 2004 budget by $142 million. She also criticized the department for not providing spending figures broken down by subject area to the council. “Are all kids getting recess? Can they tell you the answer? They have no idea,” she said. As Mr. Klein exited the chambers, he said the department’s spending is driven by pedagogical priorities. “Our record is based on our priorities,” he said. “Are we spending money appropriately? Are we getting return for the buck? The answer is you bet we are.”

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

STUDENT WINS $100,000 SCIENCE AWARD

A New York City high school student was named the winner yesterday of the highly competitive Intel Science Talent Search. The student, David Bauer, 17, is the first New York City student to win the prestigious award – which comes with a $100,000 scholarship – since 2000. He designed a new method to detect toxic agents that affect the nervous system, using so-called quantum dots, or florescent nanocrystals. He said his research could save thousands of lives by making it easier to determine if someone is exposed to neurotoxins like nerve gas.

“In theory, this could provide a very quick way to determine if someone had been exposed to any neurotoxin,” Bauer told The New York Sun. “You really hear from people around you that there is a need for this. … I think given the present global climate, things like this really are necessary.”

Bauer was notified that he won the award at a black-tie banquet last night in Washington. He beat out 40 finalists from a pool of 1,600 applicants. He plans to enroll in CUNY’s honors college program next year.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ALBANY

PATAKI IN TALKS WITH FEDERAL OFFICIALS OVER AID

Governor Pataki traveled to Washington, D.C., late yesterday to ask the federal government for financial assistance connected to his proposed Medicaid reforms. The governor told legislative leaders of the planned visit with Michael Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services, at public budget negotiations late yesterday afternoon.

Mr. Pataki said New York is more likely to get federal aid if the Legislature approves, at least in principle, the five-point Medicaid reform plan outlined in his January budget address. He described the aid as a waiver that would be granted in recognition of state efforts to save the federal government money over time on its share of New York’s Medicaid costs.

The governor’s announcement came against the backdrop of budget negotiations that have progressed at the fastest rate in years. Mr. Pataki, Joseph Bruno, the Senate majority leader, and Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the Assembly, all expressed optimism about passing a budget by the April 1 deadline for the first time since 1984. “I think we’re going to get it done this year,” Mr. Bruno told reporters after the meeting.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun