News In Brief

ROUGH ON THE DIAMOND In baseball, can you hit a home run and strike out at the same time? William Ingraham did. Like the main character in the movie "Field of Dreams," the Tewksbury, N.J., resident converted his back yard into a full-scale playing field - for $300,000. The upscale town allows tennis courts, swimming pools, and horse paddocks. But it sued Ingraham, claiming his field is a zoning violation. Now a court has ruled he may keep it. Out, however, are lights, bleachers, uniforms, and retrieving foul balls from neighbors' lawns. And his family and guests may use it for only one "unscheduled" game a month.

HAVEN'T WE MET? There was something familiar about the fellow a taxi company in Reykjavik, Iceland, was summoned to transport home early Monday. He'd made the same trip just 90 minutes before. Police had arrested him for driving while intoxicated. But, not yet ready to call it a night, he tried a different car and was quickly caught again for the same offense.

How states compare in size, growth of their economies

The Commerce Department has released its latest snapshot of each state's economic performance - or 1997 gross domestic product - in relation to the rest of the country. These data lag behind release of quarterly US gross domestic-product figures because it is not easy to break down economic output by state, a Commerce official said. The states that enjoyed the highest percentage of economic growth in '97 and those reporting the largest economies (with figures adjusted for inflation):

Most economic growth

1. Oregon 7.6%

2. New Hampshire 7.5

3. Texas 6.8

4. Arizona 6.7

5. Colorado 6.5

Largest economies

1. California $883 billion

2. New York 579

3. Texas 543

4. Illinois 358

5. Florida 338

- Associated Press