NOTEBOOK

By CHARLOTTE FALTERMAYER, JANICE HOROWITZ, LINA LOFARO, LAWRENCE MONDI, MICHAEL QUINN, JEFFERY RUBIN, MARK THOMPSON AND KAREN TUMULTY

VERBATIM

"I kept thinking, 'Please! Please get some altitude!'" --Tom Johnson, a pilot with 15 years' experience, watching Jessica Dubroff's plane shortly after its fatal takeoff in Cheyenne, Wyoming

"Together, we are one. Separately, we stand in darkness. Yield to my entreaty. Come walk with me." --Lines of verse by lawyer Warren Wilson in an attempt to sign Unabomber suspect Ted Kaczynski as a client

"We are fools for Christ's sake...We must pray for the courage to endure the scorn of the sophisticated world." --Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at a Baptist prayer breakfast in Mississippi

"Hollywood is run by Jews. It is owned by Jews, and they should have a greater sensitivity about the issue of people who are suffering." --Actor Marlon Brando on Larry King Live; he later apologized for his remarks

WINNERS & LOSERS

CELEBRITY LAWYERS

[WINNERS]

ANTHONY BISCEGLIE Lawyer for the brother of Unabomber suspect is newest bar star after SRO press conference

CHRISTOPHER DARDEN His Shapiro-besting best seller changes image from study in ineptitude to profile in courage

STEPHEN JONES Cobbling together a defiant defense for the most hated man in America, Timothy McVeigh

[LOSERS]

LESLIE ABRAMSON Menendez shrink says she asked him to delete items from his notes and not tell the jury

BARRY SCHECK Convicted rapist freed by the Perry Mason of DNA is arrested again. The charge: rape.

KENNETH STARR Whitewater prober investigating Clinton while serving tobacco firm investigated by Clinton

MOTHBALLED SAVIORS

Evidence is mounting that the Dubrovnik airport's primitive landing-guidance system may have played a role in the crash that killed Ron Brown and 34 others on April 3. Perhaps the tragedy could have been averted if the U.S. Air Force had deployed one of its AN/TRN-26 Tactical Air Navigation systems there. The unit can offer detailed guidance to as many as 100 planes at once. Just the size of a desk and equipped with a 10-ft.-high antenna, the system is so portable it can be set up in only four hours. The Air Force has 43 of these units, which it routinely deploys to under-equipped airports. Four are in use: in Jordan, in Hungary, in the Bosnian town of Tuzla and at Camp David. Where are the other 39? In storage.

ROSTY'S REVENGE

Even in disgrace, Dan Rostenkowski, the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has managed to leave his influential imprint. During two years of aggressive court challenges that led up to Rostenkowski's plea bargain last week, his lawyers blazed a trail of legal precedents that could significantly benefit future suspected congressional culprits. One decision makes it more difficult to prosecute breaches of less-than-crystal-clear congressional rules; it has already been used to throw out charges against former Ohio Representative Mary Rose Oakar for writing bad checks to the now defunct House bank. Another Rosty precedent is expected to make it harder for prosecutors to pursue members when otherwise illegal behavior is intertwined with official duties.

HEALTH REPORT

THE GOOD NEWS

--Pregnant women should consider dosing up on calcium. An analysis of 14 studies concludes that taking 1,500 mg to 2,000 mg of daily CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS can reduce by two-thirds the odds of developing a serious complication of pregnancy known as pre-eclampsia. The supplements also help prevent high blood pressure in moms-to-be.

--The FDA has cleared an epilepsy drug, Depakote, to help prevent MIGRAINE HEADACHES. In half the chronic sufferers studied, Depakote reduced by 50% the frequency and severity of migraine attacks.

--CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE--when the heart no longer pumps blood adequately--may be treated with an unlikely drug: human growth hormone. In a preliminary study, the hormone strengthened the heart muscle.

THE BAD NEWS

--The list of risk factors for heart disease just got longer. For reasons unclear, HIGH LEVELS OF INSULIN in the blood appear to be just as dangerous for the heart as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or smoking. Regular, moderate exercise and a low- fat diet can help drive the insulin levels down.

--The FDA WARNS CONSUMERS to stay away from Herbal Ecstacy, Ultimate XPhoria, Cloud 9 and other products taken as a way to feel high--legally. They contain ephedrine, also called mahuang or ephedra, which may cause heart attacks, seizures and even death.

--Obese mothers have twice the normal risk of bearing babies with NEUROLOGICAL BIRTH DEFECTS. And unlike thin women, they don't reduce their risk by taking folic acid, a vitamin known to prevent such abnormalities.

Sources: GOOD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association; Abbott Laboratories; New England Journal of Medicine. BAD NEWS: New England Journal of Medicine; Food and Drug Administration; Journal of the American Medical Association.

LOCAL HEROES

ROXANNE BLACK, 25; NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.; lupus survivor At age 15 she discovered she had that disorder of the immune system and longed to talk to other teens suffering from the same disease. She found none. In 1989 she started Friends' Health Connection from her dorm at Rutgers University, matching patients with like illnesses in a network of sympathy. (She worked despite a kidney transplant in 1992.) FHC has linked 4,000 people. "My mother taught me that there was a purpose to this pain."

DICK SMITH, 54; WESTERLY, R.I.; custodian at Pfizer Inc. Dubbed the "Can Man," Smith began collecting recyclables 10 years ago, and the nickels have added up. The proceeds, matched by Pfizer, have been used to start a $25,000 scholarship fund, among other things. His latest project is a 17-name Vietnam memorial at the University of Rhode Island in honor of his best friend, Carl Myllymaki, who was killed in action. "When you give back something to the community, it's very rewarding."

67 YEARS AGO IN TIME

A ROYAL ROMP

Queen Elizabeth, who will turn 70 on the 21st of April, was very self-assured while very young: "Last week, romping in a yellow frock, the Princess Elizabeth passed her third birthday. She does not know that she is but three removes from the Throne; in fact she has only very recently discovered that she is a 'P'incess.' It is barely a fortnight ago that she knocked with chubby fist upon a door, and when her mother called, 'Who's there?' answered in an important little voice, 'Lilybet, the P'incess'...'Are we going to G'annie's [the Countess of Strathmore] or G'anma's [Queen Mary]?' the baby Princess asked, and [Elizabeth's mother] the Duchess smiled, 'To G'annie's, dear.'" --April 29, 1929