Newsday from New York, New York • 25

ICITYiBRIEFS 25 5 Homeless Man Stabbed A homeless man stabbed early yesterday in the lobby of a Flat bush building staggered to the subway station he regularly slept at following what proved to be a fatal assault police said The victim who remains unidentified but was believed to be in his 40s regularly slept on a bench at the Church Avenue station at East 18th Street said Sgt Frances Haimeck a police spokeswoman He was found sitting on the same bench about 2:30 am yesterday and taken to the Brooklyn Hospital Center-Caledonian Campus where he died from a single stab wound to his upper back Detectives have not determined a motive for the stabbing but established that it took place in the lobby of 50 18th St a half-block from the station Russell Ben-All Nnndv PlMtoa Ohhhm The tamale baby Beluga whale Aurora swims with her proud mother Marina last summer Call Her Aurora Says Aquarium Cabbie Shot in A lively cab driver was seriously wounded in Brooklyn yesterday when one of several passengers shot him five times during an attempted robbery police said The wounded cabbie Salvatore Pagan 31 drove several blocks before his cab came to a stop at Ralph and Atlantic Avenues police said He was in critical but stable condition at Kings County Hospital Center yesterday Pagan who works for Denise Car Service in Sunset Park had picked up four male passengers at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Thomas Boy land Street in Brownsville about 3:05 am yesterday At the same intersection one of the men announced a robbery pulled a weapon and shot Pagan The suspects fled the cab without taking money There have been no arrests police said Russell Ben-All Conservation Society The announcement will be made today at the Aquarium Rachlin the grand prise winner will have her picture taken with Aurora and her mom Marina at the Aquarium Rachlin will also receive an Olympus IS-2 35mm camera The aquarium is home to seven Beluga whales including three babies born under the care of Society staff The other two Beluga babies and were born at the Aquarium in August 1991 Juan Soto The newest resident of Aquarium for Wildlife Conservation finally has a name The female baby Beluga whale which was born July 6 has been officially named according to officials from the Coney Island aquarium And Aurora can thank Michal Rachlin for her name The 8-year-old Tee neck NJ resident was the winner of the the Baby Beluga Contest" The contest which had more than 17000 entries was sponsored by New York Newsday Olympus and New York Zoological Society The Wildlife Staten Island Girl Dies In Suspicious Blaze 4 Men Shot Robbed Four men were robbed of their coats and shot on a Queens street corner early yesterday by a group of ski-masked males police said The victims were standing at 177th Street and 106th Avenue in Jamaica when they were approached by about five gunmen who had just stopped their vehicle at the corner about 12:15 am The victims were forced to lie on the ground and surrender their jackets which detectives described as normal winter coats neither sheepskin nor leather It was unclear if money was taken during the robbery according to investigators who were trying to determine yesterday whether the men were shot because they rousted turning over their cash or because they tried to escape The gunmen fled in the auto Wounded were Scott Gooding 23 of Brooklyn who was shot in the buttocks Ronald Williams 27 of Brooklyn wounded in both legs Willis Bell 18 of Queens shot in both legs and Eric Morris 26 of Queens who was shot in the right kg All were in stable condition yesterday at the Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn and Queens Russell Ben-All By William Rashbaum STAFF WHITER A 6-year-old Staten Island girl died in a suspicious fire at her apartment while she and two siblings were visiting there yesterday morning fire officials said The other children escaped with minor injuries as did the mother who was identified as Deloria Bagley 33 Officials said the fire at 456 Richmond Terr was reported about 8:12 am and was under investigation last night The blaze was confined to Del Sonia Burgos a housing police spokeswoman said Bagley was able to escape with her 7-year-old son Romeo and 5-year-old daughter Samaria The mother and children were treated at the scene for minor injuries The 6-year-old Darona was pronounced dead a short while after she was taken to St Medical Center of Richmond in Staten Island Burgos said Human Resources Administration Commissioner Marva Hammons said last night that under an informal arrangement with the family the children lived with relatives QVC Up Paramount Bid Island Tram Resumes The Roosevelt Island aerial tram officially resumes service today with the offer of free rides Hie tram which operates between Roosevelt Island and 59th Street in Manhattan has been out of service since October for repairs to its generator had hoped to have it back earlier but it was beyond our control" said Leslie Gottlieb a spokeswoman for the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp The only aerial commuter tram in the country the Roosevelt Island skytram operates from 6 am to 2:30 am carrying more than 1000 riders a day The cost of a ride is $140 Each Day Gottlieb said couples take the tram for romance This year even those rich only in love will be able to eryoy the ride Karen Freifeld ning cycle of a huge new QVC also said believe the focus should be on the upside: the shareholders value that can be created if we are permitted to combine with Paramount pursuant to a sound and rational Viacom a cable television and entertainment giant that owns MTV defended its bid calling comments hardly needs to be stated that the Viacom offer on its face is clearly superior to that of Viacom said also has supported offer However in a prepared statement QVC said the cable home shopping operator made the superior bid" and would not use additional bank financing it has on hand to up the ante for Paramount In addition to the studio Paramount also has sports and publishing holdings said we would not bid above the prudent value for the company and we the statement said has zero bank debt strong cash flow and a growing business in the begin By Judith Evans STAFF WRITER QVC Network Inc yesterday said it will make no changes to its bid to buy Paramount Communications putting an end to speculation by some analysts that the battle for the Hollywood studio could drag on beyond deadline Paramount investors have until midnight to tender their shares to either QVC or Viacom Inc whose opposing bid is favored by many analysts for its higher cadi value of about $180 million board of directors.