Finding Themselves in N.J., They Write Off Wyoming

--The pitch was simple: fresh air and wide open spaces. But happily urbanized New Jersey third-graders were having none of it. “You have no right to say dump our state and go to Wyoming,” said one student, Michael B., in heated response to a billboard exhorting New Jersey commuters to “Find Yourself in Wyoming.” The billboard, at the exit of the Lincoln Tunnel linking New Jersey and New York, prompted the students from James Madison Intermediate School No. 10 in Edison to pepper Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan with indignant retorts. “If everybody moves to your state, everybody will start having traffic jams there too!” wrote Asif Halim. Others were quick to point out the beauties of their ocean-side state over landlocked Wyoming. “We are close to the ocean and have fresh and salt water to fish and swim in,” wrote Megan Ehlers. Besides, said Neil Dalal, in sealing the argument: “N.J. is near N.Y.C. (New York City).”

--At first it looked as if the gossipy tabloids were indulging in their usual nattering, this time about a possible rift between two of their favorite targets--Prince Charles and Princess Diana. But after the royal couple had spent an entire 39 days apart, even the venerable Times of London began speculating, writing Sunday that one of the first duties facing Queen Elizabeth upon her return from Canada would be to patch the rift. “It is said her majesty will impress upon them that whatever the state of their marriage, Charles and Diana must avoid lengthy periods out of each other’s company,” the Times wrote. They are 11 years apart in age, and Charles is said to be mainly a countryman interested in architecture, classical music and gardening, while Diana shows a preference for city life, shopping, and parties. “But those on the inside track say the gap in their ages and interests has never been wider,” the Sunday Times said.

--More glasnost ? Garry Kasparov, Soviet chess master and current world champion at the convoluted board game, will appear in television commercials in Spain advertising a soft drink. In the commercial, Kasparov, 24, will be seated at a chess board with an elegantly dressed woman at his side and will open a bottle of tonic water using the head of a chess piece. The ad will run on Spanish television for two months at the conclusion of the world title match now being played in Seville between Kasparov and former champion Anatoly Karpov. It was not known how much Kasparov will make from the commercial.