NEWS LITE : KING'S SCARE TO GET REVIEW.

A grand jury in South Paris, Maine, will consider the case of a driver whose van struck and injured Stephen King.

The June 19 accident was investigated by the sheriff's department, which turned over its report to the district attorney.

District Attorney Norman Croteau said Friday the Oxford County grand jury will decide whether Bryan Smith will be charged. The grand jury begins its session Sept. 30. Croteau wouldn't comment further.

King, 51, was walking along the shoulder of a road near his vacation home when he was hit by the van. He has undergone several surgeries to set broken bones in his leg and hip and faces a long rehabilitation.

A sheriff's deputy quoted Smith, who has a history of driving offenses, as saying he was distracted by a dog in his van and ran off the road.

Updike says he's out of fashion now

John Updike, 67, told the New York Observer he knows he's not the popular phenomenon he used to be. ``I've gone from being a guy who used to see his books in drugstore racks and in airport racks, and I don't see them there anymore.

``In fact, they don't fit anymore in the airport racks, because (of) the so-called mass-market size. I'm out of it. I'm in the quality-paperback size, which is a bigger size.

``I never aspired to be a James Michener or a Stephen King, but I think it is a loss when you think you have almost no living contact with the mass of American readership, when you're read a little bit the way poets are read, by people in the trade, by rival poets. I see what people near me in airplanes read. Businessmen seem to have a firm grip on the latest Tom Clancy.''

Lipinski back on ice for television movie

Tara Lipinski is hitting the ice for a television movie.

The Olympic gold medalist will appear in the comedy ``Ice Angel,'' the story of a star hockey player who is accidentally killed and comes back in the body of a 17-year-old female figure skater.

Lipinski plays a former competitor of the skater.

``Ice Angel'' is scheduled to air on cable's Fox Family Channel in January 2000.

Ex-child star frets over lifestyle needs

A former colleague lies dead from an overdose in May, and all a chillingly bitter Gary Coleman sees is more bad publicity for his already-in-the-toilet career.

``I was not upset or surprised,'' he tells People magazine about the death of former ``Diff'rent Strokes'' co-star Dana Plato at 34. ``My thoughts were more for her son and the press issue and whether it would affect my ability to get employment - because the publicity about Todd Bridges, Dana or myself is never good.''

Make no mistake, Coleman, who starred in the epic films ``The Curse of Monkey Island'' and ``The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh'' and filed for bankruptcy after piddling away an estimated $18 million fortune, is desperate for work. ``I have lifestyle requirements,'' he says.

Crow and Clapton free concert slated

Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton will perform a free concert in Central Park next month that will be broadcast live on TV, radio and the Internet.

The Sept. 14 concert will take place in the park's East Meadow, where the Dalai Lama spoke in August. Sponsor American Express will distribute some 25,000 tickets in New York via a free lottery-style instant game the week before the concert.

Cuban Havanese may have its day

Every dog has its day, and all things Cuban being mas buenas than ever - the music, the cigars and testimonials from supermodels and movie stars - it's time to say hello to a Cuban breed, the Havanese.

Bonnie Levinson, who lives in San Francisco and is about to become a Havanese owner, says there are fewer than five in San Francisco, and only 4,000 in the United States. The American Kennel Club describes the dog as part of the Bichon family, small, sturdy and short-legged, ``with a soft, profuse, untrimmed coat. His plumed tail is carried curled over his back.

He is an affectionate, happy dog with a lively, springy gait.'' This makes him likely to be a much more popular pet than Fidel Castro.

The first Bichons, ancestors to the Havanese, were brought from Spain by sea captains as gifts for rich Cuban women in families with whom the Spaniards wished to establish trade. Three families that who left Cuba during the '50s and '60s brought the dogs to the United States.

Bush waxes sentimental in magazine fishing piece

George Bush gets charmingly mushy in a ``Letter From Maine'' paean to fishing in the latest issue of Forbes FYI.

``My grandkids love it when we speed to our fishing waters,'' the former president says. ``They get restless if the mackerel don't bite. . . . They need to learn to calm down and to relax when we troll or cast. . . . They need to grow up, but I don't want them to do that. . . .``I'm 74 now, but I don't feel old. I meditate a lot when I am out fishing. I wonder how many more years I will have to fish with my sons, my grandkids. . . . I want to teach Gigi, our youngest grandchild, now 2-1/2 years old, how to fish. When the fish aren't biting, I want to listen to her tell me what makes her happy and what makes her cry. Maybe I can start next year.

``I won't tell her I was president. I'll just try to tell her about the wonders of life and have her understand that our family is what matters. . . . I will tell her I love her. And when she says, `Are you crying?` I'll say, `Yes, but these are tears of joy. Older guys do that, Gigi.' You can do that kind of thing when you go fishing.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) Ventura kicks back

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura attacks the St. Paul Pioneer Press during his Friday ``Lunch With the Governor'' radio broadcast. Ventura said he was upset by the newspaper's criticism that his return to the wrestling ring promotes sex and violence. The governor called Pioneer Press hypocritical, because it runs ads for X-rated movies and strip clubs in its sports section. State Capitol subscriptions to the newspaper would be canceled, he said.

(2) KING

(3) BUSH