NEWS LITE : THREE TENORS THE TICKET FOR FANS.

What's a few thousand dollars to hear the Three Tenors sing out the old year?

Prices to hear Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo sing New Year's Eve at B.C. Place Stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, range up to $4,400 for a package that includes hotel rooms, limousines, a preconcert dinner and a harbor cruise.

And don't forget the ``private party,'' where 4,000 people will try to rub shoulders with the opera stars.

``It's an exceptionally unique way to spend New Year's Eve,'' said Todd Yeske of Seattle, who with his wife dropped more than $2,300 for the event.

The tenors' 10-city tour began in June and concludes in March in Australia.

Flub gives Lodi an elevated status

Steve Burger and Randy Varney, a dynamic duo with eclectic taste in reading matter, noticed that the latest National Mapping Information published by the U.S. Geological Survey mistakenly puts the elevation of Lodi in central California at 12,345 feet.

This makes this valley town nestled between Sacramento (30 feet) and Stockton (20 feet) more than 2,000 feet higher than the famously high Leadville, Colo. (10,152 feet); and more than twice as high as Denver, the mile-high city.

A call to the Short Stop, a convenience store on Route 99 in Lodi, inquired about the alpine view. Things look pretty flat, said the cashier, who wished to remain anonymous. He was definite about only one altitude issue: ``We're not quite sunk into the valley.''

If riding a bike or a skateboard, would one be likely to encounter any slopes? Yup. ``There are railroad tracks nearby,'' he said, ``and if you were riding on the road that goes under the tracks, you could glide down.''

Incidentally, the travel guide of the American Automobile Association lowers the boom on Lodi: elevation 52 feet.

Williams refuses to sell Big Macs

McDonald's wants to do some product tie-ins with the new Walt Disney production ``The Absent-Minded Professor,'' but Robin Williams, star of the movie, has refused to let his image be used for commercial purposes.

McDonald's wanted to pay Williams ``oodles'' of money, said Variety, but he refused all offers, even denying the restaurant permission to use any of his scenes from the film in its ads.

Close's knife not comforting

Intense actress Glenn Close habitually hangs onto costumes and props from her movies - including that creepy-crawly butcher knife she used in ``Fatal Attraction.''

``It's only a cardboard knife,'' Close told People magazine.

``In the close-ups, when I was near Michael Douglas' face, they wouldn't allow me to have a real knife. It's hanging near my kitchen pantry.

``People always say, `Is that what I think it is?' From the start, they know not to mess with me.''

Sinatra's 81st: N.Y. part of it

The Empire State Building will blazon in blue to celebrate Ol' Blue Eyes' 81st birthday Thursday.

Frank Sinatra will mark his birthday with a celebration at his Beverly Hills home with family and friends, publicist Susan Reynolds said Monday.

And, in homage, the Empire State Building will light up its tower blue.

Sinatra walked into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Nov. 1 for treatment of a pinched nerve. He was discharged about eight days later.

But he continues to receive get-well cards, Reynolds said.

``He appreciates them and enjoys them,'' she said. ``He respects the fact that people are taking the time to wish him well.''

Offbeat 

This was no Love Boat

A cruise passenger's nose was bitten off during a barroom fight at sea, but doctors reattached it during surgery Monday.

Scott Irvine, 28, was in stable condition at St. Mary's Hospital in Long Beach, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Jamie Devitt.

A Coast Guard cutter met the cruise liner Motor Vessel Holiday about 3 a.m., and brought Irvine and his nose, packed in ice, to an ambulance.

Events began to unfold late Sunday night when the ship doctor aboard Motor Vessel Holiday called the Coast Guard for help, Devitt said.

The ship was about 35 miles northwest of San Diego at the time and was instructed to dock in San Pedro, Devitt said.

The Los Angeles Port Police held possible assailants and contacted the FBI because amputation occurred at sea, Devitt said.

No arrests were made or charges filed, said FBI spokesman John Hoos.

``It was nothing but a bar brawl,'' Hoos said.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Robin Williams: Nixes McDonald's

(2) The Three Tenors: Placido Domingo, left, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti.

Associated Press

(3) Frank Sinatra: Landmark will glow blue