Mr. Schlaifer said the increase must be accepted by Dec. 25 or his association's members would strike for three hours each night of inauguration week, Jan. 18 to 22.

Only an Olympics would get more television time in seven days than the festivities surrounding President-elect Bill Clinton's inauguration week, starting Sunday.

If you want to make an impression on the new Administration, you might consider the Ritz-Carlton Hotel's "premiere presidential package:" five days and four nights in inauguration week for $15,000.

The store carries a number of items, from fragrant French soaps to cowboy hats - 80 of which went out the door during inauguration week.

David Garrido, who mans the stove at Jeffrey's Restaurant, has been invited to cook during inauguration week at Aquarelle, the restaurant in the Watergate Hotel in Washington.

Republicans, who have been inextricably linked with the Watergate since the Nixon era, have booked almost all the rooms there for inauguration week, beginning Jan. 17.

Never before has an inauguration week been so carefully prepared for cameras, with planners going so far as to produce different programs for different cable channels.

But there are some who are not as enthralled as official Washington with inauguration week, which is expected to cost more than $30 million in private and public money.

As always, inauguration week has taken over daily life here.

He also held out a conciliatory hand to peasant rebels in the southern state of Chiapas who have vowed to prevent the scheduled inauguration next week of a ruling-party Governor whose election they maintain was fraudulent.