Get Ready for the BIG SQUEEZE

Talk about a wake-up call. One day last month the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority in Boston lost its entire 2003 state subsidy — $13 million, or about 40 percent of its operating budget. State government is desperately trying to plug a $3 billion budget gap. The authority has laid off a fifth of its staff and at press time was trying to have some funding reinstated. (The construction of the new Boston Convention and Exhibition Center has not been affected by the cutback, the