THE BUDGET IMPASSE : Shutdown Day 1

A look at the impact of the partial shutdown around the United States:

Down to 2 Chefs

Presidential pampering continued after the government shut down today but with a reduced staff of maids, butlers, chefs, electricians and engineers keeping the Clintons in comfort. Neel Lattimore, spokesman for the first lady’s office, said the staff of 70 who take care of the first family and the White House was being reduced during the shutdown to:

* One chef in the day and one in the evening. “As soon as the Clintons are done eating, he would go home,” Lattimore said of the evening chef.

* One butler in the day, another in the evening.

* One usher in the day, another in the evening.

* Two housekeepers in the day, one in the evening.

* One engineer in the day, one on the evening shift and two on the overnight.

First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 16-person professional staff was being cut to four.

Miss Liberty Marooned

Unsuspecting tourists were left high and dry Tuesday when they turned up to visit the Statue of Liberty only to find the nation’s most famous monument marooned by the federal budget stalemate. Just two morning ferries departed for Liberty Island in New York Harbor before government employees pulled the plug. “Are we the only people in New York who didn’t know it was closed?” asked a group of Australian visitors at the ferry landing at the southernmost tip of Manhattan. Some were outraged, others disheartened. “I’m about to cry,” said Dutch tourist Fatima Berntsen.

Toy Troubles

Among the more than 400 staff members considered nonessential at the Consumer Product Safety Commission are the agency’s investigators who inspect toy imports for defects. “This is a tremendous concern,” said Ann Brown, who heads the agency. “It’s holiday buying season.” In addition to suspending its dockside inspections, the consumer agency won’t have the staff to conduct routine product testing and recalls, she said. And stores won’t know which items to take off shelves.

Me, Essential

The process of deciding which federal workers are essential is not an exact science. Justice Department chief spokesman Carl Stern had decided last week that he and the 19 other employees of the department’s press office were not. He advised news organizations his office would close at midday Tuesday. Tuesday morning, Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick told Stern she could see how he was essential and ordered him to work.