ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

POP/ROCK

Politics and Performing at Latin Grammys

Singer Gloria Estefan and her producer-husband Emilio say they will not be attending the Latin Grammy Awards now that the show has been moved from their hometown of Miami to Los Angeles. The move was triggered by organizers’ security concerns in the face of expected anti-Castro protests against Cuban artists.

But Jimmy Smits and Christina Aguilera will be there: They were announced Tuesday as co-hosts. And two of the seven Cuban nominees--pianist Chucho Valdes and singer Issac Delgado--have said they’ll attend.

Though none of the Cuban artists is expected to perform on the national telecast on CBS next Tuesday, some live shows are being planned locally. Two venues--Sportsmen’s Lodge and the Conga Room--are competing to get Delgado and his 16-piece band for a pre-Grammy performance Monday night. (Delgado is nominated for best salsa album and best tropical song, “La Formula.”)

The only hitch: Band members are still awaiting U.S. visas, said Jimmy Maslon, head of Ahi-Nama Music, the band’s L.A.-based label. San Francisco entertainment attorney Bill Martinez is now in Havana trying to expedite the documents.

The Conga Room’s confirmed lineup for the rest of Latin Grammy week: Venezuela’s Los Amigos Invisibles for an after-Grammy performance on Tuesday; Brazilian singer-songwriter Ivan Lins on Wednesday; and Irakere, Valdes’ powerhouse salsa-jazz band (nominated for best vocal pop album by a duo or group, on Friday and Saturday. (Valdes is nominated separately for best Latin jazz album.) Finally, Sunday will feature an authentic afternoon rumba show with Los Munequitos de Matanzas, who perform on “La Rumba Soy Yo,” nominated for best folk album.

Meanwhile, from 3 to 7 p.m. on the day of the Grammys, the Los Angeles Coalition in Solidarity With Cuba is inviting the public to gather outside the Forum in Inglewood, where the Grammys will be held, to demonstrate support for the Cuban artists and push for normalization of relations with the island.

Elvis Presley Honored for His Gospel Work

The king of rock ‘n’ roll is about to secure the ultimate honor in the music genre he loved first and best--induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 at 42, will be inducted Nov. 27, officials said Tuesday, along with Doris Akers, Wendy Bagwell & the Sunliters, Keith Green, Kurt Kaiser, Larry Norman, the Rambos and Albertina Walker. The ceremony will take place at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, a former church that once served as the home of the Grand Ole Opry country music radio show.

Presley will be the first performer to be in the halls of fame for country, rock ‘n’ roll and gospel. Mahalia Jackson is a member of the rock ‘n’ roll and gospel halls, and Jimmie Davis and Tennessee Ernie Ford are members of the country and gospel halls.

TELEVISION

Record Take on Labor Day Telethon

Jerry Lewis raised a record $56,780,603 during his annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy telethon, up from $54.6 million last year. Despite a recent bout of pneumonia, the 75-year-old comedian, who has served as the group’s national chairman for 50 years, was on camera for about eight hours of the 21-hour telethon.

Home & Garden Adds Seven New Shows

Home & Garden Television will introduce seven new series as part of the 2001-2 season. Five of them will debut during what the channel has dubbed “Extreme Week” (Oct. 1-7).

Among the new series: “A Place to Call Home,” an examination of what it’s like to live in Boulder, Colo.; Santa Barbara; Taos, N.M.; and other “truly livable” locales.

“Renovations” explores the pitfalls and victories of home renovation and improvement; and “Sensible Chic” will demonstrate how to achieve top-of-the-line looks without paying top dollar.

NBC’s ‘Lost’ to Appear on Travel Channel Too

The Travel Channel, for the first time, will be showing a first-run broadcast series. The network said Tuesday it has signed a deal to carry “Lost,” an unscripted show that premieres on NBC at 8 tonight (see adjoining review). Each episode will run again on the cable outlet nine days later--Fridays at 9 p.m., starting Sept. 14.

In “Lost,” three pairs of strangers arrive at a secret location and are provided with basic survival gear. The first of the teams to reach the Statue of Liberty splits $200,000.

QUICK TAKES

Geena Davis, 45, and surgeon Reza Jarrahy, 30, tied the knot on Saturday in a small private ceremony in Wainscott, N.Y. The couple, who met through a mutual friend more than two years ago, will live in Southern California. It is the fourth marriage for Davis, who won an Oscar for “The Accidental Tourist.” Among her previous husbands: actor Jeff Goldblum and director Renny Harlin.... The Independent Feature Project/West has renamed its award for best feature under $500,000 the John Cassavetes Award, in honor of the late actor-director....Actress Reese Witherspoon (“Legally Blonde”) will host the 27th season premiere of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on Sept. 29, with Alicia Keys as the musical guest.