'Monicacam' Has Eye On Lewinsky

The view from Scott Orr's window was just asphalt, cars, and a stoplight until Monica Lewinsky started showing up to meet with her new lawyers in the office building across the street.

Now his view is "Monicacam."

Orr, a reporter who covers Washington for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., hooked up a $75 miniature camera to his computer and has been sending snapshots of his view to a site on the World Wide Web.

The centerpiece of the Web site is an image updated every 10 minutes between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. of the entrance to the office building at 1100 Connecticut Ave., where Lewinsky's lawyers, Plato Cacheris and Jacob Stein, work.

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Though he includes free links to other sites, Orr makes no money from the venture. He turned down paid advertisements pitched by a credit card company, an online casino, and at least one pornographic Web site. Orr also shrugs off suggestions from some "Monicacam" fans that he upgrade his equipment for a better view.

"I don't want to make any more investment of money or time in this," he said.

On permanent display is an image snapped on July 28, the moment Lewinsky entered the building to sign her immunity agreement with independent counsel Kenneth Starr.

Cars are stopped, two television satellite trucks are parked, and dozens of reporters and onlookers crowd around Lewinsky. A red arrow makes sure the viewer doesn't miss her image.

Orr dubbed the Web page the "unofficial home of the Lewinsky legal team."

Now that Lewinsky has testified before the grand jury and President Clinton's turn is days away, Orr realizes "Monicacam's" days may be numbered.

"To tell you the truth, I'll be glad when it's done," he said. "It's been a fun ride, but it's not really serious work."

Written by Laurence Arnold