Appointments

Mayor Richard Riordan on Thursday made his first appointments to new regional planning commissions approved by voters last year, including attorney Darren Robert Martinez to the South Valley Area Planning Commission. Other appointments include Laurie H. Weir and Jose L. Huizar to the East Area panel; George Luk to the Metro Area panel; Donna Andrews to the South Area panel; Matthew S. Rodman to the West Area panel and John Roger Wallace to the Harbor Area panel.

The president assumed control and fired the judges who a day earlier had declared the South Pacific island's military government illegal. President Ratu Josefa Iloilo announced in a nationally broadcast radio address that he had abolished the constitution, assumed all governing power and revoked all judicial appointments. "I hereby confirm I have abrogated the 1997 constitution and appointed myself as head of state in the new order," he said.

Police have begun targeting prostitutes who advertise their services on the Internet with provocative pictures and explicit promises. In a sting Thursday, police contacted dozens of women who advertise on the Web. Police set up appointments to meet the women in Santa Rosa. A team of nine officers cited and released 19 men and women on suspicion of prostitution and pimping, said Sgt. Steve Fraga. "If we had the resources, we could have done more," he said.

It was with dread that I noticed my California driver's license had expired in mid-June. It had been four years since I had had to visit the Department of Motor Vehicles, and frankly I had not yet recovered from that visit. I was so overwhelmed with anxiety at the thought of a several-hour wait (as I had experienced on my last visit) that I actually let my license expire. Finally, after several weeks of extremely careful driving, being terrified of being caught without a license, I made my way to the Torrance Department of Motor Vehicles office.

Re "Cronyism as a core value," Opinion, Oct. 7 Thank you, Jonathon Chait, for pointing out the dangers of cronyism in presidential appointments. The framers of the Constitution gave the Senate the power to confirm or reject nominees to guard against the court being packed with under-qualified presidential favorites. Harriet E. Miers' main qualification for the Supreme Court seems to be her admiration for President Bush. Surely the American people deserve better. LAUREL GORD Venice