Gray Davis

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced two appointments to the governing boards of the state's public university systems. The appointments, announced Monday, will require approval from the state Senate, which posed a problem 10 years ago for one of the candidates. John Hotchkis, chief executive of Ramajal, an investment management firm, was appointed to the UC Board of Regents. Hotchkis, a Republican, served as a UC regent for a year until his permanent appointment was blocked in 1998 by Senate Democrats before the election that brought a Democratic governor, Gray Davis, to Sacramento.

My, my, my. Only a year ago, Gov. Schwarzenegger was telling us we were in good shape financially, with no need for a rainy day fund. Now he says the wolf is at the door. He's planning to lock the gates at 48 California state parks and beaches. And give get-out-of-jail-free cards to tens of thousands of prisoners statewide. And slash school budgets.

In a world where dollars talk louder than votes, and big-money campaign donors broker power and buy policy, one man stands between rotting corruption and precious but endangered democracy. He is Arnold Schwarzenegger -- plain-spoken, angry, uncompromising. "The biggest problem we have is that California is being run by special interests," he declares. "I will go to Sacramento and clean house. ... I don't need to take money from anybody. I have plenty of money myself.

He was booted out of the Capitol three years ago, but when former Gov. Gray Davis returns today to watch the man who replaced him sworn in for a second term, he'll find an eerie resemblance to what he left behind. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has entrusted onetime Davis aides with his administration's success, appointing them to top jobs. He has embraced policies that Davis favored and settled into a similar governing style.

Doris Meyer Morell, the mother of former Gov. Gray Davis who repeatedly returned to California to campaign for her son, has died. She was 83. Morell died Sunday at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Florida after a long battle with lung cancer, Davis said. "My mom encouraged us to think big, work hard and always care for the less fortunate," Davis told The Times. In his 2001 State of the State address, Davis paid tribute "to the other woman in my life, my mother, Doris Morell.

Gray Davis is smiling now. He's talking about becoming older and wiser, about getting the most from his days. A jury in Texas settled the biggest grudge in his life, sort of. He has time for his family, and ground to make up. He is earning money again. He's picking his shots when he speaks out. He's loosened up -- which is not to call him fun-loving by ordinary standards, mind you. He won't be seen kicking up his heels on Sunset Strip. But look closely, and there's plainly a spring in his step.

Breaking election news: There's been a startling development in Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's run for state insurance commissioner. My stern lecture to him about the sad state of California politics and his shameless fundraising, as reported in Wednesday's column, has led to an epiphany on his part. Or so he tells me. But I'm going to hold on to the news until the end of this column for the sake of an upbeat ending. You'll be grateful, too, because what comes first is grim indeed.

The electricity crisis left a trail of casualties across California. Gov. Gray Davis lost his job. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the state's largest electricity utility, filed for bankruptcy protection. Millions of residents and businesses wound up paying billions more for electricity, and many blamed Enron Corp. From San Diego to Sacramento, Californians exulted Thursday over the convictions of Enron chieftains Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce agreed to pay $496,958 to settle U.S. allegations it broke the law by underwriting municipal securities for the state of California after paying for campaign donations to former Gov. Gray Davis and five other politicians, regulators said Monday. CIBC World Markets Corp.