Lifelong Commitment

As Paul DePodesta continues to saddle Dodger fans with the "Jason Principle" (four mediocre Jasons on the Dodgers), I declare that we are victim of DePodesta's Peter Principle (one rises to his level of incompetence). I say it is time to ship DePo to some triple-A squad. In the big leagues, he's in way over his head. Harry Bluebond Valley Village Maybe the Dodgers can re-sign Jason Romano now that he has been released by the Reds. Phil Zantos Anaheim I keep reading how the Dodgers have a host of great prospects in the organization: Where are they?

The American Foundation for AIDS research will honor actors Carol Burnett and Carol Channing, as well as songwriter Carole Bayer Sager at "AmFAR Salutes the Carols," a benefit for the organization being held Wednesday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Each woman will be honored for her "extraordinary career and lifelong commitment to the fight against AIDS."

Richard D. Colburn, a wealthy businessman whose own dreams of being a professional musician fueled his generous and lifelong commitment to music and music education, died Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 92. "He'd been very tired the last few days," said his daughter, Carol Colburn Hogel. "But, still, this was unexpected."

In Congress and the courts, supporters of gay rights are attacking the Defense of Marriage Act, which among other things allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. But there is no law that gives states a similar ability to reject another state's adoption. That's why we're puzzled by a ruling issued last week by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that Louisiana rightly refused to issue a birth certificate including both names of a gay couple who adopted a child.

When Catherine Middleton walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey on Friday — a willowy vision in white — she appeared noticeably thinner than she had in previous months. Her weight loss sparked rumors that she was on the Dukan diet — what appears to be a French spin on the high-protein Atkins diet — after Middleton's mother, Carole, acknowledged using the plan to shed pre-wedding pounds. Suddenly, the diet that sold 4 million copies in France was making headlines in the States, with its promise of instant weight loss without hunger, portion control or counting calories.

Donald Phelps, a longtime Seattle educator and community leader, was inaugurated Thursday as the new chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District, the largest junior college system in the country. Phelps, 56, is the first black to lead the nine-college system, whose population of more than 100,000 students is more than 70% ethnic minorities. About 2,000 people, including Mayor Tom Bradley and some of the new chancellor's close friends from Seattle, filled the Grand Theater at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College for the formal installation ceremony.

When Ann Morgan died and left her $500,000 estate to a male, much younger companion, there were no complaints--the beneficiary was her cat, Tinker. Morgan's will stipulates that her apartment be maintained and a caretaker be hired for Tinker, a fluffy white Turkish Angora type she described as "my best friend and companion." "She felt that once you took an animal, it was a lifelong commitment," said Ruth Ward, a friend of Morgan's.