Pete Wilson

Chief Justice Ronald M. George appointed Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Haley J. Fromholz on Tuesday to preside over more than 500 civil sex abuse claims against the Roman Catholic Church in Southern California. Fromholz, 65, takes over for Judge Marvin M. Lager, who voluntarily moves to a new court assignment Monday. Fromholz was a business litigator with the law firm Morrison & Foerster until Gov. Pete Wilson appointed him to the bench in 1994.

While Pete Wilson may not be racist in politics and life, you are known by the company you keep ("Pete's Second Coming," by Fred Dickey, May 9). The bottom line is that Proposition 187 was based on a fear of the enlarging Latino population and vote. If Wilson was only trying to force the federal government to take on its share of the expenses of the southern U.S. border, then his backing of an initiative as broad and sweeping as Proposition 187 was clearly wrong. California's Constitution has remedies for getting a sense of the voting population.

California's forgotten governor drapes his plaid-trousered legs into a chair and, with dry humor, recalls his five years in political exile. He walked the streets unnoticed, shopped at Ralphs, waited in line at the gas station, all without security. Who needs it when you're just another guy? Occasionally, he says, someone would recognize him. "I know you," they would say. "You're the anchor on Channel 7." Such was the obscure life of Pete Wilson.

A group of Latino activists is urging the San Diego City Council to block plans by a private foundation to erect a statue of Pete Wilson, the former mayor and governor, in downtown. Supporters want to place a statue of the former mayor outside Horton Plaza near statues of early downtown developer Alonzo Horton and Ernest W. Hahn, who built Horton Plaza.

Since he declared as a Republican candidate for governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has cast himself as a crusading outsider who wants to smash the influence of entrenched "special interests" in the state Capitol. Yet he has surrounded himself with GOP insiders who have ties to businesses with a stake in government actions. His key campaign strategist is Bob White, who formed a high-powered public affairs consulting firm in 1997 after serving as former Gov.

I had wanted to write about Peter Ueberroth's candidacy for governor while he was still in the race, but for some reason I held back. It had been no small moment, that Olympic triumph, and Ueberroth, tough, clever and charismatic, was its main author. Those same talents, I was willing to suggest, might have made him a great governor -- had he managed to stay in the race.

As Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigns to lead California, the shadow of another California governor is complicating his efforts to win support among Latinos. The governor is Pete Wilson, who won a second term in 1994 as the chief backer of Proposition 187, the successful ballot measure designed to deny illegal immigrants access to most public services.

Former Gov. Pete Wilson, relaxed and wearing his favorite bright green blazer, surveyed the crowd of 200 former aides and supporters gathered to fete him on his 70th birthday and recalled the famous words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. " 'Old soldiers never die; they just fade away,' " Wilson said. "Great speech. Not for me." Wilson is nearly five years out of office, but this former governor seems to have found his future. It's in the campaign to unseat his Democratic successor, Gov.

Sacramento Like any team, the Democrats have one old reliable play they love to run. And they'll keep running it as long as it works. It's called Pummel Pedro. It's about hammering former Gov. Pete Wilson for promoting Proposition 187, the 1994 ballot initiative that sought to deny public benefits to illegal immigrants. This play scores well with Latinos, theoretically, and drives them to the polls.

Less than a week after entering the race for governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has already shaken up his campaign team, demoting a top strategist and turning day-to-day operations over to aides who ran former Gov. Pete Wilson's office.