Robert Peterson

Robert A. Peterson of Newport Beach, a commercial real estate executive, died March 10 of cancer. He was 46. Peterson joined CB Commercial Real Estate Group in 1977 and in 1984 became head of the company's Anaheim office. In 1991, he was named an executive vice president in the company and its regional manager for Orange County. Born in Illinois, Peterson graduated from San Fernando State College and earned his master's degree in business administration at UC Berkeley.

Robert W. Peterson, a former newspaper editor who shed light on a little-known aspect of baseball history with his seminal book on the sport's Negro Leagues, "Only the Ball Was White," has died. He was 80. Peterson, who had lung cancer and emphysema, died of a heart attack Feb. 11 at a hospital near Allentown, Pa., according to his wife, Peggy. Published in 1970, "Only the Ball Was White" was the first detailed accounting of Negro baseball.

Robert Peterson, who during 24 years as Orange County schools superintendent founded the Academic Decathlon, which challenges the mental mettle of tens of thousands of students worldwide each year, has died. He was 82. Peterson died Monday in his hometown of Matthews, N.C., of a brain aneurysm, said his wife, Kitty. Peterson, who retired as county superintendent in 1990, profoundly affected students when he created the Academic Decathlon in 1968, educators said.

The Nobel Prize ignores the field of engineering, yet Alfred Nobel was educated as an engineer. Robert Peterson Woodland Hills

Robert Peterson, 72, an actor who rose to fame after filling in for an ailing Robert Goulet in the 1961 production of "Camelot," died of a heart attack Monday while playing handball in St. George, Utah, where he and his wife had lived the last two years. After substituting for Goulet more than 70 times, Peterson took over the role of Lancelot for eight months of "Camelot's" New York run and for its national tour. Peterson was born in Omaha and raised in Salt Lake City.

Fanship is nothing to brag about. At its worst, its slack, hollow passivity earns the current rejoinder, "Get a life!" Fanship implies that one derives excessive vicarious pleasure from the accomplishments--or even just the existence--of others. All that being said, I defer to no one in my attachment to professional basketball. My fanship, though, is not, I'm proud to report, of the jock-sniffing kind; I don't hustle my borderline celebrity for a chance to schmooze with Magic.

The Nobel Prize ignores the field of engineering, yet Alfred Nobel was educated as an engineer. Robert Peterson Woodland Hills

Your Sept. 3 editorial on the Hollywood Bowl and the acoustics gave no thought to the noise created by airplanes. A concert at times must be stopped due to the airplanes--not stopped due to bad acoustics, not stopped due to the freeway noise. ROBERT PETERSON Woodland Hills

Re "Peterson Leaves the Office but Not the Arena" (Jan. 6): Defeated Orange County Schools Supt. Robert Peterson's most recent attempts to further discredit the county grand jury system are disappointing and deserve comment. Peterson's contention that the so-called political motivation of a few subcommittee members influenced an entire 19-member grand jury panel is simply preposterous. Jury panels act on written citizen complaints concerning county agencies. How can Peterson be so knowledgeable on the subject of how and when committee recommendations are discussed and voted on by the full panel?

While making no findings of illegality or misuse of money, the Orange County Grand Jury issued a lengthy report Tuesday criticizing management of the Orange County Department of Education, its budgetary process and its pay for upper management. In its 39-page report, the grand jury said it decided 6 months ago to look into the department's management practices after disabled students found there were no buses to take them to the department's special schools last fall because the department had run out of money.

Robert Peterson, 72, an actor who rose to fame after filling in for an ailing Robert Goulet in the 1961 production of "Camelot," died of a heart attack Monday while playing handball in St. George, Utah, where he and his wife had lived the last two years. After substituting for Goulet more than 70 times, Peterson took over the role of Lancelot for eight months of "Camelot's" New York run and for its national tour. Peterson was born in Omaha and raised in Salt Lake City.

Robert Peterson, who during 24 years as Orange County schools superintendent founded the Academic Decathlon, which challenges the mental mettle of tens of thousands of students worldwide each year, has died. He was 82. Peterson died Monday in his hometown of Matthews, N.C., of a brain aneurysm, said his wife, Kitty. Peterson, who retired as county superintendent in 1990, profoundly affected students when he created the Academic Decathlon in 1968, educators said.

Your Sept. 3 editorial on the Hollywood Bowl and the acoustics gave no thought to the noise created by airplanes. A concert at times must be stopped due to the airplanes--not stopped due to bad acoustics, not stopped due to the freeway noise. ROBERT PETERSON Woodland Hills

Funeral services for Robert Oscar Peterson, founder of the Jack in the Box restaurant chain, will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. Peterson, 78, died Tuesday after a long fight with leukemia. The family has suggested that any memorial donations be made to the San Diego Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 740190, San Diego, Calif. 92174-0190.

Robert Oscar Peterson, a plain-spoken, take-charge entrepreneur who founded the Jack in the Box restaurant chain and was a major benefactor for the arts, higher education and liberal political causes, died Tuesday night at age 78. Peterson's wife, former San Diego Mayor Maureen O'Connor, was at his bedside at their home in Point Loma when he died. He had fought leukemia for more than a decade. "He did a lot of good in this world," said Peterson's longtime friend and attorney, Robert Ballantyne.

Robert A. Peterson of Newport Beach, a commercial real estate executive, died March 10 of cancer. He was 46. Peterson joined CB Commercial Real Estate Group in 1977 and in 1984 became head of the company's Anaheim office. In 1991, he was named an executive vice president in the company and its regional manager for Orange County. Born in Illinois, Peterson graduated from San Fernando State College and earned his master's degree in business administration at UC Berkeley.

When a relatively obscure college professor began testing the waters last December for a possible run at the county superintendent of schools, incumbent Robert Peterson brushed him off as just another in a long line of unsuccessful challengers. "He would be swimming upstream," Peterson said after the professor, John F. Dean, announced that he was considering becoming a candidate.

In a pair of countywide races that have generated intense debate among the candidates but little interest among the electorate, voters are overwhelmingly undecided in their choices for Orange County district attorney and county superintendent of schools, according to The Times Orange County poll. With less than two weeks to go before the election, nearly half the voters in Orange County remain undecided in the race between appointed incumbent Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi and Chief Deputy Dist.

Re "Peterson Leaves the Office but Not the Arena" (Jan. 6): Defeated Orange County Schools Supt. Robert Peterson's most recent attempts to further discredit the county grand jury system are disappointing and deserve comment. Peterson's contention that the so-called political motivation of a few subcommittee members influenced an entire 19-member grand jury panel is simply preposterous. Jury panels act on written citizen complaints concerning county agencies. How can Peterson be so knowledgeable on the subject of how and when committee recommendations are discussed and voted on by the full panel?

Before his election as county superintendent of schools, John F. Dean urged voters to oust longtime schools chief Robert Peterson and "let him enjoy his retirement." After nearly a quarter of a century in office, Dean contended, Peterson was burned out and entitled to rest on his laurels. Peterson, however, has no such intentions. "I don't believe in that," Peterson said Friday when asked if he would slow down and enjoy his golden years. "I think you ought to wear out rather than rust out."