Planning Ahead

With Gov. Pete Wilson’s presidential ambitions finally out in the open, we thought we would ponder a question California economic development planners may soon be asking: Where should the Pete Wilson Presidential Library be located?

Granted, for all anyone knows the governor may be sent packing back to Sacramento after the New Hampshire primary. Still, there are some logical favorites for what no doubt would be a tourism draw. They include:

* Anaheim: A Wilson presidential library could help blunt the loss of football’s Rams, the loss by Orange County of a couple of billion dollars in the investment debacle and the unraveling of Walt Disney Co.’s plans for a huge new resort next to Disneyland.

One possibility is that Disney could revive its plans to coincide with the library in the form of a new “PeteCot” resort.

* Carlsbad: The city is closer to Wilson’s hometown of San Diego. It’s also near another coming tourist attraction, a theme park being built by Lego. Indeed, using Legos to build the library could help construction costs.

* Summerland: A Wilson library could ease some of the disappointment this Santa Barbara community felt at not becoming the next Kennebunkport, San Clemente or Hyannis Port. That happened as President Clinton and his family spurned a home in Summerland that friends of the First Family bought for their use.

* Beverly Hills area: Stars have never been enamored with Wilson the way they have been with Clinton or former President Reagan, but that could change. Satirist Stan Freberg suggests that the Wilson library be located on the site of the famed Chasen’s restaurant, which closed over the weekend to make way for a mall.

“It would be the only presidential museum that has a chili booth inside to go along with the T-shirts and other mementos,” Freberg says.

Hoping for a Hit

As of this weekend, there were still replacement Angels in the outfield (and Dodgers for that matter) even as progress was made toward ending the lengthy baseball strike.

At Dodger Stadium, there also is a replacement team from Disney running the souvenir stands. Disney is being hired for the first time by a pro team to run and revamp its souvenir operations. But don’t expect to buy “Lion King” toys with the Tommy Lasorda pictures. Disney says it won’t sell its own merchandise there.

Awards That Aren’t Trashy

As if there weren’t enough award presentations already, now there is the inaugural National Office Recycling Awards ceremony. Honors include Recyclers of the Year. No lifetime achievement awards are being offered--yet.

Briefly. . .

Law Soot: Court TV last weekend aired a “Class Action Earth Day” program. . . . Oops: The first name of Lee Reherman, an aspiring economist who plays Hawk on the American Gladiators television show, was incorrectly listed here last week.