San Gabriel Valley

FAR AWAY: If there’s a protest vigil on a tony Pasadena street, and the protestee--Gov. Pete Wilson--is tucked so far inside a mansion that he can’t hear it, does it make a noise?

After a Tuesday evening rally in support of affirmative action on the Pasadena City Hall steps, about 10 activists, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mayor Bill Paparian, drove to the gate of a San Rafael home where the governor was reported to be having a fund-raiser. After the mayor ordered the police to remove the barricades blocking the street in front of the home, the small group prayed and sang outside the gate.

Rally organizers originally believed that the fund-raiser would be held within walking distance of the vigil, allowing all 300 or so participants to march through the streets of Pasadena to confront the governor on his affirmative action views. But when it was determined that the governor was actually dining several miles away, only a handful of die-hards made the trek by car.