A real bear:In the interests of fairness,...

A real bear:

In the interests of fairness, The Times’ Orange County edition owned up to a recent composing room snafu that resulted in Gov. Pete Wilson’s “activities being seamlessly blended with those of Samson the bear.”

The errant paragraph read:

“After his speech, the governor, accompanied by six children, his entourage and dozens of reporters, climbed out of his pool to pace along his chain-link fence, occasionally standing on his hind legs and tilting his head back.”

The hind legs and tilting head actually belonged to Samson, who previously gained fame when he was photographed while hot-tubbing (uninvited) at a Monrovia home. The bear now resides in the Orange County Zoo.

Wilson, in a letter to The Times, quipped: “Samson has been described in print as old, feeble and toothless. But to call him ‘the governor’--that’s unfairness no bear should have to bear.”

BRUINS MAKE MISTAKES, TOO: We received 38 phone calls, letters and faxes alerting us to The Times photo of the UCLA protesters whose handwritten sign contained the misspelling “univesities.” We also received one UCLA soft drink cup, which bore the schedule of the women’s basketball team and 16 misspellings of Pauley “Pavillion.”

Despite all the razzing, the Bruins won’t get any sympathy from USC fans. Especially USC fans who see the Toyota that Maggie O’Donnell of Pico Rivera spotted--the one with the license plate that says PPONSC.

ASKING FOR TROUBLE: Parking lots can be chaotic enough. But Jack Hallin of Monterey Park found a sign at East Los Angeles College (no relation to UCLA) that invites even more problems for drivers.

HOLY TOLEDO! And then there was the Internet missive, created by George Matteucci, which listed some “announcements that actually appeared in various church bulletins.”

They included:

* “Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.”

* “Thursday at 5 p.m. there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be Little Mothers will meet with the pastor in his study.”

* “For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.”

* “Thursday night--Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.”

* “Don’t let worry kill you--let the church help.”

By coincidence, we can now add to the list. A reader sent us a Covina church bulletin that asked: “Won’t you please come and spend some time in prayer with Our Diving Lord?”

THE FUNNY SIDE OF EXHAUSTION: “Lose 10 Pounds in a Day. Ask Me How,” says a billboard advertising Sunday’s L.A. Marathon. Prayer and medication to follow.

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To get you in the proper mood for this month’s Academy Awards, we note that actress Olivia de Havilland is believed to have set a record by thanking 27 people in her speech after winning as best actress for “To Each His Own” (1946). We read that in David Wallechinsky’s book “The 20th Century.” Thank you, Mr. Wallechinsky.