Honoring Common Sense, July 23, 2007

Last Friday, California broadcasting icon Pete Wilson went into Stanford Medical Center for what supposed to be a routine hip replacement procedure. Acording to reports, all was going well until Pete went into cardiac arrest. He, sadly, never recovered.

Today, a stunned Bay Area asks why and how something like this could happen to a man, who by all accounts, was a picture of perfect health except for his recent hip injury. That is a question that will be answered in time I'm sure. But for now Pete Wilson is being remembered as a man who loved his family. He loved California and he loved to debate. Yes, Pete Wilson loved to debate. Not from the left and not from the right. Instead, Pete would engage listeners, viewers, and those around him from a position he commonly referred to as common sense. That, in and of itself, made Pete a much welcomed breath of fresh air in a decidedly and overwhelmingly liberal California. Part of that may be due to the fact that he was born and raised in the Midwestern United States. Throughout his career, he carried himself with style, professionalism, and a personality that made him a perfect fit here in California. All the while never losing the values and common sense instilled in him as child growing up in the Midwest.

In San Francisco, Pete worked for ABC owned and operated KGO AM 810 and ABC7 KGO-TV. On the KGO radio side Pete did a mid afternoon talk show. Each day at the shows conclusion he would go downstairs,put on his TV news anchor hat, and prepare for his 6pm newscast on ABC7.

For those of us who listened or watched on a regular basis......it's almost like losing a good friend or a member of your extended family. All we can do is offer our prayers and condolences to Pete's family and friends.

If you would like to read what Pete's TV colleagues are saying......click here.

From the Radio side......lots of audio remembrances and Pete's last monologue from the beginning of this past Wednesday's show(which, sadly, would turn out to be his last).

God Speed Pete................we will miss you.

Til Next time...............

originally posted 7-23-07 on Yahoo 360