The 'Bandwagon Benefactors' award - Whatever the fortunes of our home team —— the Rancho Buena Vista Little League All-Stars —— in the Little League World Series, all the generous people and organizations that pitched in to help fill the South Williamsport, Pa., stands with their folks are winners already.

Among those deserving credit for funding the families' flights and hotel tabs are the $10,000 contributors (the San Diego Padres, the city of Vista and Viejas Casino), the $5,000 donors (the San Diego Union-Tribune, Today's Local News and the North County Times) and the many other individuals and groups who anted up to help supply a cheering section for the pride of North County. All this ninth-inning charity helped the league exceed its fund-raising goal of $52,000 by more than $10,000, which will go for new uniforms, field improvements and scholarships for kids who can't afford to play, a league organizer said.

We hope the RBV league gives a refund to one of its donors: its sister league, the Vista American Little League, which chipped in $1,000. The Vista American Little League has had a rough year —— its field closed in February for state-ordered soil testing, and the league has struggled to find a new home field —— but that didn't get in the way of these generous good sports.

The 'Will of the People' award - A rose to the California Supreme Court, which wisely allowed Proposition 77 to reach the ballot. Opponents sought to block voters from considering the initiative on grounds that the official version varied slightly from the version used in a petition drive to qualify the measure. Although the justices reserved the right to look again at the legality of Prop. 77 if voters approve the initiative, the state's high court acted with common sense: Any differences in language were slight and technical, not fundamental.

Now voters can decide if California's dysfunctional system of drawing legislative districts will be replaced with a process that gives democracy a fighting chance. In the last redistricting, politicians of both parties reached a backroom deal to ensure that incumbents would face little competition to re-election. If Prop. 77 succeeds, a panel of retired judges will draw political boundaries that make geographic and demographic sense.

The 'Election Fatigue' award - A raspberry to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature for failing to agree on a series of compromises that would have made the Nov. 8 special election unnecessary. Eight initiatives have qualified for the ballot. All are controversial, some are very important, yet all could have waited for the June primary or the 2006 general election.

Now California will endure yet another contentious, expensive special election. Schwarzenegger is barnstorming the nation raising money. Public employee unions pledge to raise $100 million or more from members' dues to fight him. In Washington, the Federal Election Commission gave members of Congress permission to raise unlimited "soft money" from unions, corporations and other donors —- the cash will almost certainly be used to combat the governor's redistricting measure.

The result is California's third consecutive season of misleading TV advertisements and political mudslinging. Two every four years was plenty, thank you.