PASSAGES: Arnold Gets Political

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/12/2002 at 10:45 AM EDT

DONATED: Arnold Schwarzenegger, 55, has put $1 million of his financial muscle behind a November California ballot measure to fund after-school and early-morning programs, the Associated Press reports. The measure, Proposition 49, is widely viewed as a means by which Schwarzenegger can establish his policy credentials and provide an inroad for his eventual run for public office, says the news service. ... DIED: Michael "Mikey" Houser, guitarist and singer for the rock band Widespread Panic, 40, died Saturday after a battle with pancreatic cancer, according to the band's Web site. Houser began playing in 1982 with the band's vocalist, John Bell, while both were students at the University of Georgia. The band formed three years later with bass player Dave Schools, percussionist Domingo Ortiz and keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, says the AP. ... CAST: Ozzy and Sharon's son, Jack Osbourne, 16, will appear in the Oct. 2 season premiere of the WB series "Dawson's Creek" as a childhood friend of Audrey (Busy Philipps) who hitches a ride with Pacey (Joshua Jackson). (The WB, like PEOPLE, is part of AOL Time Warner.) The AP reports that film crews from MTV's reality series "The Osbournes" were at Duke University last week to capture the action.