IMMIGRANT HEALTH: Davis Wants Time to Mull Over Prop. 187

      In what is being called the "touchiest legal question" yet to arise in his administration, Gov. Gray Davis wants another month before weighing in on the controversial Proposition 187, which would exclude illegal immigrants from non-emergency health services, public education and welfare. The measure was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge, and the Wilson administration appealed the decision -- an appeal Davis is being urged to drop. The AP/Contra Costa Times reports that a state lawyer Monday asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to "extend its suspension of proceedings" on Prop. 187 for another 30 days (4/6). The 30-day extension was also requested earlier in the day by the civil rights groups opposed to the measure, but supporters of Prop. 187, namely the Pacific Legal Foundation, asked the court last week to reject Davis' request for a 30-day stay (AP/Los Angeles Times, 4/6).