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Many of the most heartwarming tales of the holiday season come out of Austria. One thinks of Oberndorf and the little parish church where the organ broke down on Christmas Eve 1818 and so Father Mohr and his organist Franz Gruber wrote a simple song that could be sung with only the accompaniment of a guitar: "Silent Night." One thinks of the von Trapp family saying so long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, adieu to yieu and yieu and yieu and scramming Nazi Salzburg for a new life in Vermont. And now we have a third inspirational story from little Austria. One...

Many of the most heartwarming tales come out of Austria. One thinks of Oberndorf and the little parish church where the organ broke down on Christmas Eve 1818 and so Father Mohr and his organist Franz Gruber wrote a simple song that could be sung with only the accompaniment of a guitar: "Silent Night." One thinks of the von Trapp family saying so long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, adieu to yieu and yieu and yieu and scramming Nazi Salzburg for a new life in Vermont. And now we have a third inspirational story from little Austria. One day, a few years...

"I'll be back." That pledge from the Terminator traditionally has had special meaning in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown. But now — after the California governor refused to spare two convicted murderers in a row from their death sentences and showed no signs of relenting in another case up next month — the romance is over between Schwarzenegger and Graz, Austria's second-largest city. Acting on Schwarzenegger's orders two weeks after the Dec. 13 execution of former Crips gang leader Stanley Tookie Williams, city leaders Tuesday deleted all references to the bodybuilder-turned-governor on Web sites linked to Graz. Over the weekend, they also...

Arnold Schwarzenegger's name has been expunged from the websites of his Austrian hometown in the latest chapter of the row over the US death penalty. The editing came a day after the California governor's name was removed from Graz's main football stadium. Local politicians berated Mr Schwarzenegger - one of Graz's most famous sons - after he refused to pardon a prominent US death row inmate. The governor subsequently made clear he wanted nothing more to do with Graz. He returned a "ring of honour" the city awarded him in 1999 and demanded his name no longer be used in...

Schwarzenegger Name Removed From Stadium By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria - Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium. The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams. Late Sunday night or early Monday, authorities in the southern Austrian city unbolted the 20 letters spelling out...

VIENNA -- Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under the cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium. The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams.

VIENNA (Reuters) - Californian Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian home town of Graz removed his name from the city's stadium over Christmas, amid anger over his decision to deny clemency to a death row inmate. Austrian news agency APA showed the stadium's entrance displaying only its historical name, "Graz-Liebenau," and quoted an anonymous city official as saying Schwarzenegger's name had been removed overnight to avoid a public furor. Graz city officials were not reachable on Monday, a holiday in Austria. Left-wing politicians launched a petition drive in Graz to have the town rename the stadium because the Austrian-born governor allowed the...

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown quietly removed his name from a soccer stadium overnight, complying with the California governor's demand in a bitter dispute over his death penalty stance. Authorities late Sunday night or early Monday removed the large metal letters spelling out the action star-turned-politician's name from the 15,300-seat stadium in the southern city of Graz, taking advantage of the Christmas lull to avoid attracting attention. Schwarzenegger had written to the mayor of Graz a week ago asking that his name be removed after local activists called for the stadium to be renamed because of...

Austrian mayor tries to woo Schwarzenegger WILLIAM J. KOLEAssociated PressVIENNA, Austria - The mayor of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian hometown on Tuesday begged the California governor to reconsider his decision to end ties to the city after locals assailed him for his death penalty stance. Siegfried Nagl, mayor of the southern city of Graz, said he dashed off a letter to Schwarzenegger pleading with him not to return a ring of honor bestowed on him by officials in his birthplace in 1999 and reassuring him that most residents still admire him. "I hope that very soon we'll hear you say, 'I'll...

The following are excerpts from an AP story from Jenn Coleman today. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday told officials in his hometown in Austria to remove his name from a sports stadium and stop using his identity to promote the city. SNIP He asked that the lettering be removed by year's end. SNIP (Description of how Graz gave Arnold a ring) ``Since, however, the official Graz appears to no longer accept me as one of their own, this ring has lost its meaning and value to me. It is already in the mail,'' the governor wrote.

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday told officials in his hometown in Austria to remove his name from a sports stadium and stop using his name to promote the city. The governor's request came after politicians in Graz began a petition drive to rename the stadium, reacting to Schwarzenegger's decision last week to deny clemency to condemned inmate Stanley Tookie Williams. Opposition to the death penalty is strong in Austria. In a letter that began "Dear Mister Mayor," Schwarzenegger said he decided to spare the Graz city council "further concern" should he be forced to make other clemency decisions...

Political parties in California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Austrian hometown have started a petition drive to remove his name from a sports stadium. The dispute stems from the governor’s decision to deny clemency to Stanley Tookie Williams. The co-founder of the Crips gang was executed early Tuesday in San Quentin State Prison for four 1979 murders. Opposition to the death penalty is strong in Austria, and the once-popular Schwarzenegger has lost much of his shine since becoming California governor for refusing to spare convicted murderers on death row. The outcry was especially sharp after the clemency denial for Williams, who had...

Furious politicians from Arnold Schwarzenegger's home city have turned on him over his refusal to stop the execution of a reformed gangster. Councillors in the Austrian city of Graz yesterday voted to remove the California governor's name from the local football stadium. The move comes after the Terminator star denied clemency to convicted murderer Stanley 'Tookie'Williams, 51, the co-founder of Los Angeles' notorious Crips gang. Graz deputy mayor Walter Ferk said: said: 'It is annoying that we are being criticised because of Schwarzenegger's actions in California. 'It is not exactly admirable for us to be connected with the death penalty....