Tests conducted Friday at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center showed that Doree O'Connell, wife of state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell remains cancer-free following an intensive course of chemotherapy.

Mrs. O'Connell, 50, reared in Ventura and the daughter of a beloved local educator, the late Orlando Caputo, had a cancerous tumor removed from her brain in April. As a result of the positive test results, she will now be able to cut back substantially on her chemotherapy treatments.

Given the circumstances of his wife's health, Jack O'Connell was personally relieved at the results of the June election, in which he was re-elected by receiving a majority of votes for the nonpartisan office. Had he received less than 50 percent, he would have had to campaign for a runoff election in November. As it is, he is freed of the demands of campaigning — likely until 2010, when his second term will end.