State Senate candidate George Runner and his wife, Assemblymember Sharon Runner, are poised to be the first husband and wife team to serve in the Legislature at the same time. George Runner was first elected in 1996 to serve in the Assembly and was termed out in 2002. His wife succeeded him and was up for re-election yesterday. more ›

An important issue in the case is whether the bobbleheads are a political parody, and thus entitled to protection under the First Amendment, or an incursion on a celebrity’s right of publicity. While Schwarzenegger’s hardly the first celebrity-turned-politician (Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono and Jesse Ventura come to mind), he’s certainly milking his pop cultural persona for political gain —invoking the SNL Swarzenegger parody catchphrase—which is sort of puzzling, as Arnold’s lawyers insist the toy’s infringement trades more on Arnold’s persona as an entertainment figure than a politician. Seems like he’s playing it both ways. more ›