The Skinny

It’s baby season! The Capitol klatch welcomed two newbies this week. L.A. Times Capitol reporter Evan Halper and his wife, Erin, welcomed Nico Sage Halper in the early hours last Thursday morning. And GOP party official/conservative blogger extraordinaire Jon Fleishman and his wife, Maureen, are the new, doting parents of Matthew Ryan Fleischman. At the preliminary weigh-in, Halper tipped the scales at 7 lbs, 2 oz, while Fleischman fils weighed in at 6 lbs, 12 oz. Experts say while Halper has the better jab, Fleischman has shown signs of a potent right cross. … Speaking of new arrivals, the revolving door is spinning in the office of Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi. Out is former chief of staff Lara Flynn. Flynn has been replaced by Stan Di Orio, former chief to Laura Richardson, who opted not to follow her former boss to Washington. Hayashi has also hired Tara Getty, who has worked with Hayashi’s political consultant, Richie Ross. … And it was a bad news week for the opponents of a proposed change in the state’s term-limits law. Paul Jacob, the head of U.S. Term Limits, the group opposing the initiative, was indicted earlier this week on charges of campaign fraud. Of course, the proponents of the initiative were right there to gloat. “U.S. Term Limits under Jacob’s direction has filed frivolous lawsuit after frivolous lawsuit and skirted campaign-finance laws. It appears the rule of law has finally caught up with him,” said spokesman Richard Stapler. From our Unintentionally Funny files, this announcement from the governor’s press office tickled our funny bone. “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have no planned public events on Thursday, October 4. He will hold private meetings in Shanghai, China, and Scotts Valley, CA.”