Baywatch

"Baywatch" actress Alexandra Paul and another woman were arrested Monday after blocking the path of trucks hauling GM's pioneering EV1 electric cars to Arizona to be destroyed, police said. Colette Divine and Paul, who played Lt. Stephanie Holden on the TV series, were booked on suspicion of failing to obey an officer, Lt. William Berry said. The two were among dozens of electric car supporters holding an around-the-clock vigil outside a General Motors Corp.

In his introductory lecture for "The Politics of Hollywood," an upper-division course at the University of Texas, government professor David Prindle argues that studying the film and TV industries is not a frivolous pursuit. "We as a nation often use the myths and images from entertainment in public debate about policy," Prindle says.

A former "Baywatch" actor is entitled to his day in court on claims that he was humiliated and his career compromised when Playgirl magazine placed his bare-chested photo on its cover, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The January 1999 cover featured Jose Solano Jr. under the headline "Prime Time's Sexy Young Stars Exposed," which could give the false impression that Solano appeared nude inside the issue and that he agreed to be so featured, the court ruled. Thursday's decision by the U.S.

It takes only two to tangle, so what do you get when you have a dozen party boats with elbow-to-elbow crowds, and more than 50 skiffs gathering in a small area of the Santa Monica Bay? "In a word, a nightmare," answered Mike Fadely, a Redondo Sportfishing relief skipper, who has had plenty of work lately. "But this is not to be unexpected when the big dumb fish are biting only five miles away." The big dumb fish in question are white seabass, a top draw at Santa Catalina Island for weeks.

Some time ago, Robert Young Pelton, author of "The World's Most Dangerous Places" (Fielding Worldwide Inc., 1998), told me something I can't get out of my mind. I asked him why he thought American women travelers are often hassled by men in foreign countries, to which he replied, " 'Baywatch' is one of the most widely syndicated television programs in the world." I got the connection.

It's not deep. It's not classy. It's not subtle. It's not even original. It's just really, really fun. You've gotta be in the mood, but if you are, FX's new spoof "Son of the Beach" (tonight at 10:30) is one rip-roaring way to spend a half-hour. Warning: It's produced by Howard Stern. You know the drill. Babes. Lingerie. Sex jokes. Bad taste. Really bad taste. Really, really bad taste. And real wit. I like to think of Stern as a jocular genius who too often uses his powers for evil.

Mr. K Goes to Washington: Off-Kilter's carpetbagger campaign for the U.S. Senate seat from New York continues to roll forward. Although we couldn't afford a $1.7-million house like the pad the Clintons just bought, we did find a great deal on a cardboard box in Central Park that was owned by a homeless person. And we're in escrow on a summer box in the Hamptons. We've also been attracting campaign donations with our official slogan: "Will Legislate for Food."

It's one small step for Doug Schwartz, one giant step for Hooters. As the executive producer of "Baywatch," Schwartz knows a thing or two about Hooters. Now he's turning his expertise into a cottage fries industry as one of the owners of the new Hooters restaurant in Santa Monica. But this isn't just any Hooters. This is the first Hooters in L.A., which can only mean one thing: "Hooters" the movie, followed by "Hooters" the TV series.

Flamboyant professional basketball player Dennis Rodman, who wed former "Baywatch" actress Carmen Electra 10 days ago in a chapel in Las Vegas, filed annulment papers Monday, according to representatives of the bride and groom. Rodman, who lives in Newport Beach, stated in a petition filed in Orange County Superior Court that he had not acted out of a "sound mind," said Gerry Phillips, the Orange County-based attorney who filed the petition on behalf of the Chicago Bulls star.