Lawmakers suffering with gout

At least two members of Congress have gout, a condition in which high levels of acid accumulate in the bloodstream, causing attacks of acute arthritis. They include Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who has it in his feet, and Del. Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa).

Faleomavaega spokeswoman Lisa Williams refused to comment on her boss’s condition, saying, “We’re not commenting one way or another.”

Williams later called ITK back to angrily insist that it not be known that she had declined to comment. But alas, she has declined to comment.

{mosads}Word around Capitol Hill is that Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) has gout. But it’s not true. “It had been joked about because he has a limp,” said Honda spokesman Michael Shank. “No, the congressman doesn’t have gout. I think it’s more a sore knee and back.”

Gout sufferers are advised not to eat shellfish or red meat.

Murtha has knee surgery; Tonya Harding a suspect?

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has a bum knee, but don’t blame Tonya Harding.

The earmark-loving Murtha underwent knee surgery Monday afternoon at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Va.

Asked about the injury, Murtha spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said, “Apparently, Tonya Harding doesn’t like earmarks either,” adding his boss’s “gymnastic career is obviously over.”

Turning more serious, Mazonkey explained that Murtha and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last May were visiting troops at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center when he fell off one of the machines in the amputee center and hit his knee.

“Ever since then it has been driving him nuts,” Mazonkey said.

Murtha didn’t have his surgery in Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district, opting to have a world-renowned surgeon, Dr. Gerard Engh, perform the procedure. Engh and his family are known for pioneering the latest in research for and development of knee implants.

Rep. Lee: More accessible at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba than in D.C.

Here in Washington, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, hardly ever comes off the House floor for a reporter’s press request.

But in Havana, apparently, she’s pretty accessible.

Last Friday she released a statement to the press saying that while in Havana she’d hold daily press briefings between April 4 and April 8. Press briefings for the seven-member delegation are scheduled each morning from 7:45 a.m. to 8 a.m. at the five-star Hotel Nacional de Cuba, located just footsteps from the sea and featured famously in “The Godfather: Part II.”

Other lawmakers on the trip include Democratic Reps. Mel Watt (N.C.), Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.), Marcia Fudge (Ohio), Mike Honda (Calif.), Bobby Rush (Ill.) and Laura Richardson (Calif.).

Lawmakers get makeovers in new Directory

Bono Mack, Bachmann, Boxer and Sanchez change hairdos

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) shifted from dark brown locks to sun-kissed highlights and bangs in the new congressional directory. Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) moved from dark tresses with gray highlights to blond. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) went from a classic stiff bob to a swept-back, softer look. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) had the boldest change: She switched from a reddish hue to blond.

Kicking back with Weiner

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) is looking more laid-back these days, at least in the new Congressional Directory. His old photo had him looking ultra-congressional before a backdrop of the Capitol Dome, buttoned up in a suit, tie and blazer.

The new, suave Weiner has a white backdrop. He is sporting a white button-down shirt, but with his hands covering his chest, there’s no saying whether he’s really wearing a tie. The light hits the left side of his face, casting a mysterious shadow onto the opposing cheek. One imagines him holding a glass of Courvoisier under the frame.

(Weiner’s office declined to comment on the picture change.)

Michelle Obama’s hairdresser in town

Michelle Obama may be the down-to-earth first lady who plants vegetables in the White House garden and hugs British schoolchildren after a heartfelt speech encouraging young girls, but when it comes to her hair?

She’s all Beverly Hills.

Obama’s Beverly Hills-based hairdresser, Johnny Wright, is in Washington this week to meet with political insiders and get acquainted with the city.

Few can help but notice how great the first lady’s coif has been looking of late. It’s smooth, soft and stylish.

Wright plans to soon set up shop in Washington to be on call full time for Obama. He’s also looking forward to bringing a new kind of glamour to the women of D.C.

They needn’t worry. He has worked on the likes of Vivica Fox (“Independence Day,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Candace Bushnell (creator of “Sex and the City”).

Bus to the rescue for fashionable staffers

To all those well-dressed Senate women sick of getting their high heels stuck in the cobblestones while trudging from Union Station to the Capitol: A red bus is waiting to sweep you off your feet.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority recently announced a new Circulator bus service that will start at Union Station and pass the Capitol en route to the Navy Yard Metro station.

The bus has a stop at the corner of First Street NE and Maryland Avenue NE, making for a more manageable fashion-walk to the Russell and Hart buildings or the Capitol.

House aides could benefit from the new route, too. Anyone living around Eastern Market or Navy Yard can hop on the bus at a few different stops and get off at the corner of Second Street SE and Independence Avenue SE, just outside the Library of Congress’s James Madison Building.

The new route operates from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and buses are scheduled to run every 10 minutes. Fare is $1. For more information, go to www.dc
circulator.com.

Dr. Laura — not in person, but live

If hearing Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s voice on the radio isn’t enough for her Washington-area fans, the conservative commentator’s face will be on local big screens next month.

Schlessinger announced a special show called “Dr. Laura Live! In Praise of Mom” that will be broadcast May 5 in seven movie theaters in Washington and the Virginia and Maryland suburbs.

“Dr. Laura will recount her own life as a career woman turned stay-at-home mom showing her journey from mis-conception to conception to birth to the joys and horrors of parenting during this live stage show,” the announcement says. She is scheduled to do the live show from a theater at the University of California, Irvine.

The show, which is slated to run in 450 theaters around the country, coincides with the release of Schlessinger’s newest book, In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms. An encore performance is scheduled for May 6.

More information: Visit www.fathomevents.com.