It has been quite a week.

First and foremost, I offer my deepest apologies to two gorgeous men — Charley Poe and Ben Sasse — who were slated to make the 50 Most Beautiful People of Capitol Hill list but failed to make it because they got lost in the editorial shuffle.

Poe, a lobbyist for Eastman Chemical Co., and Sasse, the chief of staff to Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) are promised slots on next year’s list, providing they don’t let themselves go and are still associated with Capitol Hill.

While these two men did not make the list due to technical difficulties, that does not mean The Hill regrets including anyone who was chosen.

There were many reactions to the list. Several contestants who made it wrote to say they didn’t deserve it or to say they didn’t necessarily like their photographs. Others who didn’t make the list wrote in angrily, or called, demanding to know why they hadn’t made it and why they took time from their busy schedules to get photographed.

They claimed that I had told them they had made the list when I had only informed them they had been nominated. None of the final decisions was made until a week before the list was published. To those people, I regret any misunderstanding or confusion.

On a happier note, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and his brother, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), were pleased that two of their aides made the list — the famous Bettina Inclan and Miguel Mendoza.

In other aftermath news, ITK has learned that two of our top-50 beauties are dating — they are Jeff Kimbell of Kimbell and Associates and Jessica Clement of the DCI Group.

Feel like reading more? Visit the following blogs: www.razzy.org/RazzyFiles/heinoushill.html and dceiver.blogspot.com/2005/07/highlights-from-hill-hotties-2005.html.

The Blunts and Dingell host baby shower for the Bartons

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and his relatively new wife, Abigail, recently joined forces with Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) to throw a baby shower for Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and his wife, Terri, who is due to have a baby boy in September.

The baby is the couple’s first child. The shower took place at the Blunts’ home in Georgetown.

When told how unusual it is for a Democrat to help host a party for a Republican, Barton spokesman Brooks Landgraf explained, “Mr. Barton is chairman of the Energy Committee, and Dingell is ranking member. I guess it doesn’t happen all the time.”

Apparently the Bartons cleaned up well, receiving several baby outfits from colleagues who attended — “nothing out of the ordinary for a baby shower,” Landgraf said. “ I know Mr. Barton really appreciated everybody going out of their way to support Mrs. Barton on their new child, and I know Mrs. Barton really appreciated it, too.”

The Bartons have been married a year and three months. This is the congressman’s second marriage.

Sighting: Congresswoman at Georgetown salon

According to a trusty reader, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) recently flocked to George’s Salon in Georgetown, where she was worked over by Omer Cevirme, a longtime stylist from Istanbul, Turkey.

“She was getting a new haircut and style,” an ITK spy wrote in, adding that Omer often handles House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jane Harman’s (R-Calif.) locks as well.

DeGette spokesman Josh Fried insists that his boss did not get a drastically different style at George’s Salon. “She just got a trim,” Fried said. “The congresswoman has a very laid-back, Western style, and that works very well for you.”

A George’s Salon spokesman verified that Cevirme is the stylist for several members of Congress and said he has a “very diverse clientele.” The spokesman said, however, that the more famous clients get directed to other stylists.

What, Pelosi isn’t famous enough?

Rohrabacher drinks from beer mug during meeting

Last week, one of ITK’s spies spotted Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) drinking from a big, round, glass beer mug during an Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee hearing on Syria and the oil-for-food scandal. The subcommittee, which Rohrabacher chairs, falls under the International Relations Committee.

“It occurred to me that I’ve seen him do that on several occasions,” the aide said. “I’m guessing that it’s actually apple juice, or something that just looks like beer, but it is strange that he would drink from a beer mug, while he’s presiding over subcommittee business.”

Indeed, it’s not beer. Rohrabacher spokeswoman Rebecca Rudman reasons, “It’s just the biggest mug we have in the office. He’ll often drink Red Bull or vitamin water. [It’s] most definitely not beer. By all means I’m sure he’ll have a beer out of work hours, but not during a committee hearing.”

Harris’s fan club at katherineharrissucks.com

Think you have a hard life? Try having a website directed at you that reads katherineharrissucks.com.

With her recent decision to forge ahead with a Senate bid against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Harris will no doubt face a mountain of criticism and opposition. This is the essence of katherineharrissucks.com — to ridicule the congresswoman before she barely begins her Senate campaign.

Enter the site and you’re welcomed with a T-shirt and an emblazoned seal that reads, “Florida Secretary of State, Katherine Harris sucks, In Katherine no Trust.”

The site goes on to list negative articles about Harris, including one titled “Bush brothers kick Harris to the curb.”

The 100-percent organic-cotton T-shirts can be purchased for $15.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rep. Schakowsky loses daughter-in-law to cancer

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) wanted her colleagues to know that Fiona Schakowsky, the beloved wife of her son Ian, died peacefully at home Sunday, July 31.

She had courageously fought colorectal cancer for nearly a year. She was 38 years old, the mother of Eve, 5 1/2, and William, nearly 4.

Her memorial service was yesterday at Weinstein’s Funeral Home in Wilmette, Ill.
In lieu of flowers, a donation in her honor to your favorite charity would be appreciated. Messages can be sent to Jan, her husband, Bob, and their family at 5533 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640.

Tips, complaints and sightings: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or 202-628-8516.
Announcements, which include births, engagements, deaths and any interesting party or major life event may be sent to the above address.