Lopez renewed, but no more big hair

November 29, 2006

Former Massachusetts Superior Court judge Maria Lopez is getting another year on TV. Her syndicated "Judge Maria Lopez" show has been picked up for a second season. "Yes, I've been reupped. I have a second year," Lopez said yesterday. "The great news about it is that they upgraded me to better station groups and better times," she said of the show that's produced by Sony Pictures Television. Lopez, who presides on TV with her trademark caustic style, has already wrapped production on the first season, said her Los Angeles agent, Bill Thompson. She recently traveled to Los Angeles and Texas to promote her show, and said she's been getting recognized more often. "I was in the airport baggage claim area . . . and a man said to me, 'Hey, you're that judge I watch on TV,' " said Lopez. Alas, she didn't have handy any of that promotional "Maria Lopez" hot sauce that boasts "Justice Will be Served Spicy." "The only trinket I had was a keychain with my picture on it," said Lopez. Next season's episodes will start airing in the fall , and her trusty court officer, Pete Rodriquez, will also be returning. But there's one thing that will change. "This first year," she says, "I have big hair with all this hairspray and I can't put my glasses on my head," a habit that became her trademark during her 14 years on the state bench. "They've got to get me a hairdo that let's me put my glasses on my head."

His style is Verdi good

Stylist and "interior designer to the stars" Robert Verdi knows that things he does are watched as much as he watches the trends. "Oh, I'd love to say that I don't make mistakes, but I do," said Verdi, who has cohosted "Surprise by Design" and "Fashion Police." "If I walked out of the bathroom with tissue stuck on my shoe, people would notice," he said, adding with a chuckle: "And some people would try and copy the trend." Verdi will be at the West Elm store in the Fenway today from noon to 2 p.m. offering advice and tips on what people can do with their own homes. "I'm not going to solve anyone's biggest problems in a few hours at a store," said Verdi. "But I hope to empower them to be bold and make choices that make them happy."

Ballet benefit was sparkling affair

Boston Ballet principal dancer Tai Jimenez tried on the $2.8 million Cartier Collection ruby- and- diamond necklace at Monday night's Boston Ballet benefit on Newbury Street. . . . Looks like Regan Communications is about to extend its reach. . . . And Kevin Shea sure gets around. Word is the former Sox flack has stepped down as the Archdiocese of Boston's director of media relations to take a position at Boston College. Shea will succeed Jim Lehane as executive assistant to the Rev. William Leahy , president of BC. (Lehane left last June to become director of the Sandwich Community School.)

Jehan Sadat, the former first lady of Egypt, got a quick tour of Bunker Hill Community College's art gallery yesterday from the school's president, Mary L. Fifield, before giving an address as part of the Compelling Conversations Speaker Series. . . . Funnyman Bill Murray stopped by Top Shelf, Tim Panagopoulos's new Beacon Hill food and liquor store on Cambridge Street near the T stop, the other day. . . . Senator Joe Biden visited NECN studios for an interview with Chet Curtis. In the two-part show that starts tonight, Biden said: "I've decided I am going to run [for president]." Biden said he'd be surprised if Senator Barack Obama seeks the presidency. And Biden said he's not ready to rule out Senator John Kerry making another bid for the Oval Office. "I don't count John out." . . . Martii Garcia, the Saugus sweetheart who impressed Diddy enough to make it to the finale of his MTV show "Making the Band 3," has a brand new bag. The go-go gal, who regularly shakes it at Rain, has been tapped by Waterworks owner Ed Kane to create a Pussycat Dolls-style "dance review," which would perform at Kane's club the Big Easy. (The Boylston Place bar will be renamed Mansion in January.) Martii tells us she'll be auditioning prospective Dolls Sunday at the Big Easy. . . . Looks like Regan Communications is about to extend its reach. We're told that George Regan just bought Pierce-Cote Advertising, an Osterville-based ad firm catering to online needs.

Joanna Weiss of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.