Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Conspiracy Corner:

A Hawaii Democratic state senator has introduced two bills he hopes will put an end to the "birther" debate about BARACK OBAMA's citizenship.
   Reason for the bills: Employees at the state's Department of Health have been overwhelmed with requests, which, by law, they must answer within 10 days, and it's becoming a waste of time and money.
   A spokesperson says the department, which has laid off four people in recent budget cuts, gets 10 to 20 e-mails every week asking for verification that the state has the birth certificate, even though she has repeatedly said she's seen the document. "A few of these requesters continue to pepper the Health Department with the same letters seeking the same information," even though they're repeatedly told "state law bars release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible interest" in the documents.
   One of the two bills would open up state birth records under strict conditions to people who currently have no legitimate right to see them and the other would permit government officials to ignore people who won't give up seeking them. (You can read the bills here and here to read the bills.
   All the requests are from the mainland --particularly Arizona, South Carolina and Florida, according to a health department spokesperson, "spurred on by these 'birther' blogs who direct them to bombard the Health Department even though they have no legitimate right to the information," she says. "They've been misled to believe that the state of Hawaii gives out birth information to anyone who requests it, but really our law protects birth information. We're entrusted with protecting people's vital records. To open them up would mean opening them up to identity theft and other types of concerns." (Maiman)

Looking at Logos:

What do you do when your bra size is 44-double-N? Sell advertising space!
   As ANOREI COLLINS put it in her eBay ad, "I get stared at all day long, wouldn't you like your business name/logo to be stared at right along with it?" She put herself up for grabs (you'll pardon the expression) and said she'd walk around Los Angeles tourist spots with a logo spread over her (ahem) 72 square inches of advertising space.
   Some of the places: Mann's Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach, LA-area shopping malls and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
   A weight loss supplement product (Calorad MG) shelled out big bucks for the rights.
   Phoner info: To talk to Anorei, e-mail her at Anorei@ymail.com.
   Editor's note: Thanks and a tip of the RBR reporter's fedora to Drew Scott, the morning guy and PD at WVNV-FM in Malone, NY, for the item.

Tiger update:

TIGER WOODS mania is hitting Augusta, GA.
   Ticket prices for the Masters have spiked with 7-day passes advertised as high as $38-hundred, with a minimum of two tickets per purchase.
   Half-day ticket for the final round of the Masters on Sunday: $500. And forget about trying to book a hotel room: Most are already book and many of those that aren't have quintupled their normal rates.
   FYI: In case you care, according to Radar online, ELIN NORDEGREN comes by Tiger's house on a daily basis, but she's not living with him, not sleeping with him, and not wearing his ring. (Maiman)

Grace notes:

Former BOX TOPS and BIG STAR frontman ALEX CHILTON is dead. The Times-Picayune newspaper of New Orleans says he died yesterday at an area hospital after experiencing chest pains. Alex was 59. He was just 16 years old when the sang lead for the Box Tops on such hits as "The Letter" which was a number one in 1967, and "Cry Like A Baby" which peaked at number 2 the following year.
   While Big Star never sold a ton of records, the early 1970's rock band from Memphis went on to influence countless bands like R.E.M., THE REPLACEMENTS, OASIS, THE BANGLES and many others. The Replacements even did a song called "Alex Chilton" in 1987. Alex had been on the road with a new lineup of Big Star for the last few years. They were scheduled to perform this Saturday at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. (Marino)

Making the rounds in Tinseltown:

"Aliens" star SIGOURNEY WEAVER will be playing a vampire queen in "Vamps," the upcoming romantic horror-comedy from "Clueless" writer and director AMY HECKERLING. The Hollywood Reporter says she'll rule over a bunch of beautiful young vampires (played by ALICIA SILVERSTONE and KRYSTEN RITTER) who "are living the good nightlife in New York until love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality."

Broadcast, cable and video news:

The LA Times says CONAN O'BRIEN is getting close to a deal with the Fox network, with an 11 pm start time that would give him a jump on JAY LENO and DAVID LETTERMAN's shows.