First lady Maria Shriver apologized Wednesday after getting some heat for photos and a video that showed her driving while chatting on her cell phone - a violation of the law her husband signed that prohibits driving and talking on the phone without a hands-free device.
After the photos showed up Tuesday on the celebrity gossip Web site TMZ, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised his Twitter followers that he would take "swift action" in response to his wife's repeat offenses.
Shriver issued an apology on the Web site for her Women's Conference organization and outlined the philanthropic punishment she's given herself.
"I'm sorry. I will be donating my favorite old cell phone to my Women's Conference partner Verizon through their HopeLine program that helps domestic violence shelters. I invite anyone else who wants to recycle their old phone to join me. That's my version of swift action with a higher purpose."
Schwarzengger mocked his wife's phone lapse Wednesday at Oracle's annual OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. Addressing the techies, Schwarzenegger said that "some day in the future, you will be developing technology so we can have a hands-free cell phone, even though my wife doesn't believe it yet.
"I promised the people I am going to create action and stop her. Of course, this is a no-win situation … because if I don't create action, the voters get upset. If I do create the action and stop her, then I get no action. So I'm in big trouble."
Call Torey Van Oot, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544. The Bee's Kevin Yamamura contributed to this report.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.