NAMES & FACES

2 Charged in McConaughey Incident

Two surfers have been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly attacking a photographer as he tried to shoot pictures of actor Matthew McConaughey surfing, prosecutors said.

Skylar Peak, 24, and Philip Hildebrand, 30, are accused of confronting several paparazzi who showed up on a Malibu, Calif., beach in June to take pictures and film McConaughey. One of the photographers told authorities that the surfers jumped him and threw his camera in the ocean after demanding that he put his equipment away.

McConaughey was not involved in the scuffle, which was one of several high-profile incidents that prompted Malibu and other Los Angeles area officials to seek ways to curb the paparazzi.

Peak and Hildebrand will be arraigned in October, the Associated Press reports.

D.C. Events That Really Rate

The most important annual political happening in Washington each year -- at least for the people who have to plan such things -- is the State of the Union address, with the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in second place and the Gridiron Club dinner in third.

BizBash magazine, which covers the event-planning industry, is about to publish its list of the city's top recurring bashes across several categories.

Early word is that the Kennedy Center Honors ranked as the top arts event, while the State of the Union won in the politics-and-journalism slot. The AT&T National Golf Tournament took the honors in sports.

The list, due out next week, was vetted by an advisory board of experts, "the way they do the Fortune 500," BizBash Media CEO David Adler told us. Adler said these are the events "people plan their lives around -- not necessarily the celebrities who attend, but the people who plan them."

Other list-toppers:

· Benefit: Fight Night and Knock Out Abuse.