For the second year in a row, the grounds of the state Capitol has been converted to a media circus tent on the occasion of the governor's annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature this evening.

The office of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, which handles logistics because the speech is delivered in the Assembly chambers, sent advisories to the media more than two weeks ago advising that there would be far more demand for press credentials than could be accommodated. An overflow section for reporters to watch the address on television has been set up in the Capitol and the California Broadcasters Association has assembled a huge tent on the south lawn for TV reporters to do stand-up broadcasts and live interviews.

After the speech this evening, expect most legislators and state consitutional officers to make a bee-line for the tent, looking for some rare time in front of the camera.

It is Arnold Schwarzenegger's celebrity that is responsible for all this, of course. Still, there are some signs the novelty of Terminator as Governor has worn just a little more thin for his second State of the State: The number of TV satellite trucks has decreased by about a third from last year.