Ventura portrait unveiled

St. Paul, Minn. — There’s a greater emphasis on Jesse “The Mind” Ventura than on “The Body” in his official gubernatorial portrait unveiled Thursday at the state Capitol.

The portrait features a stern-faced Ventura standing on a high perch under a dark, brooding sky.

The 36-by-48-inch portrait, which has a gilt, hand-carved frame, took its place with the portraits of 37 previous governors in the hallways of the Capitol. It will hang on the ground floor, near that of Ventura’s predecessor, Gov. Arne Carlson.

“I knew how to render him, I knew that in my heart and hands,” said the artist, Stephen Cepello of Los Angeles, who wrestled as Steve Strong in the late 1970s when he was a tag-team partner of Ventura.

Redford christens eco-building

Santa Monica, Calif. — He’s named a ski resort and film festival after his famous movie character, the Sundance Kid, but now Robert Redford’s name graces the front of an environmentally friendly building.

The 66-year-old actor and longtime conservationist helped inaugurate the Natural Resources Defense Council’s new Southern California office Thursday by snipping a green ribbon. It’s one of a handful of structures nationwide built to the country’s highest environmental standards.

“Right now it’s a very unusual building, but I hope in a few years it will be ordinary,” said Redford, a Santa Monica native who has been a member of the council’s board since 1975.

J.Lo. launches lingerie

New York — Jennifer Lopez has a new project: lingerie.

“Jennifer’s femininity and signature style have made her a fashion icon and we are confident that JLO Lingerie will bring some new excitement to intimate apparel,” Joe Gromek, president and chief executive officer of The Warnaco Group, said in a statement Wednesday.

The 33-year-old actress-singer has signed an exclusive global deal with Warnaco to manufacture and sell the collection, which will include bras, underwear and shapewear. There also will be a line of sleepwear and loungewear.

Navratilova still going strong

Moscow — Martina Navratilova plans to slow down — just not yet.

For now, there’s plenty of work, starting with next week’s Fed Cup semifinals in Moscow, a possible tuneup for the 2004 Olympics.

Navratilova and doubles partner Lisa Raymond will play in the Fed Cup Nov. 19-20 against Belgium for U.S. team captain Billie Jean King. The winner faces France or Russia in the finals Nov. 22-23.

Navratilova, 47, said she would do “whatever helps to make the team better,” from “fetching water” to playing singles if one of the other players — Raymond, Meghann Shaughnessy or Alexandra Stevenson — is injured.