Nicole Richie Staying Sober by Lia Haberman Dec 10, 2003, 2:00 PM PT Simple Life sidekick Nicole Richie is keeping her nose clean, figuratively speaking. Richie was commended for staying sober by the California judge who sentenced her for felony drug possession in October. Lionel's offspring was in court last Friday, just days after the debut of her Fox reality series, for a progress report with Judge Lawrence Myra, who encouraged the budding TV star's drug-free efforts. "All of the indications are positive. You seem to be doing really well in maintaining sobriety. I'm really pleased with your progress," said Myra, according to World Entertainment Network. Richie, who's trying to get her own singing career off the ground, is due back in court for another progress report March 9. She was busted on a felony heroin-possession charge and a misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended license in Malibu last February. Richie was out on $10,000 bail during her Green Acres-like stint in Altus, Arkansas, alongside scandal-plagued costar Paris Hilton. But despite all their big city problems, the girls largely stayed out of trouble during their sojourn down south. Well, if you ignore the alleged incident that involved Richie pouring a bottle of bleach on a pool table during taping (producers purportedly paid the bar owner $300 to fix the problem). Indeed, the socialites minor infractions, like giving the finger to passing motorists and flashing the locals, have captivated the public's fascination. The show's premiere episode was watched by 13 million last week while the following night's installment, which featured the young ladies critiquing dairy employees for their "fat asses," did even better with 13.3 million viewers. In response, Fox is adding Simple Life episodes more quickly than Granny Curly can pluck a chicken. A so-called "bonus" episode of the riches-to-rags series (reportedly made up of outtakes) will air December 17, with rerun marathons set for Wednesday (the first two episodes) and December 30 (the first four episodes). Meanwhile, Industry buzz predicts that Fox will tap amateur porn star Hilton to star in another reality show for estimated $3 million, minus best friend Richie. Note to Nicole: Maybe sticking to the straight and narrow isn't such a good career move.