So after LAist got over the initial shock of Melinda Doolittle (the best singer this year) getting the boot from American Idol last week, we had to sit through tonight's reality -- one hour of two OK performers, their three songs and packaged childhood retrospectives. Tonight's second-to-last show pitted the beatboxer (Blake Lewis) against the 17-year-old power singer (Jordin Sparks). They each sang their favorite song from a past show, a cover song they'd......

Our pals at Londonist are the first to jump on the orgy of Best Of lists, so heres what they have to say... A list for LA? Got to be film related, but because we don't have a film industry anymore I've had to alternate between a great flick of 2006 (with a British connection) and an associated great Brit. Don't worry you'll see what I mean. So in reverse order: 10 - Steve......

the good news - The Valley's Orange Line bus is a big hit: after just 7 months, it carries 22,000 passengers a day. It wasn't expected to reach those levels for another 14+ years. the good news pt 2 - Crime is down! Murder is down 10.8% citywide, overall crime down by 11%. Chief Bratton is smiling. the bad news - South LA accounts for 43% of all the homicides in the city —......