Well, L'affaire Leon at the Weekly certainly didn't come to a conclusion we expected. We crawled out of bed this morning only to read that he'll no longer be appearing in their pages. If you want to read his Infiltrator features, you'll have to buy his books. But was this really all Harmon's fault? Or is it a symptom of much bigger problems at the Weekly? Morale, and therefore quality, may be in decline......

Last week's winner, the East Bay Express: Life sucks in Haiti. Hybrids -- they may look cute, but their silent wheels make them angels of death for visually-impaired pedestrians! Cover article: Day in the life of the Homeland Security agent patrolling the bay in a gunboat. Down In Front thought the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show blew. Yay, Green Day! Yay, Blackalicious! And Savage Love: a baaaaaad experience with a mistaken-gender date, and an invitation to send your thoughts about it to Dan. Should be an interesting column next week! And some sad news from the other New Times affiliate, the SF Weekly: we got a tip that publisher John Mecklin will be leaving, as of next week. No! Who will Mr. Brugman fight with now? Thanks for all the fun over the last eight years, Mr. Mecklin, and we wish you the best of luck for whatever you do next. Weekly: Matt Smith's hilariously bad afternoon the day the beer truck blew up, which segues only somewhat seamlessly into a discussion about how we're misusing transportation money from Congress. Awesome Ted Rall about disasters across this great land. Are you an apologist for FEMA? Cover article: the Lower Fillmore area -- in-fighting about its redevelopment. Is Little Star better than Zachary's (or is it just SF snobbery?) The lead singer from Xiu Xiu. And Mecklin loves trance music. We'll miss you, big guy! After the jump: The Bay Guardian, the Metro, and the pick of the week....

...to avoid the State of the Union address! The The Weekly. Editor John Mecklin says maybe the reason why the Guardian sued their parent corporation is because Brugmann makes bad business decisions (long litany of bad business decisions is then detailed). Gawkeresque levels of media-on-media violence! Cover article: Nate Cavalieri on Shawn Richard, a man who integrates gang members back into everyday society. SF Indiefest this week! Music reviewer misses Luna like a BFF. And Savage Love: sexual fantasies, not having sex with someone when you don't actually like them, and whether or not to have sex with someone asleep. The Guardian. Political pages: Nader needs cash, local news media sucks. Getting better deals on cable. The guy on the cover of the Guardian two weeks ago got his job back. Food: kohlrabi! Cover article: Neck Face (plus a Neck Face interview)! Sundance blew. SF Indiefest this week! Go to the Can't Stop Won't Stop release party next Tuesday! And Ashlee Simpson's awesome (writer claims that she sings at about same level as Conor Oberst). ...