Back to my quasi-vacation

If I post at all in the next few days, it will be of the quick variety. Meanwhile, perusing the July logs has been fun. L.A. Observed set new single-month highs for visits and pages read, with the latter total jumping the most of any month since the blog began. The year's 2.27 million pages viewed so far is already way ahead of the 2004 total. You are spending more time here (average 422 seconds per visit) and another 1,603 of you added L.A. Observed to your browser favorites. It's great to see that so many readers in Los Angeles and around the country get what the site is about and find it useful. Please keep telling me what you do and don't like—I read and think about every comment sent in, even if I'm slow to respond.

Most clicked-on stories in July:

1 Text of L.A. Times ethics code
2 Big news coming at LAT
3 Death of Freddy Soto
4 Carolyn Hughes and Derek Lowe
5 The Moron Society
6 Kinsley era ending
7 Ethics quiz at New York Times
8 Marc Cooper profiled by Blogometer
9 Murder of Deputy Jerry Ortiz
10 Nikki Finke on Michael Kinsley

July's extensive linkage to coverage of the new mayor and City Hall (and the best month yet for exclusive original reports) was topped off by a Best of the Web tribute from Forbes. The L.A. Independent also wrote about the blog. Thanks to these sites that sent the most traffic our way during the month (not counting Google, the mother of all referrers.) In order: Romenesko, Instapundit, L.A. Voice, Sportsjournalists.com, Jossip.com, The Huffington Post, Sports by Brooks, Patterico, Around the Capitol, Sons of Sam Horn