Charges filed in death of Angels pitcher

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-angels11-2009apr11,0,7295106.story
I really enjoyed this article. A lot of that can probably be contributed to the human interest aspect of the topic. When such a tragic thing happens to such a young, talented individual, it is hard to not become drawn into the story.
I felt that the video aspect of the story illustrated a good use of multi-media. The reactions that it illustrated were emotions that could not be captured in text.
I thought that the article addressed an emotional topic with a very objective and factual manner, without coming off as aloof or cold. The reporter did a good job at conveying that it was not just a baseball star that fell victim to a drunk driver, but also three other young people who were not famous.

Crime Levels Down

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-crime-down1-2009apr01,0,1555647.story

I thought the lead for this story was put together well. It is simple, to the point, and factual. I seem to like leads like that the best.
It was nice to read a story that emphasized a hopeful aspect of crime in LA rather than another melancholy article. I felt that the reporters - Rubin and Blankstein - paid a good homage to Chief Bratton's success in driving down crime without becoming a profile piece.
Usually when a reporter jumps to topics different from their lead or headline, I feel like the piece is unfocused, but the reporters were able to incorporate the crime statistics of other regions without creating that feeling.
I thought the use of graphics was nice, but I felt that they were small and not extremely relevant to the piece.
Overall, it was very nice to see a positive aspect of the crime world in LA and its good to know that despite a recession, people still have some sense about them.