First thing Thursday, 10/20

♦ In his final regular column on the op-ed page, Times opinion editor Andrés Martinez proclaims "Lost" "probably the best TV drama ever" and dishes on this season's "West Wing" and "Commander in Chief."

♦ J.A. Adande (who is black) approves of the new NBA dress code: "Any time we're talking about the image of the NBA, we're talking about the perception of the African American male."

♦ President Bush will be in Beverly Hills tonight for a $1 million Republican fundraiser, but Gov. Schwarzenegger is keeping his distance. The Times double-teams with a George Skelton column.

♦ Print coverage of the mayor's Ramona Ripston appointment to the homeless agency focuses on the ACLU's lawsuits against the city over homeless services. LAT, DN, Breeze

♦ At 2 pm Villaraigosa briefs the press on his economic development policies toward the film, television and media industry.

♦ Spending limits were lifted in the 14th council district because the independent expenditures for Huizar exceed $50,000.

♦ Doug Dowie sued former employer Fleishman-Hillard again to get his legal bills covered, but the Times brief doesn't even say in which court system he filed.

♦ Rick Orlov of the Daily News took in the meeting of the mayors last night at the Days of Dialogue dinner.

♦ Mimi Chen has been hired to host a new 11 am to 2 pm Monday-through-Friday classical music show on KCSN (88.5 FM). It replaces the NPR program "Performance Today."

♦ Dodger Stadium is getting all new seats (except for the bleacher benches.) Plus the new high-roller seats on the field will get a makeover, becoming boxes with tables and better sightlines.

♦ Correction of the day, from the Daily News: "Due to an editing error, a story Wednesday incorrectly reported that 11,000 acres burned in the Verdugo Mountains fire. In fact, roughly 1,000 acres were damaged." Jittery fingers on the copy desk?