We were talking about "American Idol" at our 9 a.m. budget meeting this morning. We plan to report on who wins for tomorrow's paper. But we also know that many of you (and almost all of you who really care) will know who won by the time The Star arrives before dawn tomorrow.

So we spent much of our time talking about how we want to frame tomorrow's story. Here are some of the points we are looking at:

What does it mean to win "American Idol"? What does it mean that, after four years, we're still caught up in this? Why do we care? Is it just like the Super Bowl, but with a different audience demographic? What's the future of the show? What's the impact of the show?

Our staff is bouncing around those questions ... and others ... right now to find the angle we'll use for tomorrow's coverage.

Also for tomorrow's Page One, Sacramento bureau chief Timm Herdt (therdt@VenturaCountyStar.com) will cover and explain "suspense day" in the state Legislature. Today the Appropriations Committee of the Assembly will vote on 450 bills in a single day, killing many, rewriting some, gutting others and giving the green light for a few. Timm tells us how it happens, and why, and what happens to legislation of interest to Ventura County.

Today, Stephanie Hoops (shoops@VenturaCountyStar.com) is covering the memorial service for Judge Robert Bradley. That may make it to Page One tomorrow.

It's a big day for national/international news (in addition to "American Idol"): Senate approves the nomination of Priscilla Owen to the U.S. Court of Appeals; debate on stem cell research moves from the House to the Senate; a Amnesty International study terms the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay "the gulag of our time"; and U.S. forces are conducting another major crackdown on insurgents in Iraq.