Tuesdays

Anyone who has booked a last-minute flight knows you pay more when you wait. But you also pay more if you book too early. What's too early? What's too late? Pity the poor fare geek trying to hit that elusive sweet spot. Discount travel site Cheapair.com has crunched a year's worth of booking data and found some answers to these and other eternal travel questions, including: - Best time to book a domestic flight? Seven weeks in advance. - Best time to book an international flight?

Eric Garcetti's lead in the Los Angeles mayor's race has narrowed to seven percentage points, but his strength among conservatives has blocked rival Wendy Greuel from securing a San Fernando Valley base that is vital to her chances, according to a new USC Price/Los Angeles Times poll. As the candidates and their partisans swarmed across the city in advance of Tuesday's runoff election, Garcetti, a city councilman from Silver Lake, held a 48% to 41% lead, the survey found. Voters in the Valley and every other key region of Los Angeles favored him over Greuel, the city controller.

Speed Read is moving to Tuesdays.

San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres was suspended for the remainder of his team's Western Conference semifinal playoff series against the Kings - a ban of up to six games - for what the NHL judged was an illegal hit to the head of Kings center Jarret Stoll on Tuesday. The decision was announced Thursday by Brendan Shanahan, the league's director of player safety, after a hearing in New York that was attended by Torres. Stoll, one of the Kings' primary penalty-killing forwards and a valued third-line center, probably sustained a concussion from the hit, which occurred near the end of the second period of the Kings' 2-0 victory in the series opener.

Tom Plate's column, which normally runs on Tuesdays, will appear on Wednesday.

Investment features on Tuesdays no longer appear under the Wall Street, California name. Instead, investment and personal finance articles in Business appear under the Your Money name on Tuesdays and throughout the week. Some features may be discontinued in favor of other news and features aimed at helping readers with their financial affairs.

Fairplex Park, located at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, opens 13 weeks of harness racing tonight at 7:30, which will be first post time throughout the 67-night run. There will be 10 races each night Tuesdays through Thursdays, and 11 races on Friday and Saturday nights.

La Vida Restaurant & Lounge Where: 1448 N. Gower St., Los Angeles When: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays; dinner, 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 5 to 11 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays. Price: Appetizers $9 to $16; entrees $19 to $30; lunch specials $15. Contact: (323) 962-0800; www.lavidahollywood.com

I am very upset that "Growing Pains" has been moved to Wednesdays. We are out every Wednesday and now we won't be able to watch my favorite show along with "Who's the Boss?" Please return "Growing Pains" to Tuesdays where it belongs. Corey Corrina, Torrance

Gateway Japan Where: The Torrance Art Museum, 3320 Civic Center Drive North, Torrance When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays. Through April 30. Admission: Free Contact: (310) 618-6340. http://www.torranceartmuseum.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. - At a harborside reception overlooking Ft. Sumter, where the Civil War began, Mark Sanford batted away a TV reporter's question about the latest insult to his comeback campaign: an unwanted endorsement from pornographer Larry Flynt. Hours earlier, the former governor had been asked about a billboard message on a South Carolina interstate from a marital infidelity website. Under a blowup of a grinning Sanford, the site advised him to use its online service to find his next "running mate.

ST. LOUIS - From being overwhelmed by the Blues' frenzied forechecking at the start to losing on a stunning misplay by Jonathan Quick at the end, the Kings know they must improve in several areas to leave Scottrade Center on Thursday with a split of the first two games of their opening-round playoff series. Speaking after an optional practice Wednesday, the morning after the team's 2-1 overtime loss at St. Louis, Coach Darryl Sutter was clear about who must step up. Asked how the Kings can counter the Blues' energetic fourth line of Chris Porter, Ryan Reaves and Adam Cracknell, Sutter was blunt: "Some of the boys that play on our fourth line have to play like big boys.

Vinny Del Negro playfully bulled his way through a scrum of reporters Monday afternoon to reach a designated interview area, showing more toughness than any of his players had the previous six days. Were you watching, DeAndre Jordan? Did you take mental notes, Caron Butler? The only player who showed heart when the Clippers became the Memphis Belly Flops in a pair of double-digit playoff road losses to the Grizzlies was Matt Barnes, and that was only after his team had already flubbed Game 4. "We got punked," Barnes said in a refreshingly candid admission.

Borussia Dortmund needed every bit of its first-leg advantage to stave off a comeback attempt by Real Madrid and reach the Champions League final for the first time since 1997. Karim Benzema scored in the 83rd minute and Sergio Ramos in the 88th, putting Real Madrid in position to advance with one more goal. But Dortmund held on for a 4-3 aggregate win with a 2-0 loss Tuesday night at Madrid. Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich has a four-goal advantage on Barcelona ahead of Wednesday's game.

KINGS They must: be prepared for a bruising series against a team seeking to avenge being swept out of the second round by the Kings last spring; get scoring from others besides Jeff Carter; find this spring's Dwight King, the winger who surprisingly scored five goals in 20 games last spring. BLUES They must: get exceptional performances from goaltender Brian Elliott, who worked his way back from being the third man in a two-man rotation; get contributions from winger T.J. Oshie, who missed 15 games because of an ankle injury; stand up to the Kings' physicality but avoid stupid penalties.

Magic Johnson could watch only so much. With the Dodgers already facing a double-digit deficit against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning, Johnson left his seat in the owner's box and quickly disappeared down a nearby stairwell. Johnson still lasted longer than Ted Lilly did in the Dodgers' 12-2 defeat on Monday night, as the soft-tossing left hander pitched only three innings and was charged with five runs and eight hits. The Dodgers have four starting pitchers on the disabled list - Zack Greinke, Chad Billingsley, Chris Capuano and Stephen Fife.

Arthritis sufferers can learn mild exercises and relaxation techniques at several free classes throughout Orange County as part of an Arthritis Foundation program called Joint Efforts. The classes, offered mostly in the south county area, will begin in early September. They may be joined at any time by simply being present at class time.

Now it is time to see what sort of resolve the Clippers have. They failed the test presented to them in Memphis in Games 3 and 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series, leaving the Clippers looking vulnerable against a tough-minded Grizzlies team. The Clippers still have the opportunity to prove that they are gritty enough because Game 5 of this best-of-seven series that's tied at 2-2 is at Staples Center on Tuesday night. "That's why you work so hard for home court," point guard Chris Paul said after Saturday's game.

AMSTERDAM - Even by the unconventional standards of the Dutch, their new king is going to be a bit of a novelty. He has a license to fly commercial airliners. He's married to a South American, a lively Argentine who's more popular than he is. He says he won't mind it if people fail to address him as "Your Majesty" because he's no "protocol fetishist" - an amusing description here in a city that caters to nearly every fetish imaginable. But his biggest break with Dutch history of the last 120 years is the simple fact that he's a he. Queens have reigned over the Netherlands since 1890, a matriarchy that will come to an end Tuesday when Crown Prince Willem-Alexander is sworn in as monarch.