Finally a free morning to get our blog on...

• Along for the Ride columnist Sue Doyle rode out east early this week and visited some folks whose rides have more than 200,000 miles on the odometer

  GLENDALE - The upholstery on the driver's seat is in shreds. Masking tape patches a cracked taillight. And the odometer reads 223,626 miles.

  To some, it would definitely be time for a trade-in.

  But to Suren Rostonmyan, the 1986 Toyota pickup still has a lot of kick left. By staying on top of oil changes and continuing the TLC, he figures the reliable red truck could hit 300,000 miles without a hitch.

  Check out Suren's rig in the photo galleries to our right.

• Convictions in the 2004 beating death of 17-year-old William Maldonado -- a jury yesterday found William Torres, 24, Pedro Pena, 25, and Fredy Gudiel, 21 guilty of second-degree murder with a gang enhancement. Maldonado was riding his bike to his sister's house when the trio attacked him with baseball bats. Daily News

• Angry residents near Glendale High lashed out at the Glendale City Council last night about broken sprinkers and In-n-Out wrappers littered in their 'hood. They blame the campus' stadium, which holds too many events for their liking. News Press

  What do you guys think? Do they have to live with it since they did move next to a high school ? or do we blame the city and the school district? Me -- I blame society.

• Target at the Galleria -- "We're a normal Target." Good. News Press

  *The CurbedLA crowd marvels at the tri-level Vermaports inside the new Target store.

• The Times catches-up with the Burbank 7-Eleven turned Kwik-E-Mart. Since making the switch as part of a month-long marketing campaign for the Simpsons Movie, business has shot up 300 percent, and hot dog sales jumped from 800 to 3,000 a week.

• And finally, ain't no party like a Burbank party in which a couple of possibly uninvited guests blasted a few holes in the ceiling during a wedding reception Saturday night at Castaway restaurant. No injuries, no arrests and few are talking. Leader