According to our story today, Gina admitted posting several messages to a fake MySpace page mocking Hillsborough County commissioner Ronda Storms. Our executive editor felt the posts irrevocably compromised her integrity as a journalist; Gina resigned.

I don't feel comfortable indulging the usual spouting off that I commit in this space. I helped Gina a lot when she replaced me as pop music critic and I've always loved her writing and her personality -- seeing her blossom as a writer here was a wonderful thing. But, given Storms' controversial public profile and her constant sniping with the press, unflattering comments written by a Times journalist couldn't have surfaced at worse time.

Still, in a year that has seen one journalist friend fired for plagiarism and a yet another reporter friend die suddenly of an unknown medical condition, it's another tough loss.

Good luck, Gina.