This week's Boston Phoenix has a look at both the preliminary race for mayor and the crowd of newcomers running in the at-large race.

David Bernstein writes about the showdown between Sam Yoon and Michael Flaherty over who gets to take on Mayor Thomas Menino in the final. (Sorry, Kevin.)

And Chris Faraone looks at the 13 folks running for City Council At-Large whose last names aren't Connolly and Murphy. (Sidenote: There are some things that plague the Lit Drop's nightmares. Several of the accompanying photo illustrations to Faraone's article have joined that list.)

If you have a chance, and you haven't already, also check out Faraone's piece from last week on how a guy is serving life in prison for essentially punching someone.