My husband votes for Julia too. He says she has just turned into a whiny mess. I still vote for Matt. I think he and Kimber are going to skip away to scientology lalaland together. I mean only so many weird and crazy things can happen to one character before he just becomes a nutjob. He is now that nutjob, so it makes sense that he would join a cult and move away.

Danielle is correct. Ralph actually posted an LA Times article in the Hmmmm thread about all of the changes...

...After filming his emotional goodbye with Richardson, who had to cut short her time on the show this year to take care of her ailing daughter in England and will come back for only a few episodes next year, Walsh said he was despondent over saying goodbye to her and to Sean and Julia's house.

And in TV Guide
www.tvguide.com/News-Views...efault.aspx

The English actress, who plays Julia McNamara, has kept quiet until now about the family crisis that led to her decision to leave the series. Her only child is facing multiple surgeries on her leg due to a circulation problem with her veins. Daisy, 15, was diagnosed with the rare condition shortly after her first birthday.

"Surgeons and hospitals have been a big part of our lives," explains Richardson, 40, who is divorced from Daisy's father, producer Tim Bevan (Notting Hill). "We were always told that she would have to have more surgeries when she got older. The time has come."
www.tvguide.com/News-Views...efault.aspx