September 2 - September 8, 2012
Friday, Sep. 7
The online prediction market had focused on the overall national vote, but it's now breaking down trades state by state. As you see from the map, most of the battleground states show Obama with the edge.
You have to wonder why the new owner of the OC Register insists on pushing the print side. Ad revenues are in free-fall, and they're never coming back.
They look great, of course, with the jacket perfectly molded to the body, but the customer base is not large enough these days to make it a lucrative business.
A coalition of community and union groups tried to get a restraining order on construction of the Walmart grocery, despite the retailer having all the necessary permits and approvals
California home prices took off in July, Jay Leno takes 50 percent pay cut, Caruso buys Carlsbad land for development, and heat wave gets expensive for L.A. schools.
Just 96,000 jobs added to the rolls and a drop in the unemployment rate for all the wrong reasons. It's been an up and down year, reflecting an economy that's being slowly reshaped before our eyes.
Thursday, Sep. 6
Nice moment for America's "kick-me" airport - a Qantas A380 jumbo-jet was scheduled to pull into Gate 134 of the new Bradley West international concourse.
Not to state the obvious, but if there's such wide disagreement on how many dispensaries are located in the city, how did they expect to enforce the ban?
Wall Street grabbed onto some encouraging news out of Europe and that, along with a couple of strong job reports, led to a huge day, with the Dow finishing at 13,292, up 244 points
Actually, it gets a little confusing because the magazine now publishes two lists: One made up of the New Establishment - mostly the powers of Silicon Valley - and the other covering the usual media and entertainment moguls.
Quite a dog-and-pony show at Santa Monica Airport this morning as CEO Jeff Bezos unveils the Kindle Paperwhite, the company's latest tablet.
Encouraging news out of Europe (though recession is still possible by the end of the year), better-than-expected increase in private payroll jobs, questions about the way teachers' pensions are handled, and Amazon to announce Kindle updates.
Wednesday, Sep. 5
This isn't a huge surprise - in June the supermarket chain's parent company, Supervalu Inc., reported that its first-quarter profit fell by nearly half compared with a year earlier. Big-box stores like Target and Walmart are proving to be formidable competitors.
That would be the entertainment industry, which managed to add 3,200 jobs in L.A. County over the past year. And yet the state legislature voted to extend the tax break program for movie and TV companies wanting to work in California.
After agreeing to handle PR duties for East West Bancorp as part of a planned acquisition, according to the SEC complaint, she bought 10,000 shares of East West stock and then sold her shares after the acquisition announcement had been made.
For a while Jason Selch actually got away with it. But when one of the higher-ups found out about the mooning, he was fired. And guess what Selch did next?
The city councilman and candidate for mayor is too smart a guy to believe what he told Los Angeles magazine about the city's financial problems. L.A. faces enormous pension and health care obligations that are forcing all services to be reduced. Pretending that any real progress has been made doesn't square with the facts.
Starting today, the paper will only offer free access to its home page and section fronts - as well as 15 pages per 30 days. After that you'll have to pay up.
Pickup in productivity shows businesses can do more with less, Zuckerberg will hold onto Facebook stock, FedEx cuts forecast because of slowdown in Europe and Asia, and San Bernardino City Council unable to agree on budget cuts.
Tuesday, Sep. 4
If the Council signs off on the plan, which seems likely, construction will begin in 2014 and take at least five to six years. The hotel renovation would come first, followed about a year later by twin condo towers.
Why should customers eating at 5 p.m. on a Monday night pay the same as those ordering at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night? Here are some Los Angeles examples.
Ruthless. Duplicitous. Corrupt. Scuzzy. Any of those words would describe the manner in which Anschutz Entertainment Group handled preparations for Michael Jackson's 50-show concert tour. Yes, this is the same AEG that the mayor and most members of the City Council are in bed with.
Just as the economy was beginning to tank in 2007, the city sold $125 million worth of bonds in order to close a shortfall in its pension plans. Big mistake.
Good month for car sales, sluggish summer at the box office, Guggenheim Partners buys Dick Clark Productions, and Grand Avenue developer says it has financing for apartment tower.
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The funeral for Mark Lacter will be held Sunday, Nov. 24 at 12 noon at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 W. Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles 90045. Reception to follow.
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