August 1 - August 7, 2010

Friday, Aug. 6
The City Council voted 10-0 to extend the tax holiday after a big push by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Company says that Hurd had filed "numerous" inaccurate expense reports, some of which were made to an outside contractor.
Just in case you're thinking about a late-summer vacation, Moscow is worst, and NY and Washington are on the top 10.
Quite a disconnect between today's bleak employment report and the throngs waiting to get into the refashioned Santa Monica shopping center.
Producers aren't even showing scripts to potential cast members out of concern about having them wind up on the Internet
One is a variation on congestion pricing, where metered parking rates will be raised or lowered according to demand.
The job hole created by the recession is massive - and there's little indication of a strong uptick.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is spending much of the day trying to show that the employment report isn't as bad as it seems.
Waters defends her actions, state and local government jobs being cut, Boeing shuts down OC facility, and Mexicana stops selling tickets.
Payrolls fell by 131,000 in July, though a large portion was of was the result of temporary Census workers being let go.
Thursday, Aug. 5
The consensus from a Bloomberg survey of economists is for a loss of 65,000 jobs in July, and the unemployment edging higher.
My wife gives me a hard time because I don't love making calls - or receiving them, for that matter. Turns out I'm not alone.
Filers in the Central District of California (that's us) were in the hole by an average of $375,875 last year.
Developers behind a plan to replace the Wilshire Grand with a retail/office/hotel complex want the city to establish a sign district in that part of downtown.
The Times finally runs an item on the identity theft case involving Donald Bren - and fails to note that the story was first reported by another publication.
Live Nation's executive chairman has been posting some not-so-flattering tweets about music columnists and concert-goers.
At last, someone takes a closer look at how the Dodgers owner has been able to bankroll his business operations...
Lackluster times for retailers, hopeful job news for California, new hotel fee sought in L.A., and Jackson estate up for sale.
Wednesday, Aug. 4
Not the Clinton prosecutor - the NY money manager who is alleged to have scammed dozens of celebrities out of tens of millions of dollars.
The city's Board of Referred Powers has postponed a hearing on the selection of a concessionaire for the airport's retail, food and beverage operations.
This would be for a $1-billion hotel, office and retail complex that would replace the Wilshire Grand hotel.
Many of the lease-holders from the government's Cash for Clunkers program want out.
Sidney Harman will have a tough time keeping the newsweekly alive, but so far he's a class act next to the jerky Sam Zell.
Several of Socal's wealthiest people have signed on to the call by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to give the majority of their wealth to charity.
More Californians lose jobless benefits, spending remains sluggish in July, L.A. pension worries mount, and counterfeit scam busted.
Tuesday, Aug. 3
One potential buyer of the giant bookstore chain is an investor group led by its chairman and founder, Leonard Riggio.
Study shows that the NY metropolitan area has 667,200 people holding $1 million or more in investment assets. L.A. is second highest.
Not a huge surprise considering that the carrier had been slashing flights all over the country.
My weekly business chat with KPCC's Steve Julian looks at the ongoing public pension crisis and the stunning payouts for...
The more prices fall, the more likely people will expect them to fall and at some point the cycle is hard to stop.
Santra Bullock lands in the top spot, according to Forbes, at $56 million. Reese Witherspoon ranks second.
Houlihan Lokey concluded that the leveraged buyout by Sam Zell would have left Tribune with too much debt.
The L.A. representative who is accused of conflict of interest finds time to accuse the Treasury Department of conflict of interest.
Countrywide settlement approved, Mexicana cancels LAX flights, Long Beach loses Boeing work, and Roski gives lawmakers free Lakers tickets.
Monday, Aug. 2
Socal's beloved burger chain could be in for a fight. The Virginia-based Five Guys Burgers & Fries has just opened...
...She was making a few dollars in this 1995 Mutual Savings Bank commercial.
Somebody stole the the OC honcho's $1.4 million federal tax refund check, set up bank accounts under Bren's name, and withdrew nearly $1.1 million.
As expected, Congressional investigators have accused L.A. Congresswoman Maxine Waters of violating House ethics rules.
What's up with the market? This is August - I thought investors were heading for the hills.
Most workers would be ecstatic about paying 5 percent of their monthly health care premium. But not L.A. city workers.
CEO Ray Irani is finally getting some heat for his outrageous compensation.
Almost 23 percent of their time is spent on social networking sites and blogs, up from 16 percent a year ago
The airline, which was downgraded by U.S. regulators because of safety concerns, could file for bankruptcy.
Sidney Harman has reached a tentative agreement with the Washington Post Co., parent of the financially struggling newsweekly.
BP to start plugging, why Maxine Waters is in trouble, state lawmakers return to work, and beware bacon lovers.
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