March 27 - April 2, 2011
Friday, Apr. 1
The city has considerable leverage in working out a decent deal, perhaps even a lucrative one. But it's not likely to happen. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
L.A.'s mayor admitted that he failed to report free tickets to 34 events during his first five years in office. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
CKX owns two-thirds of the "Idol" brand. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Pretty dumb indeed. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Just 64.2 percent of American workers are either in the work force or looking for a job, the lowest labor participation rate in a quarter-century. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The state saw a 54.2 percent increase in the number of women-owned firms from 1997 to 2011. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Company told workers they would be getting more weeks in severance than was owed. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Oil and gas prices back up, Californians can take the blame for budget mess, food truck vendors sue city of Monrovia, and Billy Joel kills memoir. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Much of the good news does not reflect the current bout of bad news. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Thursday, Mar. 31
The governor listed seven specific ideas for ending abuses or tightening pension funding rules. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
You're looking at the 5th worst metro area out of 99 in terms of increased joblessness. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
One immediate, and sobering, lesson: Japanese are a lot more prepared than Californians. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Yes, it does make a difference, at least according to a study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Another dip in jobless claims, blame everyone for budget impasse, community colleges slash enrollments, and Russian billionaire buys mansion for $100 million. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Wednesday, Mar. 30
Living near rich people can be a real pain - as folks north of Beverly and west of La Cienega are discovering. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Socal was heavily over-stored with these pricey retailers, and the recession has served to weed out the less successful ones. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Well, lots of reasons, from possible debt implosions around the world to volatility in the Middle East. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Worse - and that's without Sarah Palin in the race so far. Joe Klein minces no words.
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Take away transfer payments like Social Security, Medicare, and health insurance and actual taxable income per capita fell 3.4 percent since 2000. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Charles Cohen had Hollywood in mind when working with architect Cesar Pelli on the 400,000-square-foot Red Building. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Starbucks CEO will be at the Drucker Business Forum on Tuesday, April 5. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Job gains in March, cabs from LAX to cost more, stadium proposal lacks guarantee, and regime change in sight at News Corp. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Tuesday, Mar. 29
So you can forget about getting a two-thirds vote for a June ballot measure. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
That's the conclusion of studio executives and theater operators who are staring at a 20 percent drop in attendance so far this year compared with 2010. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The only critical voice came from Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who wondered why the city couldn't negotiate a piece of the pie from the electronic billboards revenues. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
This week's chat with Steve Julian looks at the deal cut between L.A. and the city unions on health care contributions. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Dispute centers on tax shelters that are supposed to save the Broadcom co-founder from paying millions of dollars to the government. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Very funny - and Moore manages to make a compelling case for the unions - even if his claim that states aren't really out of money is ludicrous.
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L.A. home prices take a dip, Council takes up lighting plan for Wilshire Grand project, lots of jobs for construction work at the ports, and it's women vs. Walmart. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Monday, Mar. 28
That means factories will operate at reduced levels, and that means limited productivity of cars, electronic components - lots of stuff. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Yaroslavsky sounds an awful lot like Jerry Brown when he was campaigning for governor last year. Except there are key differences in the two races. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The flattening out began last week - for how long who knows. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Guess which state added the largest number of construction jobs last month? Uh-huh. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Simple - just let the Bush tax cuts expire in 2012, which is when they're supposed to. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
A minimum of 13 games will come from the newly expanded conference (Colorado and Utah are being added to the lineup.) $MTEntryExcerpt$>
A movie executive's job is to produce hits, right? And in the last 12 years, Horn has certainly delivered. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
The Lakers and Clippers have appealed to owners around the league to block the Kings' move but aren't hopeful that they will be successful. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
Checking for radiation at the ports, state Republican ranks keep dwindling, budget talks about over, and Harry & David files Chapter 11. $MTEntryExcerpt$>
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