OPINION
July 30, 2010 | By Ruthann Robson
The words of the Constitution do not change whether they are being applied to immigration or same-sex marriage, or whether the statute is from California, Massachusetts or Arizona. The 10th Amendment is often cited to support the constitutionality of Arizona's immigration law as a matter of "states' rights." That same 10th Amendment is cited to support the unconstitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of Massachusetts' same-sex marriages. To agree with one outcome and not the other can be misconstrued as partisan.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
July 30, 2010 | By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times
Frances Kuyper, whose passion for cake decorating earned her the nickname the "Cake Lady" and prompted her to open the world's first cake museum, died July 15 in Los Angeles after a lengthy illness. She was 92. For the last dozen years Kuyper had lived at the Hollenbeck Palms retirement home in Boyle Heights and maintained a mini-cake museum in its basement. She opened her first cake museum in a house in Pasadena in 1994. It displayed about 150 cakes — some up to 65 years old and hardened from age. "No, I don't have a mouse or insect problem," she laughed during a 1996 interview.
BUSINESS
July 30, 2010 | By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times
State regulators Thursday put a brake on actions that the state's biggest utilities can take to shut off electric and natural gas service of residents who fall behind on their bills. The California Public Utilities Commission made existing rules permanent and added new protections to help customers pay their bills and avoid having to put up further credit to retain services. The new rules extend the time for paying off balances and lessen — and sometimes eliminate — requirements to pay new deposits after a disconnection.
BUSINESS
July 30, 2010 | By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times
Toyota Motor Corp. announced another large recall of autos in the U.S. on Thursday, this time for a steering problem in 373,000 Avalon sedans built for the 2000-2004 model years. The automaker said that because of an improper casting, a component of the steering lock system can crack. When the Avalon is steered hard to the right, there is a chance that the piece will break, locking up the steering wheel and increasing the risk of a crash. There have been six reports of the problem in the U.S., with three accidents but no injuries, said Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons.
BUSINESS
July 30, 2010 | By David Lazarus
Standing amid the shiny bling and baubles in his shop in Los Angeles' jewelry district, David Malek said he knows perfectly well why some people have been pouring money into gold. In a word, fear. "The whole world is under pressure," he said. "It's frightening. Where else are you going to put your money?" That sky-is-falling mentality among skittish investors has pushed the price of gold to stratospheric levels. It closed Thursday at $1,168 an ounce. And with so many people seeking safe harbor in gold, Southern California authorities this week said they're investigating whether a pair of local companies are using false pretenses to steer unwary buyers into costlier purchases.
ENTERTAINMENT
July 30, 2010 | By Sheri Linden, Special to the Los Angeles Times
There's one in nearly every good folk yarn or fairy tale: the mysterious oldster living alone in the woods. In the case of the fact-based and transporting "Get Low," he's a loner who, in an unlikely instance of self-promotion, comes to be known as the Mysterious Hermit of Caleb County, and he's played with unerring understatement by Robert Duvall in one of his finest performances. In lesser hands this Southern saga might have collapsed into whimsical corn, but cinematographer-turned-director Aaron Schneider has fashioned a measured fable, witty and deeply felt, if at times tipping into melodrama.
BUSINESS
July 30, 2010 | By Joe Flint and Claudia Eller, Los Angeles Times
It's back to square one for the Motion Picture Assn. of America. After months of negotiations with former Nebraska Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey to become head of the movie industry's chief lobbying arm, talks between the two sides broke off, again raising questions about who will become Hollywood's man or woman in Washington. The MPAA declined to elaborate on why the advanced talks suddenly ended Thursday, but people close to the matter said the two sides ultimately had different views of the job. The parties had appeared close to hammering out a lucrative deal worth $1.2 million annually for Kerrey to succeed Dan Glickman, who stepped down as chief executive in January.
BUSINESS
July 30, 2010 | By Bloomberg News
Motorola Inc., the U.S. mobile-phone maker, reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates, helped by demand for its new line of smart phones powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Profit, excluding some costs, was 9 cents a share, the company said Thursday. Analysts had projected 8 cents on average, according to a survey of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue for the quarter was $5.41 billion, compared with the $5.2 billion estimate. Motorola's Droid X, the company's latest phone powered by the Android system, sold out at Verizon Wireless and Best Buy Co. stores after its debut this month.
BUSINESS
July 30, 2010 | By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times
The California Cash for Appliances rebate program, which has lagged since launching three months ago, is expanding the list of eligible energy-efficient machines in an attempt to boost interest. Starting Thursday, customers who trade in their old electricity-guzzling machines for new eco-friendly ones can start applying for rebates of $50 for freezers, $100 for dishwashers, $100 to $750 for water heaters and $200 to $1,000 for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
OPINION
July 30, 2010 | By Abraham Cooper
First, full disclosure: I am the Left Coast representative of the Jewish conspiratorial lobby that Oliver Stone was fretting over in his recent interview with London's Sunday Times. You know, the Jews, whose "domination of the media" prevent Hitler and Stalin from being portrayed "in context." It seems the once and future wunderkind was also frustrated that no one understands that it was the Russians who were damaged more than the Jews during World War II. I think he had the score of 25 million or 30 million to 6 million.