Business Openings

More than 20 years after tourist destination Marineland of the Pacific shipped off its whales and closed its gates, a noticeably more refined attraction is about to open atop the same ocean bluffs in Rancho Palos Verdes. The first official overnight guests at Terranea Resort, a 582-room luxury hotel and spa meant to compete with California's most upscale coastal inns, will check in today.

One of New York's best-known photo studios said Friday it will open a large branch in Hollywood to take advantage of America's changing tastes in magazine covers and advertising campaigns. Professional models based in New York were the first choice of magazine editors and big advertisers for decades, said Mazdack Razzi, creative director of Milk Studios. Now they demand celebrities. "Celebrities are the new models," said fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski, who is himself based in New York.

Microsoft Corp. is looking for an answer to Apple Inc.'s genius. The Redmond, Wash., software giant plans to open a series of retail stores to show off its goods. It's taking a page from the playbook of its scrappy computer-industry rival, which has boosted sales by opening Apple stores across the globe and stocking its Genius Bar with tech experts. Details about Microsoft's plans for the stores were still scarce Friday.

To get the right sound in the little-known world of high-caliber musical instrument repair, some say it takes a certain touch, perhaps even a degree of voodoo. Musical instrument giant Yamaha Corp. has a different approach, involving cryogenics, fiber optic endoscopy and an ultrasonic cleaning lab.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is working to open its first small-scale grocery stores in Arizona, according to city planning officials, as the world's largest retailer looks to fend off competition from British supermarket rival Tesco. Tesco entered the U.S. marketplace last year, opening 37 Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market stores in California, Arizona and Nevada. The company is seeking to woo U.S. shoppers with small grocery stores that feature ready-to-eat meals and fresh produce. Bentonville, Ark.

The exposed metal studs, the shopping-cart-sculpture-cum-display-stand and the fashion house executives from Paris were all in place. The hipster-chic customers picked their way past trash bins in an alley leading to the Hernando's Hideaway-style entrance. Perfume bottles and brightly colored wallets were artfully arrayed and ready for sale. The only things missing from the launch of Comme des Garcons' first "guerrilla store" in the United States were the clothes. They were stuck in U.S.

The blue box is shrinking. Tiffany & Co. will test a new concept in Glendale this fall with its first smaller-scale store, the high-end jeweler said Thursday. The 2,600-square-foot space -- Tiffany's 46 existing stores average 7,100 square feet -- will open in October in the Americana at Brand, a retail and residential center under construction across from the Glendale Galleria shopping mall. If the smaller-store concept succeeds, it could give Tiffany an opportunity to expand its U.S.

Liu Keli couldn't tell you much about South Carolina, not even where it is in the United States. It's as obscure to him as his home region, Shanxi province, is to most Americans. But Liu is investing $10 million in the Palmetto State, building a printing-plate factory that will open this fall and hire 120 workers. His main aim is to tap the large American market, but when his finance staff penciled out the costs, he was stunned to learn how they compared with those in China.

Most retailers are tapping the brakes as they navigate a rocky economy. Forever 21 Inc. has its pedal to the metal. The fast-fashion retailer is expanding around the globe, increasing product lines and opening showy new stores. The largest yet, which at 90,000 square feet on three levels will be bigger than the size of the Rose Bowl playing field, is scheduled to open in Times Square next year.

As an adolescent, Andy Lipkis had to breathe steam each day at his Baldwin Hills home to soothe his lungs. When he learned in 1970 from a U.S. Forest Service report that the smog burning his lungs was also contributing to the destruction of trees in the Los Angeles area, the knowledge planted a seed. At 15, Lipkis founded TreePeople, a local nonprofit group that in the nearly four decades since has become an innovative leader in the "urban foresting" movement.