CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 6, 2013 | By Joel Rubin and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times
Privacy rights groups on Monday filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County's two major law enforcement agencies after they refused to turn over information collected by electronic license plate scanners, the suit claimed. The Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County Sheriff's Department have made use of the plate-reading technology for several years. Typically mounted on patrol vehicles, the small cameras continuously scan license plates and check them against criminal databases in search of stolen cars and cars registered to known fugitives.
NEWS
May 2, 2013 | By Booth Moore, Los Angeles Times Fashion Critic
Paris-based jewelry designer Aurelie Bidermann is in L.A. this week showing her fall 2013 collection. I stopped by her room at the Sunset Tower hotel to take a look. While her spring collection was all about Southern California, her fall collection nods to some of her other favorite places to travel, including Marrakesh and the South of France. In Marrakesh, the Majorelle Garden has inspired everyone from Matisse to Yves Saint Laurent, and now Bidermann, who created a gold collar and ring with twisted vines and flowers evoking a secret garden.
OPINION
April 26, 2013 | By The Times editorial board
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote next month on a bill that could require online retailers to collect sales taxes from customers in every state that imposes them. The measure has been bashed by opponents as a tax increase that would cripple small Web businesses. It's not, and it won't. Instead, the Marketplace Fairness Act would eliminate an outdated restriction that favors those who can shop online over those who can't or won't. That's reason enough for it to become law. For much of the last two decades, Internet retailers collected sales taxes only from customers in the states where they were headquartered or had employees.
NEWS
April 25, 2013 | By Booth Moore, Los Angeles Times Fashion Critic
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has released its second Wear LACMA collection of fashion accessories created by Los Angeles designers and inspired by the museum's permanent collection. And the creations are so spectactular, they are practically works of art themselves. Custom perfumier Haley Alexander van Oosten of L'Oeil du Vert , accessories mavens Maryam and Marjan Malakpour of NewbarK and women's clothing designer Juan Carlos Obando were tapped for the collection, which is for sale at the LACMA store and online, with all proceeds benefiting the museum.
BUSINESS
April 23, 2013 | David Lazarus
Barbara Butkus bought an airline ticket in November to fly from Palm Springs to Washington, D.C., a month later for a family reunion. Just to be on the safe side, Butkus, 80, also bought travel insurance while booking her flight through Orbitz, the online travel agency. The coverage was from Allianz, a leading provider of travel insurance. As it happened, Butkus had to cancel her trip for health reasons. She began experiencing shortness of breath in early December, and her doctor advised her not to travel.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 22, 2013 | By Dalina Castellanos, Los Angeles Times
Compton High School has two tennis courts, a coach and now, all the gear it can use, including rackets, balls and even shoes. What's lacking is a team. But that's beginning to change. The school started signing up prospective tennis players last week as a donation of equipment and regulation nets was being unloaded. Curious students approached the tennis court to ask what the commotion was about and left as team members with racket bags filled with gear. "Guess we play tennis now," Tatiarria Hayes, 16, joked with her best friend, Robin Butler, 15, both holding black and green bags.