BUSINESS
March 14, 2012 | By Alex Pham
With daily headlines about online bullying, unsafe apps and Internet addiction, what's a harried parent to do? The last thing they want to do is read a book. But that's just what Scott Steinberg hopes they will do. The technology consultant and founder of TechSavvy Global in Seattle on Wednesday came out with "The Modern Parent's Guide to Kids and Video Games," the first in a series of books. Why read Steinberg's book when there are 712 titles on Amazon under "technology parenting"?
BUSINESS
March 6, 2012 | By David Lazarus
Consumers are getting better at consuming. Or so the latest numbers from the Better Business Bureau suggest. Consumers checked out the BBB's statistics on millions of companies a record 103 million times last year, up 18% from 2010. Meanwhile, complaints lodged with the bureau fell about 7%, to 927,000. That tells us that more people are doing their homework before making decisions that affect their money. And as a result of such due diligence, they're finding less to gripe about.
NEWS
November 17, 2011 | By Janet Kinosian, Special to the Los Angeles Times
Dressing an actress to play a global icon is tough. However, watching Michelle Williams channel Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn," you're seeing not the sex-kitten public film star but the private woman. It was this public versus private persona that helped costume designer Jill Taylor overcome any trepidation about tackling such a singular figure for this film, which recounts the tumultuous days of a young assistant on the set of "The Prince and the Showgirl," which costarred Laurence Olivier.
BUSINESS
September 1, 2011 | By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times
J.C. Penney Co. has stopped selling a shirt for girls after shoppers expressed outrage over what they called an inappropriate and sexist message. "I'm too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me," said the message scrawled across the white, long-sleeve shirt, which was intended for girls ages 7 to 16. The shirt was available only through J.C. Penney's website. Customers immediately criticized J.C. Penney for promoting girls' looks over their brains. "This shirt is insulting and offensive.
BUSINESS
July 25, 2011 | By Cyndia Zwahlen
Even though the recession has been officially over for some time, getting a small-business loan hasn't gotten any easier. In fact, fewer loans backed by the federal Small Business Administration were made during the first half of this year than during the same period in 2010. In Southern California, the amount lent in this type of loan declined 7% to $922 million in the period that ended June 30, compared with $988 million a year earlier. That's more than double the 3% decline nationwide.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
July 21, 2011 | By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District suspended a new homework policy on Wednesday, saying it went into effect without enough public input. The policy limited homework to 10% of a student's grade; the rest would have been based on such measures as class assignments, tests and essays. The homework rules, which did not have to be approved by the Board of Education, went into effect July 1 by administrative order. The Los Angeles Times wrote about the policy June 27, the first public discussion about it. The policy drew nationwide attention and swift reaction: from praise to denunciation to confusion.