Interstate Bakeries Corp

If bread is the staff of life, a five-mile swath of Northeast Los Angeles is lively indeed. Five bustling bakeries within a few miles of each other are riding a boom that includes low production costs, high demand and even a white-bread boomlet. When the city was young, about 15 bakeries settled in Cypress Park, Glassell Park and Elysian Valley. They were drawn by cheap labor, open land, the central location and easy access to main roads.

If bread is the staff of life, a five-mile swath of Northeast Los Angeles is lively indeed. Five bustling bakeries within a few miles of each other are riding a boom that includes low production costs, high demand and even a white-bread resurgence. When the city was young, about 15 bakeries settled in Cypress Park, Glassell Park and Elysian Valley. They were drawn by cheap labor, open land, the central location and easy access to main roads.

If bread is the staff of life, a five-mile swath of Northeast Los Angeles is lively indeed. Five bustling bakeries within a few miles of each other are riding a boom that includes low production costs, high demand and even a white-bread resurgence. When the city was young, about 15 bakeries settled in Cypress Park, Glassell Park and Elysian Valley. They were drawn by cheap labor, open land, the central location and easy access to main roads.

Interstate Bakeries Corp. and the Teamsters union ended their standoff over a new union contract, allowing the bankrupt maker of Hostess Twinkies to reorganize with financial backing from buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings. Lawyers for Interstate announced the deal Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Kansas City, Mo. Under the proposed reorganization, Ripplewood and hedge fund manager Silver Point Finance would invest in Interstate, and the Teamsters would accept a series of concessions that would save the snack maker from liquidation.

If only the bottom line of Hostess Brands were as rich as the calorie count of its Twinkies. The 82-year-old company, which also makes HoHos, DingDongs and Wonder Bread, filed for bankruptcy protection, blaming what it said are onerous union contracts and pension liabilities. Analysts said that despite a cupboard of iconic confections, Hostess has been unable to capitalize on trends that theoretically should fatten its profit. "You can't pick up a paper without reading about obesity in America," said Adam Hanft, chief executive of Hanft Projects, a brand-strategy firm in New York.

Americans have been urged to consume at least three servings daily of whole-grain foods. But if you've ever stood in a grocery aisle trying to figure out what products have whole grains and how much they contain, you're not alone. The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees food labels, provides no definition of "whole grain," although FDA chief Lester M. Crawford recently told the American Assn.

The Eastview Little League doesn't want people to forget. That's why there's a sign and a monument commemorating the 1989 local team that reached the Little League World Series. There's a sign dedicating the baseball fields at the corner of Gaffey and Capitol in San Pedro to Joe Gregorio, a longtime employee of the adjacent bakery that used to send the scent of fresh bread wafting all the way to the dugouts.