Low Cost

If the horrific garment factory collapse last month in Bangladesh has any silver lining, it is the response from more than 30 of the world's leading apparel companies - including Benetton, PVH, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, Inditex (Zara), Marks & Spencer and Tesco - to sign an agreement to protect the safety and lives of that nation's workers, who make the companies' products. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh is a historic advance over the voluntary private factory monitoring that has tragically failed to prevent the recent disasters in Bangladesh and in places around the world where clothes are stitched for the global market.

An artist who in the past has correctly predicted what future Apple products would look like has released concept art of his guess at the design of the rumored low-cost iPhone. Nickolay Lamm, an artist and researcher for MyVoucherCodes.co.uk , on Tuesday posted his concept art designs based on reports. They show translucent casings of many colors. Lamm's designs show an iPhone that's reminiscent of Apple's iMac G3 desktops from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Those computers featured translucent plastic casings and came in a flurry of colors.

"The House of Tomorrow" (April 10) may literally be the house of tomorrow, but not much further into the future than that. With a mushrooming population, we can no longer afford to give over the area in land that the low density of detached housing requires. This is plain to see as one looks at the sprawling tracts of single-family detached houses that cling to ridges, cover hillsides and fill valleys to the horizon. The alternative--attached, high-density housing--requires less land, fewer construction materials and can be cheaper to build.

Guarav Nanda, the Los Angeles designer behind the Bend collection of brilliantly colored indoor-outdoor wire chairs you've probably seen in stores and restaurants across Southern California, has a bistro table and chair launching through West Elm on Tuesday for just $249 to $299 -- an attractive price for anyone who's been following Nanda's line. We first discovered Bend in May 2011 -- at the time noting that the materials and production translated to prices ($450 to $495 per chair)

Dog and cat owners who need to have their pets vaccinated against rabies may do so at a low cost on April 8 at the county Department of Animal Regulation, 600 Aviation Drive in Camarillo. The clinic will open at 7 p.m. Vaccinations for dogs and cats more than 4 months old will cost $4, cash only. Also at the clinic, dogs that are unaltered may be licensed for $30. Licenses cost $10 for altered dogs. Written proof of alteration must be presented at the time of license purchase.

When a group of retired professionals formed the Handyman Connection, the phone was ringing off the hook in no time. Word soon spread to the Westside/South Bay area and recently to the San Fernando Valley that here were experienced craftsmen, most of them retired but all with at least a 10-year work background, who could handle those smaller jobs that most contractors don't want to bother with--jobs in the $50 to $400 range.

A cheaper and surprisingly powerful new drug regimen to prevent AIDS virus transmission from mother to child could save as many as 400,000 children's lives annually in developing countries, researchers reported Wednesday. Lowering the chances of HIV transmission from infected mothers to their children has been a huge success in the fight against AIDS. But at about $1,000 for a five-month course of AZT, that success has been limited to wealthy countries.

Arkansas is growing old. Old as in white hair, pensions and Social Security. Old as in retirees. The land of the Ozarks now has the unexpected distinction of having a greater percentage of people over 65 than any other state except Florida, long a retirement haven. While Florida, with 17.6% of its population over retirement age, is clearly in the lead, Arkansas, with 14.

Ever since International Remote Imaging Systems went public in 1980, shareholders have invested more than $22 million, convinced that the company's computerized urinalysis machine would pay off in big profits. They are still waiting. On Thursday, shareholders who gather at the company's Chatsworth office for their annual meeting will listen to President Fred Deindoerfer explain why, for the eighth time in eight years, International Remote will lose more than $1 million a year.

Officials of a chronically crowded shelter for homeless women hope to use mobile homes to create space for dozens of new beds, and architects say their plan to link trailers "like so many Lego blocks" could serve as a national model. "Our plan provides essential shelter, sanitation, supervision and security," said Merrill Budlong of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects. "We intend to show that there can be dignity for the homeless at a relatively low cost."

It's amazing, and depressing, when political compromise functions only to throw obstacles in the way of ideas that bring the greatest good to the greatest number of people. Today's example: the long, tortuous road to bringing more retirement security to working-class Californians. In September, the state launched a plan to enable these workers to put aside about 3% of their wages a year for retirement. As enacted by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, the program's goals would be modest indeed.

Philip Hsiang and his wife, Mary Ann, used to pay almost $1,000 a year for a pair of cellphones under a family plan contract. But as recession gripped the economy a few years back, the Davis couple opted for low-cost prepaid phone service and never looked back. They shaved $800 off their annual phone bill, even though Hsiang could easily afford the pricier plan on his salary as an electrical engineer. "As a Chinese immigrant to the U.S., it's a virtue to be frugal," Hsiang said.

San Jose State launched a program Tuesday that will offer low-cost, online classes in entry-level subjects that are often in high demand for students seeking to transfer or obtain a degree. The university will partner with Udacity, a Silicon Valley online education group, to create for-credit courses. If successful, the program could expand access to tens of thousands of underserved students, including those in high school and community college, wait-listed San Jose State students and nontraditional students such as veterans and adults with jobs and families.

What does a business do if the vintage aircraft part a customer needs hasn't been made in decades? For a solution, Airflow Systems of Capistrano Beach turned to RapidTech at UC Irvine. Through the use of RapidTech's cutting-edge 3-D manufacturing technology, the aircraft parts manufacturer got what it needed in exchange for the cost of the materials required to do the work. "I believe that small entrepreneurial businesses like ours will be the backbone of manufacturing innovation in the U.S.," said Bill Genevro, president of Airflow Systems.

CARTAGENA, Colombia - Under cover of a moonless night in early July, the crew took no more than five minutes to load more than a ton of cocaine on a motorboat beached on a deserted shore of the Guajira peninsula in northeastern Colombia. Equipped with three 200-horsepower engines, the "go-fast" craft then roared off toward the Dominican Republic, the first stop on the drugs' way north. But they'd been detected long before. Informants working for a top-secret group of Colombian agents, trained and equipped by U.S. counter-narcotics agencies, had penetrated the smugglers' inner circle.

And you thought travel insurance was necessary only for overseas trips? Hurricane Sandy serves as a reminder that domestic travel plans can go wrong as well. The relatively low cost of most plans can make travel insurance an appealing option in this era of nonrefundable air and lodging fees. For example, covering a $1,000 trip to the Big Apple would cost as little as $15. Those with plans for a Caribbean cruise in particular might consider travel insurance during this busy hurricane season.

Nineteen community organizations in Los Angeles County began screening clients Monday for a new program that provides drugs for free or at a low cost to people with the AIDS virus. The organizations, known as Community Unity for AIDS Care, will extend the reach of a state drug assistance program by offering to deliver the drugs at home and by operating a toll-free hot line for medication counseling and advice from pharmacists on AIDS therapies.

On a barren, eroded hillside, a former dump site, engineers and planners from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are attempting to spawn a dramatic change in attitudes toward waste. In the process, they envision a future long-term solution to the decades-old problem of sewage in the border area.

Dear Liz: We have $130,000 invested in mutual funds, but the returns the last few years have been less than 4%. With the financial advisor taking 2% as a fee annually, we are not satisfied with the growth. A co-worker suggested buying blue-chip stocks with a strategy to hold and reinvest the dividends. If this is done in a self-directed plan to avoid the fees, we could be netting 4% plus. Is this a good plan or should we trust the advisor's optimism that our returns will improve soon?

Inside some of the busiest beauty salons in Los Angeles, you won't find scissors, hair dye or perm solution. What you will find is women packing the shops as early as 7 a.m., clutching cups of coffee and dressed for the office. After a quick wash, their locks are brushed and styled amid the steady hum of blow-dryers. Half an hour later, coiffed to perfection, they rush out to start their workdays. "I like to either start my workday in this salon chair or end it here," said Lauren Levin, 31, a regular at Drybar in West Hollywood, where 10 chairs were all filled on a recent Tuesday morning.