Vending Machines

If it's a soda you crave after a sweaty basketball game on an L.A. County court, or a candy bar you hunger for while waiting at a county office, you're money's going to be no good in the vending machines. Taking a cue from standards adopted for California schools, the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to require that all food and drinks in the vending machines in most L.A. County facilities -- including offices, parks and recreation centers, and medical facilities -- meet state nutrition guidelines.

Can you duplicate the experience of "The Biggest Loser" without trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels standing over you, ordering you to do one more rep or push-up? NBC Universal thinks so. Today, the company's "Biggest Loser" franchise unveils two new ventures, both aimed at fans of the weight loss competition who watch the TV series each week and think, "I wish I could do that." One is The Biggest Loser Wii and Nintendo DS fitness games, offering individualized workouts.

A bill to make cigarette vending machines more accessible won approval in its first Assembly committee Monday, while a resolution urging Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren to sue the tobacco industry died in a committee headed by Speaker Curt Pringle. The actions Monday represent victories for the tobacco industry, which in recent years has mostly suffered defeats in the Legislature.

Responding to a request from a group of high school students, the City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance that would require cigarette vending machines to be at least 20 feet from the doorways of businesses. The statute would go a step further than a state law that took effect Jan. 1. "It was an eye-opener to me that these machines were accessible" to young people, Councilman John Collins said.

At the urging of some Fountain Valley High School students, the City Council tonight will consider an ordinance that would prohibit cigarette sales from vending machines except in bars and other adult venues. In June, several students made a presentation to the council about the accessibility of tobacco products to minors through vending machines and requested the council consider banning them in the community.

"Try another selection" is a tune guests at the Opryland Hotel here haven't heard since Coke machines with modems were installed. A high-tech hookup, basically an antenna that resembles a Mickey Mouse ear, beams a message to the supplier whenever the machine runs low, gets filled with money or jams. It is also rigged to send out distress should thieves break in. The machines, called Vendview, were installed by Skywire L.P., a Memphis-based company that outfits machines for $350 each.

Standing between the soda and snack machines on the enclosed part of the pool deck at a Thousand Oaks motel is a cigarette machine. Anyone with $2.75 worth of quarters and standing tall enough to reach the buttons--about three feet off the ground--can purchase a pack. Such easy access to cigarettes is an open invitation to minors, Thousand Oaks Mayor Jaime Zukowski said.

Action on a new Glendale ordinance designed to make it easier for supermarkets to store their shopping carts was postponed this week after several store operators complained it would hurt, not help them. The City Council delayed until March 28 its consideration of the ordinance, which would allow markets to store shopping carts outdoors on the premises without obtaining a variance from the city, which is currently required.

In a move to regulate what they described as a clutter of outdoor news racks, the City Council last week gave first reading to an ordinance to control the outdoor vending machines. "A lot of citizens have complained about these news racks," said Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry, adding that residents have been particularly upset because of the large number of the racks outside the Post Office. "It's ridiculous," she said. City Atty. John E.