Santa Monica has gotten all exercised about fitness classes in public parks. The City Council there hates them, thinks there are too many and now wants to make them pay and pay big. But you have to wonder what it is, exactly, that the city hates. Exercise? I don’t think so. I think there’s something [...]
Who’s guilty of the most egregious price gouging? In my opinion, it’s colleges and universities. Tuition and other costs at many public and private schools have doubled in the last six years – and have tripled or quintupled since 2000. That’s far more than just about anything you can name. Medical care? It’s up 600 [...]
It was unsurprising to read the article in the Los Angeles Business Journal a couple of weeks ago about how L.A.’s Coda Automotive had brought on an investment banker to consider its financial options, which could include bankruptcy reorganization. It was unsurprising because, well, have you seen the Coda? I mean, that car is to [...]
L.A.’s business community can take this bit of solace from last week’s primary election for mayor: Both candidates who are advancing to the general election have vowed to eliminate the gross receipts tax. Those who have to pay that tax generally revile it. It can wipe out all or much of a struggling company’s profits [...]
Maybe the most difficult task in America is to achieve bipartisan agreement. But California’s Franchise Tax Board appears to have pulled it off. Democrats and Republicans alike hate the board’s recent decision that not only revoked a state tax break for small-business investors, but is making everyone who claimed that break in the last five [...]
Whew, that was close. We almost – almost! – had a frightening situation in which one company could have achieved world market domination in Post-it notes. But thankfully, the Justice Department stepped in and put an end to that threat. In case you missed it, the 3M Co. last week called off its planned acquisition [...]
If you run a small business in California, you won a victory last week. That’s because the governor signed a bill that puts a stop to so-called demand-for-money letters that lawyers often send to businesses that may be in violation of some provision of the Americans With Disabilities Act. In case you don’t know, here’s [...]
You may have seen articles about privacy issues regarding the spy plane flying over the suburb of Lancaster, the extreme north of Los Angeles County. But there’s another angle that you probably haven’t seen: The flight service is being performed by a startup company that now will try to sell similar services to other cities [...]
Fast-food restaurants and even many family-owned diners went to an open soda fountain system years ago. You know the routine: When you buy a soft drink, the clerk hands you a paper cup and you fill it yourself. As a customer, I love that little innovation. I like to mix diet cola with regular cola [...]
If you haven’t noticed, there’s been a small flurry of Los Angeles area IPO announcements lately. LegalZoom of Glendale announced last month that it plans to sell its stock in an IPO, or initial public offering. Kythera Biopharmaceutical in Calabasas and CKE, the Carpinteria company that owns the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains, in recent [...]
