Personal Finance

Hopped Up

How To Grease The Wheels For Your Album's Success

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you ... More >>

Lyft's Ridesharing Program Takes Off in Los Angeles. What Does It Mean for the Taxi Industry?

For anyone who has ever fretted about what driving long distances without passengers during rush hour is doing to the environment and to your wallet, there's Lyft. Launched in San Francisco in 2012, the mobile-app based ride-sharing program allows members to find drivers in their areas who will sh ... More >>

Proposition 33 Auto Insurance Changes: George Joseph's Record Under Fire

The guy behind Proposition 33, insurance magnate George Joseph, has spent nearly $17 million to fight for the right to extend discounts to drivers who've had five years of uninterrupted coverage, even if that coverage has come from more than one company. Joseph has said that he's pushing the measur ... More >>

Proposition 33 Auto Insurance Changes: George Joseph Tries Again

What could you buy with $16.9 million? George Joseph, the billionaire auto-insurance magnate, hopes it will be enough to score votes from a plurality of Californians -- that's how much of his personal fortune he'd spent, as of Nov. 3, to push Proposition 33. (For the latest, check out the nonpartis ... More >>

Wendy Greuel Stays Vague On Hot-Button Issues, While Mayoral Rivals Take Controversial Votes

The top contenders in the race for L.A. mayor have a lot in common, but there is one key strategic difference. As council members, Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry have to vote on issues that come up at City Hall. Wendy Greuel, the city controller, does not.And in the early stages of the race, Greuel has ... More >>

A Stoned Driver is a Better Driver

Another "study" this week claims that stoned drivers are better drivers, at least when compared to those who are drunk behind the wheel. That might be true, but the report's basis is pretty weak. What we're given, really, is a shallow look at other studies, and a list of the "Top 10 Reasons Marijua ... More >>

R.I.P. Los Angeles Red-Light Camera Tickets: What This Means for the Rest of the County

The wait has paid off for all us rebels who refused to pay our red-light camera tickets! LA Weekly reassured you of the good news all through 2011. In July, "L.A. City Council Says You Don't Have to Pay Your Red-Light Camera Tickets." In September, "Are You Sure I Don't Have to Pay My L.A. County R ... More >>

Bank of America Foreclosure on Brendon Mendoza's L.A. Home Paused After Nearly 15,000 Sign Petition: Occupy Influential?

Mendoza.​Brendan Mendoza, an L.A. music industry veteran, is an Occupy L.A. supporter who has been fighting Bank of America for two years to stave off foreclosure of his Montecito Heights home. After months of being shifted between contacts at the institution, the 42-year-old says B of A has ... More >>

[Updated:] Deal Reached in Grocery Store Labor Feud

L.A. County Federation of Labor​ Update:9/26, 10 a.m. On Sunday night, workers voted and approved a new contract, ending an eight-month dispute with Ralphs, Vons, Pavilions and Albertsons. According to insiders, workers will pay $7 a week for health insurance, or $15 per week for a family. The ... More >>

Clarification: Are You Sure I Don't Have to Pay My L.A. County Red-Light Camera Ticket?

This is your brain on red-light camera tickets.​In the month-and-a-half since we published "L.A. City Council Says You Don't Have to Pay Your Red-Light Camera Tickets," we've received dozens of panicked emails from drivers who were caught red-handed, squeaking an L.A. intersection. "I wanted ... More >>

Does Credit Card and College Debt Make Young People Feel Good About Themselves?

​If you're young and want to feel good about yourself -- empowered and in control of you life -- there's one easy solution you may not have thought about: Pile on the debt. Amazingly, according to a recent nationwide study, the more credit card debt and college loans that young people aged 18 to ... More >>

DREAM Act Approved by California State Assembly: If Bill Can Make It Through Senate, Governor Jerry Brown Has Promised to Pass It

​At long last, a small victory for the softest of the pro-immigration bills. The California State Assembly approved the DREAM Act today by a landslide 46-25 vote -- legislation that would allow illegal immigrants who have, against all odds, earned their way into state universities, a chance to ... More >>

Jamie Court: Browser Beater

Jerry Brown's 2011 Budget Fix Falters as Voters Abandon His Tax Hike; Arnold Schwarzenegger Had it Easier

Governor Jerry Brown needs some Arnold applause​Jerry Brown's budget is in trouble with legislators, a new poll shows voters turning sour on it, and he may have to delay placing it on the ballot until November -- essentially allowing the California government to continue overspending by millio ... More >>

Bernard Parks Was Targeted as Union Object Lesson

$1.2 million buys a lot of fear at L.A. City Hall if that's your aim

Pensions Gone Wild: Retired Vernon City Official Bruce Malkenhorst Sr. Takes Home $520,000 a Year in Public Retirement

HatMA Rolls Royce pension came out of one gritty SoCal city.​Pensions and retirement benefits are in the hot seat these days, even in union-friendly L.A. City Hall, where Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a beneficiary of labor's support, has asked for concessions to help with L.A.'s looming $400 mi ... More >>

L.A.'s Library Measure L

There's lots of hidden City Hall fat to fuel the 73 shuttered libraries

Ronald Reagan Library New Year's Eve Celebration

22 Southern California Homeowners Protesting Foreclosures Arrested At Chase Bank

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Protesters demand banks save their homes​Peggy and Alvin Mears, of Fontana, never missed a mortgage payment. Now, Peggy's been arrested.The couple was paying their monthly $1,299 fee towards a modification loan and were working to secure a permane ... More >>

HALLOWEENY HOOTENANNY, CELEBITY EDITION

The Five Juiciest Details From The Laura Richardson Ethics Report

Credit Score: 575​The House Ethics Committee released a report today clearing Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, of wrongdoing in her home foreclosure fiasco. But the report discloses some things that don't  make her look good. Herewith, the five most delicious disclosures:1. Richardson cal ... More >>

Angelenos Spending More -- A Lot More

​If your wallet is empty pat yourself on the back: You just might be an integral part of the economic recovery. The average Los Angeles household spent $3,600 in March, $600 more than one year ago, according to Bundle (via LA Biz Observed). Considering that the figure does not include mortgag ... More >>

Jacksonian Seizure: The Rise and Fall of Michael Jackson and His Investments Mirror Americans' Spendy Ways

Is the King of Pop's Neverland Booty Our Folly Too?

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Slain Pardo Victim Now a Deadbeat Renter Death may take a holiday, but not the landlord, as relatives of Alice Ortiz have discovered, according to an L.A. Daily News story. Ortiz was among nine Covina family members murdered by Bruce Pardo on Christmas Eve and now that the mourning's over, Ortiz's l ... More >>

Barack Obama's Slippery Fund-Raising Slope

Small donors aside, he's awash in cash from big labor and business. Can he say no?

Sexual Orientation of McCain's Senate Chief of Staff Revealed

But it's Mark Buse's Freddie Mac connections that go mainstream

Short Cuts

You Can't Spell Obama With B-a-m-f-o-r-d

Super Boll

In a web exclusive, our conversation with the Postal director continues

Foreclosure Frenzy

L.A.’s middle class embraced $3,000 mortgages. Will a recession ensue?

The Wayward Governor

Why Arnold terminated bipartisanship

A Message From the Arrogant Liberal Elite

Odd Ins

Tapping the Alternative Scholarship Bank

October Demise

My Body

my nose