The price of coffee at Philippe's in Chinatown is going to quadruple in price starting next Thursday—which means it's going to go up an entire 36 cents. Since 1977, the price of coffee at Philippe's has been only 9 cents, but the legendary restaurant on Alameda Street (that claims to have invented the French dip) posted a notice today letting its customers know that coffee was going to cost a little more than it used to. more ›

Starting today it's going to cost you more to snail mail your letters, cards, postcards and bills, KTLA.com reminds mailers. Today "the price of a first-class stamp will increase two cents to 44-cents. Forever stamps can still be used without an additional 2-cent stamp, regardless of when they were purchased." Other changes include a bump of postcard stamps from "1 cent to 28 cents, the first ounce of a large envelope will increase 5 cents to 88 cents and the first ounce of a parcel will increase 5 cents to $1.22." The rate increases are meant to help the Post Office cope with rising operational costs, and "are in line with the amount of inflation," according to Postmaster General John Potter. more ›

Since their 2005 contract takes inflation into account when are up for their annual raise, this year's expected 3.25% pay hike for LA Department of Water and Power employees shot up to 5.9% because food and fuel costs have gone up this past year. One problem, that equals out to $16.4 million not written into the budget. Even without the raise, DWP workers are some of the higest paid employees in the city. more ›