There are a number of events happening in LA tonight, including a performance-art inspired "MIss Hooker Beauty Pageant" at Dragonfly; mid-century cartoons screen at LACMA; a First Friday celebration at NHM; and sample sales at the California Market Center. Read on for all the details. more ›

West Hollywood has taken the fur-free reigns and may soon become the first U.S. city to impose a sales ban on fur. City Council approved a modified version of a ban on the sale of clothing made from the skin or pelt of animals with hair, wool or fur on Monday. more ›

West Hollywood fur fanatics, you've been granted an extension to purchase your pilose products. WeHo City Council delayed final approval of the proposed ordinance to ban the sale of fur apparel, which was tentatively approved on September 20, on Monday night. more ›

If fur trim and fur coats rub you the wrong way, you might consider moving into West Hollywood. The city last night set the stage to become the first in the nation to ban the sale of fur, according to L.A. Now. The West Hollywood City Council heard pleas on both sides of the issue in a debate that went from yesterday evening to the early hours of this morning, according to NBC Los Angeles. more ›

A bill that bars Californians from buying booze in self-checkout lanes is heading to Jerry Brown's desk for his signature. Supporters say that requiring face-to-face sales decreases the likelihood that a minor will buy alcohol. more ›

Strong sales of new releases from the top ladies in song and multiple reissues of classic albums made the first half of 2011 the best 6 months for album sales since 2004, according to Nielsen-Soundscan. more ›

Hollywood Patch has been hoofing the chain stores in Hollywood and reports a closet of clearance deals from boots to guitars to Hello Kitty erasers. For the cheapest of the cheap Patch recommends the sidewalk jewelry kiosk in front of Hollywood and Highland for $1.99 sale prices. Throw in a nickel allergy and an earring/necklace combo for $3.99. more ›

As discussed two weeks ago here on LAist, the West Hollywood City Council tonight will vote again, likely passing an ordinance to ban the sale of cats and dogs within city limits. By law, ordinances must be voted upon twice at separate meetings. The ban seeks to eliminate the demand for puppy mill and kitten factory bred companion pets. For a deeper look into the ordinance, check out LAist's basic analysis of the ban here. more ›

The music industry has never been the savviest when it came to the internet and its possibilities. Suing kids, grandmas and college students left and right. But when the latest, happiest and most popular YouTube video with a Chris Brown song became a hit last week, they profited instead of becoming another lawsuit headline. more ›

In early November of last year, electronics retailer Circuit City announced they were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and would be closing down some of their stores and launching sales to help bring in much-needed revenue. But yesterday the struggling chain revealed they were pulling the plug altogether, and shutting down all 567 of their US stores. more ›

If you only have one source of online shopping (Amazon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.), it's probably good to branch out. Most of those big retailers actually buy and ship from other retailers anyways, especially the more obscure items. Beat my price is a useful website in determining where you can get the product you are looking for at the cheapest price, while avoiding most if not all unreliable sellers. You just type in the item, price and website you found it, and it will search online for other retailers and compare prices with the one you found.
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Electronics retailer Circuit City announced recently that they were going to close 155 stores nationally in efforts to curtail their financial woes. According to a November 3 press release, "the stores identified for closure are located in 55 U.S. media markets, of which Circuit City will exit 12 U.S. media markets." Although not exiting California, they are planning on closing 24 stores in the state, including ones locally in Industry, Compton, Foothill Ranch, Thousand Oaks, Riverside, North Fontana, Pomona, Santa Maria, and Santa Barbara. more ›

West Hollywood based Ticketmaster's heart skipped a few beats yesterday when Cablevision, who runs Madison Square Garden among many other venues, hinted towards leaving Ticketmaster and signing up with Live Nation to do their ticketing. News of that sent Live Nation's stock from $2.82, to $16.82. But after the freakout, Cablevision announced later in the day that they would stick with Ticketmaster, who closed 3% higher at $13.09 but is still down 30% after last week's announcement that SMG, the ticket provider's second largest client, signed up with Live Nation. more ›

It's been more than a month since The Dark Knight hit screens, yet it remained in the top five at number four grossing movies raking in $10.3 million dollars. Still at the top of their game, the offending-to-some Tropic Thunder came in first at $16.1 million with House Bunny trailing behind at $15.1 million. Death Race at number three did a decent $12.3 million, but rounding out the top five is Star Wars: The Clone Wars who only did $5.66 million. more ›

A Southern California Democrat in the State Assembly introduced a bill last month to ban the sale of alcohol at stores that only have self-checkout lanes. That, of course, singles out Fresh & Easy, who appears to be the only major food retailer in the state with only these types of lanes and no full-service lanes with employees operating them. more ›