The LA County Coroner's gift shop "Skeletons in the Closet" has fallen on tougher than previously tough times recently. Though the shop has operated at a loss for years, the very program its sales were meant to bolster is subsidizing the shop instead and if sales don't turn around soon, it may be forced to close, according to the New York Times. more ›

Where you buy your fruit and veggies, books, albums, and t-shirts--really, where you buy anything--makes a huge difference in the economy. We vote with our wallets everyday, but because of our global culture and the era of convenience, we tend to spend without pausing to think where our dollars go, and what it means to how things work where we call home. more ›

Next month's issue of Food & Wine magazine takes a look at chocolate, and just in time for Valentine's Day. Their pick of the ten best bites of chocolate in the country represents a wide variety of tastes and kinds, from the more low-rent, like Nestlé's 100 Grand Bar at #9, to the more refined and artisanal. Coming in at #4 is Los Angeles-based chocolatier Compartes with their Plantain Truffles. We think Food & Wine did well in picking Compartes, having nibbled on them back in the summer of 2007 at the Dessert Decadence event. If you plan on picking up some sweets for your sweet to celebrate V-Day next month, you might want to skip See's (or the supermarket) and head to a local chocolatier like Compartes or some of those LAist sampled not too long ago at the Luxury Chocolate Salon, and support local small businesses while indulging a sweet tooth. more ›