Newhall Hardware's closing. Who's next? Koontz's? For more than six decades, Newhall Hardware typified the mom-and-pop stores that helped build towns and cities all across America. But that's before the big-big-box retailers came along and dominated the market. So how can places like Newhall Hardware possibly compete with the Wal-Marts and Home Depots of the world? That's easy -- they can't. Earlier this year, hardware store owner Victor Feany said that he was quitting......

Jeffrey Lawrence Weaver was sentenced today to 40 years to life in prison for the killing of a man whose remains were left to rot in a Van Nuys storage unit. Weaver is one of two men convicted in this case. Today the "judge said he would recommend that Weaver never be released on parole" because of the extreme nature of the killing. The couple found this weekend dead of an apparent murder-suicide have been......

Some would say that one of the nice things about LA is our lack of Wal*Marts. Truth of the matter is, in order to give the Walton Family your money you pretty much have to leave LA County. Digg today reminds us what we're missing. Here we have a birthday cake that was (hopefully) ordered over the phone. Although the quality is (hilariously) lacking, you can bet that the price was right.......

- The case of the Drunk Frat Boys v Borat has been rejected by an LA judge who basically ruled in such a way that it would cockblock pretty much any other "He embarrassed me while cameras were clearly rolling" case in the future - Defamer - However a California judge opened the flood gates for people who want to sue Big Tobacco - LAT - Good news continues to be in the economic......

Loma Linda gears up to build a $41 million citywide fiber optics network. Residental and business buildings will be required to obey a new building code law that will require fiber. - Gigaom "Every bathroom stall on the (Google) company campus holds a Japanese high-tech commode with a heated seat. If a flush is not enough, a wireless button on the door activates a bidet and drying." - Washington Post For the man who......

Because it isn't UCLA football. There isn't much to say other than that. College football has kicked off once again, and like every other Bruin I have to put up with yet another season of Trojan banter. I get to watch every citizen in this great city jump on the Trojan bandwagon once again as well. I feel as though I'm the only person who is completely uninterested in watching a winning team continue......

Londonist prepares a Happy Birthday bath for Buddah this week and then things get all cliched. A madman goes on a rampage while axe-wiedling and London's mayor warns an American diplomat to avoid the kitchen if the heat bothers him so much. LAist has finally come around to purchasing tickets for Clipper Train. Hyper local dating sites are spamming L.A. neighborhoods and the fascinating Dame Darcy talks with LAist about art, the city and earthquakes.......