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Louis Vuitton bets big on Rodeo Drive with new Frank Gehry-designed store
LOS ANGELES — Louis Vuitton is gearing up to go over the top again in Beverly Hills.
With plans for an ultra-opulent hotel on Rodeo Drive stymied by voters two years ago, the Paris fashion house's owners are back with a proposal for a theatrical flagship store designed by architect Frank Gehry that would anchor the north end of the famous ...Read more

Tariffs, high building costs, stingy lending make for curious revival of split-levels
With six kids, a housekeeper named Alice and Tiger the dog, the fictitious “Brady Bunch” of the 1970s sitcom filmed in a real-life mid-century California house, a perfectly groovy set for all the shenanigans that made the show so popular.
More than 50 years later, that split-level trend is resurfacing, but it’s not because of a newfound ...Read more

Meta promised $1 billion for affordable housing. Then it quietly walked away
In 2019, Meta unveiled an ambitious pledge to spend $1 billion to help ease California’s affordable housing crisis that critics say the company, with its thousands of highly paid employees, played a role in exacerbating.
Yet not even halfway through its 10-year commitment, Facebook’s parent company has largely abandoned its work on the ...Read more

US existing-home sales decline, marking worst April since 2009
U.S. sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly dropped in April to the slowest pace in seven months, restrained by ongoing affordability constraints and highlighting a lackluster start to the key spring selling season.
Contract closings decreased 0.5% to an annualized rate of 4 million, according to National Association of Realtors data ...Read more

New report reveals at least a quarter of all office space still vacant in downtown San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco
SAN JOSE, California — Sky-high downtown office vacancy rates continue to haunt San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco as at least one-fourth of those spaces remain empty in all three urban cores, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm Colliers.
The Colliers report provided to this news organization covers the latest ...Read more

Airbnb to crack down on 'unauthorized and disruptive' parties on summer bookings
Parties at vacation rentals sometimes raise the ire of neighbors when holiday revelry gets out of hand.
Airbnb announced this week it is rolling out “anti-party technology” across the U.S. this summer. The system will be in effect for two upcoming holiday weekends: Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
The goal of the system, which is being...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: At-Home Adventures
Are you feeling jittery about taking a family vacation this summer? You're not alone. Whether it's your family's safety abroad, the high cost of gasoline or a thin bank account that has you unsettled, this might be a great time to consider a dramatic alternative: a stay-at-home vacation!
You can become tourists in your own town by uncovering ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: The Heartbreak and Effects of Filing for Bankruptcy
Dear Mary: Please give me some pointers on bouncing back from bankruptcy. Will this have any effect on future employment opportunities? -- Emmaline
Dear Emmaline: Pay your bills on time; never be late. Do not run up big balances. Do not apply for a lot of credit. Never use more than 30% of your credit limits. Never allow a credit card balance ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Saving by Choice, Not by Chance
A question that I answered in a previous column brought a small avalanche of mail, mostly from readers who were aghast that I would suggest they save such a significant portion of their paychecks for retirement. It was money they insisted they could not afford to save.
I can only imagine that for a person who saves nothing, suggesting they ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Best Nontoxic, Organic, Safe and Cheap Weed Control for Yard and Garden
Weeds.
Those freeloaders of the garden world. No matter how lovingly you tend your tomatoes or fluff your mulch, those green invaders always show up like uninvited houseguests who overstay their welcome -- and bring their cousins.
If you've found yourself muttering on your knees while yanking weeds or reading weed killer labels that sound like...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: 8 Things That Should Never Go in the Dryer
Clothes pinned to a clothesline flapping in the breeze and drying in the sunshine is a visual that brings me back to my childhood. And oh, that amazing smell of line-dried clean sheets. Know what I mean? Modern-day clothes dryers have almost completely replaced traditional outdoor clotheslines.
A clothes dryer is a convenient appliance that ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: A Couple's Guide to Common Money Myths
The wedding was beautiful and fulfilled your fondest dreams. But it's over, and now it's time to settle in and enjoy your new life together. Lucky for you, I'm here to warn you about some common money myths that newlyweds have been known to bring with them into their marriages.
MYTH: DOUBLE THE INCOME, HALF THE EXPENSES
This is what I call ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: How to Clean Gunk and Grime From Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are for storing dishes, not grease. Unfortunately, wood cabinets, whether painted or natural with a clear finish, are prone to all sorts of grease, grime and gunk from simply being in the kitchen.
Depending on just how much grease and grime you're looking at and the supplies you have available, here are several options for your...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Haggling for Dollars
By a show of hands, let me see how many of you have a credit card in your name. Uh-huh, I see those hands. It appears that my audience falls right in line with national averages: About 70% of you have at least one credit card. And how would you categorize your relationship with your card issuer?
If you are carrying credit card debt, it really ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: More Kitchen Hacks You'll Wish You'd Known Sooner
Here is a wonderfully creative collection of tips that spotlight my readers' resourcefulness and intelligence in the kitchen and pantry. From clever tricks involving coffee filters, kitchen mallets and shower caps (yes, shower caps!) to simple storage solutions for sugars and spices -- get ready to take conventional wisdom to an unconventional ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Simple Organization and Storage Tips
"Sorry my place is such a mess!" If you have to pull out that one every time you welcome friends or family into your house, it might be time to get organized. Marla Cilley, also known as the FlyLady, calls that CHAOS: Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome!
Organization is an important aspect of any home. And we're quite familiar with the rule: a ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Six Ways to Cut Health Care Costs
I'll be honest -- I'm just as surprised as you are to be wading into the murky waters of U.S. health care. Specifically? Health insurance. It's a tangled mess. Even if your coverage comes neatly wrapped in your job's benefits package, it's still messy. Premiums keep climbing, deductibles are sky-high, and somehow we're paying more for less.
And...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: River Cruise Provides a Bounty of History, Nature and Fun
By Victor Block
In the winter of 1805, a group of men constructed a rustic fort near the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. They stayed there until the following spring, then returned to their homes.
These men were members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Their exploration of uncharted areas of the country had been commissioned by ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: A Gracious Guide for How to Be a Good House Guest
It was shocking, if not surreal. The email message was from a woman I'd never met and whose name I recognized only because, a few months earlier, she mailed me a book she'd written.
The message announced that she and her family were planning a road trip to Disneyland and would just love to stay with us since (at the time) we lived nearby and oh...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: How to Rise Above Your Circumstances
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot circled over the Great Salt Lake, tipping the wings ever so slightly so we could witness the unusual reddish-purple color of the water -- a phenomenon, he explained, that occurs when a particular species of algae meets up with a certain bacteria. It was quite fascinating.
Just as he was bringing the plane level ...Read more