Around the Internet

Independent Fix-it Shops Offer Nearly 50 Percent Savings for L.A. Drivers - Wow...I had no idea that dealers charge that much more for service. Getting new brakes? Transmission? Big bucks!!

"Los Angeles motorists can save nearly 50 percent on car repairs by patronizing an independent repair shop rather than a dealership, says a first-ever study of the issue."

Experts Don't Expect the Rush Retailers Would Like - Expect sales tax in LA County to go up to 9.25% on April 1st, no foolin'. The legislature approved the sales tax rate increase in February, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law Feb. 20. The income is meant to help alleviate a $42 billion budget deficit. Oh, and as of July 1, "most county residents will see an additional half-percent hike - to 9.75 percent - to fund transportation projects authorized when local voters approved Measure R last November." So we're going to see sales tax go from 8.25% to 9.75% within a few months. Yikes!!

On that note, on May 19, the vehicle licensing fee will nearly double, from .65 to 1.15 percent, part of the deal to resolve the state's budget crisis.

Eau de Boy: There's such a thing as too much Axe - This was a funny article about what to expect from your boy after age 10.

Redondo Beach bystanders hurt when driver, 88, plows into restaurant - It's always disturbing to hear stories stories like these. And when I heard that a toddler was involved, it was just infuriating.

"The 88-year-old man, whom police did not immediately identify, apparently hit the car's accelerator instead of the brake pedal, sending the car hurtling through the store's glass facade, police said. "