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Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

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Have a Shaded Yard? Replace Your Grass With Moss

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A shaded yard can feel like a lawn-care failure waiting to happen. Grass thins under trees, turns patchy near fences and sulks in damp corners where sunlight rarely reaches the soil. Homeowners respond with seed, fertilizer, lime, raking, watering and hope. Then the same bare spots return.

At some point, the better question is not, “How do I ...Read more

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

SpaceX surges 20% in second day to add $412 billion in value

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SpaceX shares jumped in their second day of trading, adding to gains following a blockbuster debut that instantly vaulted it into the ranks of the world’s most valuable public companies.

The stock climbed 20%, extending Friday’s 19% rally, to add $412 billion in market value. Shares closed at $192.46 on Monday, more than 42% above their $...Read more

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

SpaceX IPO stress tests crypto's bid to reinvent stocks

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

For years, crypto firms have argued that blockchain technology could create markets for private companies long before they reach Wall Street. SpaceX provided the industry’s biggest test yet. The results were mixed.

Ahead of the largest IPO in history, perpetual futures tied to Elon Musk’s rocket company gave traders a live — and ...Read more

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

A record number of Miamians can't make ends meet. Why that's a risk for everyone

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A record number of Miami-Dade families are living paycheck to paycheck, a new report has found.

North of a half-million county households — 563,947 to be exact — are struggling to make ends meet, according to new data from United Way. That’s 56% of all Miami-Dade households, a two-percentage-point increase from last year and the highest ...Read more

Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota AG sues cash advance app Brigit over alleged breach of state lending laws

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The app-based cash advance business Brigit is in the state’s crosshairs over small loans that officials say carry super-sized interest rates of more than 700% in some cases.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued the company on Wednesday, saying the loans violate the state’s caps on interest rates and carry terms that are not clearly...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Bay Area downtowns aren't dying – they're changing

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

For years, headlines have warned of downtown “doom loops” and “death spirals,” focusing on the office vacancies that have piled up since the pandemic. Take a walk through downtown San Jose, for instance, and you’ll see many once-bustling buildings quiet and mostly empty.

But while they’ve been slow to recover, the streets below them...Read more

John Konstantaras/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Illinois is one step closer to banning 'junk fees' and hidden charges on renters

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — Sharon Gardner was paying her rent. But her Hanover Park apartment owner continued to pile up charges against her.

With eviction threats mounting, Gardner was told she owed more than $3,300 in unexpected fees — a $50 monthly charge for cable internet she never received, $5 a month for pest control, a $300 move-in fee...Read more

Real estate Q&A: How can we still close home sale after low appraisal?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: We are selling our home, and the buyer’s appraisal just came back $30,000 below the price we agreed on. Now the buyer is demanding that we drop the price to match the appraisal. We priced the house fairly and had multiple offers. Do we have to give in? — Carol

A: Few things deflate the excitement of an accepted offer faster than a low ...Read more

JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Has Palo Alto unlocked the secret to downtown vibrancy?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

On a stroll down University Avenue in Palo Alto, California, on a spring Saturday evening, one can see parklets that were once parking spaces packed with well-heeled diners elegantly swirling wine glasses or digging into their meals inspired by culinary traditions from around the world.

Families line up down the block to order ice cream at Salt...Read more

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Downtown LA businesses are in crisis. Owners want politicians to deal with it

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Cemal Clik was rinsing some strawberries for lunch when he felt a gun on his temple.

The 61-year-old was sitting near his gift shop in downtown Los Angeles this month when two men threatened to kill him if he didn’t give up the gold chain hanging from his neck. They grabbed the chain and disappeared down South Broadway.

It took 45 minutes ...Read more

Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty/TNS

Where can Seattle ultrawealthy store their toys? Condos

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

In a city infamous for its high housing costs, Seattle’s ultrawealthy will soon be able to buy condos for their luxury cars and yachts.

Nearly 9 acres of a former industrial fuel terminal on Salmon Bay waterfront near the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard will undergo a transformation into an extravagant car collector garage, superyacht ...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

Fight over housing in Seattle's Sodo neighborhood enters a new phase

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Many people thought the long fight over whether the city can or should build housing near the baseball stadium was done in May. But it will now stretch out even longer, after an appeal filed last month that could also delay the city’s broader plans for growth in Seattle.

The city is in the midst of updating its plan to manage growth over the ...Read more

Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times/TNS

This new law could create a million new apartments and condominiums in California

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A new state law that allows denser housing development near major transit stops goes into effect in July, opening the door to construction of more than 1 million new units in California's urban centers.

The law forces cities to approve taller apartment and condominium complexes around rail stops, ferry terminals and rapid transit bus stops, ...Read more

A lifetime of savings lost: How elder financial exploitation is challenging banks and families

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Just months before she died at age 101, Phyllis Hood was facing a prospect she never imagined possible — running out of money.

The longtime Beaver County, Pennsylvania, nurse had spent decades caring for others. She lived frugally, attended Presbyterian church faithfully and saved diligently for retirement, her family said.

Yet, by early ...Read more

Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Las Vegans are bad with their money. Meet the guy who wants to change that

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Daniel Chi is on a couple of missions.

One, the chair of the Department of Finance at UNLV’s Lee Business School wants to increase financial literacy across Nevada. A recent study found that Nevada has the highest rate of credit card delinquencies and one of the highest overall debt burdens of any state.

About 3,000 students were taught ...Read more

Kara Gildea/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

What are 'pocket listings' in real estate and why are they so controversial?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

While the rise of pocket listings — when a residential property is put up for sale without being placed on the Multiple Listing Service — are tough to track, one local broker said it should concern anyone who is looking to buy or sell a home in the near future.

Multiple studies estimate pocket listings make up small portions of the overall ...Read more