Salon | featured news

With thinning brown hair and nearly invisible eyebrows, Margaret Fisher sits her frail frame down in the salon chair. She received a diagnosis of Stage IV pancreatic cancer almost two years ago and has undergone 18 radiation treatments and six rounds of chemotherapy since. A hairstylist places a wig on Fisher’s head and draws eyebrows on her bare face. Fisher, 63, looks in the mirror and smiles.

Nine months ago, Salon.com's founder, David Talbot, took up the mantle of CEO, bearing with him a plan: By appealing to readers for financial support in the manner of NPR and PBS while keeping its content free to read, Salon could could diversify its revenue mix while maximizing its audience -- and thus its income from advertising.

It didn't quite work out that way.

Some nail polishes commonly found in California salons and advertised as free of a so-called "toxic trio" of chemicals actually have high levels of agents linked to birth defects, according to state chemical regulators.

Seal Beach police said the death toll from the salon shooting has risen to eight people. A ninth victim is in critical condition at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. "This could be one of our greatest tragedies," Police Sgt. Steve Bowles said.

Talk about a weighty issue: When Michelle Fonville got the bill for her beauty treatment at a local nail salon, she also got a rude surprise — a $5 surcharge. The salon manager said it was to compensate for chairs broken by overweight customers.