THE WEEK THAT WAS...

SeaWorld faces setback

SeaWorld was dealt a big blow when the California Coastal Commission moved to ban captive whale breeding and drastically restrict the movement of whales in and out of the park. Those conditions were set as part of its approval of SeaWorld’s plan to build an expanded holding facility for its orcas. Animal rights activists turned out in droves for the vote and cheered the decision.

Disneyland hikes prices

Happy just got a lot more expensive. Disneyland rolled out two new annual passes: the Signature Plus pass, which costs $1,049, and the Signature pass, which costs $849 and includes all of the Signature Plus options but has about two weeks’ worth of blackout days. The prices of Disneyland’s other annual passes also increased, as well as the price of parking.

L.A. retailer in trouble

American Apparel, the long-struggling Los Angeles clothing manufacturer and retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after years of flagging sales, huge debt and management dysfunction. The move will take American Apparel private and hand nearly 100% control to its largest bondholders. But analysts say it might not be enough to save the company.

VW fallout continues

Facing international outrage, a top Volkswagen executive blamed a handful of rogue software engineers for the company’s emissions-test cheating scandal and told lawmakers that it would take years to f ix most of the nearly half a million vehicles affected in the U.S. The automaker revealed that three VW employees had been suspended in connection with the problem.