Australian surfwear company Billabong International has named former Nordstrom executive Jim Howell as CFO, succeeding Peter Myers, who has served in the role since January 2013.

Retailers must continue to invest in plus-size clothing, as research finds that one in every five pounds spent on womenswear this year will be spent on plus-size garments.

Marks & Spencer is entering into a new collaboration with Oxfam aimed at developing a deeper understanding of the connection between sourcing practices and human rights impacts in India as part of a new Plan A 2025 programme launched by the UK retailer today (1 June) that will also see it disclose raw material supplier details.

Author Terry McDermott will discuss his new book, “Off Speed: Baseball, Pitching, and the Art of Deception,” at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 4, at Laguna Beach Books, 1200 S. Coast Highway, suite 105. “Off Speed” contains among other things a history of pitching, a history of personal fandom and a pitch-by-pitch breakdown of a single game – Felix Hernandez’s perfect game, on Aug. 15, 2012. McDermott is a former national reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the author of three other books, including: “101 Theory Drive: The Discovery of Memory.” lagunabeachbooks.com

The California Writers Club presents writer Denise Hamilton, who transitioned from Los Angeles Times journalist to best-selling crime fiction novelist. Her latest novel, “Damage Control,” weaves an engrossing story of teenage friendship and adult betrayal featuring a high-powered young woman in the crisis management world who gets swept up in murder and scandal involving a wealthy political family. She will speak at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Orange Public Library, 407 E. Chapman Ave. $3-$5. calwriters.org

Join the conversation: Sign up to be part of the Register Book Club on Facebook and connect with other local book lovers.

Do you have a local book event you’d like to share? Are you an author with Orange County ties and a new book? Email bookclub@ocregister.com. For events, please submit information at least two weeks in advance.

ST. LOUIS – Adam Wainwright hit a two-run home run and pitched six scoreless innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Dodgers 2-0 Thursday afternoon.

Wainwright and Wednesday’s starter, Carlos Martinez, combined to hold the Dodgers to one run in 14 innings over the final two games of the four-game series at Busch Stadium. The Dodgers had averaged 6.5 runs per game during a six-game winning streak before the back-to-back losses.

Right-hander Brandon McCarthy started for the Dodgers and went only four innings. He hung a curveball to Wainwright with two outs in the second inning for the only runs of the game. It was Wainwright’s 10th career home run, third among active pitchers behind Madison Bumgarner and Yovani Gallardo.

The Dodgers had opportunities to even the score against Wainwright but went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position during his six innings. They stranded runners at the corners in the second and fourth innings, at second and third in the fifth.

Cardinals relievers walked the first batter in the seventh and eighth innings. But the Dodgers bounced into double plays both times, negating those potential scoring opportunities.

Adrian Gonzalez led off the ninth and was called out by home plate umpire Marty Foster on a strike three clearly outside. Foster ejected Gonzalez later in the inning when Gonzalez continued complaining from the dugout. Chase Utley singled with one out in the midst of that but was stranded.

Software firm PTC is to expand its Vuforia platform to include a new remote presence capability for developers, consumers, and businesses.

Indie rock band Arcade Fire just released its latest single and music video for “Everything Now,” the title track off of their fifth studio album, which is set to drop on Friday, July 28.

“Everything Now” the first new release since Arcade Fire’s much celebrated 2013 album, “Reflektor,” and is now available for pre-order through the new Arcade Fire e-store.

The release will be available digitally and physically on CD, cassette tape and a special heavyweight black vinyl, which will feature 20 different artwork variants, each with the album title in one of 20 different languages. There will also be a limited edition “Night” packaging of both CD and colored vinyl formats.

Arcade Fire also announced the first leg of its massive Infinite Content Tour, which includes a stop at the Forum (3900 W. Manchester Blvd.) in Inglewood on Friday, Oct. 20. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 9 at 800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com.

Former UCLA quarterback Cade McNown and linebacker Ken Norton Jr. landed on the ballot for the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame class on Thursday.

McNown (1995-98) was a consensus All-American in 1998 after leading UCLA to a Rose Bowl berth while setting UCLA season records for passing yards (3,470), touchdown passes (25) and total offense (3,652). He led the Bruins to a school-record 20 consecutive wins during his junior and senior years before finishing third in the 1998 Heisman Trophy voting. He is still the school leader in passing yards (10,708) and ranks second in total offense (11,285).

Norton (1984-87) was an All-American and Butkus Award finalist in 1987 and ranks eighth on UCLA’s all-time tackles list with 339. The Westchester High alumnus helped the Bruins to four consecutive bowl wins and the conference championship in 1985.

After getting drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft, Norton became the first player in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls (1993 and 1994 with Dallas, 1995 with San Francisco). He is currently the defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. He previously coached at USC from 2004-09, where he was the linebackers coach.

The 2018 hall of fame class will be announced Jan, 8, 2018 and inducted in a ceremony on Dec. 4, 2018.

LAGUNA BEACH   Detectives with the Laguna Beach Police Department on Thursday, June 1 released photos from a surveillance camera and are looking for leads in identifying two suspects accused of causing $1,000 in damage at a local surf shop.

The incident happened at 12:11 a.m. on Saturday, May 13 outside Thalia Surf Shop at 915 S. Coast Highway, said Laguna Beach police Detective Jordan Mirakian.

Officers arrived on scene as the two unknown males fled. The suspects are accused of damaging a wooden fence outside the shop.

Police received reports that the suspects could have come from the direction of the Sandpiper Lounge, but Mirakian said that has not been confirmed.

Anyone with information is asked to call 949-497-0701.

Winnie Beattie and Tracy Feith’s vision for Warm is steeped in the principles of down time — sun, surf, skate, relax — ideas that jibe with the old school concept of resort. They wanted this collection to reflect traditional, big occasion travel, but instead of leaning into the beachy thing they’re known for, they cleaned up and made the clothes more formal. “I feel like there’s nothing particularly boho about this collection,” Beattie said.
Everything is relative. The lineup was still stocked with big mixed floral prints, loose fits, cotton voiles and airy silks, but Beattie and Feith kept the color scheme fresh and sporty — red, blue, white, yellow — and used fabrics with a little more weight and structure. A breezy printed chiffon blouse was worn with matching pants that felt like a pajama/track suit hybrid. Crisp cottons came in a crafty but spare wallpaper print and techno silks were cut in roomy tops, basketball shorts and dresses in a spiffy graphic print. Even more sporty were stylized sweats done in navy, white and red in a nod to the Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica frenzy of the Nineties that’s having a comeback with the cool skate/surf kids.

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