The multibillion-dollar U.S. skiing and snowboarding industry often markets itself with carefree images of people enjoying powdery snow and sunny blue skies. But rarely does it deal publicly with the very unglamorous issues of accidents, injury, liability and insurance.

A new three-part series by the Denver Post has reviewed years of accident reports at Colorado ski resorts, as well as the ensuing lawsuits, and has come out with some interesting data -- information that often applies to ski areas all around the country.

Informally trained resort employees are usually the first on the scene at a skiing or snowboarding accident. That means, in the event of a death or serious injury, the victim's relatives and even law enforcement often have only the resort's version of the accident.

 

Darden Restaurants' (DRI) Red Lobster seems to be testing the adage "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Amid challenges from casual-dining chains such as Chipotle (CMG) and Panera Bread (PNRA), which offer no-tip counter service, Red Lobster is testing a new option that plays the same game. 

The chain is trying two versions of what's called fast-casual dining, which is counter service that appeals to diners by cutting out the need for tips while delivering food faster than traditional sit-down restaurants. 

Red Lobster calls the new service "Seaside Express" and is testing it in two locations near Orlando, Fla., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

 

With consumers hit by higher payroll taxes and feeling squeezed by a jump in gas prices this year, the Easter Bunny is getting shortchanged. 

Retailers can expect the average Easter celebrator to spend $145.13 on candy, decorations, clothing and food, down a tick from $145.28 last year, according to a study from the National Retail Federation. 

Even though it's a small shave for Easter spending, it's not good news for retailers already worried about consumers' tight wallets. Executives at Wal-Mart (WMT) had already expressed concern about a "total disaster" in its February sales as payroll-tax increases hit consumers earlier this year. 

With shoppers watching their spending, almost two-thirds of families said they'll hit discount stores this Easter.

 

Shares of Lululemon (LULU) were falling this morning after the maker of trendy athletic apparel announced it pulled its iconic black yoga workout pants for women off the shelves. The problem is a manufacturing defect that resulted "in a level of sheerness" that was unacceptable in its Luon pants.

This is a big deal, affecting 17% of all the women's pants sold in Lululemon's stores, and it will have a "significant impact" on financial results, which are set to be released Thursday. Lululemon says it will release more details about the recall at that time.

Not surprisingly, Lululemon slashed its earnings outlook. The company now expects comparable-store sales, a key retail metric measuring performance at stores open at least a year, to gain 5% to 8% in the first quarter, down from an earlier forecast of 11% on a constant-currency basis. Revenue is expected to be $333 million to $343 million, versus an earlier estimate of $350 million to $355 million. Wall Street analysts had forecast sales of $353.66 million. 

Pennsylvania's state-owned system of liquor stores, long derided by residents of the Keystone State as being woefully inefficient, is moving closer to the scrap heap.

Voting along party lines, the House Liquor Control Committee agreed to back Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's plan to sell the locations. The proposal, opposed by Democrats and unions representing state store workers, now heads to the full House where it's scheduled for a vote on Thursday. If passed, it would then go to the full Senate.

The Philadelphia Inquirer quotes a statement from Corbett as describing the committee vote as a "momentous first step to bring Pennsylvania into the 21st century and provide Pennsylvanians with the convenience and choice that Americans in 48 other states enjoy." 

Buying a mobile phone means sifting through a dizzying array of options, from the type of phone to the data plan. And with some wireless companies dinged for their customer service, it's not always clear whether you're getting the best advice from the salespeople.

But one anonymous Verizon Wireless (VZ) store manager is telling all to readers at website Reddit, taking questions on topics ranging from his view of the iPhone (bad) to how to break the dreaded contract.

One thing is clear from readers' questions: The wireless market often seems like a confusing morass of obligations, tricks and loopholes. 

Here are five secrets revealed by the store manager, a six-year employee of Verizon Wireless: 

 

Cities chosen to host the NCAA men's basketball tournament celebrate the event as a slam dunk for the local economy -- but it's a layup at best. 

Philadelphia and Kansas City have hosted games 27 and 29 times, respectively, and they'll reap about $10 million each in economic benefits from hosting parts of the March Madness games this year, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

Though the games do benefit local businesses, their impact on the regional economy will be minuscule. For instance, Philadelphia's regional gross domestic product is about $353 billion, and Kansas City's is about $100 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The impact is probably similar in Detroit ($176 billion), Atlanta ($283 billion) and Washington, D.C. ($433 billion), which are also hosting games in the 2013 tournament. 

It's bad enough for a couple of Girl Scout troops in Oregon to get stiffed on a $24,000 order for 6,000 boxes of cookies. It's even worse when the perpetrator isn't some big uncaring company or soulless adult, but one of the scouts' own.

As ABC's Good Morning America reported on Sunday, two troops from the Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington were left with huge stockpiles of cookies when an email order they received turned out to be a fake. What GMA didn't report, and what The Oregonian found out later, was that the order was approved because the email came from an acquaintance of a troop leader.

The troop leader exchanged dozens of e-mails with the sender over the next few weeks, but the person on the other end turned out to be a girl using her mother's address to have some fun at the scouts' five-figure expense.