As we reported in June, the District remains one of the last places in the country where tattoo and piercing parlors are a wholly unregulated business. That could soon change.

At a hearing before the Public Services and Consumer Affairs Committee yesterday, the D.C. Council heard testimony both for and against the so-called payday loan industry, which has often been criticized for predatory lending practices. The businesses market themselves as a way for lower income individuals who don’t qualify for credit or a bank loan to get emergency cash. The industry’s opponents charge that payday loans prey on our society’s most vulnerable people by charging…