Category Archives: Latest In Consumer News
PG&E Faces $1.4 Billion in Penalties for San Bruno Blast
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
The CPUC judges levied a $950 million fine for keeping shoddy pipeline records, violating safety rules and failing to make legally required gas-system adjustments before the September 2010 blast that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. They also ordered the company to refund $400 million it received from customers but failed to spend on safety improvements. “We want to see a lot more to rate relief and fixing the pipes,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network. “The bottom line is ratepayers shouldn’t be left holding the bag.” Read More ›
Promised Care-Home Reform Laws Lose Momentum
by Melody Gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle
Myriad bills were proposed at the beginning of the year to increase transparency and accountability in residential care facilities, which were under intense scrutiny last year following several reports detailing widespread failings in the state’s management of residential care facilities. By the time the legislative session ended Saturday, the most sweeping changes to the system had been either killed in committee or amended to the point that some advocates considered pulling their support. Still, 12 bills were sent to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has already signed two of them. Four were killed in committee. Read More ›
Lyft, Uber back insurance measure
by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
Until two days ago, Uber and Lyft had campaigned ferociously against the bill. The last-minute deal to lower insurance coverage won both companies’ support. The Consumer Attorneys of California, which originally backed the bill, said the new version is too watered-down. A UC San Diego political science professor said the process showed Uber and Lyft flexing new PR and lobbying muscles – successfully. “They had an ability to mobilize grassroots support that’s almost unparalleled because of the digital reach of their consumer network. If I buy a Coke, Coke doesn’t have my e-mail. If I ride Uber, Uber does have my e-mail.” Read More ›
JPMorgan and Other Banks Struck by Hackers
by Nicole Perlroth, The New York Times
Hackers struck a number of U.S. banks in coordinated attacks this month that siphoned off gigabytes of data, including checking and savings account information, in what security experts described as a sophisticated cyberattack. Aside from JPMorgan, it was not clear which other banks were infiltrated. A security firm had warned companies that they should be prepared for cyberattacks from Russia in retaliation for Western economic sanctions. The American banking sector has been a frequent target for hackers in recent years, with the vast majority of attacks motivated by financial theft. Read More ›
Chemical industry fights for flame retardants
by Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune
A leading manufacturer of flame retardants is suing California to block a new flammability standard that starting next year will allow furniture manufacturers to eliminate the chemicals from new upholstered sofas and chairs sold nationwide. Backers of the lawsuit also lobbied fiercely to thwart a California bill [SB 1019] that would require labels on any new furniture that still contains flame retardants. But much like earlier tactics embraced by the chemical industry, the latest legal and political maneuvers rely on flawed data and questionable claims about the effectiveness of flame retardants. Read More ›
Bill Requiring Public Access To Care Facility Inspection Reports Passes
by Katie Nelson, San Jose Mercury News
SB 895 would mandate care facilities to fix within 10 days – unless otherwise directed – any deficiencies found during inspections. It’s part of a larger legislative package to force the Department of Social Services to revise several of its practices, prompted in part by the abandonment of 19 residents at Valley Springs Manor in Castro Valley in late October when the department abruptly shuttered the facility. SB 895 is the first of the package to see any major success. Last week, two of the package’s bills were killed in the state’s senate appropriations committee due to “fiscal reasons.” Read More ›
Bank Fees Survey Mid-2014: Fees Hit New Highs
by Richard Barrington, MoneyRates.com
A new survey of checking account fees finds that average fees rose to new heights across a number of categories so far in 2014. However, it’s a notably different world if you look at online-based checking accounts and those serviced by a traditional branch network. The average monthly fee for an online account is $8.61, compared to $12.95 for a traditional checking account – and online banks are far less likely to even charge such fees. Big banks are where customers are likely to find the highest costs. Read More ›
Flame retardant bill wins important industry support
by Gary Cohn, Capital & Main
Furniture makers switched sides on SB 1019 after state Sen. Mark Leno agreed to clarify the definition of flame retardants. It’s still bitterly opposed by the chemical industry, whose campaign against regulation and public disclosure of flame-retardant chemicals is reminiscent of Big Tobacco’s fight against government controls. “The fact is that flame retardants have not been found to improve fire safety in our furniture and SB 1019 would provide consumers with truth-in-labeling for the first time,” said Judy Levin, pollution prevention co-director at the Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health. Read More ›
DOJ finally confirms record-setting $16.65B settlement with BofA
by Chris Morran, Consumerist
The settlement coming out of BofA’s involvement in the housing market’s collapse exceeds last year’s deal with JPMorgan Chase as the largest in U.S. history. Consumers will see $7 billion in relief, including principal reduction loan modifications; new loans to credit-worthy borrowers struggling to get a loan; assistance to communities recovering from the financial crisis; and financing for affordable rental housing. The settlement also required BofA to concede that it originated risky mortgage loans and made misrepresentations about the quality of those loans. Read More ›
NHTSA launches online search tool so consumers can find out for themselves if a vehicle has been recalled
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
A new online search tool from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration aims to help consumers determine if their vehicles are among the more than 46 million recalled so far this year. Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, encourages consumers to use the tool before purchasing a vehicle, but she notes the system is only in English and only available online. It’s illegal to sell recalled products like microwaves and blenders, but there’s no similar law for recalled vehicles. Read More ›
PG&E pleads not guilty in gas explosion case; San Bruno demands PUC preserve computer drives
by George Avalos, San Jose Mercury News
The 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno killed eight people. PG&E is charged with 28 federal criminal counts, including obstruction of justice for allegedly impeding an investigation into the explosion and safety violations that led to the explosion, San Bruno officials are concerned that key electronic and paper documents could vanish. The utility faces a fine of up to $1.13 billion if convicted. Read More ›
Indictments in Petaluma case of contaminated beef
by Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle
A federal grand jury charged officials at a slaughterhouse linked to a massive recall with selling sick cows. Rancho Feeding Corp. stopped operating the slaughterhouse after a recall of a year’s worth of meat – 8.7 million pounds – that had been processed from diseased and unhealthy animals without a full federal inspection. Between 2013 and 2014, the plant processed and distributed meat from 101 condemned cattle and 79 cows that had been infected with eye cancer, the indictment said. The animals’ heads were chopped off so inspectors couldn’t detect the disease. Read More ›
PUC’s invitation reads like PG&E’s language
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
PG&E organized a gas safety conference last year to be held under the banner of the CPUC. Documents provide the best evidence yet of an overly cozy relationship between PG&E and the CPUC, which will decide within the next two months whether to fine the company as much as $2.5 billion for the September 2010 gas-pipeline explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno. San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson said the e-mails were “more than shocking. … They show PG&E and not the PUC was the mastermind behind this symposium.” Read More ›