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washington
washington
Slapping A Loudmouth 10-Year-Old Is Not The Best Way To Get Him To Shut Up In A Movie Theater
By Chris Morran on May 22, 2012 12:15 PM
150 Comments
What happens when two bad consumers come in conflict with each other in dimly lit movie theater? One ends up with a bloody nose and lost tooth, while the other faces assault charges. More »
Bank Of America Tells Family It Won't Foreclose, Tries To Foreclose Anyway
By Chris Morran on May 4, 2012 3:53 PM
53 Comments
For two years, a family in Washington state has been waiting for Bank of America to get its act together and finally figure out whether it's evicting them or whether it's going to adjust their mortgage. More »
(cakefarm)
Postal Carrier Told He Can No Longer Wear Santa Suit On The Job
By Chris Morran on December 21, 2011 4:30 PM
125 Comments
For more than a decade, a postal carrier in Bellevue, WA, has spread Christmas cheer along his mail route by donning a Santa Claus costume over his uniform for a few days leading up to Dec. 25. But after someone complained to the USPS about his Kris Kringle getup, the Santa costume will have to remain in his closet this year. More »
Washington State Inspectors "Deeply Concerned" About Undercooked Beef At Burger King
By Chris Morran on September 8, 2011 2:30 PM
55 Comments
While most people are used to the grayish, overcooked burgers often served at fast food mega-chains, inspectors for the Washington Dept. of Health have found what they call a "disturbing trend" of undercooked beef being served at Burger King. More »
(afagen)
Office Depot Manager Accused Of Swiping Millions In Toner And Ink
By Chris Morran on June 14, 2011 2:31 PM
52 Comments
The loss prevention staff at Office Depot should be checking employees' pockets. Authorities in Washington state have charged a manager, along with a former employee, at the retail chain of swiping oodles of office supplies that they are accused of then re-selling on eBay. More »
(sroemerm)
Bill Introduced To Delay Swipe Fee Reform
By Ben Popken on March 18, 2011 12:00 PM
39 Comments
Bills were introduced in both the House and Senate to delay "swipe fee reform" by at least a year and they call for a study of its potential effects. The new rules, scheduled to take effect July 21, would cap the fee banks can charge merchants for processing debit card fees at 12 cents per transaction. More »
Landlord Wouldn't Fix Leak For 5 Months. This Letter Got Him To Do It in 5 Days.
By Ben Popken on March 7, 2011 11:00 AM
52 Comments
Raymond and his wife had a leak in their master bedroom ceiling that they begged their landlord to fix for five months, with no result. With a baby due in a month, they really needed full use of their bedroom. Then Raymond wrote a very good complaint letter specifically citing his state's landlord-tenant law and proposing a retroactive rent reduction for all the months the leak wasn't fixed. That got their attention. More »
Seattle-Area Restaurant Refuses To Serve TSA Agents
By Chris Morran on February 22, 2011 11:15 AM
217 Comments
Fed up with what he views as crappy treatment from the TSA, the owner of a restaurant near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has decided to put all TSA agents on his No-Eat List. More »
Rich DC Burbs Pay $9.58, Rurals Pay $31.17/Mbps
By Ben Popken on February 18, 2011 2:00 PM
68 Comments
The rich get richer while the poor get...slower? A new report by investigative journalist John Dunbar cracks open the numbers that are tightly held by the industry and found vast disparities in the quality and price of service based on how close to town. By comparing customer speed tests and surveys, he found that while folks in the low-income areas outside of the Washington Metropolitan Area pay slightly less for their broadband, those in the wealthier DC burbs are getting far more bandwidth for their buck. The poor are paying on average $31.17/Mbps while the rich are paying only $9.58. More »
( thelowfive)
Lawmaker Tries To Stop Modern Day Debtor's Prisons
By Ben Popken on February 17, 2011 3:00 PM
106 Comments
We've brought you several stories about so-called modern day debtor's prisons that have starting rising across America as shady debt collectors pervert the power of the courts to their own end. They're basically deputizing the local police to do their debt collecting for them. Now a Washington lawmaker has put forward a new bill to try to put a stop to the practice. More »
Finallyfast.com Refunds Thousands In Scareware Suit
By Ben Popken on January 5, 2011 4:00 PM
81 Comments
FinallyFast, one of those companies with the late-night infomercials promising to make your computer faster, has settled with the Washington AG for misleading and deceiving consumers, and making it hard to cancel or get refunds. One of their tactics was to make the free scan on their site falsely identify harmless files on your computer as being errors. Consumers can now get some of their money back. More »
Wells Fargo Repossesses Fully Paid-Off Car
By Chris Morran on November 2, 2010 4:00 PM
186 Comments
Looks like banks are really bad at more than just home foreclosures. A woman in Tacoma, WA, was left car-less after Wells Fargo had her vehicle repossessed, even though she owned her car outright. More »
(mbeldyk)
Wendy's Employee Caught Using Credit Card Skimmer To Steal 135 Identities
By Chris Morran on July 29, 2010 3:15 PM
53 Comments
How many times have you handed over your credit card at a fast-food joint and never thought twice about the security of your identity? Here's some news that might give you pause — an employee at a Wendy's in Washington state has been charged with using a card skimmer to steal the identities of 135 customers and racking up around $75,000 in fraudulent charges on those accounts. More »
(mrbill)
American Airlines Loses Netanyahu Bodyguard's Guns
By Ben Popken on July 7, 2010 11:00 AM
99 Comments
World leaders are people just like the rest of us. They have dreams and flaws, put their pants on one leg at a time, and they're not even immune to having their luggage lost or stolen while traveling by air. Not even when that luggage is the four Glock 9mms belonging to their personal bodyguard. UPDATE: The luggage has been found, but the guns are gone. More »
Walmart Aims For Store In D.C.
By Chris Walters on July 6, 2010 12:30 PM
27 Comments
Now that Walmart has finally triumphed over Chicago, it's setting its sites on the remaining urban markets that have so far resisted the retailer. The Washington Post says an unnamed source has told them that Walmart is in final negotiations with a plot of land "on New York Avenue NE near the intersection of Bladensburg Road." The area currently houses an auto parts shop and a strip club, among other businesses. More »
Filibuster Scuttles Jobless Benefits Restoration For Third Time
By Ben Popken on July 2, 2010 12:00 PM
129 Comments
Happy Fourth of July weekend! To help you celebrate Independence Day, which includes independence from the government dole, a Senate filibuster has successfully prevented unemployment benefits from being extended for 1.3 million out of work citizens. More »
(Urban Design 4 Health)
Cul-de-sacs Are Making Us Fat
By Ben Popken on June 23, 2010 11:00 AM
176 Comments
Are the disconnected cul-de-sacs so popular in suburban development actually strangling their communities? More »
Woman Arrested For Squatting In $3.3 Million Mansion
By Chris Morran on June 16, 2010 3:45 PM
69 Comments
If you're going to live in a house that doesn't belong to you, why not make it a luxury home? After all, there are more than a few of them sitting empty these days. And that's exactly what a woman in Washington state had been doing, at least until she got caught. More »
Should Plastic Shopping Bags Be Banned?
By Chris Morran on June 6, 2010 2:32 PM
328 Comments
There's a growing movement in the United States, especially in coastal communities, to curb the use of plastic shopping bags. In fact, both San Francisco and North Carolina's Outer Banks are among those communities that have already passed laws forbidding plastic bags. A statewide ban made it to the State Assembly level in California and at least one politician in Seattle is pushing for an end to their use. More »
(SA Steve)
Sheriff's Deputy Sues Burger King Over Spitty Whopper
By Chris Morran on April 15, 2010 1:29 PM
49 Comments
A year after being served a Whopper with some extra-special sauce inside, a sheriff's deputy in Washington state has filed a lawsuit against Burger King, claiming the company was negligent for having an employee that spat in his burger. More »
