free parking
A CBS investigation has revealed that
parking tickets stemming from 85% of the parking meters in Philadelphia are invalid. Pennsylvania law requires inspectors to certify each parking meter for accuracy once every three years, but the single inspector working for Philly's Licenses and Inspections Department, the city agency in change of certification, has visited less than 15% of all parking meters—but he has found the time to certify some meters 8 times while others go completely unchecked. As a result, thousands of parking tickets are invalid under state law.
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good consumers
Martin
Bennett is a 69-year-old former inspector for the Consumer Product Safety Commission who retired over six years ago. Now he
spends his free time monitoring auction sites for recalled products, sending alerts to stores that carry merchandise he considers dangerous, and passing along tips to the CPSC. It's the sort of stuff any consumer can do—except, of course, he actually knows what he's doing: "The agency currently has only 90 inspectors for the whole country, and it says it wants to add more. Since retiring, Mr. Bennett has passed along scores of tips to the CPSC, which says it welcomes the input."
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scary
BusinessWeek has an article that shines some light on a conflict of interest between the airlines and the FAA safety
inspectors. It's the inspector's job to make sure the airlines are operating safely—but inspectors who blow the whistle may face pressure from the airlines and retaliation from the FAA's upper management
The inspectors are the on-the-ground cops who ensure that engines fire up properly, that the wing flaps function, and that all of the other complex machinery in an aircraft is in good working order. They have broad discretion to halt and delay flights—power that often rankles the thinly stretched, financially strapped carriers. When an inspector launches a formal investigation into an apparent safety violation at a passenger airline, something that happened more than 200 times last year, it often triggers costly repairs. And when the bill exceeds $50,000, the FAA must issue a press release alerting the world to the problem.
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news from the swamp
Congress has questions about an internal FDA memo calling for the sacking of 196 food safety analysts. The memo, titled "New Organization Staffing," was released to the House Energy and Commerce Committee as part of an ongoing investigation into the contamination of
spinach,
peanut butter, and
other assorted items. The FDA currently inspects less than 1% of regulated imports. Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair
Bart Stupak (D-MI) sent a letter to the FDA expressing their displeasure with the cuts.
"This number represents 37 percent of the total number of lab analysts currently working in the Office of Regulatory Affairs laboratories," the letter states. "This slashing of analysts comes after an already 24 percent reduction in lab analysts between 2003 and 2007. To say the least, these numbers are deeply disturbing."
The analyst cuts are part of a larger FDA plan to close 7 of the 13 labs that test samples from inspections. The FDA is willing to reconsider its position, but it first wants Congress to pony-up more cash.
— CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
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Consumerist
news from the swamp
The Humane Society of America has sued the USDA in an attempt to close a loophole that allows downer cows who aren't otherwise ill into the food supply. They claim the loophole increases the risk of introducing mad cow disease to humans, and leads to abuse against the cattle—like with, oh, say, a forklift. [Wall Street Journal]
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