Chuck E. Cheese’s slogan might be “Where a kid can be a kid,” but it might also be called “Where that kid’s parents will probably get into a brawl, ruining everyone’s nights, including the cops who have to come out and break up a youngster’s birthday party.” [More]
north carolina
Uber Driver Claims Company Keeps More Money Than It’s Supposed To
By 2.23.17
When you hail an Uber car, the driver of that vehicle is supposed to get a set percentage of the total fare you pay. However, one driver claims that Uber is breaking its agreement with drivers by basing their cut on an amount that is lower than what the passenger is charged. [More]
Appeals Court: Municipal Internet Is Great, But States Can Still Restrict Access
By 8.10.16 — Updated: 1.25.17
More than a dozen states have laws that either prohibit counties and cities from operating their own broadband internet networks, selling service directly to consumers, or expanding their service behind a prescribed footprint. In 2015, the FCC voted to preempt two of these laws — in Tennessee and North Carolina — but this morning a federal appeals court says the FCC lacks the legal authority to do so. [More]
Students Outraged Over School’s Position That Skinny Jeans Distract From Education
By 5.25.16
Depending on which fashion magazine you subscribe to, skinny jeans are either on their way out or they are here to stay. That distinction could soon be a bit less ambiguous for students in one North Carolina school district currently debating a ban on the tight jeans. [More]
North Carolina Governor Tweaks Anti-LGBT Law; Critics Say It Doesn’t Change Much
By 4.12.16
Only hours after Deutsche Bank canceled its plans to expand its presence in North Carolina — and following a similar decision last week by PayPal — the state’s governor has signed an executive order that softens some aspects of a controversial bill that restricts cities’ ability to protect the rights of people based on sexual preference or gender identification. [More]
Deutsche Bank Halts North Carolina Job Expansion Plans Over Anti-LGBT Law
By 4.12.16
Following in the footsteps of PayPal, Deutsche Bank has announced it’s canceled plans to bring 250 jobs to North Carolina because of the state’s recently enacted law that restricts cities’ ability to offer protections based on sexual preference or gender identification. [More]
PayPal Cancels North Carolina Expansion Plans Because Of Anti-LGBT Law
By 4.5.16
While a number of major businesses have asked North Carolina’s governor to repeal a recently enacted law that restricts cities’ ability to offer protections based on sexual preference or gender identification, most have yet to cease or limit their operations in the state. But today, PayPal said it is scrubbing its recently announced plans to open new offices and hire 400 people in Charlotte. [More]
Facebook, Reddit, Wells Fargo, Bank Of America CEOs Among Those Urging North Carolina To Repeal New Anti-LGBT Law
By 3.31.16
Earlier this month, in a hurried legislative process, North Carolina lawmakers passed HB2, a bill that overrides and prevents local governments from establishing anti-discrimination rules against gay and transgender people. This morning, advocacy groups delivered a letter to NC Gov. Pat McCrory signed by top executives from more than 100 companies, all calling for the state to repeal the law. [More]
North Carolina Attorney General Will Not Defend Anti-LGBT Law In Court
By 3.29.16
A week after North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law a piece of legislation that overrides and prevents local governments from establishing anti-discrimination rules against gay and transgender people, the state’s Attorney General Roy Cooper has called the law a “national embarrassment” that he won’t defend in court. [More]
Appeals Court Questions Tennessee & North Carolina Lawsuit To Restrict Community Broadband
By 3.18.16
More than a year after the FCC voted to preempt state laws in Tennessee and North Carolina that heavily restrict city- and county-owned utilities from providing broadband to consumers, the states and the federal regulator finally had their day in court. [More]
Internet Giants Come Out In Support Of Municipal Broadband
By 11.13.15
Nearly half the states in the U.S. have laws that ban or severely limit cities and counties from operating broadband networks or from selling that service directly to consumers. This week, a trade group representing the biggest names on the Internet — Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, reddit, Yelp, among others — came out in support of breaking down these anti-consumer barriers. [More]
Now You Can Take Your Kids To The “Krispy Kreme Challenge” Clinic
By 10.26.15
While hospital naming rights have long been up for grabs to big donors, it’s not every day that a healthcare facility is branded with the name of a product that most people associate with being unhealthy. There’s no “Black Tar Heroin Elder Care Facility” or “Stick Your Finger In The Light Socket Cancer Center,” but there is now a Krispy Kreme Challenge Children’s Specialty Clinic. [More]
Regulators Drop Probe Into Walmart’s “Made In The U.S.A.” Labeling After Designation Dropped From Website
By 10.21.15
Four months after an advertising watchdog group called out Walmart’s website for selling more than 100 products labeled as “Made in the U.S.A.” even though they were manufactured in other countries, raising the watchful eye of federal regulators, the retailer announced it had removed the designation from its products. [More]
North Carolina City Is First To Offer Internet Service That’s 10 Times Faster Than Google Fiber
By 9.3.15
While Google is in the process of deploying high-speed gigabit Internet service in North Carolina’s major metro areas of Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, the folks in the much smaller city of Salisbury, NC, are being offered access to broadband that’s several times faster. [More]
Walmart Also Selling Mislabeled “Made In America” Products In Stores
By 7.7.15
Last week, an advertising watchdog group called out Walmart’s website for selling more than 100 products labeled as “Made in the U.S.A.” even though they were manufactured in other countries. Now comes a local news report showing that the confusing problem isn’t relegated to Walmart.com. [More]
North Carolina Sues FCC To Keep Limits On Municipal Broadband
By 5.18.15
It’s been a big year for North Carolina in terms of improving the Internet connections for many of its residents. Google Fiber will bring new options to multiple markets in the state, and the FCC acted against a state law that limits municipal broadband providers from expanding their services. But rather than acknowledge that maybe it shouldn’t let Time Warner Cable dictate state laws, North Carolina has sued the FCC. [More]
NHTSA Reviewing Petition To Open Investigation Into Ford Vehicle Lighting Issues
By 4.3.15
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened and closed an investigation into lighting issues in several models of Ford vehicles back in 2008 without demanding a recall. That decision apparently isn’t sitting well with a consumer group that has petitioned the agency to reopen the case after receiving additional complaints. [More]
Texas Roadhouse Serves Up Sangria To 2-Year-Old Girl
By 3.23.15
When you order a cranberry juice for your 2-year-old daughter and the server brings her a glass containing a dark red beverage, you probably wouldn’t think to sample the drink to make sure she hadn’t been given a glass full of boozy sangria. [More]
