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Posts Tagged “

Wisconsin

stubborn

Guy In Wisconsin Is Refusing To Buy Any More Damn Gasoline... For A Month

Brian LaFave of Sheboygan, WI has had enough of high gas prices, so he's parking his truck and biking to work... for a month. Brian used to put 300 miles a week on his trusty pickup truck, but no longer. He's biking to work, not accepting free rides unless his friends are already in his neighborhood, and taking the money he saves and donating it to charity. More »

harsh

6 Days In Jail For Overdue Library Books

Beloit, Wisconsin does not f*&% around when it comes to library books. When your books aren't returned to the Beloit Public Library, three overdue notices are mailed out and then you may be issued a citation that could possibly include a court date. More »

damage

Time Warner: A Tornado Destroyed Your House Our Cable Boxes? That'll Be $2,000

Ann Beam's Wheatland, WI home was destroyed by a tornado earlier this month. Then a snow storm hit and made clean up difficult. To top it off, she opened her Time Warner Cable bill and saw a $2,000 charge for the 5 (9-year-old) cable boxes and remotes that were destroyed in the tornado. More »

errors

Social Security Numbers Visible On Envelopes Mailed By Wisconsin... AGAIN

Look, Wisconsin. We weren't kidding around last time. We really did mean it when we said that it wasn't cool to print people's Social Security Numbers where anyone can see them. How can people who are smart enough to sell sausage shaped like beer (above) not able to figure out that the SSN is a secret? More »

taking it seriously

Wisconsin Takes Printing Your SSN On Mailing Labels Twice Seriously

WHO: EDS Corp., a vendor hired by the State of Wisconsin
WHAT: The State of Wisconsin is responsible for citizens social security numbers being printed on mailing labels twice in 13 months. The company they hired, but did not adequately supervise, is now offering free ID theft insurance to those citizens of Wisconsin whose SSNs were exposed.
WHERE: Free ID theft Insurance Offered In Foul-up(scroll) [Milwaukee J-S]
THE QUOTE: "We take our responsibility in Wisconsin very seriously and we take this matter very seriously," Kenny said. "We regret that it happened." More »

errors

The State Of Wisconsin Needs To STOP Printing Social Security Numbers On Mailing Labels

What the hell, Wisconsin?! The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting that for the second time in just over a year, the state of Wisconsin has printed mailing labels that display the social security numbers of the recipient. More »

success stories

Letter To Wisconsin Department Of Weights And Measures Results In Victory

Reader Gabe writes in to tell us that he reported a gas station to the Wisconsin Department of Weights and Measures because he noticed that the pump started charging him before he ever pulled the trigger. More »

weights and measures

Walmart Fined $89,705 For Overcharging Wisconsin Customers

Walmart received an $89,705 fine after the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection found 280 weights and measures violations at nine Walmart stores. The gargantuan retailer failed to subtract the weight of packaging materials, or "tare weight," when pricing bulk items like coffee, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.
Judy Cardin, section chief for weights and measures with the state, said that in the case of bulk coffee, the weight of the packaging materials was included when the price of the product was determined. The state had tested one-pound bags of Cameron brand coffee beans, which were found to be 3/100ths of a pound over the actual bagged content.
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ew

Scabies Outbreak Shuts Down The Children's Place

A Children's Place store was shut down and fumigated after an outbreak of scabies amongst its employees. Ew! More »

baby free for less

Target Matches Walmart's $9 Birth Control Pill Program

Attention women who like the idea of $9 birth control: Target has announced that they will be matching Walmart's program. Target will also be matching the additions to the $4 generic program. More »

little old ladies

FedEx Package Signed For By Mysterious "LOLDLADY"

Reader Nick sent us the tracking info on his FedEx package. He's not home right now, but he knows that a mysterious stranger has signed for his package. The tracking info shows the person's name as "LOLDLADY." Nick writes:
I've been waiting for a FedEx package and apparently it was delivered today while I wasn't home and signed for by "LOLDLADY" (an abbreviation for little old lady maybe?). Either way, I just thought this was funny considering FedEx will usually enter the name of the person who signed for the package and not just a description like this.
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whoops

Wisconsin Accuses Walmart Of Dodging Taxes

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue is irritated with Walmart. They've just noticed that Walmart has been charging itself rent in a (successful) attempt to avoid paying taxes. Teehee! More »

Walmart Caught Incorrectly Tagging Food As Organic People in Wisconsin take their organic food seriously, Walmart. Don't mess with Wisconsin. They wear cheese on their heads, for pete's sake.

stupid laws

Harder To Sell Used CDs Than It Is To Get A Driver's License?

According to Ars Technica, in a few states its going to be harder to sell used CDs than it will be to get a Driver's License. What?
...you'll certainly feel like a criminal once the local record shop makes copies of all of your identifying information and even collects your fingerprints. Such is the state of affairs in Florida, which now has the dubious distinction of being so anal about the sale of used music CDs that record shops there are starting to get out of the business of dealing with used content because they don't want to pay a $10,000 bond for the "right" to treat their customers like criminals. ...
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riaa

RIAA 1, Badgers 0: Judge Orders University of Wisconsin-Madison To Turn Over Student IDs

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been ordered by a federal judge to hand over the names and contact information of the 53 UW students accused of file sharing over the university's networks. From the Wisconsin State Journal:
On Tuesday, 16 record companies represented by the Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking the names associated with 53 Internet connections for copyright infringement. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Shabaz signed an order requiring UW-Madison to relinquish the names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and Media Access Control addresses for each of the 53 individuals.
UW had initially declined to forward the "settlement" letters to their students, preferring to wait for a court order. The RIAA record companies responded by filing 53 "John Doe" lawsuits against the UW students. "We had every indication that they were going to be going in this direction," said Ken Frazier, interim chief information officer at UW-Madison. "It's the step the RIAA would have to take to get the identity of a user of our network." "We continue to be really concerned for students," he said. "The prospect of being sued in federal court is a really scary one." More »

mailboxes

Check With The Postmaster Before You Install A Mailbox, Or Else

John Conway paid $1,300 for a lamppost and matching mailbox, but the Thiensville, WI postmaster refuses to provide service because the mailbox is on the wrong side of the street. The disputed mailbox is part of a new housing development located twenty minutes north of Milwaukee.
"I'm sort of the guy who set the pace here," Conway said, pointing out that he and his wife are the first residents of Concord Creek. "I'm cemented in."
The Conway's concrete stance has the post office in a tizzy. They have refused to answer the Conway's phone calls, and a local paper quoted one postal supervisor threatening to mark the Conway's mail "return to sender." A killjoy postal spokeswoman later retracted the statement, adding "We don't do that." More »

razors

Babies And Razor Blades Don't Mix

Reader Ted (whose daughter was born on St.Patricks's Day, Congratulations Ted!) found a razor blade inside a Learning Curve Close and Secure Sleeper he purchased from Target. Ted writes:
I've been enjoying your site for many months now, but I'm easy to please so I haven't had the need to e-mail you about anything until now. Our baby daughter was born on St. Patrick's day and we brought her home yesterday. Today my fianc e and I went to Target East in Madison, WI and I waited in the car with the baby while she went in and bought a Close and Secure Sleeper which is from The First Years line by Learning Curve. It is a mini-bed of sorts that allows your baby to sleep in bed with mom and dad. This afternoon we put it on the couch and put the baby in it while we watched tv. This evening my fianc e was getting tired and she wanted to take the baby upstairs and put her in our bed so they could both get some sleep. I folded it up, brought it upstairs, and unfolded it on the bed. That's when I saw it: the silhouette of a razor blade beneath the mattress cover for the Sleeper.
The rest of Ted's email and more pictures inside... More »

rights

Charged Extra For Not Speaking Chinese?

A Wisconsin man has filed a discrimination complaint with New York City's Human Rights Commission against the Canal Seafood Restaurant for allegedly giving Chinese customers a menu with lower prices. From the New York Daily News:
David Lopez, a visitor from Wisconsin, contacted the commission after eating at the restaurant with several friends last October.
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