Last fall, the Philadelphia City Council passed a bill that would remove unused satellite dishes and pretty up any new ones that were bolted to the sides and roofs of city buildings. But that law is having some trouble becoming a reality after a group representing satellite TV providers filed a petition with the FCC. [More]
Government Policy
Feds Fight Big Tobacco Over Graphic Anti-Smoking Labels
By 2.2.12
Cigarette makers appear to be winning the legal battle against the federal government’s requirement that large graphic images of the consequences of smoking be displayed on all packages of cigarettes. The rule was supposed to take effect next year, but a U.S. District judge has put that plan on hold until the issue is resolved. [More]
Woman Whips Honda In Small Claims Court
By 2.2.12
The woman who took Honda to small claims court because her Civic didn’t live up to its advertised gas mileage is now almost $10,000 richer thanks to a Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner ruling. [More]
Kodak Wants To Wipe Its Name Off Of Academy Awards Venue
By 2.2.12
It’s generally seen as bad form for a bankrupt company like Kodak to have its name plastered on a theater as a title sponsor. Kodak, which filed for Chapter 11 protection last month, has realized it would have a lot more cash to burn if it could wriggle out of a $75 million, 20-year commitment to slap its name on the Kodak Theatre, which hosts the Academy awards. [More]
Spirit Adds $2 "Dept. Of Transportation Unintended Consequences Fee"
By 2.1.12
Fresh off fighting laws that require truth in advertising, Spirit Airlines, which hilariously dubbed itself the “most consumer-friendly airline,” is now taking a stand against another government regulation — one that requires airlines to allow passengers to change flights within 24 hours of booking without paying a penalty — by adding two dollars to everyone’s ticket. [More]
TSA Employee Accused Of Lifting 8 iPads That Were Definitely Not His
By 2.1.12
A Transportation Security Administration worker at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport stands accused of theft, after cops say he was found with eight iPads he’d boosted from checked luggage. Looting bags has become too popular of a pastime these days, but luckily one owner used his device’s tracking system to locate the pilfered pad. [More]
Angry Birds CEO: "Piracy May Not Be A Bad Thing"
By 2.1.12
While lawmakers and Hollywood execs try to come up with ways to combat piracy in ham-fisted, knee-jerk ways that punish everyone, the CEO of Rovio Mobile — better known as the company that makes Angry Birds — has joined his voice to more sensible suits who see online piracy as an opportunity to learn and grow. [More]
Feds Announce Program To Turn Foreclosures Into Rentals
By 2.1.12
In an effort to put living, paying bodies into homes left vacant following foreclosure, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced the beginnings of a program to sell off pools of foreclosed properties to investors who would then rent them out. [More]
Senators Push Legislation To Make Dollar Coin More Than A Novelty Item
By 1.31.12
The fight over whether or not the dollar should be printed or minted continues. The latest volley of cannon fire in favor of the dollar coin came from Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa and Arizona’s John McCain, who earlier today introduced the Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings (Hey — that spells COINS!) Act to promote the use of coins in an effort to curb waste and spending. [More]
Republicans: Expect Legal Challenges To Richard Cordray's 'Invalid' Appointment As CFPB Head
By 1.31.12
Republican senators have a buzzy little bee in their collective bonnets over the appointment of Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. See, they’re mad that President Obama took it upon himself to finalize the deed while the Senate was in recess, and say his “invalid” appointment will hurt business. [More]
Megaupload User Data To Get Two-Week Stay Of Execution
By 1.31.12
Things were looking grim for the millions of users who had made mega uploads to Megaupload, as authorities stated that data could begin being deleted off the site’s servers as early as this Thursday. But the two hosting companies that currently house all those files aren’t ready to bring down the virtual axe just yet. [More]
Dutch Court Says You Can't Beat Someone Up & Steal Their Stuff, Whether It's Real Or Virtual
By 1.31.12
It’s pretty cut and dry when a kid beats up another kid and takes his sneakers, but what if the fighting results in one party having to give up his virtual possessions in an online game? The Dutch Supreme Court says it’s theft no matter what items were stolen, after a youth was beaten and threatened into surrendering his virtual property. [More]
Dallas Bar-Owners Unhappy About New School Ruining Their Neighborhood
By 1.31.12
Usually when you see reports about a flashy new charter school going into a neighborhood of bars and nightclubs, it’s about how local families are thrilled about the area taking a turn for the better. But bar-owners in Dallas’ Deep Ellum area are hoping to 86 the school’s plans of bringing education to the block. [More]
Senate Inches Closer To Ending Insider Trading By Lawmakers
By 1.31.12
Sometimes good things come out of Presidential election year grandstanding. After years of reaping the benefits of a loophole that allowed insider trading by members of the Senate and House of Representatives (and their aides), legislation to stop this behavior is closer to becoming reality. [More]
Another Guy Sues Frito-Lay, Says He Wasted $.10/Ounce On 'All-Natural' Chips
By 1.31.12
Print something on a package and you better believe consumers are going to take it seriously, hence why a New York man is adding another lawsuit to Frito-Lay’s docket, claiming their line of chips aren’t made with “all-natural ingredients” as advertised. [More]
Legislators Totally Cool With Required Drug Testing Unless It Applies To Them
By 1.30.12
One way to get a politician to withdraw a bill requiring drug-testing for welfare applicants? Just tell him lawmakers also have to get tested, and see how fast he boomerangs. Rep. Jud McMillin, a Republican member of the Indiana General Assembly, took back his drug-testing bill after one of his helpful Democratic colleagues amended it ever so slightly. [More]
FTC Fines Debt Collector $2.5 Million For Deceiving Consumers
By 1.30.12
After years of writing about shady practices by debt collectors, it’s nice to finally write that there’s a small bit of justice in this world. Today, the Federal Trade Commission announced a $2.5 million civil penalty against Asset Acceptance, one of the country’s largest debt collectors, for making misrepresentations and deceiving consumers in the name of collecting debts. [More]
Megaupload User Files — Even The Non-Pirated Stuff — Could Be Destroyed
By 1.30.12
Less than two weeks after authorities shut down file-sharing site Megaupload, it looks like everything stored by users on that site’s servers could soon be erased, even the stuff that wasn’t pirated. [More]
