The government proposes new regulation to make an industry safer. The industry shouts back that the new measures are “cumbersome and costly,‟ tantamount to “a confiscation of property.” A newspaper opines, “Excited persons rarely accomplish anything…No new laws are needed.” Trade groups issue dire warnings about how the new laws will wipe out entire industries and sacrifice jobs. Are these the latest response to new Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines? Banking giants balking at financial reform? Nope, those were quotes from when fire protection guidelines were proposed after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, in which 146 garment workers died. Friday marks the 100th anniversary of this tragedy. [More]
Government Policy
What Has Changed Since 146 Workers Died In Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 100 Years Ago?
By 3.24.11
Senators Call Out Makers Of Drunk-Driving Checkpoint Apps
By 3.24.11
After four senators requested that smartphone software vendors to stop selling apps that allow users to report and find drunk-driving checkpoints, the makers of those applications are defending themselves, saying they actually help police, and not drunkies out on the road. [More]
Del Monte Recalls Cantaloupes For Possible Salmonella Contamination
By 3.24.11
Watch out for Del Monte cantaloupes — the Coral Gables, Fla. company has issued a recall with the help of the FDA of 4,992 cartons, each containing four sleeves of their three-pack of cantaloupes, as they may possibly be contaminated with Salmonella Panama. [More]
Theater Owners Don't Want You To Know A Large Popcorn Is Like Eating 3 Big Macs
By 3.23.11
The FDA is reportedly set to announce a decision that would force movie theater operators to post calorie counts next to their items in the same way that restaurant chains must. Not surprisingly, the theater owners are popping mad about this possibility. [More]
Georgia Jury Awards Soldier $21 Million Over Mortgage Mix-Up
By 3.23.11
A Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army went up against a terrifying enemy — the mortgage industry, in the form of PHH Mortgage Corporation — in court and came away victorious after a jury awarded him $21 million for his troubles. [More]
Do Not Try To Turn A Kid Into A Drug Dealer By Promising Him A Video Game
By 3.23.11
A 34-year-old New Hampshire woman who wanted to get her hands on some pain medication allegedly devised a plan that landed her in jail: Ask a 9-year-old boy to swipe his mom’s Percocet, and promise to buy him a video game in return. The boy held up his end of the bargain and noticed something was amiss when he saw the woman take the label off the pill bottle. [More]
Judge Rejects Google's Digital Books Settlement
By 3.23.11
A district court judge told Google its $125 million settlement with authors and publishers is invalid because it’s too favorable to the company. The ruling stalls Google’s plans to complete a massive digital library and bookstore. [More]
Food From Four Japanese Prefectures Barred From Entering U.S.
By 3.23.11
Following the news that radiation has been detected in tap water and food products in areas closest to the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, the FDA has announced that many imported food products from prefectures near the plant will not be allowed to enter the U.S. [More]
United Had Advance Signs That Plane Would Almost Ignite Olsen Twin
By 3.22.11
You may remember the United Airlines flight from last May that could have resulted in a burnt Olsen twin if the pilots hadn’t reacted so quickly to a cockpit fire. Well, newly released documents from the National Transportation Safety Board show that there had been at least two related incidents on that same plane in the days leading up to the fire. [More]
California May Go After Online Shoppers For Unpaid Taxes
By 3.22.11
While most of the country don’t pay sales tax to online retailers like Amazon, most customers are still supposed to pay those taxes to the state. No one does, of course, which is why the California State Board of Equalization is looking into the prospect of going after residents who have made more than $5,000 in online purchases in the hope of getting paid. [More]
Microsoft Says Nook Infringed On Its Patents
By 3.22.11
Believing the Nook e-readers are ripping it off, Microsoft is suing Barnes & Noble and the manufacturers over the devices, which it says infringe on several patents. [More]
What Should I Know To Provide For My Family After I Die?
By 3.22.11
While everyone should have their financial and legal affairs in order in case of sudden and untimely death, reader Charlie has to worry about this much too early in his life. He’s been told that he has only a few years to live, and wants to begin planning now to make his passing easier on his family and to provide for them. [More]
Supreme Court Action Will Net Eminem Millions In Music Downloads Case
By 3.22.11
Whether the arena be the Grammys, Oscars or freestyle rap battles, you don’t want to face Eminem as an opponent. That’s a lesson Universal Music Group learned when it took on the rapper in the Supreme Court, which refused to hear its appeal in a lawsuit over downloadable music. The court’s refusal to hear the case, reports the Detroit Free Press, probably means Eminem won between $40 million and $50 million from the publisher. [More]
If At First Your Health Insurer Denies Your Claim, Try Try Again
By 3.21.11
Among the items on recent list of things your health insurer won’t tell you was the fact that you shouldn’t give up if your insurance claim is initially denied. Now a new report from the Government Accountability Office says that upward of 50% of appealed claims ultimately get paid. [More]
Unicyclist Sues New York City To Be Allowed To Roll On Sidewalks
By 3.21.11
Believing it’s unjust that he was fined under a New York City ordinance that forbids riding two or three-wheeled vehicles on sidewalks, a unicycler is suing the city for $3 million. [More]
"What Is A Photocopier" Spans 10 Pages In Deposition
By 3.21.11
Do you know what a photocopier is? Congratulations, you are smarter than the acting head of information technology for the recorder’s division of the Cuyahoga County fiscal office. At least that’s what this dialog between him and a plaintiff’s lawyer, suing over “whether deeds and other records at the county recorder’s office…should be readily available at reasonable cost,” would lead you to believe. [More]
IBM Pays $10 Million To Settle Charges It Bribed Asian Governments
By 3.21.11
After the Securities and Exchange Commission accused IBM of bribing officials in Asian countries to secure government contracts over an 11-year period, the company agreed to pay a $10 million settlement. [More]
Big Box Stores Pushing To Tax Amazon Sales Nationwide
By 3.18.11
In recent years, retailers have been successful in getting a handful of states, including Illinois and New York, to pass laws requiring Amazon.com and similar e-tailers to collect sales tax on products shipped to those states. Now, with the backing of super-sized chains, there is a full-on push to get these laws on the books in every state that collects sales tax. [More]
