There’s a movement in New York to have the state pass a so-called “soda tax” that impose taxes on soft drinks containing more than 10 calories per 8 ounces. Among the beverages included would be just about all non-diet sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened coffees and teas (only in bottles), and fruit and vegetable juices containing less than 70% natural juice. According to the ads being run by the supporters of the tax, the goal is to curb childhood obesity. But will it really work? [More]
Government Policy
USPS Swallowed Up My MST3K
By 3.1.10
Rachel and her husband ordered a DVD set from a seller who shipped via USPS, but the package can’t seem to make its way to them. Their saga includes a cryptic email update and a notice of a delivery attempt they say never occurred. [More]
Hospital Says "Grandma's Dead," Grandma Disagrees With Diagnosis
By 3.1.10
Imagine the scene: Your beloved grandmother has been hospitalized for a respiratory illness. And then comes the bad news — A nurse at the hospital calls to say your grandmother has passed away. You go to her room to gather her personal items, and that’s when your dead grandmother wakes up. [More]
Study Finds Consumers Want Their Food Labeled As Inspected For Safety
By 3.1.10
A Michigan State University study found the majority of consumers look for labels that signify products they’re buying were inspected for safety, and that about a third are willing to pay more for such labeling. [More]
Oregon Lawmakers Cool With BPA In Baby Bottles
By 3.1.10
Most people seem to agree that baby bottles that include the chemical BPA are probably less than awesome to use to feed your baby. States and municipalities have banned BPA, but the beleaguered chemical has finally found some allies in the Oregon state legislature, which voted down a bill that sought to ban it, the Oregonian reports: [More]
Man Spends $700 On Cell Phone Minutes To Get $700 Unemployment Check
By 2.28.10
Filing for unemployment benefits can be an exhausting bureaucratic mess, but it shouldn’t cost you hundreds of dollars. In theory. According to TV station KOB, though, a New Mexico man spent so many hours on hold with the unemployment office that he ran up a $700 cell phone bill. [More]
Hot Topic Steals Adorable Designs From Webcomic
By 2.27.10
Update: Meghan and Hot Topic have settled this situation. Fans of the adorable webcomic Kawaii Not were surprised to discover buttons made from comic panels for sale at Hot Topic. The problem? The artist sort of didn’t license the designs to Hot Topic, and they are copyrighted. Artist Meghan Murphy does sell her own buttons…and these aren’t those. [More]
Yelp Accused Of More Negative Review Extortion
By 2.27.10
Yet again, business owners are accusing massive review site Yelp of extortion–and they’ve filed a class action lawsuit. This time, instead of guaranteeing positive reviews in exchange for cupcakes, the site is accused of contacting business owners and offering to remove their negative reviews for money. In a written statement, Yelp denied the allegations and noted, “Running a good business is hard; filing a lawsuit is easy.” [More]
Please Stop Sending Us Photos Of This Recalled Keychain
By 2.27.10
For some reason, this Tinkerbell keychain from yesterday’s Recall Roundup caught people’s attention and they keep pointing it out to us. Please stop. [More]
Congress Accuses Toyota Of Deliberately Withholding Documents
By 2.26.10
Last week, the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform issued a subpoena for documents from former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller as part of their investigation into exactly when the car giant knew about possible defects in their now-recalled vehicles. And now that they have their hands on Mr. Biller’s papers, they are accusing Toyota of deliberately holding back important information. [More]
Recall Roundup: Product Recall Merit Badge Edition
By 2.26.10
The past few weeks in product recalls: lots and lots of lead and salmonella. Not in the same products. As far as we know. [More]
Tax Tips For Gay Couples
By 2.26.10
There’s a reason why same-sex couples end up spending an average of $12,300 more over the course of a lifetime in tax prep fees: it’s more complicated! To help guide gay couples through the murk and mire, NYT Bucks Blog has a comprehensive guide to pitfalls and considerations to keep in mind when filling out those forms. Gay rights may divide our country, but nobody likes doing taxes.
Tax Tips for Same-Sex Couples [NYT Bucks Blog]
Out-Of-Control Lexus Still On Road, Apparently No Longer Out-Of-Control
By 2.26.10
If you’ve been following the hearings this week about the Toyota recall debacle, you’re probably well aware of Rhonda Smith, who spoke before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce to share her harrowing story of trying to stop her suddenly accelerating Lexus ES350 back in 2006. Well, NHTSA now says that that car is still on the road — and that the new owners haven’t experienced any problems. [More]
California AG Investigating 7 Insurance Companies For Illegal Rate Hikes
By 2.26.10
The showdown over skyrocketing insurance rates in California got even nastier yesterday. The state’s Attorney General’s office announced that it has subpoenaed financial documents and launched an investigation into allegations of illegal premium hikes and wrongfully denied claims by seven separate health insurance providers. [More]
4 Reasons You Should Never Resolve Your Dispute On Judge Judy
By 2.26.10
We can understand just a little bit why some people might be willing to go on any of the countless daytime “judge” shows like Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, Street Court, etc. The shows pay you a nominal fee to appear, you get to be on TV and if the defendant loses, the show foots the bill (up to a certain amount). But the following video should give you four very good reasons for why you should never, ever, ever go on one of these shows. [More]
Muslim Hollister Employee Fired Because Of Headscarf
By 2.25.10
Update: This is the new discrimination incident that this post was about. Sorry for the link mixup. There are evidently a lot of things that violate the “look policy” of Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister stores. For example, having a prosthetic arm. Or wearing an Islamic head scarf. According to the complaint a California woman filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a Hollister store hired her, then fired after a visit from a district manager who found the scarf inappropriate work attire. [More]
5 Tax Changes The IRS Thinks You Should Know About
By 2.25.10
The IRS tells Tax Cat that the rules have changed slightly this year. Learn how you can benefit. [More]
Lactose Intolerant? Drink Milk!
By 2.25.10
If you think you’re lactose intolerant, the National Institutes of Health says, well… maybe you’re not. In a statement released yesterday, the NIH claims that lactose intolerance is nowhere near as prevalent as it’s believed and that a general misunderstanding of lactose is causing people to not get the Vitamin D and calcium they need. [More]
