As we’ve discussed before, many commonly used food labels like “organic” and “natural” can mean very little and are often just marketing lingo. Now the folks at Kroger are facing a potential class-action lawsuit that could determine whether its Simple Truth products lives up to the promises on the label. [More]
california
Now The Feds Are Investigating Operators Of Everest, WyoTech & Heald Colleges
By 2.6.14
Last fall, the state of California sued Corinthian Colleges, Inc. — better known as the company that operates a number of the for-profit colleges whose ads dominate daytime TV commercial breaks — over allegations that it lied to students about job-placement stats and to investors about its graduates’ success rate. Yesterday, CCI revealed that it’s also being investigated by two federal agencies and can’t open any new locations for the time-being. [More]
The Longest In-N-Out Drive-Thru Lines, As Seen From Space
By 1.30.14
We hear that In-N-Out is a very popular burger-slinging establishment. We’ll take its fans at their word, because we don’t believe in leaving the East Coast. What we do know is that the combination of tasty burgers and car culture leads to such long drive-thru lines that you can see them from space. [More]
California Lawmaker Hopes To Fine Retailers Who Sell Filtered Cigarettes
By 1.27.14
What’s the next big problem with cigarettes? According to a proposed state bill in California, this time it’s not the tobacco, smoke, or carcinogens; it’s the litter. One state legislator is taking on the trash, specifically the butts, filters included, that smokers leave lying around. He’s proposing fines–but not for the smokers. [More]
Tests Show High Level Of Possible Carcinogen In Pepsi One
By 1.23.14
As recently as last summer, Pepsi was called out (by the Center for Environmental Health) for continuing to use a controversial caramel coloring — one that can contain a possible carcinogen and is included under hazard label regulation in California — in spite of calls for an end to its use. New tests from our coworkers at Consumer Reports confirm that Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Pepsi One all contain significant levels of the ingredient. [More]
Scammer Does A Decent Job Of Making Floor Tile Look Like An iPad
By 1.22.14
We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: When you’re buying an iPad at a deep discount from a complete stranger off the street, don’t be surprised when you end up with a box of useless junk. And even when that friendly back-alley retailer shows you what appears — through layers of bubble wrap — to be the real deal, be warned that it’s probably just a tarted-up floor tile. [More]
Porn Company Digitally Removes Condoms From Video
By 1.21.14
In 2012, voters in Los Angeles County narrowly approved Measure B [PDF], a law that requires porn performers to wear condoms. Some fans of adult film fans complain that the use of condoms is distracting, and a number of studios are either ignoring the law or shooting outside of L.A. County. But one porno producer is going the high-tech route, digitally removing the prophylactic devices from its performers’ phalluses. [More]
Driver Ticketed For Wearing Google Glass Goes On Trial Today
By 1.16.14
UPDATE: The San Diego traffic court commissioner in this case has thrown out the citation against the driver, saying the police officer had no proof that the driver’s Google Glass device was turned on while she was driving. [More]
Comcast Fails To Stop Scammers From Opening 15 Accounts Using Same Stolen Social Security Number
By 1.2.14
A California woman recently found out she couldn’t open a Comcast account in her name because she owed the cable company a lot of money… even though she’d never been a customer before. She eventually found out that Comcast had allowed people to use her social security number to open up more than a dozen accounts, and then sent a collection agency after her to make her pay for the company’s failure to catch these scammers. [More]
Woman Ticketed For Driving With Google Glass Pleads Not Guilty
By 12.4.13
Back in October, a California woman was given a ticket for driving while sporting a Google Glass device. Yesterday, she appeared in court to enter a plea of not guilty on the charge of distracted driving. [More]
Judge Shuts Down Part Of Stinky Sriracha Hot Sauce Plant
By 11.27.13
The sriracha saga continues, with a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruling yesterday that the Irwingdale, CA, plant where the “rooster sauce” is made must shut down plant operations that contribute to the smell that has been the cause of complaints from nearby residents. [More]
California Pulls Plug On 10 Bogus Healthcare Sites
By 11.14.13
Confusion over the Affordable Care Act is already causing more than a few headaches these days. The last thing consumers need is scam websites set up to look like official state exchanges with the purpose of tricking people into turning over their personal information. Today, California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that her office has shut down 10 sites passing themselves off as the state’s official insurance marketplace. [More]
Hot Food Lovers Rejoice! Sriracha Factory Avoids Shutdown For Now
By 10.31.13
Days after a lawsuit by a California city put the future of the much-loved but hard-to-pronounce Sriracha chili sauce in jeopardy, the judge in the case has denied the plaintiff’s request to shut the plant down until it deals with odor issues. [More]
This May Be The First Ticket For Wearing Google Glass While Driving
By 10.30.13
California law prohibits drivers from operating a vehicle when some sort of video screen is showing “entertainment or business applications” that are in the front seat area or otherwise visible to the driver. And at least one police officer in San Diego thinks this law applies to Google Glass. [More]
City Sues Sriracha Hot Sauce Factory Over Eye-Burning Chili Stench
By 10.29.13
There are many things in life that we love having, but that we wouldn’t love to have in our literal or figurative backyards. Things like sriracha, the powerful chili sauce that scorches your taste buds off with deliciousness. You might love the sauce, but have you ever thought about the people who live near the factories where it’s made? [More]
Comcast Tech Saves Two Lives In Same Week
By 10.22.13
It’s no secret that most Consumerist stories about Comcast service techs are not positive, but there are still plenty of good, hardworking folks toiling away for Kabletown and its affiliated contractors (kontractors?). Take, for example, the California tech who recently stepped up to save the lives of two separate individuals in the span of a single week. [More]
Bank Of America Employee Charged With Taking At Least $1M In Bribes To Rig Short Sales
By 10.16.13
Between homeowners eager to get out from underwater mortgages and real estate speculators looking to scoop up below-market properties, there are a lot of people out there eager to grease the wheels to make a short sale happen. And federal authorities say one now-former Bank of America employee accepted at least $1 million in bribes to improperly approve short sales and falsify bank records. [More]
California Sues For-Profit College Operator For Lying To Students & Investors
By 10.11.13 — Updated: 6.23.14
California Attorney General Kamala Harris filed suit yesterday against a company that operates three for-profit colleges, alleging that it lied both to students about the prospects of job-placement, but also to investors about the success rate of its graduates. The complaint also accuses the colleges of illegally using military seals in its ads to lure in members of the armed services. [More]
