In a move that will push e-cigarettes outside with regular cigarettes, New York has banned vaping in any public indoor space that already prohibits traditional smoking. [More]
NEW YORK
Waitress Accused Of Stealing Almost $500K From Regular Customer
By 10.18.17
Being a regular at a dining establishment can come with some perks; the servers knows what you like and you might even receive a free dessert here or there. But for one New York woman it also came with a rather big drawback: The waitress she befriended allegedly bilked her out of $500,000. [More]
Here’s How One State Is Using Driver’s License Facial Recognition To Crack Down On Fraud
By 8.23.17
Fake IDs aren’t just a problem for people whose identities have been stolen and used to make a new driver’s license, but they can also lead to unlicensed drivers hitting the roads and potentially endangering others. Officials in New York say they’ve made a serious dent in these kinds of crimes with its driver’s license facial recognition technology. [More]
Check Your AirDrop Settings If You Don’t Want To Receive Pics Of Strangers’ Genitals
By 8.14.17
The iPhone’s AirDrop functionality is convenient, allowing users to quickly transfer files between devices. At the same time, a small number of perverts and pranksters are apparently taking advantage of AirDrop to share photos of their “junk” with complete strangers.
[More]
Teen Falls From Six Flags Ride, Other Park Guests Catch Her
By 6.26.17
Several guests at a Six Flags amusement park in New York worked together over the weekend to catch a teen dangling from a ride, video from the tense situation shows. [More]
Bank Of America, Delta Pull Funding From “Julius Caesar” Production Seen As Critique Of Trump
By 6.12.17
It’s been more than 2,000 years since Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of Roman senators, and more than 400 years since William Shakespeare immortalized the dirty deed. The Bard’s Julius Caesar has been staged, adapted, and reinterpreted countless times since, and Caesar never manages to escape the blade. However, two major backers of New York’s Shakespeare in the Park have pulled their support for this year’s production of the play after complaints that this Caesar looks a little too similar to our current President. [More]
Apple Fights Bill That Could Make Fixing iPhone Easier, Cheaper
By 5.22.17
When iPhones first came on the market, customers could only get their devices fixed at an actual Apple store. Now that the phones have become ubiquitous, phone repair store have popped up on nearly every block and in every mall, providing owners with a plethora of options and prices when it comes to seeking repairs for their devices. But a new report shows that Apple and other tech manufacturers and organizations are fighting against these choices, pushing to eliminate state legislation that aims to make it easier for anyone to repair electronics. [More]
Strip Club Claimed Dancers Were Therapists To Skirt $3.1M In State Taxes
By 5.8.17
It’s not uncommon for companies to try to finesse their way out of a hefty tax bill, but one Manhattan strip club tried a unique excuse when attempting to skirt $3.1 million in state taxes: Its dancers were providing therapy to customers, and not just entertainment. [More]
Senators Urge FDA To Ban Possible Carcinogen Found In Shampoo, Lotion
By 4.14.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
You might not be familiar with “1,4-Dioxane” but it’s a chemical component commonly used in everyday products, such as shampoos, lotions, and cosmetics. It may also cause cancer, which is why a pair of U.S. Senators are urging the Food & Drug Administration to begin the process of eliminating this chemical from consumer products. [More]
New York To Offer Free Tuition At Four-Year Public Universities
By 4.10.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Hundreds of thousands of New York residents mulling the idea of going to college at a public university could soon enroll for free, as the state’s lawmakers passed a budget over the weekend that included a program that would allow students from middle- and low-income families to attend college for free. [More]
Supreme Court: State’s Restriction On Credit Card Surcharges Is A Free Speech Regulation
By 3.29.17
The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that a New York state law barring merchants from adding credit card surcharges is indeed a state regulation on businesses’ free expression. However, whether that law goes so far as to violate the First Amendment is a matter still to be decided. [More]
Domino’s Must Pay $480,000 In Restitution To Underpaid Employees
By 3.9.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Last May, the Attorney General in New York State filed suit against Domino’s franchisees for underpaying their workers, and the state also included Domino’s corporate in the suit. This was controversial, since the corporate office insisted that paying restaurant employees was franchisees’ business. Now the case has been settled for $480,000, to be paid by three franchisees who own the ten restaurants that were part of the suit. [More]
This Pharmacy Ad Suggests “Very, Very Strong Antibiotics” Even When They Won’t Do Any Good
By 2.28.17
When you’re sick, it makes sense that you want a pill to just make all the symptoms go away, which is probably why some doctors continue to prescribe antibiotics even when they aren’t necessary and may, in fact, cause harm. It probably doesn’t help when a pharmacy perpetuates the myth that we should just take antibiotics whenever we might be sick. [More]
Restaurant Where 260 Diners Got Ill On Thanksgiving Has Closed Its Doors
By 2.21.17
Last Thanksgiving, hundreds of people who ate at one western New York restaurant fell ill thanks to what local health officials later determined was gravy containing the bacteria Clostridium perfringens. Some of those sickened diners have now filed lawsuits, and now the eatery is shutting its doors for good. [More]
NY AG: Please Send Us Your Broadband Speed Tests So We Can Investigate Providers
By 2.16.17
Some things, you can measure centrally. Some, you can survey with a sample group. But sometimes, what you really need is a giant crowdsourced effort — and that’s what New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is asking Empire State residents to help with. [More]
State: Time Warner Cable Defrauded Customers By Advertising Internet Speeds It Couldn’t Provide
By 2.1.17
Back in 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman launched a statewide effort to measure residents’ broadband speeds to see if they were getting the “blazing fast” internet access that the service providers advertised. Today, Schneiderman announced his office is suing New York City’s biggest broadband provider for not only failing to live up to its promises, but for allegedly knowing that many customers couldn’t possibly see the speeds that TWC promised. [More]
DeVry Will Pay $2.75M To Settle State’s Allegations Of Misleading Advertising
By 1.31.17
One month after DeVry Education Group agreed to pay $100 million to settle federal regulatory charges that it used deceptive ads to recruit students, the for-profit educator has come to a multimillion-dollar settlement that should close the book on one state-level investigation. [More]
Is A Restriction On Credit Card Surcharges A Free Speech Violation?
By 1.10.17
When you think of First Amendment disputes, your mind probably conjures images of protestors, or investigative journalism, or maybe you think of the never-ending debate over where to draw the line between obscenity and protected forms of expression. You probably don’t immediately connect the dots between the First Amendment and a state law about credit card surcharges — but the U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to decide that very issue. [More]
