By Rita R. Robison About 248,000 expandable, insulated lunch boxes with freezer gel pack are being recalled by California Innovations Inc. Gel that contains diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol can leak out of damaged freezer gel packs, posing a poisoning hazard if ingested by children or adults. California Innovations has... Read more →
By Rita R. Robison It was surprising to me. My experience with American Airlines was much better than one with “top-rated” Alaska Airlines. My best experience: A trip on American Airlines I just returned from a trip to Madrid on American Airlines. It was a good trip. The planes were... Read more →
By Rita R. Robison Today is Data Privacy Day. Its purpose is to promote awareness about privacy and to educate consumers about the best privacy practices. Data Privacy Day also is a reminder for consumers to check their privacy settings on social networks and wireless connections. New Mexico Attorney General... Read more →
By Rita R. Robison Maybe it was Occupy Wall Street or just the fact that he’s finally getting the message that consumers are suffering, but President Obama’s State of the Union address contained more for consumers this year than his 2011 speech. Obama talked about the new Consumer Financial Protection... Read more →
By Rita R. Robison Last week’s snowstorm in the Seattle area showed me that my Emergency Plan needs revision. When I went out Wednesday to take photos of the snow and pick up my mail after a vacation, I got stuck twice at the bottom of my driveway and slid... Read more →
By Rita R. Robison Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The holiday is a good opportunity for Americans to honor King’s legacy through service. The MLK Day of Service offers people a way they contribute to their community. After a long struggle, legislation was signed in 1983 creating a... Read more →
By Rita R. Robison Thule Child Transport Systems Ltd., doing business as Chariot Carriers, is recalling about 44,000 bicycle trailers and 70,000 bicycle trailer conversion kits. The bicycle trailer’s hitch mechanisms can crack and break, causing the trailer to detach from the bicycle, the company and U.S. Consumer Product Safety... Read more →
By Rita R. Robison To protect yourself and your children and grandchildren from the dangers of cadmium in jewelry, shop for jewelry at more than a dozen major jewelry retailers, including Saks Inc., Target, The Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Forever 21, that have stopped selling jewelry containing more... Read more →
Obama, Bill Daley, and Jacob Lew By Rita R. Robison It was disappointing to learn that President Obama’s new chief of staff, Jacob Lew, will be the second appointment to the position with ties to Wall Street. Lew, currently Obama’s budget director, headed the "alternative investments" division at Citigroup, a... Read more →
By Rita R. Robison IKEA North America Services is recalling about 169,000 ANTILOP high chairs, 133,000 in the U.S. and 36,000 in Canada. The high chair's restraint buckle can open unexpectedly, posing a fall hazard to the child, IKEA and the U.S. Consumer Product Commission said in a statement. IKEA... Read more →