The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Lawsuits in five states charge companies with fraud in nationwide subscription solicitations scam

The states of New York, Oregon, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas filed lawsuits Tuesday against Orbital Publishing Group and a ring of New York and Oregon companies for mailing millions of unauthorized and misleading magazine and newspaper subscription notices to consumers nationwide.

The solicitations were sent without the permission of the publishers and stated that consumers were receiving “one of the lowest available rates,” when they were being charged up to double the publication price. The companies then pocketed the difference.

“It is illegal under New York law to trade on the name of reputable publications and use deceptive advertising to trick consumers into overpaying for goods and services,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Baby boomer bloggers write about taking chances in life

Tom Sightings of Sightings From Sixty is the host for this week’s Best of Boomer Blogs #397.

In “A Cure for What Ails You,” Tom writes about gardening and how it’s a gamble.

Another blogger writes about whether Atlantic City, once a thriving gambling mecca, can recover from closed casinos and a slumping economy.

Then there’s our blogging friend who’s taken a gamble to build a home in the rural area of Colorado.

Another gamble, putting a cell phone up to your ear, can get even worse because most cell phone covers block the antenna, increasing the amount of radiation exposure to the user’s head and body.

Finally, a boomer blogger asks, “Is Gardening a Simple Cure for What Ails You?”

Sightings says maybe we should put down our cell phones and troubles and pick up a rake and a hoe.

Copyright 2015, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: Amy's Kitchen dinners due to possible Listeria contamination

Amy’s Kitchen is recalling about 73,897 cases of dinners with the code dates and manufacturing codes listed below.

This recall is based on a recall notice from one of Amy’s organic spinach suppliers that Amy’s may have received organic spinach with the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Amy’s Kitchen isn't aware of any illness complaints related to the recalled products. But, to be cautious, the company's recalling these products based on the recall notice it received from supplier.

Federal agency seeks to regulate payday loans that lead to debt traps

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday it’s considering rules that would end payday loan debt traps by requiring lenders to take steps to make sure consumers can repay their loans. The proposals would also restrict lenders from attempting to collect payment from consumers’ bank accounts in ways that rack up excessive fees.

The consumer protections would also apply to auto title and installment lenders, business that have sprung up in states that have attempted to regulate payday lending.

“Today we are taking an important step toward ending the debt traps that plague millions of consumers across the country,” said Richard Cordray, director of the bureau. “Too many short-term and longer-term loans are made based on a lender’s ability to collect and not on a borrower’s ability to repay.”

Cell phone cases make phones work harder, increasing radiation exposure up to 70%

Most cell phone cases are so badly designed that they partially block the antenna, making the phone work harder to transmit a signal and intensifying the radiation that strikes the user’s head and body, an Environmental Working Group analysis shows.

The analysis, based on data submitted to the Federal Communications Commission by case-maker Pong Research Corp., shows that some cell phone cases on the market are so poorly engineered that the Specific Absorption Rate – a measure of the amount of radiation absorbed by the body – increased by 20 to 70 percent.

While government agencies haven’t determined yet whether exposure to cell phone radiation can cause adverse health effects, a growing body of evidence points to this possibility, the EWG said.

$98 million settlement with carbon black manufacturer to reduce air pollution in three states

In a settlement with the United States and the states of Alabama and Oklahoma, Continental Carbon Co. has agreed to install pollution control technology that will cut emissions of harmful air pollution at manufacturing plants in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice announced Monday.

The settlement

The settlement will resolve claims that Continental violated the Clean Air Act by modifying its facilities in a way that caused the release of excess sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

The settlement requires Continental to pay a penalty of $650,000, which will be shared with Alabama and Oklahoma, also plaintiffs in the case. Continental must also spend $550,000 on environmental projects to help mitigate the harmful effects of air pollution on the environment and to benefit local communities, including at least $25,000 on energy efficiency projects in the communities near each of the three facilities.

Affordable Care Act bringing benefits to older Americans, consumer group says

On the 5^th Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare Rights Center Pres. Joe Baker offers this evaluation of the ACA:

"Five years ago Monday, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, bringing real benefits to the tens of millions of Americans who have Medicare. Older adults and people with disabilities are now receiving low-to-no cost preventive services as well as more affordable prescription drugs in the coverage gap.

"Thanks to the ACA, 9.4 million Medicare beneficiaries have saved more than $15 billion on prescription drugs, and these savings will continue to increase until the coverage gap is closed in 2020. In additional, in 2014 alone, about 39 million beneficiaries received at least one preventive service with no cost sharing.

Using nanoparticles in food is risky and food companies need to do more to protect the public, consumer groups say

You may not be aware that nanoparticles are being used sunscreens, cosmetics, clothing, supplements, packaging, and first aid creams. The question is, “Is the use of nanoparticles in food safe for consumers?”

A coalition of consumer advocacy groups in the United States and abroad has released a policy recommendation for companies in food industries to help them in avoid or reduce the risks from nanomaterials in food products and packaging.

The recommendation asks that companies: adopt a detailed public policy explaining their use of nanomaterials; publish a safety analysis for any nanomaterials being used; issue supplier standards; label all products that contain nanoparticles smaller than 500nm; and adopt hazard controls to prevent exposure of its employees to nanomaterials.

Baby boomer bloggers considering life’s persistent questions

I’m the host for this week’s Best of Boomer Blogs #396.

Although Saturday was the first day of spring, it’s cold, cold, cold and rainy here. It makes me want to hibernate in my warm bed rather than go out and face it all.

Maybe that’s why I missed writing about the International Day of Happiness on Friday. I received six or more emails about it, but they came in an email account I don’t check every day. Oh, well. A lesson learned for next year. Maybe I’ll be happy on Happiness Day.

Or, maybe I missed it because I spent the better part of the day writing an article for my blog about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision, announced Friday, to approve genetically modified varieties of apples and potatoes. The Arctic apple doesn’t turn brown and the Innate potato reduces the formation of black bruised spots. Consumer, environmental, and grower groups don’t like the decision. Apple growers think consumers will turn away from all apples in efforts to avoid the genetically modified one.

However, the FDA did say, for the first time, the genetically modified apples and potatoes may need to be labeled so that consumers can distinguish them from other varieties of apples and potatoes.

Tom Sightings of Sightings From Sixty was having trauma, too. Tom had a possibly life-threatening scare last week. In his post “I Almost Died,” he asks if any of us wonder how we're going to die. What his close call made him realize is that it's never what we worry about that gets us in the end. It's always something unexpected, something we never thought was coming.

I’m glad you and B. weren’t hurt, Tom. But, as they say, everything is material for writers.

For Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting, reaching a milestone this week was her challenge. But it wasn’t one she wants to celebrate. Applying for Social Security and Medicare forced her to face the inevitable, although there’s an upside. Read about her thoughts on this life event in “Officially Old…and Supporting the Economy.”

Laura Lee Carter of How to Believe in Love Again, who faces drama daily because she’s building a new house in the rural area of Colorado, recommends the movie the “Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” “Don’t miss it,” Laura Lee says. “It's a hoot.”

Thanks for the movie suggestion, Laura Lee. It could help me get out of the dumps about this drab winter, er…, spring weather.

Copyright 2015, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese due to possible injury hazard from metal pieces

Kraft Foods Group is recalling about 242,000 cases or 6.5 million boxes of Original flavor Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner because some boxes may contain small pieces of metal.

The recalled product is the 7.25-oz. size of the Original flavor boxed dinner with the “Best When Used By” dates of Sept. 18, 2015 through Oct. 11, 2015, with the code “C2” below the date on each box. The “C2” refers to a production line where product was made.

Some of dinners have also been packed in multi-pack units that have a range of code dates and manufacturing codes on the outside packaging, box or shrink-wrap, depending on the package design. See the table below.