The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Grower’s edge vaporizers are being recalled by Hawthorne Hydroponics due to shock, burn, and fire hazards

Hawthorne Hydroponics is recalling about 60,000 grower’s edge vaporizers in the United States and about 340 in Canada.

The vaporizers can overheat, and the vaporized materials can pose a burn risk if spilled or cause a fire if they fall onto a combustible surface. The deluxe model vaporizer also poses an electrical shock hazard if a consumer touches a small copper piece at the base of the vaporizer while it’s being used.

Hawthorne has received 11 reports of overheating or fire, nine for the deluxe and two for the commercial model. Hawthorne has received one report of property damage as a result of vaporizer use. No injuries have been reported.

Meat industry wins another round in its continual efforts to cut back federal meat inspection programs despite sharply increasing hazardous recalls

Tyson Foods received a waiver on Thursday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service from requirements for government inspectors at its Holcomb, Kansas beef slaughter plant.

Last summer, Tyson requested a regulatory wavier that would allow it to rely on company employees, rather than government inspectors, to conduct postmortem inspection activities, including identifying and trimming “isolated defects” and identifying conditions that would require additional disposition by a government public health veterinarian.

The Consumer Federation of America said it’s disappointed by the USDA’s action.

Attorneys general tell Facebook, Amazon, and other online retailers to do a better job on curbing price gouging

Thirty-one attorneys general are urging Amazon, Facebook, eBay, Walmart, and Craigslist to more rigorously monitor inflated consumer price practices by online sellers using their services.

“As our community faces an unprecedented public health crisis, I’m asking online retailers to do more at a time that requires national unity,” said Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford. “Together, we need to crack down on inflated pricing so our consumers can get the goods and supplies they need at fair prices.”

A letter sent Monday to the companies lists several examples of inflated prices on their marketplace platforms, which took place in March: on Craigslist a two-liter bottle of hand sanitizer was being sold for $250; on Facebook Marketplace an eight-ounce bottle was being sold for $40; and on Ebay packs of face masks were being sold for $40 and $50.

Portable generators are being recalled, again, by American Honda due to fire and burn hazards

American Honda is recalling about 340,000 Honda EB2200i, EU2200i, and EU2200i companion and EU2200i camo portable generators. About 200,000 units were recalled in 2019.

The portable generator’s inverter assembly can short circuit when exposed to salt water. This causes the unit to smoke or catch fire, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers.

Honda has received 13 reports of the generator’s inverter assembly short-circuiting while in use, including 10 reports of fire. No injuries or property damage were reported.

FTC bans three defendants from selling student debt relief and telemarketing

Three defendants in a student loan debt relief scheme have been ordered to pay millions to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceived consumers by promising to reduce or eliminate their student loan debt.

A federal court found that Brian Colombana, Impetus Enterprise Inc., and Fig Tree & Co. deceptively marketed student loan debt relief services, tricked consumers into paying illegal upfront fees, and failed to deliver the promised debt relief.

The court entered judgments against the defendants of nearly $11 million. They’re banned from selling debt relief products and services and telemarketing.

Digital wireless equipment for electric guitars by Yamaha recalled due to fire and injury hazards

Yamaha is recalling about 82,000 line 6 relay G10 digital wireless guitar systems and USB charging cables in the United States and about 4,700 units in Canada.

The lithium-ion battery can overheat and the battery cover can separate with force, posing fire and injury hazards.

Yamaha is aware of four incidents worldwide of the battery cover separating forcefully from the transmitter, including one report of minor property damage. No injuries have been reported.

What’s in a name? The most popular names for girls and boys for 2020

Lannie or Fairley for boys or Judith or Sharron for girls? No, those aren’t names for 2020. Those names were popular names from the 1940s.

Names.org, a website all about names, has released predictions for the Most Popular Baby Names of 2020. New entries in the top 10 for boys this year are Henry and Alexander, while Mila made the top 10 list for girls.

The rankings were determined by analyzing the most recent data from the Social Security Administration, trends from the past five years, and current user interest from millions of visitors to the Names.org website.

Here are the Top 10 Girl Names for 2020

Grocery shopping: How to protect yourself from the coronavirus

Some people are using grocery delivery services to limit their exposure to the coronavirus. Consumer Reports recommends these steps whether you buy groceries yourself or if you have them delivered:

• Wash nonporous containers.
• Wash your hands, counter, and other surfaces you’ve touched after you put away the groceries.
• Wash produce with soap and water.

If you’re buying groceries in a store:

• Go shopping at a time that’s less busy.
• Take germicide with you.
• Use a credit or debit card.

See the Consumer Reports article “How to Protect Yourself From Coronavirus When Grocery Shopping” for information on what to do if you’re getting groceries delivered or you’re picking up prepackaged groceries.

Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Federal financial agency charges Fifth Third Bank with opening unauthorized accounts and signing consumers up for unapproved products and services

Photo: Ed! (Photography)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit in Illinois Monday against Fifth Third Bank, one of the largest banks in the Midwest.

The CFPB alleges that for several years Fifth Third, without consumers’ knowledge or consent: opened deposit and credit-card accounts in consumers’ names; transferred funds from consumers’ existing accounts to new, improperly opened accounts; enrolled consumers in unauthorized online-banking services; and activated unauthorized lines of credit on consumers’ accounts.

The lawsuit claims that Fifth Third violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s prohibition against unfair and abusive acts or practices. It also charges the bank with violating the Truth in Lending Act and the Truth in Savings Act.

The CFPB alleges that for years and continuing through at least 2016, Fifth Third used:

Baby boomers have coronavirus on their minds

Two weeks ago, I went to my local co-op to stock up on food due to the possible need to stay home due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I bought two weeks’ worth of food.

Then, I heard that older people may need to stay home for more than two weeks. So I set out for Costco for a shopping trip. I spent $262. Costco was out of hydrogen peroxide, which I use to wipe chemicals off things. In addition, it was out of medium-size disposable gloves, so I bought two boxes of large.

I bought eggs, chicken thighs to freeze, carrots, beets, cheese, pine nuts, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and a large bag of “power” greens. Since I normally don’t buy Costco’s large sizes, I was looking around for something for dinner. I bought a large plastic container of shrimp. (Pretty exotic. I was able to eat it all and none spoiled.)