Former Consumer Watchdog staff. Byline-only account created 2026-08-26 to restore correct attribution on 2012–2013 posts migrated from Drupal 6.
A proposed $22.5 million fine to penalize Google for an alleged privacy breach is on the verge of winning court approval, despite…
Nov 17, 2012A federal judge said she may approve Google Inc.’s $22.5 million agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over claims the company…
Nov 17, 2012With reports swirling that the Federal Trade Commission is readying an antitrust case against Google, some Republican senators say the agency should…
Nov 16, 2012The October spike, which mostly affected California, was found to be about 66 cents higher per gallon of gasoline than should have…
Nov 15, 2012
Election Day is now just days away. As a public service, we are sending you the positions of the major newspaper editorial…
Nov 3, 2012
We have just one week to beat the insurance billionaires trying to buy this election. We plastered these posters around the streets…
Oct 30, 2012
Populist governor Hiram Johnson gave Californians the ballot initiative one hundred and one years ago to combat the stranglehold of wealthy scions…
Oct 17, 2012Backers of Proposition 33 have run a series of TV ads depicting motorists who support the initiative, which would alter the way…
Oct 16, 2012The insurance industry-backed Prop 33 will hurt real drivers, like Alexis. It unfairly surcharges almost anyone who had a legitimate lapse in…
Oct 14, 2012For a dozen years, the 91-year-old founder of a leading Los Angeles insurance company and an early disciple of consumer advocate Ralph…
Oct 13, 2012Long-running industry negotiations over meaningful online privacy rules may be on the verge of collapse. After months of occasionally constructive discussions to…
Oct 12, 2012The following Op-Ed Commentary was published on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2012, in the Los Angeles Times.
Oct 12, 2012But big drops won't come until station owners sell out costly fuel
Oct 11, 2012We continue our look at next month’s California election ballot with Proposition 33. It would change state laws on auto insurance premiums.…
Oct 11, 2012
Santa Monica, CA – Mercury General is raising auto insurance rates by $63 million on its customers, an average 4% rate hike…
Oct 10, 2012Consumer groups gear up to fight the sale of Arco and its Carson refinery to Tesoro, saying it would reduce competition and…
Oct 10, 2012
California’s drivers and the state economy will pay the price for this merger at the pump. We ask you to halt it…
Oct 10, 2012
We’ve been sued by an insurance company billionaire. He wants to stop the public from knowing how deceptive insurance-backed Proposition 33 really…
Aug 3, 2012