Privacy

Lawmakers seek changes in campaign finance reporting;

August 13, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Open-government groups oppose the efforts, saying that the bills would allow special interests to overwhelm elections.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>"Politicians are whittling away at the laws meant to deny special interests a stranglehold on California politics," said Carmen Balber, a spokeswoman for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "But the details of campaign laws are as important as their core; shave off the edges and the whole campaign finance structure crumbles."</p>

New head at Calif. stem cell group;

August 10, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Richard Murphy, former head of Salk Institute to fill temporary position</h3><p class="source">Scientist Magazine</p> <p>John Simpson, stem cell project director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a consumer advocacy group, told The Scientist that the search has dragged on too long. "Everyone thought that they were going to name a permanent president in June," Simpson said, "but I don't think they got started fast enough."</p>

Stem cell institute board wants CSU to detail need for trained lab workers

August 9, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Diego Union-Tribune</p> <p>It will take some work to convince at least one consumer advocacy group that the education systems are not looking at the $3 billion stem cell fund as a "gravy train." Are they just trying to jump on it by adding the words stem cell in front of course titles? asked John Simpson, of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica-based nonprofit.</p>

Cal State, community colleges propose $31M stem cell worker program

August 8, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">San Francisco Business Times</p> <p>John Simpson, of the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights, said the college systems' proposal may not fit what voters intended for CIRM. "I'm not sure that plan is, 'Here's $30.8 million and go forth,'" he said.</p>

State to issue PPO report card;

August 7, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Insurance Department survey will be similar to a study of HMOs.</h3><p class="source">Sacramento Bee (California)</p> <p>"These report cards have been a joke in the past," said Jerry Flanagan, a spokesman for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica. "We think the HMO report card reads like a dining guide," by awarding stars rather than pointing out deficiencies.</p>

AT&T Mobility Rebate Case Moves Forward

August 6, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> "In their intense marketing for cellular services, cell-phone companies make price the paramount focus,'' said Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights' Harvey Rosenfield, one of the lawyers in the case. "Cingular told consumers that they would ultimately pay a discounted price, once the rebate was received. In some cases, consumers were led to believe the phone would be 'free'-that it would end up costing them nothing after the rebate. But instead of getting money back, consumers get a VISA Reward card. Purchasers never got the promised discount. None of this was made clear to consumers. This deceitful practice hurts consumers and other cell-phone companies that advertise honestly.'' </p>

Experts wonder if cancer initiative promises too much;

July 29, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Texans will be asked to OK funding $3 billion over 10 years for center</h3><p class="source">Houston Chronicle</p> <p>John Simpson of the California-based Foundation for Consumer and Taxpayer Rights called for a provision in the Texas initiative to allow the attorney general to intervene if the prices of drugs developed with the funding are set so high that they're not affordable to the people who paid to develop them.</p>

Still no answers on contamination of local firm’s onions

July 28, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Ventura County Star (California)</p> <p>From the consumer's standpoint, the lack of information is disconcerting considering the number of food frights that have arisen over the last year regarding fresh vegetables. "If Americans are going to trust the food that they eat, they have to have specific information about food safety," said Judy Dugan, research director for the Foundation of Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica. "In California, kitchen crops like onions are important to the state economy, and to have people be suspicious of mysterious contamination of this or any other crop only makes things worse, not better."</p>

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Global Warming Act Called Hot Air;

July 27, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Governor Fires Sawyer Then Denies It</h3><p class="source">Random Lengths</p> <p>Mary Nichols, like Gov. Schwarzenegger, has a mixed record, as highlighted in an article by Nicholas Miller in the weekly Sacramento News and Review. Her husband, attorney John Daum, represented Exxon in the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill case Baker v. Exxon, and Nichols herself played a key roll in promoting an "emissions-trading" approach to pollution control at Clinton's EPA that ultimately collapsed. "Mary Nichols certainly understands the issues, but she's also a longtime creature of the political system in California," FTCR's Judy Dugan told Random Lengths. "The question will be how she balances her instinct to compromise with the urgent need of greenhouse gas reduction."</p>

General Motors Won Exclusive Deal after Gifts to Gov

July 20, 2007  ·  Carmen Balber

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2"><a href="http://arnoldwatch.org/press_releases/press_releases_001055.php3">FTCR called for an investigation yesterday</a>, and a state Senator has ...</font>

Stalemate eats into vacation plans:

July 17, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Speaker tells lawmakers to stay close to Capitol until budget is signed</h3><p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>Carmen Balber of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a political watchdog group, said Nunez's travel ban marks a stark contrast to Schwarzenegger's recent trips to Europe and Las Vegas during budget talks. But ultimately, she said, requiring every Assembly member to stay in Sacramento does nothing to ensure a new state budget. "If the legislative leaders and the governor don't sit down and cut a deal, nothing's going to happen," Balber said.</p>

California group turns up heat on WARF stem cell patents

July 14, 2007  ·  John M. Simpson

<p class="source">Wisconsin Technology Network</p> <p>The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights and the Public Patent Foundation have filed our formal comments with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office supporting its rejection of human embryonic stem cell patent claims asserted by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation because the claimed advances are obvious in the light of previous stem cell research.</p>