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Good Time to Buy a Lawn Mower

Sure, Fall is a good time to buy a lawn mower, but you want to be sure to get a mower that suits your needs. Our Chase Zacha talked to some of the local L.A. lawn gurus, getting their thoughts on what mower is best for which kind of lawn, and also pruning some very useful maintenance tips. Read more

Tru Green – Jessica of Orange Park, Fla. “I started using Tru Green service back in May for weed control service. The weeds were under contol after about two months and then my yard was taken over by what they claimed to be a fungus. Depending on the person I spoke with I received a different story as to what type of fungus it was and how to control it. It is now September 2, 2010 and the grass that I had including new sod is now dead and brown...” Read more Chase – Jacqueline of Milford, Mass. “They closed out my account and forfeited my points for no good reason except that I transferred my balance to another credit card. They were fine leaving my card open when I was paying them interest. I think it is terrible they took away my earned points.” Read more

Iron Boot of the State Lands on Craigslist

Bowing to years of threats and intimidation by 17 state attorneys general, Craigslist has shuttered its Adult Services section, pilloried by the AGs for supposedly fostering prostitution and child abuse, problems which have festered for centuries. The Craigslist home page now shows a black bar reading "censored" where the Adult Services link formerly appeared.

The company made no statement about the action and it's not known if it is intended to be permanent or if Craigslist is trying to make a point. The black-out affects only the United States. Web users in Cuba, China and other countries without a tradition of free speech are still able to access the ads. Newspaper and broadcast journalists, normally quick to hoist the First Amendment banner, were silent. Read more

Nice Way To End The Summer

A lot of Americans are hitting the road this weekend in one final summer fling. AAA predicts travel will be up ten percent this year over last. The good news for travelers is filling up with gas won't be quite so painful. Gas prices have been trending lower in recent weeks. By the time the weekend arrived, the national average price of gas was below $2.70 for the first time this summer. Read more

Feds Can't Explain Rash of Pampers Problems

You might remember that, back in May, parents were complaining that the new Procter & Gamble's Pampers "Dry Max" diapers seemed to be associated with a particularly virulent diaper rash.

So what's been done about it? Well, the government looked into it. P&G denounced the parents, basically calling them liars. And the babies? They're still crying. Read more

Misbranded Botox

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Botox, best known as an anti-wrinkle treatment, only for use in rare conditions but prosecutors say the company has vigorously promoted it for a myriad of off-label uses. "Allergan made it a top corporate priority to maximize sales of far more lucrative off-label uses that were not approved by FDA," U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said. "Allergan further demanded tremendous growth in these off-label sales year after year, even when there was little clinical evidence that these uses were effective." The company will write a big check to smooth everything out with the government. Read more

“Stomach Churning”

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors who descended on Iowa egg farms in the wake of the egg recall say none of the farms were in compliance with their existing plans to prevent Salmonella enteritidis. In a conference call with reporters, the FDA reported finding piles of manure, rodents, flies and uncaged chickens roaming the grounds. The inspections took place at farms owned by Wright County Egg, Quality Egg and Hillandale Farms. Commenting on the report, one consumer group observed it's obvious the farms weren't expecting inspections anytime soon. Read more

No Hurry On Food Safety

The proposed Food Safety bill would give the Food and Drug Administration more resources and authority to protect the food supply, but the legislation has remained bogged down in the Senate for much of the year. Its hard to know how much it would have affected recent events, but its hard to believe it would have made things worse. And it may or may not be coincidental that in recent weeks we've had recalls of eggs and meat for Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria contamination while the legislation remains stalled. Read more

Soothing the Nervous Investor

Stocks plunge, banks fail, real estate stagnates. The world's nervous investors sit glassy-eyed, staring at the financial cable channels, poring through the nether pages of the Wall Street Journal and Investor's Business Daily, while fretting over apocalyptic warnings that they have missed forever the chance to invest affordably in gold.

Eventually, most lunge sweaty-palmed for the phone and call their stock broker or personal financial advisor. And guess what? Not only is their call not a surprise, the advisor has been expecting it and is ready with soothing words. Read more

Following The Salmonella Trail

Food safety detectives investigating two large Iowa egg producers have found clues suggesting Wright Count Egg and Hillandale Farms are, in fact, the source of Salmonella contamination resulting in the recall of more than a half-billion eggs. Food and Drug Administration Inspectors visting the operations this week found Salmonella in chicken manure and in chicken feed. Meanwhile, the official toll of those sickened by tainted eggs has risen past 1,400. Read more

Stalling Toyotas

Toyota says it is recalling 1.1 million Corolla and Matrix models that it says are prone to stalling. The recalled vehicles, from the 2005-08 model years, were all sold in North America.Toyota says vehicles equipped with the 1ZZ-FE engine and two-wheel drive have the problem. Engine control modules may have been improperly made, which could result in the stalling problems that more than 1,000 customers have complained about. Read more

Focus On Food

“One of the most important things we can do when it comes to the nation's health is to provide simple basic information to the American people so they can make choices that are best for them and their family," said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, M.D. She's talking about a new menu labeling program designed to help Americans get the facts about food choices that are available to them in restaurants and vending machines so they know what is in the food and can make healthier selections. Read more

Congressional Inspection

It turns out neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the U.S. Department of Agriculture had ever inspected the two Iowa producers behind the massive Salmonella-related egg recall. Some members of Congress appear ready to put on their inspector hats and do the job, albeit after the fact. Two key members of the House has sent letters to Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, asking to see their records. Read more

Still A Tough Housing Market

In a positive development in an otherwise still-dreary housing market, the government reports housing prices remained level in July after 30 straight months of decline, while some price predictions have improved. In addition, historic low interest rates continued to promote home affordability and refinancing options for the nation's families. However, the market remains fragile with foreclosure starts showing a slight increase and fewer homeowners starting – and completing – mortgage modifications. Read more

Scrambled Food Supply

The humble egg has everyone talking this week about food safety. The massive salmonella-induced recall by one of the nation's largest egg producers affects consumers coast to coast, mainly because of our ever more centralized food system. And while fewer consumers are starting their day with a plate of scrambled eggs, eggs show up in a lot of other food products. Since May the number of Salmonella cases has spiked. Health officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention think it could go much higher. Read more

No 'Dislike' Button

Hooked!

Since the Federal Reserve changed the rules to require banks to get customers' permission before enrolling them in an overdraft protection program, banks have spent millions to convince consumers they need this “protection,” which socks them with a $35 fee whenever the bank has to cover their overdraft. It appears to be working. Research shows a surprising number of consumers have a”opted in” already. For the record, if you do nothing, you can avoid costly overdraft fees; your card will simply be declined if you try to make a purchase that will overdraw your account. Read more

Where's My Bag?

Almost all airlines now charge a fee when you check a bag. You may or may not think that is fair, but you would probably agree that, if the airline is going to collect a fee for checking your bag, they should at least get your bag to your destination. If they lose your bag, shouldn't you get that fee back? Two airlines, United Airlines and Delta/Northwest Airlines, face a class action suit because, plaintiffs say, they routinely lose or misplace bags and refuse to return the hefty fee to inconvenienced flyers. Read more

Do You Really Have To Pay For TV?

Once upon a time there were just three or four television stations most consumers could receive and reception was sometimes poor, although the signals were free. Then in the 1980s, cable TV exploded, offering hundreds of channels -- at a price that has climbed constantly through the years. But now the times they are once again a'changing. Consumers by the thousands are abandoning cable for over-the-air digital TV and streaming video via the Internet. Here's how to do it.

Graphics by Marisa Lisante. Photos, unless otherwise noted, by iStock.

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