Current Events in May 2009

With college costs escalating as fast as health care, the Texas State Senate has approved a bill that would limit tuition and fee hikes to five percent at the state's largest universities.

Colleges in Texas, as in many other states, have escalated tuition increases for the last few years as state support has dwindled. The state's colleges and university raised tuition by 89 percent over the last six years.

In Texas, the legislature once dictated tuition rates for state institutions of higher learning. But in the early part of the decade, as the legislature cut the amount of state support for these institutions, it freed universities to raise tuition to make up the difference.

Critics say what happened was inevitable. With the freedom to set rates, colleges pushed tuition costs ever higher, presenting many incoming freshmen and their parents with sticker shock.

The Senate measure would not take full tuition-setting control back from all universities. Only those institutions whose tuition and fees were above the state median would be set by the state. Those below the threshold would be free to continue under their present policies.

The problem of skyrocketing college costs is not just a Texas problems. The College Board reports its figures show most students and their families can expect to pay, on average, from $108 to $1,398 more than last year for this year's tuition and fees, depending on the type of college. The tuition and fees at the average four-year state school is now $6585, up 6.4 percent from a year ago.

Private universities, of course, are much more expensive. The Baltimore Sun reports the total costs of attending Johns Hopkins, including room and board, is $53,390, up from $27,040 in the 1994-95 school years.

This summer, more families will likely be trading restaurant meals for home-cooked suppers. And for those who like to grill, there's good news: Consumer Reports' latest report on gas grills found five CR Best Buys for $500 or less. Additionally Consumer Reports notes that consumers will see less stainless steel on many grills as manufacturers instead add painted-steel carts and shelves or stainless-steel trim as a way to maintain prices.

Consumer Reports found that while some manufacturers are using vibrant colors in their designs, others are adding features, like the top-rated large Fiesta Blue Ember iQue FGQ65079-U403 ($900), which has a touch-screen display and controls and claims to use sonar to gauge the amount of propane in the tank, or the Nexgrill 720-0665 ($860) which has a minifridge that can hold a number of beverages and condiments.

Although gas grills have been more popular in the market over the past 14 years, sales of charcoal grills are making a comeback, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. Nearly 41 percent of the 16.7 million grills shipped in the U.S. last year were charcoal. To find out whether gas or charcoal serves up more appetizing food, Consumer Reports ran taste tests on a gas and a charcoal model. Tasters said that gas-grilled foods had a cleaner taste, and that while charcoal-grilled food had added flavor, the charcoal cooking didn't necessarily enhance the taste.

Five CR Best Buys

Consumer Reports found that lower-cost grills can deliver performance that matches or beats that of big-budget models. Cooking and safety tests of 40 grills produced five CR Best Buys:

• The Fiesta Blue Ember FG50069-U409, $450, available at Home Depot, surpassed the $1400 Napoleon Prestige II PT450RBI for overall performance. The Fiesta Blue Ember also comes with a rotisserie.

• The Char-Broil Red 463250509, available at Home Depot for $450 scored Excellent for evenness, and Very Good for low-temperature grilling, convenience and features. It provides lots of shelf space, and has a lifetime warranty on its three burners.

• For even less money, the Kenmore 16641 ($350), is a good value considering the price, and also comes with a 10 year burner warranty.

• The Char-Broil Commercial Series 463268008, available at Lowe's is also a good value at $300, and comes with a lifetime burner warrantee. It scored Very Good for evenness and Excellent for low-temperature grilling.

• The Char-Broil Commercial Quantum 463247209, available at Lowe's, $500, is a quality large grill that is mostly stainless.

How to Choose

Given the state of the economy, sales might be more abundant this year. Look for Memorial Day and July Fourth specials, as well as coupons and rebates. Keep in mind that many retailers assemble grills free but charge $40 to $100 for delivery. Beyond price, consider these factors when shopping for a grill:

Size up the cooking area: While manufacturers might account for warming racks when measuring size, Consumer Reports categorizes grills in three sizes based on cooking area: small/portable, which typically have one to two burners (cooking area 340 square inches or smaller); medium grills, which have two to four burners (340 to 490 square inches); and large (more than 490 square inches), which have three to six burners. Remember, cooking in batches is a simple solution if you have a small grill but are having a large gathering.

Don't be dazzled by Btu: A grill that has a higher Btu/hr (British thermal units per hour) rating won't necessarily deliver faster heating or higher grilling temperatures. The figure merely indicates how much gas a grill uses and usually tracks with the number of burners it has and the size of the grill.

Focus on features: Sometimes grills in a company's line are the same except for a feature or two. Side burners, rotisseries and minifridges are nice extras, but may not be worth the money. Check to see whether the manufacturer sells accessories separately, like rotisserie motors and spits, which can add about $60 to $180 to the price of a grill. When it comes to grates, Consumer Reports recommends stainless-steel or porcelain-coated cast iron cooking surfaces, which should last longer and sear better.

Inspect the units: A simple inspection of a grill before purchase can prevent any safety issues. A gentle nudge of the model from several angles will ensure the grill is sturdy, while the grill handles should be far away from the hot lid. Also check for sharp corners and edges on the cart, firebox, lid, and shelves. For stainless steel parts, take a magnet to the store with you. Lower grades of stainless steel are magnetic. Higher grades aren't and should fight corrosion better.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products after learning of a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate Health Sciences, the manufacturer, has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

Liver injury, although rare, was reported by patients at the doses of Hydroxycut recommended on the bottle. Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) and brown urine. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, and loss of appetite.

The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products, said Linda Katz, M.D., interim chief medical officer of the FDAs Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements that are marketed for weight-loss, as fat burners, as energy-enhancers, as low carb diet aids, and for water loss under the Iovate and MuscleTech brand names. The list of products being recalled by Iovate currently includes:

• Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
• Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
• Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
• Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
• Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
• Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
• Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
• Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
• Hydroxycut 24
• Hydroxycut Carb Control
• Hydroxycut Natural

Although the FDA has not received reports of serious liver-related adverse reactions for all Hydroxycut products, Iovate has agreed to recall all the products listed above. Hydroxycut Cleanse and Hoodia products are not affected by the recall. Consumers who have any of the products involved in the recall are advised to stop using them and to return them to the place of purchase.

The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages, or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products. The products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts.

Moderate Democrats joined Republicans Thursday as the Senate rejected a proposal that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to change the loan terms of homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages.

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), sponsor of the legislation, said that allowing judges to adjust interest rates, and even the amount of principal still owed on the loan, would head off future foreclosures, helping the housing market to recover.

But most of the financial industry opposed the bill, dubbing it a cram down measure, and lobbied hard for its defeat.

Durbin said that, while he is disappointed with the vote, he will continue to bring the issue to the floor until the Senate decides to put the interests of homeowners above the interests of bankers.

The American Bankers Association said it produced 12,450 letters from its members stating their strong opposition. In addition, the ABA said it was able to jam switchboards in senators offices and flood their inboxes with email. The measure failed on a 51-45 vote.

We have consistently maintained that allowing bankruptcy judges to arbitrarily rewrite the terms of a mortgage contract — including allowing them to reduce (cram down) the amount owed on a mortgage, change interest rates, or stretch out the terms of the loan would bring additional risk and uncertainty to an already volatile mortgage market and would make home loans more expensive and less available for consumers, said Floyd E. Stoner, the ABAs executive director, congressional relations & public policy.

Stoner said the Congress and the administration had already taken several strong steps to help troubled borrowers and get the economy back on track. Giving bankruptcy judges broad cram down authority, he said, would work against those efforts and effectively undermine the goal of stabilizing the housing market.

Durbin said that when he first proposed the legislation two years ago, nearly 2 million homeowners were at risk of losing their homes. Today, he says, that number has skyrocketed to over 8 million homes, with nearly one in six mortgages in America on the verge of foreclosure.

Weve given the bankers who got us into this crisis every opportunity to responsibly address this crisis and they have failed. Ill keep working to give homeowners every legal means to save their homes.

As health experts grapple with rising obesity, the food American consumers eat gets a lot of the blame; things like pizza, burgers and fries, and sugary soft drinks. But there could be an economic reason so many people tend to over-consume unhealthy food. It costs less than food that's good for you.

In a study published in the May 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers from the University of Washington compared the eating habits and food costs of a sample of 164 adults in the Seattle, Washington area.

The energy density of the diet — that is, the available energy per unit weight — is one indicator of diet quality. Lean meats, fish, low-fat dairy products and fresh vegetables and fruit provide fewer calories per unit weight than do fast foods, sweets, candy and desserts. Energy dense foods provide more calories per unit weight but tend to be nutrient-poor.

Diets of low energy density and high nutrient content have been associated with less weight gain and with lower rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer. In other words, they're considered "healthy food.

In contrast, energy-dense diets have been linked to higher obesity rates and higher disease risk. Improving diet quality by lowering its energy density is standard advice for weight control, cancer prevention and better health, the researchers say.

The 164 participants — 103 women and 61 men — recorded their usual frequency of consumption of 152 foods and 22 beverages and indicated portion size. They also provided four-day dietary records and completed demographic and behavioral questionnaires.

For both men and women, higher dietary energy density was associated with higher intakes of total fat and saturated fat and with lower intakes of dietary fiber, potassium and vitamins A and C. Daily diet cost was slightly higher for men ($6.72/day) than women ($6.21/day), reflecting the fact that men ate more than women.

However, the difference reversed after adjusting for energy. For each 2,000 kcal of dietary energy, men spent $7.43 compared to $8.12 spent by women. Diets that were more costly in terms of calorie dollars per day were also lower in energy density and contained higher levels of nutrients.

Higher quality diets were not only more costly but were associated with higher household incomes and education of study participants. Education, rather than incomes was the dominant factor. More highly educated respondents reported higher quality and therefore more costly diets, independent of household income level.

Writing in the article, Pablo Monsivais, PhD MPH, and Adam Drewnowski, PhD, both of the University of Washington, Seattle, conclude, "The finding that higher-quality diets were consumed by women of higher socioeconomic status and more costly per calorie has implications for epidemiologic studies of diet and chronic disease."

For the first time, researchers say, they have linked nutritional status to socioeconomic status. They say the findings theyve reported raise the possibility that the higher monetary cost of nutritious diets may provide one explanation for those with more education and more income eating healthier diets.

A California state court certified the class in a suit involving leaking windows manufactured by a subsidiary of the popular manufacturer Pella. The ruling allows the class action, which plaintiffs' counsel believes affects around 100,000 homeowners, to move forward.

The suit claims that Viking Series 3000 windows, manufactured by a Pella subsidiary, leak out of the bottom corners, substantially shortening their lifespan. The suit involves several types of windows, including horizontal sliding, vertical sliding (or "hung"), and fixed windows. The suit also includes the Viking Series 3000 sliding glass door.

In addition to the defects, the suit alleges that Viking has refused to replace the windows or otherwise remedy the problem, despite a conspicuous "lifetime warranty" label affixed to every window. On April 3, 2007, lead plaintiffs' attorney Stuart Eppsteiner of San Diego-based Eppsteiner & Fiorica, wrote Pella to demand that they replace the defective windows. He never received an answer.

An expert for the plaintiffs tested the windows and found that 61 percent leaked out of the bottom corners. The expert further found a "reasonable engineering certainty" that the other 39 percent would eventually leak during their expected useful life. This may not be surprising; judges and legal experts often dismiss expert witnesses as "worthless" since they are working for an interested party. Shockingly, however, Pella's own expert witness admitted in sworn testimony that 43 percent of the 1.2 windows sold have leaked — an astonishing figure in its own right.

Even under Pella's relatively conservative estimation, then, between 336,000 and 696,000 of the subject windows leak. Pella's refusal to provide assistance to affected consumers has led some to throw up their hands and replace the windows out of their own pockets.

The suit is brought on behalf of California homeowners who bought the windows through a retailer or as part of a new home. While the suit likely involves about 100,000 homeowners, plaintiffs' counsel currently only know the identities of several hundred. Homeowners who think they are part of the class can fill out a class member information form on the Eppsteiner firm's website.

Viking 3000 windows were manufactured between 1989 and 1999. Pella bought Viking in 1998 and subsequently renamed the subsidiary Thermastar. The relative age of the windows is more than offset by the purported "lifetime" warranty.

The windows were sold at major home improvement retailers, including Home Depot, Home Base, Lowes and Yardbirds. Home Depot, which sold about 500,000 units, is named as a codefendant in the suit.

The class was certified in a one-page minute order by Judge Holly Carter of the California Superior Court in San Joaquin County. The case is being prosecuted by Eppsteiners firm and Milstein, Adelman & Kreger in Santa Monica, CA.