Current Events in March 2014

It's no secret that as we age, we tend to develop chronic conditions, leading to multiple prescriptions for drugs to keep those conditions under control. In fact, three out of four older Americans have chronic health conditions, and a new study finds that 20 percent of them are being treated with drugs that work at odds with each other – the medication being used for one condition can actually make the other condition worse.

This approach of treating conditions “one at a time” even if the treatments might conflict with one another is common in medicine, experts say, in part because little information exists to guide practitioners in how to consider this problem, weigh alternatives and identify different options.

One of the first studies to the problem found that 22.6 percent of study participants received at least one medication that could worsen a coexisting condition. The work was done by researchers in Connecticut and Oregon, and published in PLOS One.

“Many physicians are aware of these concerns but there isn’t much information available on what to do about it,” said David Lee, an assistant professor in the Oregon State University/Oregon Health & Science University College of Pharmacy.

One at a time

“Drugs tend to focus on one disease at a time, and most physicians treat patients the same way,” Lee said. “As a result, right now we’re probably treating too many conditions with too many medications. There may be times it’s best to just focus on the most serious health problem, rather than use a drug to treat a different condition that could make the more serious health problem even worse.”

The study calls for more research, to find solutions to the problem. For example, it may be possible to make better value judgments about which health issue is of most concern, whether all the conditions should be treated, or whether this “competition” between drug treatments means one concern should go untreated. It may also be possible in some cases to identify ways to treat both conditions in ways that don’t conflict with one another.

A common issue, for example, is patients who have both coronary heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. Beta blockers are often prescribed to treat the heart disease, but those same drugs can cause airway resistance that worsens the COPD.

“There are several types of beta blocker that don’t cause this negative interaction, but many of the other types are still prescribed anyway,” Lee said. “It’s this type of information that would be of value in addressing these issues if it were more widely known and used.”

The chronic conditions in which competing therapies come into play include many common health concerns – coronary artery disease, diabetes, COPD, dementia, heart failure, hypertension, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis and others.

This study was done by researchers from OSU and the Yale University School of Medicine, with 5,815 community-living adults between the years 2007-09. The lead author of the study was Dr. Mary E. Tinetti at Yale University, and it was supported by the National Institutes of Health. The analysis included a nationally representative sample of older adults, and both men and women.

The New York attorney general announced a $6.2 million payout to the state and city (minus a $1.1 million payout to an unnamed whistleblower) in a settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Lantheus Medical Imaging over unpaid state and city taxes.

A press release from AG Eric T. Schneiderman's office said that from 2002 to 2006 Lantheus, and by extension its former parent company Bristol-Myers, did not pay the applicable state business franchise taxes, New York City corporation taxes or MTA surcharges. The government first learned of this in May 2012, when a professional tax preparer noticed Lantheus' non-payment and notified the authorities.

However, the bulk of the attorney general's press release focused on the state of New York's False Claims Act (authored by then-state senator, now-state attorney general E.T. Schneiderman), calling the Act “one of the state's most powerful civil fraud enforcement tools because it allows whistleblowers and prosecutors to take legal action against companies or individuals that defraud the government. … Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers may be eligible to receive up to 30 percent of any money recovered by the government as a result of information they provide. The whistleblower in this action will receive $1,137,814.80 from the settlement proceeds. The City of New York will receive $693,143.04.”

There's no denying that people's honest impulses will become much stronger when they have financial incentives to be honest, so it's no surprise that the False Claims Act (including its whistleblower-reward provisions) has proven so successful thus far.

Fixed mortgage rates moved higher during the week ended March 13, according to a pair of closely watched surveys.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) averaged 4.37% with an average 0.6 point, up 9 basis points from a week earlier when it averaged 4.28 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.63%.
• 15-year FRMs rose from 3.32% to 3.38%, with an average 0.6 point. The 15-year FRM averaged 2.79% a year ago.
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were up 6 basis points from the previous week to 3.09%, with an average 0.4 point. At this time last year, it averaged 2.61%.
• 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM fell from 2.52% to 2.48% this week, with an average 0.4 point. The average was 2.64% at this time last year.

The slight increase in rates came after a week of light economic reports. “Of the few releases, the economy added 175,000 jobs in February, which was above the market consensus forecast and followed an upward revision of 25,000 jobs for the prior two months,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Meanwhile, the unemployment rate nudged up to 6.7 percent, the first rate increase in over a year."

Bankrate's tally

Separately, Bankrate.com's weekly national survey showed mortgage rates were slightly higher this week, but remain well within the familiar range of recent weeks.

• The benchmark 30-year FRM inched lower for a second consecutive week -- to 4.50% from 4.45%
• The average 15-year FRM rose 6 basis points to to 3.51%
• The jumbo 30-year FRM stepped up to 4.54%.
• Adjustable rate mortgages were also higher, with the popular 5-year adjustable climbing 4 basis points to 3.30%.

Analysts at Bankrate say a respectable jobs report removed some angst about the economy, but the persistent cold weather has still taken an apparent toll. With the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week, the Fed will likely stay the course on tapering their bond purchases, keeping bond yields and mortgage rates from any wild fluctuations. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.

On May 1, 2013, the average 30-year FRM was 3.52%. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $900.32. With the current average rate of 4.50%, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,013.37 -- a difference of $113 per month.

Oregon Freeze Dry of Albany, Ore., is recalling 59,780 cases of Kirkland Signature Real Sliced Fruit, produced exclusively for Costco Wholesale Stores.

The product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

No confirmed cases of Salmonella poisoning from consumption of this product have been reported at this time.

Consumers who may have purchased the product were contacted by phone and U.S. mail, and a letter was posted on the Costco website. Furthermore, the affected product was removed from Costco floors.

No other products made by Oregon Freeze Dry, Inc. are affected.

Kirkland Signature Real Sliced Fruit is sold in a red and white case containing 20 pouches of freeze-dried snacks. Consumers who have purchased Kirkland Signature Real Sliced Fruit with the following “Best Before Dates,” which are listed on the upper left corner of the front panel of the case, should return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.

• Best Before Date: FEB 14 2015 - MAR 11 2015 (which reads FEB142015 - MAR112015)

Cases of the potentially contaminated Kirkland Signature Real Sliced Fruit were distributed to Costco Wholesale stores in the following locations: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico.

Customers with questions may contact the company at recall@ofd.com. or 1-888-641-2933 Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM PDT.

Despite warnings from safety advocates and a rising accident rate, a growing number of states are allowing all-terrain vehicles on public roads, where a majority of ATV deaths occur, according to a report released today by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

“ATVs should not be operated on roads," said Rachel Weintraub, CFA Legislative Director and Senior Counsel. "Yet, an increasing number of states ignore evidence from consumer advocates, doctors, law enforcement officials and the ATV industry and pass laws increasing ATV access on roads. These conflicting messages are leading to consumer confusion about what constitutes safe riding practices.”

“This trend is going in the wrong direction,” Weintraub said.

In the report, CFA evaluated laws from all fifty states and the District of Columbia and found that in spite of warnings from manufacturers, federal agencies, and consumer and safety advocates that ATVs are unsafe on roadways, for several years an increasing number of states have passed laws allowing ATVs on public roads. 

Information from ATV manufacturer manuals, required warning labels and consistent messages from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) unambiguously warn against the operation of ATVs on public roads.

The design of ATVs makes them incompatible with operation on roads. ATVs have high centers of gravity, and narrow wheel bases, which increase the likelihood of tipping when negotiating turns. The low pressure knobby tires on ATVs are explicitly designed for off-road use and may not interact properly with road surfaces.

ATV deaths

Data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) documents that a majority of ATV deaths take place on roads.

• According to the CPSC’s most recent complete data from 2007, as analyzed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 492 of 758 deaths, or 65% of ATV fatalities occurred on roads.
• According to CPSC’s data, ATV on-road deaths have increased more than ATV off-road deaths.
• According to NHTSA’s FARS database, 74% of ATV deaths occur on paved roads.

“The vast majority of ATV fatalities in the nations are occurring on roads,” stated Rachel Weintraub. “This is incredibly strong evidence supporting that ATV on-road operation is hazardous and should be prohibited.”

And yet, said CFA, 35 states -- 69% -- allow ATVs on certain roads under certain conditions.

While not a complete list, CFA documented at least 18 state or local current efforts to increase ATV access on roads.

CFA’s report calls for immediate action at the municipal, county, state, and federal level to prohibit ATVs on roadways.

Amazon has made it official: its popular Prime membership program will set you back $99, a $20 per year increase. In its defense, Amazon notes it's the first price increase in five years and says it reflects rising delivery costs and a widely expanded menu of services.

"Since 2005, the number of items eligible for unlimited free Two-Day Shipping has grown from one million to over 20 million," Amazon said in an email to its Prime customers today. "We also added unlimited access to over 40,000 movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video and a selection of over 500,000 books to borrow from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library." 

The annual fee gets users free two-day shipping and access to Amazon's Prime video streaming service, which includes thousands of movies and TV shows as well as a growing list of original productions, and a free book-lending program.

There are rumors Prime members will also soon include a streaming music service, similar to Spotify.

There had been earlier reports that the price would be going up by as much as $40. The increase becomes effective on each customer's renewal date. 

Claiming yourself as a dependent provides a nice tax benefit when you fill out your federal return but being able to claim others just makes it nicer. For a typical family there can be a claim for both spouses and claims for each of the children.

Even if you got married on December 31, or had a child on that date, you can still claim the deduction for the entire year. For the 2013 tax year the personal exemption for a dependent is $3,900, up $100 from 2012. Since the total exemptions are deducted from your taxable income, being able to claim someone as a dependent is highly advantageous.

Two types

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) there are two types of dependents – a qualifying child and a qualifying relative. The person you are claiming must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, a U.S. resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

But wait, can you claim a non-related foreign-exchange student who is living with you temporarily? If they fit into any of the above categories, you might.

It's also important that no one else be able to claim them as a dependent. For example, if you contribute more than 50% of Aunt Janet's support, you might be able to claim her as a dependent. But if Aunt Janet is claiming herself as a dependent on her own tax return, you can't. So some coordination among tax preparers is necessary.

Qualifying child

To qualify as a dependent, a child must meet a set of requirements. First, they must be legally related to you, either as your biological son or daughter, or stepchild, eligible foster child or adopted child. If the child is your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or the child of any of them, they may also qualify.

There is also an age requirement. A dependent child must be under age 19 in most cases. If a full time student, they must be under 24. If they are permanently disabled, there is no age limit.

A qualifying child must live with you for more than half the year and, if they have a job it cannot pay more than what you contribute. In other words, what they get from you must be at least 50% of their support.

Qualifying relative

To be a qualifying relative the person must generally live with you at your residence all year round. There are, however, a number of exceptions, which the IRS outlines in Publication 501.

There is also an income limit for a qualifying relative. For the 2013 tax year they cannot earn more than $3,900 in income. As with children, you must be the only one claiming them and you must contribute more than 50% of their support.

Tax credit

In addition to the dependent exemptions, you may be able to claim the child and dependent care tax credit if you paid work-related expenses for the care of a qualifying individual. The credit is usually a percentage of the amount of work-related expenses you paid to a care provider for the care of a qualifying individual.

The percentage depends on your adjusted gross income. Work-related expenses qualifying for the credit are those paid for the care of a qualifying individual to enable you to work or actively look for work.

The total expenses that may be used to calculate the credit are capped at $3,000 for one qualifying individual or at $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals. A tax credit is a much more advantageous tax break than a deduction, since the credit is subtracted from the taxes you owe, not the income used to determine the taxes owed.

With the use of statins to control cholesterol continuing to rise, there are increasing concerns about longterm use of the drugs but a new analysis of more than 80,000 patient records finds little evidence of widespread side effects, while noting that when asked about side effects, patients in randomized trials often report them, whether they are actually taking a statin or a placebo. 

The researchers said their analysis of placebo-controlled trials of statins found that only a small minority of side effects reported by those taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs were actually attributable to them. Almost all the side effects reported in these trials "occurred anyway when patients were administered placebo," say the investigators.

The study was reported today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Among a long list of side effects assessed -- which included nausea, renal disorder, myopathy and muscle breakdown, muscle ache, insomnia, fatigue, and gastrointestinal disturbance -- only the risk of new onset diabetes mellitus was increased by statin therapy.

Explaining the need for their study, the authors noted that the efficacy of statins and other drugs -- whether they work as intended -- is always based on rigorous trials but that the evaluation of side effects is not.

"Patients and doctors need clear reliable information about benefits and risks to make informed decisions," they write, adding that those reporting symptomatic side effects during statin therapy need reliable confirmation that a symptom is truly caused by the drug.

The study found that statins rather than placebo significantly increased the prevalence of diabetes by 0.5% and similarly reduced the mortality rate by 0.5%. 

Despite the study's findings, of course, many patients on statins report side effects when questioned by researchers. 

"Most people in the general population, if you repeatedly ask them a detailed questionnaire, will not feel perfectly well in every way on every day. Why should they suddenly feel well when taking a tablet after being warned of possible adverse effects?" said Dr. Judith Finegold of the National Heart and Lung Institute in London.

"We believe that patients should be empowered to make their own decisions, but we must first make sure they have top quality unbiased information. This is why we call on drug regulators to highlight in the long lists of side effects those few whose rate is incrementally greater than that experienced with a dummy tablet," Finegold said.

A study finds that Facebook feelings are contagious, with positive posts begetting more positive posts and negative posts begetting more negative ones.

The study of more than 100 million U.S. Facebook users, conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, finds that positive posts are a bit more influential than negative ones. Published in PLOS ONE, the study analyzes over a billion anonymized status updates.

"Our study suggests that people are not just choosing other people like themselves to associate with but actually causing their friends' emotional expressions to change," said lead author James Fowler, professor of political science at UC San Diego. "We have enough power in this data set to show that emotional expressions spread online and also that positive expressions spread more than negative."

There is abundant scientific literature on how emotion can spread among people – through direct contact, in person – not only among friends but also among strangers or near-strangers. Little is known, though, about emotional contagion in online social networks. 

Rainy days and Sundays

The researchers analyzed anonymous English-language status updates on Facebook in the top 100 most populous cities in the U.S. over 1,180 days. Researchers did not view any names of users or even the words posted by users. They relied on automated text analysis, through a software program called the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count, to measure the emotional content of each post.

To find if there's a causal relationship, the researchers needed to run an experiment. They found a natural one in rain. Rainy weather, it turns out, reliably changes the tenor of posts – increasing the number of negative posts by 1.16 percent and depressing the number of positive by 1.19 percent.

To make sure that rain was not affecting the friends directly, they restricted their analysis to friends who were in different cities where it was not raining, and to make sure it was not topic contagion, they removed from their analysis all weather-related status updates.

So, did the change in emotional expression by the people being rained on induce a change in their friends that stayed dry? Yes. According to the study, each additional negative post yields 1.29 more negative posts among one's friends, while each additional positive post yields an additional 1.75 positive posts among friends.

Fowler said the study probably underestimates how much emotion spreads through a digital social network.

"It is possible that emotional contagion online is even stronger than we were able to measure," he said. "For our analysis, to get away from measuring the effect of the rain itself, we had to exclude the effects of posts on friends who live in the same cities. But we have a pretty good sense from other studies that people who live near each other have stronger relationships and influence each other even more. If we could measure those relationships, we would probably find even more contagion."

The researchers believe their findings have widespread implications. Emotions, they write, "might ripple through social networks to generate large-scale synchrony that gives rise to clusters of happy and unhappy individuals." And with ever more avenues for expression in a digitally connected world, they write, "we may see greater spikes in global emotion that could generate increased volatility in everything from political systems to financial markets."

Retail sales bounced back in February after posting declines the two previous months.

Government figures show sales were up 0.3% last month, rebounding from a revised January decline of 0.6%. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were looking for an advance of 0.2%.

Areas of growth included new cars and building materials, both showing gains of 0.3%, and furniture and home furnishings -- up 0.4%. Decliners included electronics and appliance stores, and food and beverage stores, which were down 0.2%.

Lindsey M. Piegza, chief economist and market tech at Sterne Agee, calls the February report a "welcomed reprieve," but notes it's too early to conclude a continued, sizable rebound in spending because of pent up demand during months of winter storms. "Sure consumers have been somewhat constrained -- nobody likes shopping during an ice storm," Piegza added, "but consumers were spending elsewhere particularly on a heightened energy bill with both prices and usage on the rise."

The complete February report is available on the Census Bureau website.

Jobless claims

A surprising drop in initial jobless claims last week is leading some analysts to speculate that labor conditions are improving.

The Labor Department (DOL) reports 315,000 people applied for state unemployment benefits for the first time during the week ending March 8, a drop of 9,000 from the previous week and the lowest level in about 3 months.

DOL says there were no special factors driving the initial claims level to its lowest point since November 2013 -- that it was probably due to normal volatility.

The 4-week moving, which is not as volatile and contsidered more accurate gauge of the labor market, fell 6,250 -- to 330,500.

The full report is available on the DOL website.

Nutritional supplement maker Herbalife says it “will cooperate fully,” with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has launched an investigation into the firm.

Confirming that it received a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) from the FTC, the company says it welcomes the inquiry, “given the tremendous amount of misinformation in the marketplace.” A statement posted on the Herbalife website says, “We are confident that Herbalife is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” and that it will "cooperate fully with the FTC.”

Pyramid scheme alleged

While Herbalife did not reveal anything about the investigation, The Wall Street Journal reports the company has been accused of running a pyramid scheme -- charges the firm has repeatedly denied.

The company uses a network of independent distributors to sell weight management, energy and fitness, and nutritional products.

The Journal reports that an FTC representative confirmed investigation is underway, but would not go beyond that. Herbalife says it won't have any further comments until there are “material developments."

BMC-USA of Boston, Mass., is recalling about 1,311 Stromer ST1 electric bicycles in the U.S. and Canada.

The bicycle fork can break, posing a crash and injury hazard to the rider.

The company has received one report of a fork breaking, resulting in minor scrapes and bruises to the rider.

This recall involves all 2013 Stromer ST1 women’s and men’s pedal-assist electric bicycles, models M33 Elite and P48 Platinum. The bikes were sold in three colors; black, red and white. They have an integrated lithium battery located inside the down tube, motor on the rear hub and a three-button LCD system display on the handlebars. “Stromer” is printed on the top tube of the bicycle frame and on the seat and chain guard. The fork’s serial numbers for the recalled bikes start with: ST1S2F, ST1S2G, ST1S2H, ST1S2I, ST1S2J, ST1S3A, ST1S3B, ST1S3C, ST1S3D and ST1S3E. The serial number is etched at the bottom of the rear fork.

The bicycles, manufactured in Switzerland, were sold through authorized Stromer dealers nationwide and online from January 2012 to May 2013 for between $3,500 and $4,000.

Consumers should immediately stop riding the bicycle and take it to an authorized Stromer dealer. Consumers with a recalled bicycle will receive a free replacement fork and have it installed at no cost.

Consumers may contact BMC-USA at (800) 819-4262 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or by e-mail at andrew.gelles@bmc-switzerland.com.

BMW of North America is recalling 4,453 model year 2013 C 600 Sport, C 650 GT, F 700 GS, F 800 GS, F 800 GS Adventure, F 800 GT, R 1200 R and R1200 GS motorcycles.

Water may enter the side-stand switch preventing the motorcycle from starting or potentially shutting off the motorcycle while it is being ridden. An unexpected shutdown increases the risk of a crash.

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the side-stand switch, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in April 2014.

Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-831-1117.

In early February, Graco Children's Products announced the recall of millions of model year 2009 through 2013 toddler and booster child restraints.

The defect involves difficulty in unlatching the harness buckle. In some cases, the buckle becomes stuck in a latched condition so that it cannot be opened by depressing the buckle's release button. It may be difficult to remove the child from the restraint, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a vehicle crash, fire, or other emergency, in which a prompt exit from the vehicle is required.

The company is now including an additional 403,222 seats in this recall, bringing the total to more than 4.1 million. The following model year 2006 through 2014 seats are included:

• Argos 70 Elite
• Ready Ride
• Step 2
• My Ride 65 with Safety Surround
• My Size 70
• Head Wise 70 with Safety Surround
• Nautilus 3-in-1
• Nautilus Plus
• Smart Seat with Safety Surround

Graco is offering to replace the buckle with a new design, free of charge. Registered owners will be notified beginning around early April 2014, and offered the free replacement buckle.

All other owners may contact Graco at 1-800-345-4109 (toll-free) or 1-330-869-7225.

Hoping to mollify customers outraged by the news that their ignition switch could kill them, General Motors is offering a $500 cash allowance towards the purchase or lease of a new GM car to 1.37 million consumers whose cars have been recalled.

The automaker also advised its dealers to offer loaners to any customers who say they are afraid to drive their cars until repairs have been made, something that may not happen for a month or more. GM also said it would pay to have recalled cars towed in for any customer who requests it. 

Customers are also cautioned to put their ignition key on a key ring by itself, to lessen the weight placed on the defective ignition switch. 

GM cautioned dealers not to use the $500 to wheedle customers into buying a new car.  "This allowance is not a sales tool; it is to be used to help customers in need of assistance," the company said.

The $500 cash offer is good towards the purchase of any 2013-2015 model year Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac.

The recall is not expected to begin until about April 7, allowing time for GM to distribute new parts to dealers. The recalled vehicles include 2005-07 Chevy Cobalts; 2007 Pontiac G5s; 2003-07 Saturn Ions; 2006-07 Chevy HHRs; and the 2007 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.

Bankruptcy issues

No one disputes that there have been injuries and fatalities associated with the defective ignition switches, which can slip into the "off" or "accessory" position when the car is in motion, shutting down the engine and cutting power to the airbags as well as power steering and brakes.

But what is likely to become an issue is the question of how GM's 2009 bankruptcy will affect lawsuits growing out of the faulty switches. GM initially said it knew of 13 deaths but now says the correct number is 12.

However, the likelihood is that, in retrospect, many accident victims and their survivors will consider the possibility that the ignition switch was at fault in accidents where it was initially overlooked. GM could claim that many of the accidents occurred prior to its bankruptcy and therefore are the responsibility of General Motors Corp., the "old" GM, rather than General Motors LLC, the "new" (and current) GM.

Tip of the iceberg

Saying that the 12 known deaths are "just the tip of the iceberg," the Center for Auto Safetytoday raised the possibility that GM was slow to initiate a recall in order to escape legal liability for at least some of the accidents.

"By concealing the ignition key defect for at least 10 years, GM created more victims and then robbed them of their legal rights through the passage of time. Justice delayed is justice denied," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the organization, and Joan Claybrook, a former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a letter to Mary Barra, GM's new president.

They called on GM to create a $1 billion trust fund to benefit victims of safety defects in GM vehicles.

"A teenager who is rendered a quadriplegic in a crash because the airbag fails to deploy can face lifetime medical costs of $30 million or more. What will the Cobalt recall cost -- perhaps $100/vehicle and total recall costs of no more $100 million in the US. Present known fatal victim costs will exceed the cost of the recall," Ditlow and Claybrook said.

Besides the expected avalanche of personal injury lawsuits, GM faces a Congressional probe and a U.S. Justice Department investigation into its handling of the situation.  

Who better to judge consumer journalism than consumers? That's the thinking behind a new series of awards recognizing outstanding reporting of consumer issues that launches this year, a joint project of the Media Policy Center, Woodbury University and ConsumerAffairs.

Beginning today, consumers are being asked to nominate the television, radio, newspaper, magazine and online sources that they rely on for news about consumer products, quality rankings, customer service, safety recalls and other information that helps them choose the best products for them and their families.

"There are nearly as many journalism awards as there are journalists but very few allow consumers to have a voice in the process," said ConsumerAffairs CEO Zac Carman. "That may make sense if you're talking about international affairs or business reporting but consumers should have a voice in consumer journalism awards."

The deadline for nominations is April 15. The online nomination form for consumers is available online and can be completed in less than two minutes. There is no charge and consumers may submit as many nominations as they wish.

Journalism professionals are also invited to submit nominations. Instructions and the entry form are online.   

The sponsoring entities and their employees and contributors are not eligible for awards.

Judges will decide 

The judges, drawn from the three sponsoring organizations, will sift the nominations submitted by journalism professionals and consumers and will make the final decision in each category.

Awards will be given for the best reporting in five major categories: print, the internet, radio, television and magazines.

The overall winner will receive the Martin H. Bosworth Award for Outstanding Consumer Reporting. The award is named for the late managing editor of ConsumerAffairs, a consumer news and information center now in its 16th year. Bosworth was 35 when he died at his Los Angeles home in 2010 of a circulatory disorder.

One of the first peer review sites on the Web, ConsumerAffairs , founded in 1998, publishes consumer reviews that empower consumers to collaboratively find the products and services that best suit their needs and helps them identify shoddy practices and outright scams. Its news reports deal with automotive, personal finance, health, travel and other consumer issues.

The Media Policy Center addresses issues of social welfare, public policy, education, the environment, and health care. Its primary goal, through media, is to inform, challenge, and ultimately engage a responsive citizenry and to encourage full and meaningful debate and participation across the political, social, and economic spectrum.

Woodbury University seeks to transform its students into liberally educated professionals and socially responsible citizens by integrating transdisciplinarity, design thinking, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement into all programs. Woodbury achieves academic excellence by creating external partnerships, implementing effective internal processes, and ensuring quality in all programs and services

Now that we're are well into March you may be giving thought to your home's lawn. Coaxing it back to life after a hard winter is important, but don't overdo it.

Makers of commercial lawn care products would like you to go all-in with spring lawn feeding and fertilizing but many experts recommend doing the bulk of that work in the fall. Still, your lawn needs some attention in the early spring.

Snow mold

Scotts, a maker of lawn care products, suggests checking your lawn for signs of snow mold, which it says can occur where the grass is long and snow hung around for extended periods of time. It's a type of turf disease that kills grass – mostly Kentucky bluegrass and fescue. You'll recognize it by its circular shape, anywhere from three to 12 inches in diameter.

After a particularly snowy winter in much of the country many homeowners may find they have quite a bit of snow mold. Fortunately, the grass will likely bounce back on its own without any treatment. However, the video below, produced by an organic lawn care company, shows how you can help the healing process along.

Local conditions

Much of the lawn care advice you'll find online is for specific geographic areas, having to do with specific climate conditions. But some advice is universal, such as proper mowing techniques. Most experts recommend letting the grass grow tall in early spring.

"Most people mow their lawns way too short, which stresses out the grass," said Paul James, who hosts “Gardening by the Yard” on HGTV.

It's much better, he says, to do less, not more. “I'm a great believer in benign neglect," he said.

The reasons tall grass is better aren't complicated. Tall grass promotes healthy roots. It shades the ground so it doesn't dry out as fast. It may keep down weeds, since weed seeds require a lot of sunlight to germinate.

It's also important to sharpen your mower's blade before the first time you cut your lawn. A sharp blade will not tug on the roots as much as it takes off the top of the grass.

Wait until lawn dries out

Even though you may be eager to start working in the yard on the first nice early spring day, make sure your lawn is ready. Many experts say your lawn should be dry before you start walking around on it. If the ground is wet you'll pack down the soil, making it harder for the grass roots to get sufficient air.

In fact, you should consider aerating your lawn if you didn't do it in the fall. If you find bare spots put out some new grass seed.

Remarkable uniformity

Despite the climate differences in the U.S., a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that homeowners are able to make their lawns look remarkably similar. The study tried to determine whether homeowners across the country utilized the same lawn management techniques.

Some 79% of surveyed residents reported watering their lawns and 64% applied fertilizer – two practices increasingly frowned upon by environmentalists. In some parts of the country there is growing concern about possible water shortages. Fertilizer is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus which stimulates lawn growth, but can degrade waterways by causing algal blooms that rob oxygen from fish and other aquatic life.

"These numbers are important when we bear in mind that lawns cover more land in the United States than any other irrigated crop,” said Peter Groffman, a scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and one of the paper's authors. “What we do in our suburban and urban yards has a big impact, for better or worse, on the environment."

Among the survey's findings, residents of Boston and Miami – cities with very different climates – had similar fertilization rates. Not surprisingly, in the study's two driest cities – Phoenix and Los Angeles – heavy watering correlated with affluence. Overall, the study found local climate and social factors led to the biggest differences in lawn care variability.

New Jersey has become a bridge too far for Tesla, the fast-growing electric-car manufacturer that has been challenging the cozy relationship between car dealers and state regulators around the country and insisting it should be treated differently.

Besides building an electric car that's fast, fun, efficient and expensive, Tesla has been disrupting the auto industry by selling directly to consumers from company-owned showrooms -- something that's illegal in many states.

What's that, you say? Illegal to sell a car without a dealer?

That's right. While individuals can sell cars to each other, a manufacturer can't just rent a showroom and start selling cars to consumers. Tesla knew that going in but what it didn't realize was what a tangled web it would have to negotiate in state after state to crack the cozy relationship between car dealers and state politicians.

The progress had been slow but somewhat steady until this week, when Tesla ran afoul of New Jersey, already famous for practically imprisoning its own citizens by closing traffic lanes on the nation's busiest bridge to teach a local politico a lesson.

Blogging isn't politicking

When the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission approved a resolution this week explicity banning direct auto-manufacturer sales to consumers, Tesla cried foul and began emitting piteous bleeps through its blogs and press releases, saying it had been "attacked" by the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers.

This is the same Tesla that scheduled a recall to update the software on its cars and then whined and whimpered when the press accurately called it -- what else? -- a recall.

Tesla and its I-know-more-than-everybody CEO Elon Musk are now getting a taste of real politics, not the Silicon Valley variety, which consists mostly of fervent admiration of and capitulation to tech wizards. In the Garden State, they take the gloves off when the bell rings and start slugging.

So far, Tesla has not landed a punch while the car dealers have landed 696,749 of them -- in the form of dollars contributed through various dealer PACs to politicians over the last year, according to the National Institute of Money In Politics. Tesla has not parted with a dime.

Guess what, Tesla. It takes more than endless motormouth verbiage to grease the wheels and get things rolling. Campaign contributions aren't bribes -- they're fight tickets. If you want to be ringside, you need to pony up.

As they say, Elon, all politics is local. Or, to put it another way: you don't play the game, you don't get to make the rules. 

You know what I'm sayin'?