SAN FRANCISCO -- Should cities be able to require a flyer at the point of sale advising people of cell-phone safety guidelines? That's the crux of a lawsuit that goes before a federal judge in San Francisco tomorrow, pitting the cell-phone industry against the city of Berkeley.

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association says the flyers are a violation of cell-phone manufacturers' free speech rights, though the information - that phones can exceed RF radiation guidelines if held too close to the body - is already in user manuals, normally buried in the fine print.

Ellie Marks, executive director of the California Brain Tumor Association, said she's disgusted that the Federal Communications Commission has sided with the CTIA.

"So we're dealing with intensive collusion between the FCC and the wireless industry to hide the truth from the American public that cell phones are not the safe device consumers are led to believe," Marks said. "And the public should be outraged that this is happening."

The lead attorney for the FCC, Thomas Johnson, used to work for the same firm that now represents the CTIA. The FCC has weighed in, saying user manuals provide consumers with sufficient information about cell-phone safety, and the ordinance risks "over-warning" and misleading consumers into believing that cell phones are unsafe.

A 2018 study by the National Toxicology Program found that cell-phone radiation can cause brain tumors in rats. Marks said people should store their phones away from their bodies and turn them off at night.

"People should not keep them on while they're on their body - not in a pocket, not in a bra," she said. "And they should just take simple precautions: Use the speakerphone, use a wired headset and don't hold it to your head or body while it is on. "

The CTIA filed the suit five years ago and fought it all the way to the Supreme Court - twice - and lost.

Dollar-store chains are rapidly growing across the country, with more locations than McDonald's, Starbucks, Target and Walmart combined, according to a new report, which claims their rapid growth is due in part to targeting low-income communities.

The report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance claimed Dollar General and Dollar Tree -- which owns Family Dollar -- choose disenfranchised areas, and Black and Latino neighborhoods in or near urban centers, to set up shop.

Aaron Weber, a concerned citizen in Micanopy, said he fought a dollar store entering his community, based on what he argued are plaguing America with increased risks of obesity, diabetes and cancer.

"They are a public health disaster from what they sell," Weber stressed. "I'd rather have a liquor store in my community than a dollar store, because liquor stores only sell alcohol, and dollar stores sell alcohol plus a lot of processed foods, a lot of stuff that's high in sugar, cigarettes too."

The chains have become a go-to grocery destination for cash-strapped shoppers, though Dollar Tree recently announced it will no longer sell eggs because the cost skyrocketed during the fall. In a statement, the Dollar General Corporation said the Institute "is not a reliable source for information regarding Dollar General, or our efforts to meet the value and convenience needs of millions of Americans for nearly 85 years."

Kennedy Smith, senior researcher at the Institute, said its investigation indicates the stores are a threat to existing businesses, especially food stores.

"And the concern there is that, by edging out stores that provide good, healthy food options for communities, they are actually creating food deserts, or exacerbating food deserts that may already exist," Smith explained.

Dollar General said it offers fresh produce in more than 3,000 stores, with plans to do so in about 2,000 more this year. The company added its stores are often in locations other retailers have chosen not to serve.

Smith, however, describes tactics used to drive local grocers and retailers out of business. The report said since 2019, people in 75 cities and towns have organized to block new locations being built.


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The collapse of two banks has put the U.S. financial sector into focus this week.

Some are considering the alternative structures of institutions like credit unions. Troy Stang is the president and CEO of the GoWest Credit Union Association, which represents more than 300 credit unions in Oregon and five other states.

He said tumult in the financial market historically generates interest in the local structure of credit unions.

"Whether it was with the dot-com bust, whether it was with the activities that led up to the Great Recession," said Stang, "consumers at their kitchen tables started having these conversations more intentionally about who is it that we do our financial services with?"

Silicon Valley Bank's collapse is the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. To get depositors their money, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has stepped in.

Stang noted that the National Share Insurance Fund administered by the National Credit Union Administration is the equivalent regulator for his institutions and is paid for by the credit union system.

Stang said credit unions are not-for-profit and member-owned.

"We're not accountable to Wall Street investors," said Stang. "We're not accountable to other forces outside of our membership. And so it's a much different model."

Stang said many of the credit unions in his association have spent the last week reassuring customers and noting differences in their institutions' structure from others.

He added that a strong financial system is important for consumers, regardless of which institution they bank with.

Renters these days are getting hit with all kinds of extra charges, and consumer advocates want the federal government to crack down on the so-called "junk rental fees."

A new report from the National Consumer Law Center found many landlords charge excessive fees, not just for utilities but to process a rental application, move trash to the bins, allow roommates or pets, accept certain forms of payment or notify you of late payment.

April Kuehnhoff, senior attorney at the center, said with rents already sky-high, all extra fees must be disclosed ahead of time.

"There are fees that people can't opt out of, so it's very difficult to comparison shop or to actually know how much does it cost to rent this apartment," Kuehnhoff explained.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission are both looking into the issue of junk fees. Advocates want the government to crack down on abuses by large landlords and debt collectors, and work with private companies such as Zillow and Apartments.com to make sure fees are disclosed upfront.

Kuehnhoff pointed out pest-control fees may even be illegal.

"The duty of a landlord is to provide a habitable space," Kuehnhoff stressed. "So you should be delivering an apartment that's free of rodents free of cockroaches, and it shouldn't be up to the tenant to pay an additional sum."

The California Legislature is considering Senate Bill 611, which would force landlords to disclose upfront the true rent and any required fees. It is part of a six-bill legislative package to combat junk fees in housing, hotels, car rentals, ticketing, electric-vehicle purchases and small-business financing.


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