Free Republic

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A national department store chain has agreed to pay $400,000 to end an investigation into claims that it advertised deceptive sale prices on items ranging from watches to outdoor grills, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said. Kaufmann's, a division of the May Department Stores Co., based in St. Louis, will end the practice of advertising long-standing "sales" prices while the stated "regular price" was rarely or never charged, Spitzer said. Kaufmann's, which is based in Boston, operates 51 stores in New York, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. "Phony sales can lure customers away from competitors and trick consumers...

DENVER (Aug. 9) - Fifteen-year-old Heather Herman, who wears leather and eats meat, is an unlikely animal rights activist. Yet largely due to her, Denver voters will decide this week whether to allow the circus to come to town. Herman contends the animals aren't meant to travel the country caged or in train cars, performing for audiences on cue. Her push to petition for a law ensuring abuse-free circuses rather than just passing out leaflets took some supporters by surprise. "I guess you get jaded when you get older," said Ashley Soard, formerly of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense and now...

Real estate dictatorships threaten 'American Dream'By Carol Lloyd Inman NewsConsumer Real Estate News (This is Part 2 of a two-part series. See Part 1: Homeowners wage war on real estate dictatorship.) Last week, I reported on the convoluted and sometimes baffling war over the fate of the Westlake Subdivision Improvement Association, the homeowners association (HOA) for 6,500 homes in Daly City, Calif. At the heart of the struggle was U. Deutsch, an elderly German-born woman who has spent a good portion of the last 30 years working to dismantle an organization she considers fraudulent and unjust.Although the facts were on her...

I get this notice today. ATTENTION: Residents of ******** Apartmants. RE: CITY OF EAST LANSING HOUSING INSPECTION The City of East Lansing will be conducting their annual housing inspection (date given). During the inspection they will be checking for overall cleanliness, safety, and maintenance conditions. The following is a list of items that they have cited violations on. This is not a complete list, but the most common issues we have seen in the apartments. Please keep in mind that tickets can be written to the residents. (listing part of the list) 2. Garbage, EMPTY BEVERAGE CANS stored in ANY...

Farmers be warned: Anti-pork activists from across the nation (including "labor leaders," "attorneys," and "animal welfare and community activists") will descend on Clear Lake, Iowa, on Friday, April 5 for the Second Annual Hog Summit, where they will "discuss strategies for battling the factory meat industry and for promoting sustainable hog farming." Leading the way is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., head of the Water Keeper Alliance, an anti- consumer outfit funded by the Moore Charitable Foundation, the Turner Foundation, and many others. [For more on where Water Keeper gets its money, visit ActivistCash.com.] Robert Boyle, founder of environmental group Riverkeeper...