By Linsey B. Knerl

When news hit of yet another class-action lawsuit against a company that failed to properly safeguard consumers from identify theft, my first thought was, “Who will be affected?” Clearly, it would benefit me to know if I was a customer of the company who allegedly allowed millions of customers’ personal and financial information to be stolen. Finding out if I’m among those named in the lawsuit, however, isn’t going to be easy.

By Gene Ayres

If you haven’t noticed that the cost of food has shot through the supermarket roof, you either live in the White House, or don’t eat. Forget the statistical data the bureaucrats feed us each week (in lieu of real substance or sustenance), who seem to think we should expect to be satisfied living on genetically modified floor sweepings in the not-too-distant future. Just visit a supermarket. According to the World Bank, food prices have surged a staggering 83% in the last three years, worldwide.

By Colleen Rothe

As we approach the 38th year that Earth Day is celebrated, there’s a flurry of activity by companies to be seen as ‘green.’ Safeway is touting its new fleet of more fuel-efficient vehicles; Tully’s Coffee Co. is beating its chest over its announcement that all espresso beverages served in its stores will now be made exclusively with 100% Fair Trade Certified™ and Organic Espresso; and AT&T Wireless is partnering with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Keep America Beautiful to sponsor an enhanced recycling program for cell phones, batteries and accessories.

By Linsey B. Knerl

With so many people ordering online these days, it shouldn't have to be rocket science. Unfortunately, there are still some “unwritten” rules that need to be followed to ensure proper delivery of all your orders. Whether you shop Amazon, buy contacts from your favorite discount site, or just like to hit the best Buy.com deals, here's what you need to know to get the stuff you’ve paid for.

By Gene Ayres

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, or for that matter a Nobel Prize economist to tell us that we’re in a recession, because we, the consumers, knew this before the wonks did (and the politicians are still clueless). Don’t you just love the way the Commerce Department announces these reassuring stats about how the economy is still “strong,” and “growth” remains positive (at least for CEOs), and inflation is nothing to worry about, being only 5% or so?

By Colleen Rothe

Each week my stress at the grocery store seems to outweigh my stress at the pump. I can curb how much I drive. I shocked my local grocer this week by not shopping for the entire week. I don’t like to do that, it cuts down on the freshness of the fruits and vegetables. But I just can’t afford the daily trips any more. Biking or walking the five miles just isn’t in my time budget. Why we ever got around centralized villages as our living arrangements is a whole other rant. Regardless, I can’t curb the need to eat. I cannot choose to not feed my children.

By Linsey Knerl

Last week we were surprised with the Samuel Adams beer recall, which wasn't as high-profile as I would have liked. Today there were reports of over 23 cases of salmonella poisoning thought to be linked to an earlier recall of Malt-O-Meal breakfast cereal that I was never aware of. What does this all mean to you, the consumer? While it would be nice to think that the news media would be alerting us of the dangers in our food sources, it just isn't going to happen to my satisfaction. This is why I have decided to take responsibility for educating myself on recent recalls by visiting the government website daily. By checking www.recall.gov, I can get a quick glance at all voluntary and involuntary product recalls, and I can be sure I won't miss anything important to me or my family.

By Gene Ayres

Last week I talked about all the interesting things we are urged, invited, required to, or are at least willing to ingest, in our food. Or, which is no excuse, we’re oblivious to. Many of us still actually believe that if the FDA allows it, it must be OK. This is the same FDA that gutted all regulations, then announced (and has now been supported by the Supreme Court, no less!) that if the FDA approved something, you can’t sue the manufacturer if it kills you!

By Linsey B. Knerl

The only thing worse than that last little bit of warm beer in the bottom of your bottle is that same warm beer -- with shards of broken glass in it. Thanks to a recent recall by the Boston Beer Company (the makers of Samuel Adams), beer drinkers will need to be extra careful when indulging in their favorite ales. According to the Samuel Adams consumer website, the “defect” in the bottles was discovered during a routine quality control inspection and could possibly affect the product from one of five bottle plants. The problem, confirmed on Friday (according to the Boston Globe), could take form as small, sand-like grains of glass or possibly larger shards.

By Colleen Rothe

It seems most of my efforts to trim the family budget and make ends meet, like so many of my neighbors in our working-class ‘hood,’ focus on cutting my transportation costs. And the more I try, the angrier I get. Angry at the oil companies. Angry that our lives revolve around petro-chemicals. Angry that our leaders just don’t seem to care.

By Gene Ayres

Many of you might remember the old TV campaign by Dupont, trying to promote the idea that a pervasive chemical soup permeating our water, food, atmosphere, living and working environment was really a good thing. Certainly anyone who’s ever driven north or south on I-95 through Delaware has had a first-hand look (taste, and smell) of just how profoundly spurious a claim that really is, from America’s first corporation, the folks that made their fortune bringing us gunpowder.

By Jeanne Roberts

As a recent UK recall of cough medicines emphasizes, children can't be treated like adults when it comes to colds and coughing. Take the case of a Wayne, Indiana infant, who was given some cough medicine and subsequently died in her sleep. Or consider the case of a New Zealand child, who was given an anti-psychotic instead of cough medicine. Cough and cold medicines (including prescriptions) that would not faze an adult can be lethal when used in children under 2. Even prescription medicines must be suspect, since allergic reactions develop quickly and pharmaceutical errors are not uncommon.

Linsey B. Knerl

Those nifty little 100-calorie packs were on sale at my local grocer, and I didn't even give them a second look before passing them by. The way I see it, I'm not even paying for crackers, chips, or cookies. I'm paying for something most of us don't even need – or want.