uPennsylvania Holding A Liquor Lottery To Sell Rare Boozer

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  When it comes to rare alcohol, Pennsylvania is trying to make sure anyone who wants to buy their favorite limited-quantity wines and spirits has a fair shot: the state’s Liquor Control Board is going to host a lottery this month to give drinkers a chance to get their hands on products that are hard to come by.

  Pennsylvania is in a unique situation here — the LCB owns and operates all liquor stores in the state. So if any people — or businesses — want to buy liquor or wine, it has to go through the state’s hands first.

  The lottery is the state’s attempt to make up for last year, when a first-come, first-served sale of rare Pappy Van Winkle bourbon crashed the website set up to sell it, reports the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Officials are hoping the lottery system will be fairer.

  The first lottery will be held on Oct. 13, with 24 bottles of Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection up for grab: 12 bottles of French Oak Barrel Aged Bourbon 100 Proof and 12 bottles of French Oak Barrel Head Aged Bourbon, with each 375 ml bottle selling for $48.49. Each lottery entrant can only buy one bottle.

  Retailers as well as individual consumers will be able to take part in the lottery, with 75% of products available for the general public and 25% reserved for bars and restaurants.

  “In recent years, certain products have become very popular among aficionados, enthusiasts and collectors. When sold through our traditional online store in the past, the extraordinary demand for these products, which are often sold at prices far below what consumers find in other states, often led to products selling out within only a few minutes,” Tim Holden, PLCB chairman, said in a statement.

  “In order to ensure that all consumers interested in a particular high-demand product have a fair chance to purchase the product, we have developed a lottery system for our most limited products.”

  Lottery participants will have to register online first and put their billing information on file, and then opt in to the lottery between today and Saturday, Oct. 10. Winners will be selected at random by a computer program.

  Will Pennsylvania’s liquor lottery be a win for customers? [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uAmerican Apparel Files For Bankruptcy Protectionr

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  Two months after American Apparel admitted it didn’t have enough financing to continue operations for another year, the retailer says things haven’t gotten better and it’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

  American Apparel stores and manufacturing operations are expected to continue to operate normally under a restructuring deal the company has reached with most of its lenders, Reuters reports.

  The Los Angeles-based company says its first plan of action is to cut its $300 million in debt by nearly $200 million through the elimination of bonds in exchange for equity.

  It was unclear if the company intends to eventually shutter some stores as a result of the filing. The company previously announced in July that it would close some locations as part of a $30 million cost-cutting turnaround effort.

  Filing for bankruptcy is just the latest stumbling block for the apparel company that has seen its fair share of controversy in the last two years. Recent issues – including dealing with the behavior and subsequent lawsuits involving company founder and ex-CEO Dov Charney – have only exacerbated its financial problems.

  Reuters reported Monday that Charney’s 42% stake in the company – which was held as collateral by New York hedge fund Standard General LP – will be wiped out.

  American Apparel has reportedly lost money every year since 2010. In August, the company estimates that it lost $19 million in just the past quarter, bringing its total loss of the year, so far, to $46 million – double its losses from the year before.

  American Apparel files for bankruptcy, operations to continue [Reuters]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uAverage ATM Fees Hit Record High Of $4.52, Up 21% Over 5 Yearsr

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  If you think you’re being bled dry more quickly by ATM fees, you’re probably not imagining things. A new survey shows that the cost of getting money from an out-of-network ATM has risen 21% over the last five years and the national average is now higher than $4.50 per transaction.

  This is according to Bankrate.com’s annual checking account survey, which figured in the two fees most of us hit when getting cash from a non-bank ATM: The amount charged by your bank for daring to mess around with someone else’s machine (national average: $1.64/transaction), and the fee charged by the out-of-network ATM for being conveniently located (national average: $2.88/transaction).

  The cities with the most expensive average ATM fees:
  1. Atlanta $5.15
  2. New York $5.03
  3. Phoenix $4.88
  4. Miami $4.84
  5. Milwaukee $4.78

  And those with the lowest average ATM Fees:

  25. San Francisco $3.85
  24. Cincinnati $3.86
  23. Kansas City $4.01
  22. Dallas $4.11
  21. Seattle $4.21

  Banks and ATM operators appear to be increasing their fees in response to the growing number of consumers that use credit/debit cards or mobile payment platforms for their purchases. The Wall Street Journal notes that some analysts calculate that debit card cash withdrawals are down 41% over the last ten years.

  Bankrate suggests that, in addition to using your bank’s website or mobile app to identify any in-network ATMs in your vicinity, people in need of immediate cash make a small purchase at a drugstore chain like Walgreens that will give you at least some cash back if you pay with a debit card. Granted, many stores limit debit card cash back to only $20-40 over the purchase total, so it won’t help if you need to pay several hundred dollars to a moving company van ASAP.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uEven Airline CEOs Aren’t Immune To Carriers Losing Their Bagsr

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  When talking about the airline you run, it probably isn’t the best idea to start out by recounting how said carrier misplaced your bags on your latest flight. Unless, maybe, you’re trying to seem relatable and let consumers know that accidents happen. But even then, it can’t be anything less than embarrassing. 

  But that was exactly what Alaska Airlines CEO Bradley Tilden admitted to a group of reporters at an airline summit last week, The Los Angeles Times reports.

  Tilden described at the event how the airline – which offers a guarantee to get passengers their bags within 20 minutes of reaching the gate – didn’t meet their promise when he was flying to the event in Washington, D.C.

  While the bag was delivered the next day, Tilden also confessed the issue wasn’t a first for him and the airline. It previously misplaced a bag 25 years ago.

  Tilden didn’t say whether or not he received the $25 credit or the 2,500 miles on Alaska’s reward program as compensation for the airline failing to meet the baggage delivery guarantee.

  Alaska Airlines CEO says his airline lost his bag [The Los Angeles Times]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uStudies Try To Estimate Number Of Deaths Tied To Rigged Volkswagen Emissionsr

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  Over the course of seven years, Volkswagen and its affiliated companies sold millions of diesel vehicles around the world — nearly 500,000 in the U.S. — with emissions control systems rigged so that the cars falsely appeared to meet environmental standards. While much of the focus has been on the carmaker’s alleged fraud and the financial cost to consumers and VW, some researchers have been trying to figure out how many people died as a result of the additional toxic emissions released into the air.

  The Associated Press took a shot at estimating the possible death toll for just the U.S. and arrived at a figure of between five and 20 deaths per year. In total, the AP concluded that anywhere from 16 to 94 additional people died in America during the last seven years because of VW’s deception software.

  According to the EPA, affected VW vehicles released between 10 to 40 times the legally allowed amount of NOx (nitrogen oxides) into the air. NOx helps to form smog, which contains soot particles that kill upwards of 50,000 people a year in the U.S.

  “Even the small increase in NOx from VW diesel emissions is likely to have worsened pollution along the roadways where they have traveled, and affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people,” explains Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute in Boston, a group funded by both the EPA and the car industry. “To say millions of people of people are breathing poor air as the result of that is not off the mark.”

  To arrive at its estimated death toll, the AP figured in existing pollution levels, along with the sales and use of the rigged VW cars. They also utilized computer models for air movement and previous studies on the epidemiological health effects of pollutants. That gave the AP its rough estimate of 5-20 deaths per year.

  The news organization says it took the results to independent researchers who are not involved with either environmental advocacy groups or the auto industry and that these scientists “confirmed the calculations and results seemed right.”

  One scientist the AP contacted claimed to have performed his own analysis and reached the same conclusion.

  A calculation using the AP’s open source modeling system came up with a slightly lower death toll for the seven-year period: between 12 and 69 deaths.

  Researchers acknowledge that it’s difficult to come to any hard-and-fast conclusion on the issue, as a number of assumptions need to be made about the effect of a handful of cars on the environment of a massive geographical area.

  And unlike the General Motors ignition recall, where more than 100 fatalities have been definitively linked to the long-ignored problem, there’s no way to say “These particular people died because of VW’s emissions cheat.”

  “Statistically, we can’t point out who died because of this policy, but some people have died or likely died as a result of this,” explains Carnegie Mellon environmental engineering professor Peter Adams, whose modeling system was used by the AP.

  That model uses what the AP describes as “conservative” medical studies for its assumptions, and points out that other models would come out with twice the total fatalities.

  The deaths are almost certainly higher in Europe, with its higher population density. Additionally, the vast majority of rigged vehicles were sold there.

  One scientist tells the AP that the number of people who died because of the polluting VWs in Europe could be in the hundreds.

  For its part, VW is attempting to minimize the significance of these numbers, pointing out that the EPA has said the cars are currently safe to drive.

  “General allegations regarding links between NOx emissions from these affected vehicles and specific health effects are unverified,” reads a statement from the carmaker. “We have received no confirmed reports that the emissions from such vehicles caused any actual health problem.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uAspen Foods Recalls 561,000 More Pounds Of Stuffed Chicken Breastsr

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  After what we’re guessing were a fraught couple of weeks of discussions between Aspen Foods and the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the government agency warned consumers not to eat the company’s products, stuffed chicken breasts produced since August have officially been recalled. This recall of 561,000 pounds of chicken breasts follows the recall of almost 2 million pounds earlier this year.

  That recall covered stuffed chicken breasts produced between April and July, and was because servings of chicken breast may have been contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis. The USDA took regular samples from the facility where these chicken breasts were packaged after production started up again, and that led to the public health alert and now this recall.

  Aspen Foods packages these chicken breast products under a number of private-label and food service brands: what you need to look for is the establishment number P-1358.

  If you have the products in your freezer, don’t assume that you can just cook them and kill any bacteria: people who became sick in the first recall reported checking the internal temperatures of their entrées with a meat thermometer, which means that the bacteria may not die at 165 or 170 degrees. Take the chicken back to the store or throw it out.

  The symptoms of salmonellosis are diarrhea (which can be severe), abdominal cramps, and a fever. Some healthy people show no symptoms at all. Generally, the illness lasts for 4 to 7 days, but it can have life-threatening complications, especially for people who are very young, very old, or who are already sick or immunocompromised.

  In this outbreak, only five people had illnesses that were connected to stuffed chicken breasts: it’s possible that other people were also sick, but didn’t visit a doctor or hospital to have samples taken and linked to contaminated chicken.

  If you have questions about the recall, contact Aspen Foods at (844) 277-6802.

  Aspen Foods Recalls Frozen, Raw, Stuffed & Breaded Chicken Products Due to Possible Salmonella Enteritidis Contamination [USDA]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uFour Major Sponsors Call For FIFA President To Resign Immediately, He Refusesr

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  Sure, sure, the president of global soccer association FIFA is under criminal investigation in Switzerland, but that doesn’t mean that he should make any rash decisions, like resigning in advance of the emergency presidential election in February. Now some of FIFA’s deep-pocketed sponsors are calling for Blatter to resign immediately, and he… refuses.

  What happened this week that sponsors are so upset about? Well, there’s the investigation of Blatter for “suspicion of criminal mismanagement and suspicion of misappropriation” of FIFA funds, specifically involving a large payment made to the head of soccer federations in Europe, who happens to be one of the candidates running to replace Blatter as president next year.

  Then there was the sort of feeble symbolic move by FIFA of banning former vice-president Jack Warner from soccer for life. Yes, now, even though he was indicted on corruption charges in the United States four months ago, and resigned from his posts four years ago.

  Sponsors that have spoken up as of this posting are Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Visa, and Budweiser, all longtime sponsors: Coca-Cola has been one on and off since 1950. While the sponsors haven’t publicly threatened to back out of their deals, all condemned FIFA’s behavior and asked that Blatter step down immediately.

  Coke’s statement was the first:

  For the benefit of the game, The Coca-Cola Company is calling for FIFA President Joseph Blatter to step down immediately so that a credible and sustainable reform process can begin in earnest. Every day that passes, the image and reputation of FIFA continues to tarnish. FIFA needs comprehensive and urgent reform, and that can only be accomplished through a truly independent approach.

  How many dollar menu items and Lime-A-Ritas will poor John Oliver have to consume this time?

  FIFA President Sepp Blatter defies calls from FIFA sponsors to quit immediately [U.S. News and World Report]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist