uStay Away Kids; This McDonald’s Is For Adults Onlyr

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  (WTAJ-TV)

  The default setting for teenagers is “obnoxious,” and anyone who’s ever worked in fast food knows just how insufferable some adolescents can be when released into the wild without adult supervision. But are pre-adults so unmanageable that they have to be banned from entering a McDonald’s?

  According to the management of a McD’s in Altoona, PA, the answer is yes.

  “[W]e must protect our employees, property and business,” reads a notice on the door of the McDonald’s explaining why no one under the age of 18 will be allowed in without an adult. “Due to recent events, we feel we must limit access to our restaurant to avoid further damage or injury.”

  Those recent events referenced in the notice apparently involved dozens of teens showing up at this McDonald’s at the same time and wreaking some degree of havoc.

  WTAJ-TV reports that four male juveniles were recently charged with defiant trespass, simple assault, harassment and stalking following an incident at the restaurant last week.

  An Altoona police lieutenant says his department has received numerous complaints from businesses in this section of town, all involving idle teens getting up to no go after school.

  “We will call the police if anyone fails to leave our property after being asked to do so,” concludes the notice on the McDonald’s door. “We are saddened that we need to take these measures and ask for the patience and understanding of the community and our guests.”

  Last fall, we told you about a Taco Bell in Antioch, CA, that chose to close down for 90 minutes in the afternoons rather than deal with the flood of local students who were gathering at the restaurant to air their personal beefs, often in the form of fisticuffs.

  But the Altoona police believe such actions may just be a case of kicking the can down the road.

  “It seems like when we focus on one location and address one specific location, they move onto another area,” explained the lieutenant.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uUber Expands Food Delivery Service UberEATS To Chicago, New York Cityr

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  Uber expanded its food delivery service UberEATS to New York City and Chicago today.

  Since opening for business, ride-sharing company Uber hasn’t been content with simply giving customers rides from point A to point B. After dabbling in all kinds of pilot programs including on-demand drop-offs of everyday essentials and courier services, the company seems to have found a second niche: food delivery. And so, Uber plans to expand UberEATS to Chicago and New York this week.

  Uber said today that the positive response to the pilot of UberEATS (previously known as UberFRESH) in Barcelona and Los Angeles, led the company to take its competition for GrubHub, Seamless and other delivery services to a larger customer base.

  The service delivers customers their choice of meals from a specially curated and rotating menu that features “local flavors that you crave the most” from the “most popular, iconic restaurants.”

  The first menu options in New York include an exclusive sandwich from American Cut, Kale Caesar salad from sweetgreen, and a steak sandwich from Num Pang. In Chicago, users can choose from the Pepito Torta from XOCO, Carne Asada Cemita from Cemitas, and other meals.

  The Verge reports that the meals will be delivered by specially designated UberEATS drivers and that customers will pay a delivery fee ($3 in Chicago; $4 in NYC)

  In addition to adding New York and Chicago to the UberEATS roster, the company says it has added a brunch option to its Los Angeles menu.

  Customers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago can access UberEATS through the current app by sliding over to the EATS option.

  Uber is bringing its food delivery service to New York City and Chicago [The Verge]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uHawaii Could Become The First State To Raise Minimum Age For Smoking To 21r

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  (MoneyBlogNewz)

  Lighting up a cigarette will only be legal for adults over the age of 21 in Hawaii soon, as the state prepares to become the first in the U.S. to bump the minimum legal age to partake in tobacco products up from 18.

  The bill has cleared the Hawaii Legislature and is on its way to the governor for final approval, reports the Associated Press, and keeps people under the age of 21 from smoking, buying or possessing both traditional and electronic cigarettes.

  Anyone caught in violation of the law would be fined $10 for the first offense, with subsequent incidents prompting a $50 fine or mandatory community service.

  Gov. David Ige hasn’t made up his mind whether or not to sign the bill, however, and says his staff vets all bills for legal issues first.

  “The departments will be doing their review and then we’ll have the opportunity to look at it,” Ige said.

  If he signs it into law, Hawaii would be the first state to raise the legal smoking age to 21, though several local governments including Hawaii County and New York City have done so. Washington state, Utah and Colorado have also considered boosting the legal minimum age.

  Proponents of such laws say raising the legal age to buy cigarettes to 21 would result in fewer smokers. In Hawaii, the state Department of Health says 5,600 kids try smoking every year, with 90% of daily smokers starting the habit before they turn 19.

  “Today we have the opportunity to change the paradigm,” said Democratic state Sen. Rosalyn Baker, who introduced the bill. She says the favorite flavors of teens using electronic cigarettes are sweet tart and “unicorn puke, which is described as a combination of every flavor of Skittle in one.”

  “While the industry is not allowed to directly market to children, it is still developing packaging and advertising products in ways that appeal to children,” she said.

  But critics say that if someone is deemed old enough to enter military service in this country, they should be allowed to come home and smoke a cigarette if they want to.

  “You can sign up and be in the military and basically give your life for your country. You can vote,” the owner of a vape store in Hawaii told the AP. “Why shouldn’t you be able to choose if you want to buy tobacco products or vaping products, when you’re considered a legal adult?”

  Hawaii poised to become 1st state to raise smoking age to 21 [Associated Press]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uBest Buy Changes Mind, Ends Its Ban On Apple Payr

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  (Ron Dauphin)

  When Apple Pay launched last fall, Best Buy was among the most high-profile retailers who refused to accept the new mobile payment platform because of its allegiance to the in-development CurrentC, a competing service from a Walmart-led coalition of retailers. But with CurrentC’s rollout still lingering in the vague future, Best Buy has decided it’s time to give Apple Pay a shot.

  Ars Technica reports that during Apple’s quarterly earnings call on Monday, the company announced that Best Buy is now accepting Apple Pay, in spite of Best Buy’s allegiance to the Merchant Customer Exchange, the retailer coalition behind CurrentC.

  MCX had previously explained that it was requiring participating retailers to initially use CurrentC exclusively to give the system some “breathing room” to gain a foothold in the market.

  But Best Buy is apparently going to defy that exclusive arrangement and offer both Apple Pay and CurrentC (when it eventually launches).

  “Today’s consumers have many different ways to spend their money and we want to give our customers as many options as possible in how they pay for goods and services at Best Buy,” the retailer told Ars.

  In response to the Best Buy announcement, MCX explained that its exclusivity provisions “are designed to expire and as such as are limited in both time and scope.”

  Best Buy isn’t the only MCX member to accept Apple Pay. Michigan-based big box retailer Meijer supports the Apple platform.

  “Best Buy remains a strong MCX partner and supporter of the CurrentC initiative,” says MCX COO Scott Rankin. “As we have stated in the past, we are of the firm belief that there need to be at least 2-3 major players within the mobile payments ecosystem for it to succeed. We remain steadfast and passionate about CurrentC, as well as completely focused on delivering the best mobile commerce solution for our merchant partners and for consumers.”

  Given the current limitations of Apple Pay — like the fact that it’s inaccessible for most smartphone users — it’s important that retailers offer multiple payment platforms, not just for giving customers choice, but because competition drives innovation and keeps costs down.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uSEC Reportedly Investigating Bank Of America Over Customer-Protection Rule Violationsr

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  (Mike Mozart)

  Financial institutions are required under federal law to follow an array of rules that aim to protect consumers’ accounts. Bank of America may not have followed one of those rules over the course of several years, and now reportedly faces an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

  The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reports that the SEC has opened an investigation into whether or not Bank of America violated customer-protection rules and misled regulators about trades it conducted over at least a three year period.

  The bank’s Merrill Lynch unit allegedly used large, complex trades and loans to save tens of millions of dollars a year in funding costs and to free up billions of dollars in cash and securities for trading, the source says.

  According to the WSJ, the investigation by the SEC centers on a 1972 rule that requires banks to set aside funds so that, in the case of failure, the institution can repay customers.

  Banks are required to calculate their net liabilities – how much they owe clients in deposits and other funds versus how much clients owe the bank – to determine how much they must set aside in reserve. Those funds must be separate from other accounts and can not be used for any bank activity.

  The WSJ reports that executives at Band of America’s Merrill Lynch unit devised a way in which complex trades and loans reduced the amount of money in reserve, so that it could be used for other company needs.

  The SEC’s investigation sets out to determine whether the funds Bank of America used in its trades should have been to set aside in reserve.

  A Bank of America spokesperson says that the trades, which stopped in 2012, began at Merrill Lynch before its acquisition by Bank of America in 2009.

  “The firm fully complied with the rules designed to safeguard client funds,” the spokesperson tells the WSJ.

  SEC Investigating Whether Bank of America Broke Customer-Protection Rules [The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uScientists Trying To Save Avocados From Deadly Fungus Using Dogs And Heat-Sensing Dronesr

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  (poopoorama)

  Stare deep into that bowl of guacamole you treasure so much. Look into its green depths and ask yourself this question — “What is the most important thing here?” We all know what it is, and now scientists are trying to save it: Avocados are in danger from a nasty fungus spread by beetles, and heat-sensing drones and their canine friends might be their saviors.

  Laurel wilt is a deadly fungus — spread by the invasive ambrosia beetle — that is currently threatening Florida’s avocado crop, leading researchers the hefty task of trying to stop the fungus from bedeviling the trees.

  Scientists are launching heat-sensing drones into the air to find stressed trees, reports the Associated Press. Images of the area from the drones are then studied to find potentially sick trees, which is when the dogs go in to check it out and confirm if it’s infected.

  “It’s almost like cancer detection,” said one researcher. “Multiple dogs have alerted on (infected) trees that show no signs of infection.”

  Even men and women of science have a sense of humor about the importance of avocados to American consumers, dubbing their campaign “#savetheguac.”

  Since the Asian beetle first showed up in the U.S in 2002, it’s rolled through the Southeast, often in redbay laurel trees, a cousin to the avocado tree. Once a tree gets sick, it can be dead inside six weeks.

  Researchers are now testing ways to save avocados from laurel wilt, partnering with a drone company and a canine detection team. Spotting the disease before it’s too late isn’t easy for farmers. Once they see symptoms of a sick tree, it’s too late for the tree. Catching it before then, burning it and dosing others nearby with fungicide is the only hope.

  “This is probably the biggest threat to the Florida avocado that’s ever been seen” a tropical fruit crop specialist at the University of Florida told the AP.

  “Florida’s warm climate makes our state a hotbed for invasive species and diseases,” said Adam Putnam, Florida’s agriculture commissioner. “Florida’s avocado industry has a $64 million economic impact in our state, and we will continue to aggressively protect our agriculture industry with cutting-edge research and technology.”

  Scientists in #savetheguac campaign employ drones and dogs [Associated Press]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uWith Target Math, The Price Increases When The Sign Gets Biggerr

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• Target is a popular and successful retail chain, which has somehow managed to spread nationwide and woo customers in spite of its poor grasp of math. Here’s yet another example of Target Math, a special way of calculating sale prices and promotions that isn’t unique to Target, but for some reason turns up on their shelves very, very often.

  

  Reader Jules spotted this specimen in the skin-care aisle. To be fair, that shelf tag doesn’t say that the kit is on sale, but it doesn’t say “price hike,” either.

  We contacted Target for an explanation of what’s going on here, but they didn’t get back to us. Maybe they’re still trying to figure it out.

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist