Ten people were injured on a rollercoaster ride in Buena Park, California at Knott’s Berry Farm when the Pony Express Ride malfunctioned last week. One car rolled back an on incline and crashed into a second stationary car in the loading area. Nine people on the first car and one person climbing into the stopped…
A Los Angeles Times investigation has found that PG&E has more “high consequence” gas line leaks in populated areas compared to other utilities. The report was in response to the San Bruno, California gas pipeline explosion in September that killed 8 people and caused an estimated $65 million in property losses. (The eighth death occurred…
Six Silicon Valley corporate giants, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Pixar and Adobe Systems admit they had a secret agreement not to hire employees away from the other companies using “cold call” tactics. In violation of federal anti-trust law, the companies agreed to the “no cold call” pact in 1996. According to documents from the U.S.…
Two-year-old Anthony Lucas Tang climbed out on a ledge of a luxury suite at the Staples Center and then fell 30 feet to his death following a Los Angeles Lakers game. The toddler, who would have turned three in January, had reportedly just finished posing for photos with his parents and sister in front of…
The state of California issued several formal accusations of fraud and a “desist and refrain” order in August against San Ramon-based IQ Smarter Investments Inc. The company is exploiting Short Sale Real Estate deals in California and ripping off people who are desperate to sell their houses. A short sale occurs when a mortgage holder…
A Wolf’s Bus Line tour bus crashed through a guardrail and slid down a 45 foot tree-covered embankment on Interstate 270 near Bethesda, Maryland recently. The bus driver, Joseph A. Clabaugh Jr. was found dead at the scene. All eleven passengers, including five children, were injured in the crash and treated at local hospitals. Four…
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has been ordered to pay a $176,000 fine for the electrocution of employee Maximiliano Martinez in Benicia, California earlier this year. Martinez, a PG&E utility worker, was killed while upgrading an underground transformer with 12,000 volt power lines feeding into the vault that held the transformer. Martinez, age…
Ohio security guard Pedro Alvarez was killed by a forklift at the Charles Jones Produce plant where he worked. Alvarez, the night security guard at the tomato processing plant, walked in front of the forklift and was hit when the driver did not see him. Alvarez was pronounced dead at the scene. The forklift driver…
The current recession has apparently caused numerous employers to cut corners and squeeze wage earners – sometimes illegally. Much to the chagrin of businesses, employees are fighting back and winning big judgments for unpaid wages. Wage and hour lawsuits are on the rise and it is costing employers millions of dollars in California and across…
A recent study published by the UC Davis Olive Center discovered that 69% of imported olive oils tested were not “extra virgin” as their labels claimed. Before this study, despite widespread rumors and media reports, there was no concrete evidence that extra virgin olive oil was being adulterated. The study offers the first accurate, scientific…
