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News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips

Consumer Groups in Arizona Issue COVID-19 Utility Related Recommendations for Policy Makers and Arizonans

According to two consumer organizations that are actively engaged in utility policy in Arizona, without at least temporary relief and clear communication, Arizonans are likely to face even greater challenges paying utility bills for the foreseeable future. The groups noted that due to public health warnings associated with COVID-19, many more Arizonans are working from home and taking classes online.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips

COVID-19: Utility Related Recommendations

COVID-19 Utility Related provides recommendations for the Arizona Corporation Commission, utilities and consumers and links to recent utility policies. Wildfire and the Arizona PIRG Education Fund are pleased that a number of utilities have proactively instituted policies to help consumers during this challenging time and urge others to follow suit.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Coronavirus worry triggers most surgical mask, sanitizer prices to spike at least 50% on Amazon

As the Coronvirus outbreak became more widespread, the price of most of the sanitizers and masks rose at least 50 percent higher than the 90-day average. Even one in six products sold directly by Amazon saw prices rise at least 50 percent higher in February

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Food

Food Recall Failure

Our research found the majority of grocery stores fail to warn the public about hazardous food recalls. While they collect significant information about Americans shopping habits to sell us more food, they aren't doing enough to use that information to protect the public health.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Food

New Investigation: Supermarkets failing to warn public about food recalls

According to a new report by the Arizona PIRG Education Fund, Americans are not hearing about food recalls, and that communication breakdown is having serious repercussions for public health. The consumer group points to the fact that, less than two years ago, people kept getting sick for months after 12 million pounds of Salmonella-contaminated beef was recalled. The pattern has reportedly been repeated for other recalls even when news outlets have publicized warnings from food safety agencies.

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News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Arizona Receives Failing Grade on VW Settlement Spending Plan

A new report card from the Arizona PIRG Education Fund issued Arizona a failing grade for missing the opportunity to kick-start electric transportation and infrastructure through its use of funds from Volkswagen’s nearly $3 billion settlement.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Fisher-Price recalls nearly 5 million potentially deadly Rock n’Play sleepers

Fisher-Price recalled 4.7 million Rock n’Play baby sleepers on Friday. U.S. PIRG Consumer Watchdog Adam Garber issued a response: "“While we’re pleased that Fisher-Price is finally recalling these dangerous sleepers, 30 deaths in 10 years is 30 deaths too many and 10 years too late."

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News Release | Consumer Protection

Statement on Wells Fargo’s response to “Debit Cards on Campus” report

Read U.S. PIRG's statement on Wells Fargo eliminating some fees for student on debit cards.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Antibiotics

Consumer campaign calls on Wendy’s to “hold the antibiotics” from its beef supply chain

Consumer and public health advocacy organization U.S. PIRG Education Fund is calling on Wendy’s to stop serving beef raised with the routine use of antibiotics. The U.S. PIRG Education Fund and its partner groups are calling on the third-largest burger chain in the United States to follow the lead of its rival, McDonald’s, which recently announced a detailed antibiotics policy for its beef supply chain. 

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund and Citizens for Tax Justice | Tax

Offshore Shell Games 2015

U.S.-based multinational corporations are allowed to play by a different set of rules than small and domestic businesses or individuals when it comes to the tax code. Rather than paying their full share, many multinational corporations use accounting tricks to pretend for tax purposes that a substantial portion of their profits are generated in offshore tax havens, countries with minimal or no taxes where a company’s presence may be as little as a mailbox. Multinational corporations’ use of tax havens allows them to avoid an estimated $90 billion in federal income taxes each year.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Boosting the Impact of Small Donors

This report examines how the 2016 presidential race would be reshaped by a public financing system that amplifies the voices of small donors in our elections. The 2016 election will likely break all previous campaign spending records. But more important than the amount of money spent is where that money is coming from. Under our current system, courting wealthy mega-donors – who often have different priorities and policy preferences than most voters – has taken precedence over appealing to everyday Americans.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Summer 2015 Update: Bikes, Trains & Less Driving

Arizona, like the rest of America, is experiencing a shift in how people travel. The Driving Boom - a six decade-long period of steady increase in per-capita driving across the United States - is over. Driving miles per person are down especially sharply among Millennials, America's largest generation that will increasingly dominate transportation trends. Since 2005 Arizonans have been driving fewer miles per person, and they increasingly look to public transportation to get around.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Mortgages and Mortgage Complaints

Our sixth report analyzing complaints in the CFPB's Public Consumer Complaint Database evaluates mortgage complaints, the number one source of complaints to the CFPB, totaling 38% of nearly 500,000 complaints posted since 2011.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Who Pays for Roads?

Many Americans believe that drivers pay the full cost of the roads they use through gas taxes and other user fees. That has never been true, and it is less true now than at any other point in modern times.

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Blog Post | Public Health, Consumer Protection

#KickTheCan: BPA still found in many grocery stores’ canned foods | Dev Gowda

We’re all told to watch out for BPA in drinking bottles and baby products. But how about BPA in the cans that contain our food? A recent study by Center for Environmental Health (CEH) reveals that the toxic chemical BPA is readily found in canned foods. BPAs are often used in the liners of canned food to keep the aluminum from interacting with the food.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Commissioners: Say No to Proposed APS Bill Increases | Diane E. Brown

As the Arizona Corporation Commission hosts public comment sessions across the state and prepares to vote on the APS rate case, we encourage APS ratepayers to urge the Commission to reject the unjustified rate increase and say no to unfair utility charges.

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Blog Post | Public Health

Calling for Big Action on Antibiotics in the Big Apple | Steve Blackledge

Last week, we were in New York City, where the United Nations General Assembly spent an entire day discussing antibiotic resistance, “the biggest threat to modern medicine.” Experts estimate that more than 700,000 people worldwide die from antibiotic-resistant infections each year, including 23,000 in the United States—a number that could grow to 10 million globally by 2050.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Consumers Count: Five years of the CFPB standing up for consumers | Kathryn Lee

This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau turns five years old! As part of our efforts to tell more people about the CFPB, we're cross-posting this video blog and comments written by Zixta Q. Martinez of the CFPB (check out the infographic at the end, too!).

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Blog Post | Transportation

A New Way Forward: Envisioning a Transportation System without Carbon Pollution | Diane E. Brown

A new report from Frontier Group, A New Way Forward: Envisioning a Transportation System without Carbon Pollution, highlights that in order to tackle carbon pollution, there needs to be a transformation in how we move people and goods in, through and between our cities. The good news is that the last decade has seen an explosion of new technologies and the emergence of new innovations that can contribute to a solution.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

A Guide to Energy in Arizona

A Guide to Energy in Arizona provides elected and government officials, business and organizational leaders, members of the media, and Arizonans with a primer on energy issues in our state. A Guide to Energy in Arizona highlights key research and reports on issues including: Energy Efficiency & Demand Response; Integrated Resource Planning (IRP); Clean Energy; Renewable Energy & Distributed Generation; Just & Equitable Transition for Coal-Impacted Communities; Electric Vehicles (EVs); and Consumer Impacts & Public Participation. A number of organizations and individuals contributed their decades of energy expertise to this effort.

Blog Post

Planning to vote in person? Consider taking a bag of supplies to help you survive long lines

With Election Day coming up, here's a tip guide for what to do before you go to vote, what to take with you and how to stay safe while you’re at your polling place.

News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Arizona Corporation Commission Votes to Expand Energy Efficiency

The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), Arizona PIRG Education Fund, and Wildfire: Igniting Community Action to End Poverty in Arizona, commended Chairman Bob Burns and Commissioners Boyd Dunn, Sandra Kennedy, and Lea Marquez Peterson - utility regulators at the Arizona Corporation Commission - for voting yesterday to expand Arizona’s Energy Efficiency Standard through 2030.

Blog Post

Why can I still buy toxic hand sanitizer?

The FDA doesn’t have the authority to stop retailers from selling dangerous over-the-counter products such as toxic hand sanitizer. Our safety system is broken, and we need to fix it. 

News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Arizona Corporation Commission Approves Programs to Save Money and Energy for Arizona Public Service Customers

The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), Arizona PIRG Education Fund, and Wildfire: Igniting Community Action to End Poverty in Arizona applauded a vote today by utility regulators at the Arizona Corporation Commission to approve energy-saving programs that will provide financial relief to APS ratepayers for months to come. Energy efficiency is widely recognized as the least expensive way to meet Arizona’s energy demand and for lowering customer utility bills, creating local jobs, boosting the state’s economy, saving water, and reducing harmful air pollution.

  • COVID-19 CONSUMER TIPS
    Avoid online scams, protect your credit and more. We have assembled a set of consumer tips and guides, and will add more in the days to come.
    OUR TIPS
  • ENERGY EFFICIENT ARIZONA
    Arizonans are experiencing the impact of recent rate increases on their electric bills. We're urging the Arizona Corporation Commission to oppose cuts to energy-saving programs.
    LEARN MORE
  • 21ST CENTURY TRANSPORTATION FOR ARIZONA
    Arizona is experiencing a shift in how we travel. We're driving fewer miles per person, and looking more to public transportation to get around.
    LEARN MORE
  • THE FIX IS IN
    Our survey shows that independent shops are struggling to access parts, service information and repair software which is necessary to fix phones — which manufacturers won’t let these independent shops have.
    OUR REPORT

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