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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Framework for VW Settlement Announced

Seven months after news of Volkswagen’s emission scandal broke, we're glad to hear that there is a 'framework' for a settlement in the cases related to VW's 567,000 fraudulently marketed, illegally polluting cars. This framework appears to include all of the elements that a deal should include, but the devil will be in the details. 

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News Release | U.S.PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection, Make VW Pay

Leading Groups Send Criteria for Evaluating VW Settlement

Four leading consumer, environmental, and public health organizations wrote an open letter in advance of the April 21st deadline set by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer for a proposal that deals with Volkswagen’s emission scandal.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Tax

California Again Receives "F" in Annual Report on Transparency of Government Spending

"California fails to provide average citizens with comprehensive, easily searchable data on government contracts and spending ,” said Emily Rusch, Executive Director of CALPIRG Education Fund. “You shouldn’t have to be an expert to be able to follow your tax dollars through California’s government. Over the course of seven years, most states have made significant transparency improvements. Despite being home to Silicon Valley, California ranks last of all 50 states in this year's report.”

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Tax

Following the Money 2016

State governments spend hundreds of billions of dollars each year through contracts for goods and services, subsidies to encourage economic development, and other expenditures. Public accountability helps ensure that state funds are spent as wisely as possible. Our 7th annual "Following the Money" report found that California still lags behind every other state in providing accessible, searchable data to the public.

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Blog Post | Transportation

Owning Fewer Cars Isn’t Just For Millennials | Sean Doyle

New transportation options are making it easier for people to use transit more, own fewer cars, and even save money on transportation.

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Media Hit | Transportation

New Study Shows More People Leaving Cars At Home

A new report shows urban Californians are leading a trend of leaving cars at home and choosing bikes or public transit instead. It's a first-of-its-kind survey comparing urban transportation trends

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Media Hit | Transportation

Report: More Fresno Commuters ditching their cars

Fresno drivers were in their cars less and using public transit more than a decade ago, a new study showed.

The study, "Transportation in Transition," was released by the California Public Interest Research Group on Wednesday to show how Americans' travel habits have changed over the last ten years.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

CALPIRG Releases Q&A on Net Neutrality & How to Protect the Web

CALPIRG Ed Fund releases new report titled, “Net Neutrality: What’s At Stake & How to Protect It,” defining net neutrality, explaining its relevance, outlining appropriate regulatory responses, and concluding with a Question & Answer on net neutrality.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Report Shows people driving less in cities across California, Using Transit and Alternatives More

CA – A first-of-its-kind report by the CALPIRG Education Fund shows reduced driving miles and rates of car commuting in California’s urbanized areas—including the Los Angeles-Santa Ana, San Francisco-Oakland, San Jose, and San Diego areas  —and greater use of public transit and biking

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Media Hit | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland? Expert Talks Holiday Toy Safety for Children

Sabrina Rodriguez tackles toy safety with CALPIRG’S Garo Manjikian.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund

Health Care in Crisis

This report examines three important sources of this unproductive spending.  We conclude with a package of urgently needed reforms which target those causes, improve quality of care, and rein in this unnecessary spending.  As part of comprehensive health reform, these policies will enable America to emerge from this crisis with a health system that consumers and businesses can afford and families can depend on.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Economic Stimulus or Simply More Misguided Spending?

President-elect Obama has declared that the next recovery plan must do more than just pump money into the economy. It will also create the infrastructure that America needs for the 21st century.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Vanishing Voters

In 1993, Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Its primary purpose was to open up the voter registration process and enhance democratic participation. The law had several aims, but among them was protecting Americans from being carelessly or purposefully excluded from voting by being improperly dropped from voting rolls.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund

Diagnosing the High Cost of Health Care

California spends billions of health care dollars on unnecessary treatments and services, administrative waste, and overpriced, sometimes harmful, medications. By finding ways to cut waste in its health care system and to reform an incentive structure that encourages overspending, California can reduce the burden that health care costs impose on our economy.

 

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund

Total Recall

The year 2007 was called the year of the recall. But in 2008, recalls are up, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) data. Already, as these data show, more toys and children’s products have been recalled in the first half of this year than in the first half of last year, a supposed “100-year-flood” period. Yet the remedial CPSC reform legislation passed overwhelmingly by both the House and Senate in response to that 2007 recall wave has yet to become law.

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News Release | CALPIRG

New toolkit gives California parents know-how to “Get the Lead Out” of school drinking water

Oakland – With school kids “back to school”, and the legislature wrapping up their 2019 session, CALPIRG today released a new free toolkit to help parents, teachers and administrators Get the Lead Out of school drinking water.  With a lack of complete information on lead contamination in schools throughout the state, CALPIRG Education Fund provide this tool to grapple with this serious health threat facing our children.

Blog Post

What Actions are California Cities Taking to Reduce the Use of Monsanto's Roundup?

With more and more suits against Monsanto lining up, communities are pushing back against the use of Roundup and associated glyphosate-based herbicides. One by one, cities are passing restrictions on Roundup, and finding alternative, healthier ways to maintain operations. 

We spoke to city officials to find out how restrictions on Roundup are implemented in their community. Although the change can come with challenges, these cities show that every community has the capacity to reduce its usage of dangerous pesticides in some shape or form. 

News Release | U.S. PIRG

Largest bank hack ever, of Capital One, exposes 100 million to identity theft

Everyone should assume that their social security number has been exposed between this breach and breaches of other major companies’ databases, such as Equifax’s. With that in mind, U.S. PIRG recommends all Americans should use their right by law to freeze their credit reports for free

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Equifax penalty is a “sweetheart deal” that leaves consumers at risk

Our response to Equifax paying a $650 million penalty for exposing the social security numbers of 148 million Americans to identity theft.

News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund

Today Marks Key Deadline for Testing School Drinking Water for Lead

Today, July 1, 2019, is the deadline for schools to test their drinking water for lead under a 2017 law authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez. Unfortunately, more than 1,600 school drinking water fountains tested positive for lead. Additionally, based on the most recent data available, some schools likely missed the deadline for getting their water tested. 

  • Trouble In Toyland
    Our report highlights the toys that have been recently recalled, explains the hazards they pose, and shines a spotlight on those that may still be available for sale online.
    Get the tips
  • Why are health experts alarmed?
    More than 93% of doctors are concerned about the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms, yet factory farms still use up to 70% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S.
    Learn why
  • Reclaim our democracy
    Our democracy is based on the principle of one person, one vote, but our research shows the increasing dominance of big money in our elections.
    Get The Facts
  • PROTECT YOURSELF
    We've created consumer tips to help protect you from unfair bank fees, identity theft, loan rip-offs and more.
    Get The Tips

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