Daily Archives: March 13, 2012

Rite Aid Under Fire for “Wellness Ambassadors”

March 13, 2012   Rebecca Welk   No comments

Photo Credit: www.savingthefamilymoney.com

Two United States Senators, Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) wrote a letter to the CEO of Rite Aid over the weekend concerning Rite Aid’s “wellness ambassadors”. “Ambassadors” are used by Rite Aid to give advice to patients at stations that are often close to the pharmacy.

These “wellness ambassadors” wear white coats that are similar to the ones worn by pharmacists, even though “ambassadors” are not certified medical professionals. According to the senators, customers may be deceived into thinking they are receiving advice from a pharmacist.

“Wellness ambassadors” and “wellness stations” are currently in place at 300 of Rite Aid’s over 4,000 stores. Rite Aid began this program in Spring 2010 in hopes of improving its customer service and competing with other big names such as Walmart.

Rite Aid says that its “wellness ambassadors” are meant to aid pharmacists and greet customers, not to give medical advice. The company also insists that the safety of their patients is their priority.

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Our Universe May Be Small Part of a Bigger Universe

March 13, 2012   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.science.nationalgeographic.com

A new theory in the astronomy field is that our universe is only a small part of an enormous one.

Both Leonard Susskind, Professor of Physics at Stanford University, and Raphael Bousso, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of California at Berkeley, believe this new theory.

Susskind and Bousso have put forward this new idea, along with another that the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is equivalent.

Both Professors have proposed that it is possible to verify the predictions of quantum mechanics, which in theory, would be done if an observer performed an infinite number of experiments and observed the outcome of all of them.

With this theory, if the universe was to take this form, it could then carry out an unlimited amount of experiments within itself.  This would thus lead to our universe being part of a bigger one.

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Consumers Becoming Smarter in Regards to Shopping

March 13, 2012   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.refunds.org.uk

Consumers have gotten smarter when it comes to shopping.

In 2011, consumers asked Better Business Bureau for help 103 million times versus the 87 million in 2010.  This is the highest rate for the company in it’s 100 years.  Consumers also filed less complaints against businesses in 2011.  927,000 complaints were filed in 2011, down from the over one million in 2010.

BBB is a business review site that grades over 4 million businesses based on complaint histories, responsiveness, licensing, legal and government action, as well as many others.  Businesses that meet the BBB Code of Business Practices are allowed to display the BBB logo at their place of business, as well as advertising.  Currently 40,000 businesses are accredited.

In the complaints section of BBB, the company is examined by an investigator and are given 30 days to respond.  Around 95% of all complaints to BBBs are resolved.  In total, many industries saw major improvements over the last year.  Complaints in regards to health and medical products fell 61%, loans were down by 35%, and banks fell 30%.

However, complains involved with payday loan companies went up by 159%, book publishers rose up by 64%, and skin care went up by 41%.

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UC Minority Enrollment Down Despite Diversity Efforts

March 13, 2012   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.students.berkeley.edu

Despite the fact that is has been over a decade since California banned race-conscious admissions, outreach, and financial aid, the state’s public university system has realized that it hasn’t been able to increase enrollments of African American, Latino, and American Indian students.

In 1995, the University of California Board of Regents passed a mandate that made it illegal to admit a student based on race, religion, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.  The next year, California voters passed Proposition 209, which also prohibited race-conscious outreach and financial aid.

Since Prop. 209 was passed, a smaller number of minority students are admitted to UC.  Although the policies and strategies in use were supposed to help the university diversify the student population, instead these groups remain small.

AT UC Berkeley, between 1995 and 1998, the number of California residents who were minorities who were admitted into the school dropped 58 percent.  This group of students went from being 27 percent of the admitted to only 12 percent.

At UCLA it was only a tad bit better, with the minority admissions rate dropping by 53 percent during the same time period.  This group went from 28 percent to 13 percent of the admitted.

Since then, the percentage of underrepresented minorities at UC Berkeley and UCLA have gotten better.  In fall 2010, 17 percent of minorities were admitted to UC Berkeley, while 21 percent were at UCLA.

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Theft of Tide Detergent on the Rise

March 13, 2012   Rebecca Welk   No comments

Across the United States, police are fighting an unusual crime wave. Thieves are taking Tide detergent off of shelves everywhere from Minnesota to Kentucky.

Photo Credit: www.consumerist.com

In West Paul, Minnesota, one person stole nearly $25,000 worth of Tide during a span of 15 months before his arrest.

Many thieves will sell the product for anywhere from $5 to $10 on the black market, while the detergent costs anywhere from $10 to $20 in a retail store. Thieves are even reselling Tide back to stores because the bottles are impossible to track.

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Penn State Board of Trustees Defends Decision

March 13, 2012   Rebecca Welk   No comments

Photo Credit: www.deadspin.com

In a statement issued by the Penn State University Board of Trustees on Monday, the board defended its decision to fire Joe Paterno as head football coach this past November. The scandal began when sexual abuse charges were filed against Jerry Sandusky, who was an assistant coach under Paterno.

According to the board, the Penn State community has asked the members of the board to explain their choice to fire Paterno, even though no charges were filed against the legendary coach. The Board of Trustees blamed the firing on Joe’s “failure of leadership”.

The board also explained why the firing took place over the phone instead of in person. The “media representatives, photographers, and others” surrounding the Paterno household made delivering the news difficult, according to the statement.

Joe Paterno coached Penn State’s football team for nearly 60 years before his firing. He also has the most wins in college football history (409) and won two national titles during his career. Paterno passed away on January 22nd at the age of 85 of lung cancer.

Members of the board claim to “share the grief of the entire Penn State family at the passing of Joe Paterno” despite their decision in November.

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