This was the official finding of a team of government inspectors who recently checked out the scanner prices at 108 retail stores in Los Angeles County. The inspectors found overcharges on 11 percent of their purchases, and when they went back to 17 stores where overpricing had been noted, they were overcharged on 26 percent of the items they purchased a week later.
The probe was conducted by the State Director of Weights and Measures at the request of the County Board of Supervisors.
What's worse, the problem is not one of just random deviation. If it was, there would be as many undercharges as there are overcharges. This is not the case. In fact, overcharges outnumber undercharges by 3-to-1.
There are penalties for such overcharging. Stores that overcharge by more than $1 face misdemeanor fines of up to $1,000; and overcharges of less than $1 are liable for misdemeanor fines of up to $100.
From July 2000 to August 2001, 98 stores in the county were convicted of overcharging.
There is currently only one inspector to investigate complaints in all of the county.
This may be changed. The Board of Supervisors is looking at adding to the number of regular inspectors.
With laws already in place, and bodies such as the Board of Supervisors considering the problem, what's left to be done? All of us can be more vigilant on the prices charged to us at the register. The stores want you to believe their systems are fail-safe, when they obviously are not. You work hard for your dollars-too hard to have them fleeced away when the shelf price or the tag on the item doesn't match what you are charged at the counter.
And don't fall under the mistaken belief that big discount stores are more apt to be right in their pricing. There were some of the biggest chain stores in the nation on the state's checklist. And their incorrect pricing was as bad as their smaller competitors.
Let's all of us get tough on stores. You might even carry a pen and note pad and jot down the shelf prices of items before you take them to the counter. The computer is a machine. And like any machine man has created over the ages, it can be made to give the wrong answers. If you spot a mistake, speak up. Remember, the law is on your side! Good shopping, and good luck!
The latest findings suggest though, that the Neanderthal were eventually replaced or absorbed by the Cro-Magnen which were early Homo sapiens later to become modern man. The question is just how human was the Neanderthal species. We know that anatomically they were better able to survive the last ice age which covered northern Europe for thousands of years, whereas the recent Homo sapiens, a much later migration out of Africa, found a more hospitable climate across southern Europe about 30,000 years ago. The evidence is overwhelming that there were a number of migrations out of Africa. New sub-species would develop and the hunt for easier food would send them north.
What makes up a human being? There seem to be two generally recognized traits. The first one is respect for and burial of the dead and the second is some artistic expression-animals don't bury their dead and they don't do pictures.
New information recently published in Science shines more light into the unknown beginning of Homo sapiens. In a cave on the southeast coast of Africa (Blombos Cave) several pieces of ochre rock were uncovered that had geometric carvings or etchings on them. The sediments where they were found have been dated at 77,000 years old. This is the oldest known artistic expression and most likely done by people who became the Cro-Magnen, the Neanderthals having already left to populate Europe and Asia.
No one asserts that the Neanderthals were artistic, but they did take care of their dead - and their living, too. Skeletal remains of older people show serious injuries which had healed and less productive members of a family or tribe had been cared for and provided for when they were not able to do their share of the work. This is a very human quality. But that alone was not enough to save them in the search for food when the smarter newcomers arrived from the old homeland, Africa.
A recent "Nova" show on PBS tried to settle the question whether the Neanderthals died out on their own or were absorbed into the new Homo sapiens arrivals. Not much was settled, because it is known the two groups lived side by side, or at least shared the same hunting grounds and cycled in and out of the same caves for thousands of years.
There is no question the two groups could mate, the question is could they produce viable offspring. (That potential incompatibility scenario can be seen in today's donkey-horse-mule mating.) The question may have been answered when a youth skeleton was found in Spain that appears to have a Neanderthal build in the legs, arms, and chest bones, but the skull is Homo sapiens-modern man.
It sure looks like we've had mixed paternity for a very long time ago.
The President reassured us that our nation's security will be his first priority and laid out a common sense approach to defeating terrorism overseas and here at home. The President outlined key points of the budget that he will submit to Congress on February 4th. Defense spending is at the top of his list and Congress will likely support the largest increase in 20 years. This funding will go toward more precision weapons, better training, and another pay raise for our brave men and women in uniform. War is expensive, and our troops need the tools to win.
The President's budget will nearly double funding for homeland security. This will help us keep America safe by getting money to those on the front line. Our firefighters, police officers, and health care workers will be the first to respond in the face of another attack and we need to ensure that they are well prepared. The budget also will bolster efforts to improve security at our airports, on our borders, and at our ports.
Although Congress is closely divided along partisan lines, there clearly is great unity when it comes to the war on terrorism. This unity must be channeled into putting the needs of the American people ahead of partisan concerns. We must answer the President's call to find common ground on an economic stimulus package. The American people have made it clear that they want us to work together to help the unemployed, provide health security for every American, strengthen Social Security, ensure a cleaner environment, and facilitate home ownership.
We must extend unemployment insurance and beef up job training for the unemployed. We must answer the long overdue call to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, and move forward with a real Patients' Bill of Rights. The House already has approved many of these important reforms. Now it is time for the Senate to do what is right for the American people and get these priorities signed into law.
The President also spoke of the success of the education reform bill that he signed into law last year. This was a great victory for all of America's children. But we must not stop there. I agree with the President that we need more funding for Early Head Start and early childhood development programs. However, Congress has never fulfilled its promise to pay 40 percent of the cost of special education - forcing local schools to pick up costs that rightfully should be paid by the federal government. We must find a way to fully fund the federal share of this program.
In addition, I was disappointed that the President did not address campaign finance reform during his speech. This is a bipartisan problem and it demands a bipartisan solution. It is time to reduce the role of big money that is poisoning our political system. My colleagues in the House and I signed a discharge petition to force action on this legislation. Just last week we obtained the 218 signatures needed to get the legislation to the House floor for a vote. The President has expressed his support in the past, and I am hopeful that he will do so again by working with Congress to pass this much needed reform this year.
President Bush's plan for America provides a common sense approach to the complicated challenges we face. Congress now must work with the President in a bipartisan and fiscally responsible manner to win a war we did not seek and to strengthen our economy.
The President's own words sum it up the best: "In the sacrifice of soldiers, the fierce brotherhood of firefighters, and the bravery and generosity of ordinary citizens, we have glimpsed what a new culture of responsibility could look like. We want to be a nation that serves goals larger than self. We have been offered a unique opportunity, and we must not let this moment pass."
He was born Dec. 8, 1925, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He served in Korea, winning several decorations.
He was a veteran of the San Francisco newspaper wars in the late 1950s and early 1960s, eventually moving to the staff of the San Francisco Chronicle.
He was a sports columnist and make-up editor with the Chronicle in the mid-1960s, but later handled a general news beat covering the Peninsula cities for the Palo Alto Times.
He also had a successful career in public relations and advertising, working out of San Francisco. He created the well-known "plaid sheep" TV commercial for Pendleton Co.
In his later years he and his wife, Bobbie, retired to a quiet life in Laguna Hills. He did part-time field work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for several years after retirement.
In recent years he wrote a column which appeared in The Downey Eagle due to a long friendship with Eagle Editor John Adams, whom he had known since their time together on the Chronicle.
Adams often referred to Mr. Moore as a mentor.
He was a lifetime reader and student of American history. His last column for The Downey Eagle was on Manzanar.
He is survived by his wife, Bobbie of Laguna Hills; and sons Michael, Neil, Mark and Kevin; stepsons Michael and Steven Carrillo; six grandsons; two granddaughters; and two great-grandsons.
Memorial services are set for Feb. 9 in Laguna Hills.