Activism

Public Hyper-Aware About Pandemic Pricing

Agriculture, Weights and Measures maintains a consumer help line at (415) 473-7888. If a consumer believes he or she has been overcharged, becomes aware of posted prices not being honored at the checkout stand, or is unable to view the prices of items when a purchase is being rung up, please call the helpline immediately so staff can investigate.

Published

3 years ago

March 19, 2022

Oakland Post

The new Marin County Consumer Protection Report shows a decline in overcharging frequency during the fiscal year between July 2020 and June 2021. Inspectors conducted 6,449 inspections at 307 businesses during that span to ensure accuracy of measuring devices and store prices.

Supervisors hear findings from Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures

Courtesy of Marin County

When it comes to consumerism, one positive result of the pandemic is increased awareness of price gouging. Last year, one Marin County pharmacy had COVID-19 take-home tests priced much higher than competing stores, and shoppers alerted the Marin County Department of Agriculture / Weights and Measures (AWMs).

AWMs Inspector Raoul Wertz said the COVID-19-related executive order from Governor Gavin Newsom that prohibited sharply increased pricing during or after an emergency expired in September 2020. Earlier in 2020, AWMs established a new working relationship with the District Attorney’s fraud division back when there were rushes on particular goods at local stores. Starting in April 2020, the executive order prohibited businesses from pricing items with more than a 10% price increase from what it was charging two months earlier. That included emergency and medical supplies such as face coverings.

Consumer pricing complaints jumped 40% over the previous year, but since the executive order expired, it hasn’t been illegal to price items higher than competitors.

“We didn’t get the referrals from the DA as much as we did earlier in the pandemic, but we still got gouging-related complaints from the public,” Wertz said. “It’s mostly opinion about where those COVID-19 tests should’ve been priced. We’re back to what the market will bear. People having lived that experience of the previous spring and witnessing the inflated prices has them on high alert.”

The new 2021 Marin County Consumer Protection Report, presented to the Marin County Board of Supervisors on March 8, shows a decline in overcharging frequency during the fiscal year between July 2020 and June 2021. It went from 4.1% of investigated cases in the 2020 report to 3.1%. However, businesses that passed their price accuracy inspections fell by 14%. The full report is online in English and Spanish, and all past reports are archived.

“Our department encourages all consumers to shop with care, pay attention to posted prices and promotional offers, and to always retain and check their receipts to ensure they pay the correct price for merchandise and services they purchase,” said AWMs Director Stefan Parnay.

There were 150 notices of violation issued in the 2020-21 fiscal year to 107 local businesses. When AWMs inspectors find violations, businesses receive a notice of violation. The department’s goal is to gain compliance through education and outreach, but there would likely be a fine if the violation is egregious or the business has repeatedly received the same type of violations.

This marked the sixth consecutive year the AWMs staff produced a Consumer Protection Report. The department’s weights and measures inspection staff has only 2.7 full-time positions, but the team spent 4,353 hours conducting 6,449 inspections at 307 businesses to ensure accuracy of measuring devices and store prices. The number of inspections is down almost 2,000 over the previous year because of pandemic working conditions.

“We focused on consumer complaints and investigated them as we always do, but we did postpone some routine inspections as we scaled back our ability to conduct field work,” Wertz said. “That might explain why there was a significant drop in businesses passing our price accuracy inspections.”

Want to watch out for yourself and others more closely? There are helpful consumer tips on the Ag, Weights & Measures website.

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

6 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.