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Blog Post | COVID-19

Deschutes County is Open, and COVID-19 Cases are Surging - Oregon says it will reimpose lockdowns when outbreaks emerge. Here’s its chance to follow through. | Numi Lee Griffith

Oregon has a solid plan to reopen, but the State must stick with it to both loosen restrictions and keep Oregonians safe.  Improved transparency and more consistent application of the reopening benchmarks is needed to do so.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Statement: Consumer complaints about COVID-19 fraud near 50,000

Consumer complaints to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to the coronavirus approached 50,000 on Tuesday. U.S. PIRG Education Fund has documented the actions taken by the FTC and 14 other federal agencies in response to coronavirus scams.

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News Release | OSPIRG | COVID-19

As Oregon starts reopening, OSPIRG pushes for cautious approach

OSPIRG released a statement today approving of Oregon’s cautious reopening, warning that consumers should continue to take precautions.

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Blog Post | COVID-19

31 Oregon Counties Get a Green-light to Reopen - Now We’ll Find Out if We’re Ready | Numi Lee Griffith

Oregon has given a green light to 31 counties to begin lifting public safety restrictions put in place to contain the novel coronavirus.  However, the state as a whole still falls short of many of the benchmarks public health experts recommend states should meet before relaxing social distancing- we’re about to find out if the state is really ready to reopen.

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Blog Post | COVID-19

U.S. PIRG Supports Automated Contact Tracing Because More Than Anything Else, America Needs Good Information Before It Can Safely Lift Stay-At-Home Rules | Ed Mierzwinski

Public health experts have made it abundantly clear that to safely lift stay-at-home rules we must have four key things we don’t yet have. We need fast, accurate and widely available testing. We need a better plan for isolating and supporting people who have COVID-19. We need sufficient hospital capacity, including medical and protective equipment, to treat all patients safely. And we need more contact tracing. This blog explains U.S. PIRG's support for automated warning and contact tracing, subject to appropriate privacy and civil liberties protections, which can provide critical information quickly about who has potentially been exposed.

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News Release | OSPIRG | Consumer Tips, Consumer Protection

Oregon attorney general demands online marketplaces end coronavirus price gouging

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is calling on the country’s top online marketplaces to crack down on price gouging amidst the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Rosenblum joined a bipartisan group of 33 attorneys general, led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro along with co-leading Attorneys General Hector Balderas (NM), William Tong (CT), and T.J. Donovan (VT), in sending a letter today urging the companies -- Amazon, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook and Walmart -- to quickly implement preventative measures on their platforms to ensure that consumers don’t get taken advantage of during this public health crisis.

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News Release | OSPIRG Foundation | Consumer Tips

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

Amazon may monitor its marketplace for price gouging, but a new analysis by U.S. PIRG Education Fund has revealed that these checks don’t always succeed in preventing significant price hikes. With so many people worried about Coronavirus, the consumer advocacy organization looked at the prices for two types of increasingly popular products: hand sanitizers and surgical masks.

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News Release | OSPIRG | Public Health

State House of Representatives Passes Bill Banning Remote Sales of Vaping Products

The Oregon House of Representatives passed a bill this Tuesday banning online and other remote sales of vaping products.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

Hack doesn’t absolve Equifax of being careless with consumers’ data

Congress must hold companies accountable for failing to protect condumers' confidential information.

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News Release | OSPIRG | Health Care

Oregon Releases Report on Rising Drug Costs

Oregon's Drug Price Transparency Program has released its first annual report.  The progam found that Oregonians, on average, pay five times the highest international price for prescriptions.  

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation | Transportation

Plugging In

The adoption of large numbers of electric vehicles (EVs) offers many benefits for cities, including cleaner air and the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Electric vehicles are far cleaner than gasoline-powered cars, with lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower emissions of the pollutants that contribute to smog and particulate matter.

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation & Frontier Group | Democracy

Big Money in Oregon State Elections

The influence of big money on politics drowns out the voices of regular Oregonians and makes it difficult or impossible for qualified candidates to run for office without access to deep-pocketed donors. We need our government to be open to everyone, regardless the size of their wallet or connections to big donors.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2017

For over 30 years, U.S. PIRG Education Fund has conducted an annual survey of toy safety, which has led to over 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years, and has helped educate the public and policymakers on the need for continued action to protect the health and wellbeing of children.

Toys are safer than ever before, thanks to decades of work by product safety advocates, parents, the leadership of Congress, state legislatures, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). 

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Lead In Fidget Spinners

While lead in toys has become less prevalent in recent years, U.S. PIRG Education Fund tested several models of one of today’s hottest toys, fidget spinners, for the toxic heavy metal. Laboratory results indicated that two fidget spinners purchased at Target and distributed by Bulls i Toy, L.L.C. contained extremely high levels of lead. U.S. PIRG Education Fund calls on Target and Bulls i Toy to immediately recall these two fidget spinners and investigate how such high levels of lead were found in these toys. Also, we call on the U.S.

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Report | OSPIRG Foundation | Tax

Offshore Shell Games 2017

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 paying taxes. Corporate lobbyists and their congressional allies have riddled the U.S. tax code with loopholes and exceptions that enable tax attorneys and corporate accountants to book U.S.-earned profits in subsidiaries located in offshore tax haven countries with minimal or no taxes. Often a company’s operational presence in a tax haven may be nothing more than a mailbox.

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Blog Post | Public Health

Home remodeling shouldn’t be a deadly project: Toxic paint removers being sold by Lowe’s and other stores | Dev Gowda

No one should lose a loved one to deadly chemicals. But right now you can walk into Lowe’s and other stores and buy paint removers containing highly toxic chemicals.

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Blog Post | Health Care

OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR 2018: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW | Jesse O'Brien

It’s that time again: Time to enroll in health insurance for next year. Health care has been a political football in Washington throughout the year, and there has been a lot of confusion and uncertainty about the future. With all of this background noise, it’s more important than ever to get the facts about how you and your family can get coverage that works for you. 

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Consumer Tips and FAQ about the Equifax Breach | Mike Litt

Hackers gained access to the personal data of over 145 million Americans in the Equifax breach. Here are some recommended actions consumers can take to protect themselves and answers to frequently asked questions.

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Blog Post | Public Health

During This Intense Hurricane Season: Some Reports and Information On Storms, Chemicals and Public Safety | Kara Cook-Schultz

Hurricane Harvey was a natural disaster, and a devastating one at that. During and after the hurricane, we learned anew that it’s not only the initial storm that threatens life and limb, but also chemical facilities that are hit.  As Irma bears down on Florida, we hope for the best outcome for the people of Florida. We also want the state to prepare for the worst. In that spirit, here are some resources and information on storms, chemicals and public safety.

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Blog Post | Health Care

Accountability in Action: Rate Review Cuts More Than $100 Million from 2018 Health Insurance Premiums | Jesse Ellis O'Brien

Close scrutiny of proposed health insurance rates for 2018, along with a new state program to contain rate hikes, has cut more than $100 million from premiums for Oregon consumers. This brings the total in premium cut by Oregon’s rate review program to more than $280 million since 2010.

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News Release | OSPIRG

OSPIRG tells Governor Kate Brown it’s time to shut down, start over and do it right

OSPIRG is calling on Governor Kate Brown to hit the reset button on the state’s response to containing the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as cases surge to concerning levels. More than 1,000 health professionals nationwide, including 24 from Oregon, have now signed an open letter to America’s decision makers urging them to shut it down, start over, and do it right this time to contain COVID-19 and save lives.

News Release | OSPIRG

Top health care professionals to state leaders: time to shut down, start over and do it right

Amid uncontrolled spread of the novel coronavirus in rural Oregon and the metro area, OSPIRG and top health experts delivered a letter Friday to Governor Brown and state leaders, calling on her to shut down hard hit counties, and start over with new policies to thwart COVID-19 and do it right. The letter calls for implementing stay at home restrictions to slow the virus, while increasing testing capacity and production of personal protective equipment.

Blog Post

Eleven Oregon counties, up from seven last week, are failing to contain COVID-19

OSPIRG has been tracking critical public health metrics around the containment of COVID-19 in Oregon, building on the work of COVID Exit Strategy, a group of national public health and crisis experts. Currently, Oregon is rated “Yellow” overall - while Oregon has fared better against the coronavirus than many states, so far, keeping it that way will require quick intervention to avoid spiraling out of control.

News Release | OSPIRG

Data Shows 8 Oregon Counties failing to contain COVID-19, 12 more at risk

New analysis of COVID-19 containment data in all 36 Oregon counties shows 8 counties out of control, 12 more at risk. OSPIRG calls on Gov. Brown for more consistent application of reopening plan, and immediate lockdowns in hard hit rural counties.

Blog Post

How effectively are Oregon’s 36 counties containing the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

New analysis of COVID-19 containment data in all 36 Oregon counties shows 8 counties out of control, 12 more at risk. OSPIRG calls on Gov. Brown for more consistent application of reopening plan, and immediate lockdowns in hard hit rural counties.

  • 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
  • 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
  • FOOD RECALL FAILURE
    Will your supermarket warn you about hazardous food? Our survey grades 26 of the largest grocery stores in the country to determine the efficacy of their policies and practices notifying consumers about food recalls.
    OUR REPORT
  • CHAIN REACTION V
    The overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections in people. Our report ranks restaurant chains on their policies relating to antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.
    SEE THE GRADES

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