Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Hawaii’s SNAP benefits fell again on October 1 by an average $8.55 a person, taking a one-person maximum from $506 to $496, with more cuts due through 2029
Hawaii’s food stamp checks got smaller again on October 1. The state’s Department of Human Services says recipients will see a decrease of $8.55 per person on average compared with the year before, and it says the reductions are scheduled to keep coming every year through federal fiscal year 2029. The new Hawaii maximums The…
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Washington’s attorney general is fighting a Bonneville Power plan that could raise electric rates for Avista, PacifiCorp and Puget Sound Energy customers
Washington’s attorney general is opposing, in a court filing, a federal power agency’s plan to change a formula that helps hold down electric bills for customers of three big utilities. Attorney General Nick Brown’s office said on Sept. 29 that it filed an amicus brief opposing a Bonneville Power Administration plan that could raise rates…
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The FCC is setting up new data matches to check Lifeline phone-discount applicants in Connecticut and Georgia against SNAP enrollment records
People who sign up for a Lifeline phone discount in Connecticut and Georgia will soon have their SNAP enrollment checked directly with the state. The Federal Communications Commission published two notices on Sept. 29, 2026, announcing computer matching programs with each state. The matches begin Oct. 29 and run for 18 months. What the notices…
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Nature’s Own Hawaiian Bread buyers in five states can get full refunds
Anyone who bought Nature’s Own Hawaiian Bread in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma or Texas can take it back for a full refund. Flowers Foods, the baker, recalled the bread on Oct. 2 because some packages do not list milk as an ingredient. The FDA posted the company’s recall notice on Oct. 5. The two…
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REI-sold Van Rysel gravel bikes costing up to $2,300 get free fork repairs
A gravel bike that cost up to $2,300 at REI may need a free repair before its next ride. Decathlon America is recalling about 1,150 Van Rysel GRVL AF bicycles because the front wheel can come loose, according to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall notice dated Oct. 8, 2026. The fix is free,…
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Certain Bestway pool owners can claim $40 without a receipt until Oct. 30
A steel-frame backyard pool that has stood for years may now be worth $40 from a court settlement, with no receipt needed. Owners of certain Bestway above-ground pools have until Oct. 30, 2026 to file a claim from a $15 million fund, the settlement website says. People who kept a receipt can ask for more.…
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New York sues festival promoters it says pocketed $243,158.04 from 521 ticket buyers
New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued the organizers of a canceled upstate music festival, saying they collected $243,158.04 in advance ticket sales from 521 people and refunded almost none of them. The suit, announced Sept. 29, 2026, targets Evolutions Festival and two men who ran it, Michael and Justin Brown. Her office says…
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Vermont Gas Systems says a typical home’s yearly gas bill would fall about $21.73 to $1,726.67 on bills from Nov. 1, if regulators approve its proposed cut
Vermont Gas Systems says a typical residential customer’s yearly gas bill would drop about $21.73, to $1,726.67, on bills rendered on or after Nov. 1, 2026. The figure rests on two cuts that the Vermont Public Utility Commission has not yet approved. The company laid out the numbers in a Sept. 1 customer notice, and…
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Two former postal clerks charged; one allegedly stole at least 200 mailed gift cards
Two former U.S. Postal Service clerks in New York were charged on Sept. 25, 2026, in a scheme to take gift cards out of the mail. Prosecutors say Pian Pian Wong-Tam, 59, took at least 200 of them, worth $25 to $500 each, from mail she handled at the White Plains processing center. William Wong,…
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A coalition of 45 states and territories is seeking preliminary court approval of generic-drug price-fixing settlements with Ascend, Mayne and Citron before a February 2027 trial
A coalition of 45 states and territories has asked a federal court to approve settlements with three generic-drug companies, Ascend Laboratories, Mayne Pharma and Citron Pharma. The settlements are small, and one of them involves no money at all. They matter because they are the latest step in a long price-fixing case that heads to…