In the Public Interest

Is your electric, gas, water or utility meter the last word in determining your bills? That seems to be the answer that too many state utility regulatory commissions are giving to people who complain about strangely high bills. In last week’s column, I noted some typical cases where residential ratepayers were the victims of what…

It started, as is so frequently the case, with letters from consumers. People wanted to know how come their electric or gas bill stayed the same even though they were on vacation that month or two in the summer or winter. Others found their water bill staggeringly higher even though their water usage was the…

College students are subject to more stereotypes over the past twenty five years than most ethnic groups. In one clutch of years during the late Sixties, the media described them as radicals. In another period during the Fifties, they were seen as party-goers and deliberately lightheaded before heading out to “the cold, cold world.” Now…

Ann Sproull was quite indignant as she faced the press recently in Flint, Michigan. Out of her grief over medical malpractice affecting her child, she helped form Michigan Citizens Against Incompetent Medicine (MAIM), and became its president. Now she is exposing what she calls a “blacklisting, and intimidation tactic.” She was referring to a move…

Milwaukee, WI — “What do you think of the Kasten-Garvey race for the U.S. Senate,” I asked an air traveler at the airport. She replied: “Lots of mudslinging there.” Milwaukee Common Council president, John R. Kalwitz called the campaign “the lowest level gutter campaign I’ve ever seen — on both sides.” He is quite mistaken…

Shippensburg, PA — They call themselves “The Great Peace March For Global Nuclear Disarmament” and they deserve the grandeur of their name. Now numbering 750 people of all ages and occupational backgrounds, they have marched from Los Angeles to the local Fair Grounds where they are encamped for the night. The trek started March 1…

PHILADELPHIA—-Reporters at the Philadelphia Inquirer were surprised one noon recently when they saw Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) campaigning for re-election between their desks. After having spent millions of dollars on television ads, he might have concluded that working reporters were about the only people likely to vote who had not seen his message on the…

I read the other day where an advertising agency was negotiating with some municipality for access to parking meters. That’s right -­advertisements on top of parking meters. Are there any boundaries beyond which the advertisers will not cross? A few years ago, they almost convinced the Postal Service to rent space on postage stamps for…

September 1986 marked the 20th anniversary of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) but you would scarcely know it by watching the Reaganites virtually ignore its celebration. They did have their reasons, however. First, they did not want to admit the very substantial life-saving and injury preventing successes of this federal regulatory program over…

A new little booklet, titled “Quotations from President Ron,” published by prize-winning Washington Post reporter Morton Mintz, is the most recent reminder of the astonishing free ride that Mr. Reagan has received from the media both before and after he became President. Lou Cannon, a biographer of the President and regular White House reporter, wrote…