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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
In its new location, Dollar General will offer area residents a convenient new place to shop for everyday essentials at low prices.
Dollar General will celebrate the store’s official grand opening on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 8 a.m. with free prizes and special deals.
The first 100 adult shoppers will receive a $10 Dollar General gift card and the first 200 shoppers will receive a Dollar General goodie bag with complimentary product samples.
Customers can also register to win a free year of shopping from Dollar General, a prize valued at $520.
Complimentary lunch of hot dogs, chips and drinks will also be provided.
“Dollar General is committed to delivering a pleasant shopping experience that includes a convenient location, a wide assortment of merchandise and great prices on quality products,” said Dan Nieser, Dollar General’s senior vice president of real estate and store development. “We hope our area customers will enjoy shopping at Dollar General’s new location.”
Dollar General stores offer convenience and value to customers by providing a focused selection of national name brands and private brands of food, housewares, seasonal items, cleaning supplies, basic apparel and health/beauty products. The store’s fresh layout is designed to make shopping simple for customers.
Seasonal products are displayed in the center of the store, departments are easily recognizable with visible signage and coolers are conveniently located at the front of the store.
Traditional Dollar General stores employ approximately six to 10 people, depending on the need. Anyone interested in joining the Dollar General team may visit the Career section at www.dollargeneral.com.
Dollar General gives its customers more than everyday low prices on basic merchandise. Dollar General is deeply involved in the communities it serves and is an ardent supporter of literacy and education.
At the cash register of every Dollar General store, customers interested in learning how to read, speak English or prepare for their high school equivalency test can pick up a brochure with a postage-paid reply card that can be mailed in for a referral to a local organization that offers free literacy services.
Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $160 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 10 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.
For more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and its grant programs, visit www.dgliteracy.com.
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- Written by: California Department of Insurance
The notice was issued Dec. 3, 2018, to all residential property insurers who reported total losses from the November 2018 Camp and Woolsey fires.
"Many insurers have stepped up to do the right thing for policyholders by agreeing to my requests and eliminating more red tape from the claim process," said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "Requiring fire survivors who lost everything to fill out a burdensome detailed inventory of every possession that they have collected for decades is simply asking too much, which is why I asked insurers to waive this requirement and pay at least 75 percent of the coverage for contents without requiring the inventory."
In response to Commissioner Jones' latest formal request many insurers have agreed to make payments, without an inventory, ranging from 75 percent up to 100 percent of contents coverage limits.
Commissioner Jones applauds those insurers that agreed to his request, which is beyond the 25 percent they already agreed to in response to Commissioner Jones' prior notice that asked insurers to expedite and provide advance claims payments.
The insurers that agreed to Jones' request represent 90 percent of the total-loss insurance claims for policyholders who experienced a residential property insurance loss in the November 2018 wildfires.
The department has requested each insurer immediately notify their insureds of the new amounts they will provide, without inventory, and the terms and exceptions. Several insurers have already done this or are in the process of making these notifications.
Wildfire survivors should contact their insurance company to determine the specifics of its waiver of the inventory in relation to their specific claim.
The department advises wildfire survivors to contact the department if they have not been notified by their insurer or if they have further questions.
While Jones requested all carriers accommodate their insureds and his request by paying at least 75 percent and up to 100 percent of personal property limits without requiring a complete inventory list, the Legislature has not passed a law requiring insurers to waive the inventory or given the insurance commissioner the authority to order a waiver.
Recognizing the important benefits of this consumer protection measure, the department sponsored Senate Bill 897 (McGuire) this past session that would have required insurers to permit their insureds, who suffer total losses in a declared disaster, to receive 80 percent of contents coverage without a detailed and burdensome inventory. However, that bill was opposed by the insurance industry and did not pass the Legislature.
Commissioner Jones continues to urge all insurers who have not agreed to this request to reconsider their decision and to relieve their policyholders from this burden. The department is also following up with those few insurers who have not yet responded to this request to obtain their decision of whether or not they will agree to help their insureds in this hour of need.
This announcement and attached Public List pertains to the insurers responses to the November fires.
However, many of these same insurers have agreed to provide the same level of advance payment for contents for last August's Carr and Mendocino Complex fires under the same conditions as the November wildfire claims, following the Commissioner's request after those fires.
Policyholders who suffered a total loss from the Carr and Mendocino Complex fires should check with their insurance company to determine if they will provide the same accommodation for their claim as they are for the policyholders who suffered total losses from the November fires.
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- Written by: California Attorney General's Office
Wells Fargo has acknowledged opening millions of deposit, credit card, and other accounts, and conducting transfers of funds without customer authorization over various periods from 2002 through 2017.
“Wells Fargo customers entrusted their bank with their livelihood, their dreams, and their savings for the future,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Instead of safeguarding its customers, Wells Fargo exploited them, signing them up for products – from bank accounts to insurance – that they never wanted. This is an incredible breach of trust that threatens not only the customers who depended on Wells Fargo, but confidence in our banking system. As our investigation found, Wells Fargo’s conduct was unlawful and disgraceful.”
Attorney General Becerra joins 49 other states and Washington, D.C., in the settlement. The settlement resolves multistate investigations into Wells Fargo’s repeated misconduct spanning more than a decade concerning its sales practices, mortgage rate-lock fees and add-on products on auto loans.
During this time, Wells Fargo opened unauthorized accounts and enrolled customers in bank products to meet aggressive sales goals, as result of extreme management pressure, threat of job loss for branch employees, and an abusive company culture.
Wells Fargo acknowledges various instances of misbehavior. The bank opened more than 3.5 million unauthorized accounts and enrolled 528,000 customers in online bill pay based on improper sales practices.
Wells Fargo also enrolled some consumers in renter and life-insurance policies that the consumer never authorized. From 2005 to 2016, Wells Fargo added collateral protection insurance or delayed cancellation of such insurance on millions of auto loans.
Customers have obtained compensation through remediation and oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, class action lawsuits, and bank efforts to make refunds to customers.
Through this settlement, Wells Fargo will also create a consumer redress review program where consumers who have not been made whole through other restitution programs can seek review of their complaint by a bank escalation team for possible relief.
The settlement will be documented through the entry of a stipulated judgment, which remains subject to court approval.
State attorney general issues consumer alert on price gouging in fire-affected communities statewide
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- Written by: California Attorney General's Office
Attorney General Becerra reminds all Californians that price gouging during and after a state of emergency is illegal under Penal Code Section 396.
Price gouging is prohibited anywhere in the state where there is an increased consumer demand as a result of a declared emergency.
Emergency declarations are active in fire-affected communities across California, including Butte, Colusa, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sonoma and Ventura counties. Local declarations may also trigger price-gouging protections.
“Families affected by wildfires throughout the state are trying to rebuild and recover, and they should be able to do so without the worry of being cheated. We remind consumers that California’s price gouging prohibitions apply not only during the immediate disaster, but also after a state of emergency has been declared, when families are working to rebuild,” said Becerra. “Our state’s price gouging law protects people impacted by an emergency from illegal price gouging on housing, gas, food, and other essential supplies. I encourage anyone who has been the victim of price gouging, or who has information regarding potential price gouging, to immediately file a complaint through my office’s Web site or call 800-952-5225, or to contact their local police department or sheriff’s office.”
California law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10 percent, the price of an item before a state or local declaration of emergency. This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials and gasoline.
The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, transportation, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations and rental housing.
Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business.
Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, injunctive relief and mandatory restitution.
The attorney general and local district attorneys can enforce the statute.