Holiday Bargain May be a Bust if You Don't Check Your Receipt

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With the holiday shopping season just around the corner, it is important for consumers to be aware of the prices they are being charged at the cash register. This year, the County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures scanned over 22,000 items at 1,592 locations, and found that 25 percent of the stores inspected for pricing accuracy had errors. Shoppers were 2.6 times more likely to be overcharged than undercharged on purchased items. That equates to an overcharge/ undercharge ratio of $4.50 overcharged for every $1 undercharged.

“Every dollar counts these days, so you should know the price of the item you’re buying before you checkout and bring the sales ad,” said Robert Atkins, County Sealer of Weights and Measures.

“Consumers should not pay anything more than the lowest advertised, posted or quoted price. We are protecting consumers through complaint investigations and routine inspections. In the last year, the percentage of violations has gone down due to strict enforcement and education of businesses.”

A County ordinance requires stores convicted of overcharging more than one dollar on a single item or overcharging on two or more items to post a “Notice of Penalty for Failed Inspection” at each store entrance for ten days. In 1999, the Consumer Confidence Protection Act was adopted by the County Board of Supervisors, which requires a Notice to Consumers be posted at each point-of-sale station notifying them of their rights and how to file a complaint. To view a list of businesses with overcharging violations, visit http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/awm/violations_scanners.html.

Tips for Shoppers:

  • Stores are legally required to position a price display so that it is visible to you when items are being scanned.  
  • Look for the “Attention Consumers” yellow sticker at the register, which has the County’s contact information.
  • Verify receipts and notify store management of any price discrepancies.
  • To file a complaint, contact the County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures at 1-888-TRUE SCAN (1-888-878-3722) or visit www.sdcawm.org.

County Teams with City to Breed Mosquito-eating Fish

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A new cooperative effort between the County and the City of San Diego is downright fishy. 

The City is allowing the County’s Department of Environmental Health to use a 290,000 gallon pond at its San Pasqual Water Reclamation Plant in North County as a breeding ground for mosquito fish (gambusia affinis). 

Federico (Freddy) Ruiz, Vector Control Technician Aide and Jack Chino, Vector Control Technician II, placed about 20,000 live fish in the new pond.

The diminutive fish, which feast on mosquito larvae, are maintained by DEH as part of its efforts to control West Nile virus. WNV is spread through bites from infected mosquitoes, so by making the fish available to County residents for backyard ponds or swimming pools that are no longer maintained, the fish help keep the mosquito population in check.

For years, DEH has been buying mosquito fish from a breeder or harvesting them from the wild. 

“Purchasing the fish meant not only incurring the cost of the fish, but also of transporting them from Bakersfield,” said Vector Control Program Manager Kerry McNeill.

“And with wild harvesting there was the risk of introducing disease.”

The ball got rolling on the project in June, when DEH approached the City about the possibility of using the site.  The Department of General Services assisted with securing a Right of Entry Permit, Public Works loaned the hose needed to fill the pond, and last week DEH stocked it with 20,000 fish.  In exchange for use of the pond, the County will distribute fish to residents of the region’s cities as well as the unincorporated areas.  The fish are expected to start breeding in the spring, coinciding with the beginning of the mosquito season.

“This new program will save money and provide a reliable source of fish for the residents of San Diego County,” said DEH Director Gary Erbeck. 

"It’s exciting.”

Heads Up for Disaster Readiness Billboards

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The billboard reads: “You can’t predict, but you can prepare” against a dramatic image of a firefighter emerging from a smoky wildland area.

Many San Diego County residents learned this lesson firsthand in 2003 and 2007. The outdoor public service campaign was made possible through an $80,000 grant from the Allstate Foundation and employed by the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services to prepare residents against wildfires and other emergencies.

"Allstate and the Allstate Foundation have been strong partners in supporting the County’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Day and producing public service announcements that are currently broadcast on local television,” said Ron Lane, director of the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services.

Eleven billboards have been placed along local freeways in the County with the goal of reaching more residents with the public service announcement.

Don’t let a wildfire or other emergency catch you unprepared. Learn what you can do to lessen your risks for various hazards, including having a disaster plan for your family and signing up to receive emergency notifications on your cell phone by visiting  www.ReadySanDiego.org.

County Named Among Top Employers for Women in "More" Magazine

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The rest of the country is discovering what many County of San Diego employees already know: they work somewhere with a bright future where they can make a difference.

That’s according to “More” magazine, which conducted a national poll to find out what women over 40 are looking for in a job, followed by a comprehensive search to find positions and companies that provided those opportunities.

The magazine cited the position of “Community Service Coordinator/Manager” as the number one opportunity for midlife women, and named the County of San Diego as a “Gold Star” organization for providing these types of positions. Within the County, these positions would include volunteer coordinators as well as some program directors.

The magazine recognized that about 36 percent of the County’s jobs are occupied by midlife women, including Heidi Moore, who has worked for the County for almost 23 years, and currently manages volunteers and special events for the Department of Animal Services.

“It is a great work environment. So many of us are drawn to public service because we really are making a difference and getting important information out to the public, and if you are here for the right reasons, you are happy in your job,” said Moore.

Women polled for the article agree, saying that one of the most important things about a job is that is has meaning and gives you the ability to make a positive contribution. Other important qualities included: a job in a growing field with a bright future; a high level of control or freedom; a job that is appropriate for women over 40.

The article is in this month’s “More” magazine. For more information about the County’s workforce, visit www.sdcounty.ca.gov/hr.

County Departments are Going Green!

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In addition to using recycled tires to pave roads, recycling pet food cans at the animal shelters, and using low-flow devices in County restrooms, more and more departments are also printing their materials double-sided. 

In order to ensure this practice grows, the Board of Supervisors, at the recommendation of Supervisor Roberts, has adopted a new policy, A-137 - Duplex Printing and Copying.

The new Board policy mandates that all County departments and agencies reduce their annual paper consumption by doing double-sided copying and printing; reviewing, editing, scanning, and sending electronic files rather than via hard-copy printing; and refraining from printing e-mails, when appropriate and feasible. The policy also mandates that County departments and agencies use 8.5”x11” white, copy/printing paper made with a minimum 30 percent post-consumer recycled content, and encourage consultants, contractors, and grantees to conform to the policy.   

More information about this policy is on the Web.

Hazmat Teams Test Themselves

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When Hazmat teams arrive at the scene of an emergency, they must quickly determine what chemicals are present.  Though there is high-tech equipment to aid in identifying chemicals, those devices can have limitations. So responders must be able to quickly identify unknown solids and liquids, and act accordingly.

For the third year, the County hosted this free day-long chemical identification training. It was  sponsored by the Industrial Emergency Council, AhuraScientific and WestAir. And it was attended by every Hazmat team in the County, from federal to munipal agencies, as well as a team from Tijuana.

CTN.org was there. Take a look.