SONOMA — More than 1.5 million people in Northern California were in the dark Thursday, most for a second day, after PG&E cut off electricity to more customers to prevent wind-fueled wildfires amid dry weather and strong winds sweeping through the region. Pacific Gas and Electric cut power to more...
Legos Lying Around? Toy Maker Tests Way to Recycle Bricks
NEW YORK — Lego is looking to keep its plastic bricks out of the trash. The Danish toymaker is testing a way for customers to ship their unwanted bricks back and get them into the hands of other kids. It said Tuesday that customers in the U.S. can print out...
Walmart Rolls out Grocery Delivery Subscription
NEW YORK — Walmart is rolling out a grocery delivery subscription service this fall as it races to gain an advantage in the competitive fresh food business. The service will charge an annual membership fee of $98 for subscribers to access unlimited same-day delivery, which will be offered in 1,400...
Walmart to Stop Selling Certain Gun Ammunition
NEW YORK — Walmart says it will discontinue the sale of handgun and short-barrel rifle ammunition and also publicly request that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms in stores even where state laws allow it. The announcement comes just days after a mass shooting claimed seven lives in Odessa, Texas and follows...
How Much Could PG&E’s Rates Rise? What You Need to Know.
Pacific Gas and Electric’s customers were warned about the cost of massive wildfires that it may have sparked. Even before California’s largest utility filed bankruptcy proceedings at the start of the year, lawyers, policymakers and consumer advocates all cautioned that the company’s liabilities in those fires would, one way or another, hit...
Audit Finds Poor Planning Led to California DMV Issues
SACRAMENTO — California's Department of Motor Vehicles didn't properly prepare for customers lining up to get new federally approved drivers' licenses, leading to hours-long wait times last year, state auditors said Wednesday. But the long lines that angered motorists and state lawmakers alike merely highlighted significant underlying weaknesses including outdated...
BevMo Warns of Customer Credit Card Data Breach
CONCORD — BevMo is warning that a data breach may have allowed a hacker to steal credit card numbers and other information from more than 14,000 customers who used the alcohol-seller's website. The Concord, Calif.-based company has notified the California attorney general's office that someone was able to plant malicious...
What Happens if PG&E Goes Bankrupt?
Investigators are massing. Lawsuits are mounting. The death toll in Butte County's historic Camp Fire stands at 88, so far. Another year, another megafire, another calamity in which faulty Pacific Gas and Electric equipment is a prime suspect. And once again, Californians face a familiar question: What’s going to happen...