Business
If you get free phone or internet in California, watch out for this snag
Rick, a studying disabled retiree, was at his Los Angeles condo final month when a salesman from Assurance Wi-fi stopped by to supply a free cell phone account, full with a free telephone.
The subsequent factor he knew, Rick had misplaced the $30-a-month low cost he’d been getting on his broadband account with Spectrum, a totally completely different firm.
For the report:
11:25 a.m. Aug. 12, 2022An earlier model of this story said that, in keeping with Danielle Perry of TruConnect, federal guidelines require ACP recipients to be notified inside 5 days of their account being terminated. Perry mentioned the foundations require discover to be given inside 5 days of an ACP subsidy being transferred to a special service.
The story additionally said that the ACP subsidy could possibly be used to pay for a cell phone together with cell knowledge. It could possibly pay just for web service, both wired or wi-fi.
That is simply the type of nasty shock that lower-income individuals have skilled not solely in California, however throughout the US. Researchers have discovered that salespeople providing the free telephone service, identified in California as LifeLine, usually go away shoppers at nighttime in regards to the trade-offs that include it.
Particularly, every family can have just one account backed by LifeLine, and so they can have just one supported by the Reasonably priced Connectivity Program, which allows lower-income individuals to get free or deeply discounted broadband service. Free cell web service could be funded by both LifeLine or ACP, so it’s a must to watch out to know which one’s at subject if you happen to enroll.
Rick’s brother Dave (who requested that their final names not be used to guard Rick’s privateness and forestall him from turning into a goal for scammers) is an actuary in Santa Barbara, and he was capable of undo the injury. However Dave mentioned he wonders what number of occasions this type of factor has occurred to shoppers who don’t have financially savvy individuals taking care of their pursuits.
The reply, shopper advocates say, might be so much, though there are safeguards designed to stop it from occurring in any respect.
Aggressive gross sales techniques
The questionable techniques employed by some LifeLine corporations across the nation prompted the Federal Communications Fee’s Workplace of Inspector Basic to subject a shopper advisory in March. Some (unnamed) corporations that provided each LifeLine and ACP providers had been deceptive clients into making use of for undesirable ACP subsidies or transferring their current subsidies to LifeLine service, the OIG warned.
“Clients who don’t rigorously evaluation the web course of could discover themselves enrolled in ACP or have their ACP service transferred away from their most well-liked supplier after they search [LifeLine] service from one of many suppliers using these techniques,” the advisory states.
The ACP subsidy allows many Southern Californians to acquire a broadband connection to their house pc, sport console and sensible TV units at no cost. With out the subsidy, they’d should pay full value for that bandwidth.
In accordance with a examine of the LifeLine program by Cal State Sacramento in Might, “avenue groups” of salespeople account for about 70% of the shoppers signed up for wi-fi LifeLine service. These teams could pitch LifeLine’s free telephone service door to door, however extra sometimes function out of casual pop-up outlets close to authorities places of work or high-traffic city areas, usually in lower-income neighborhoods.
“Most focus group contributors describe not actively looking for a free or discounted telephone, somewhat encountering a Avenue Workforce when exiting a advantages workplace and studying they had been eligible for LifeLine,” the report says.
The examine discovered “extremely prevalent” experiences of salespeople “not totally disclosing program necessities to clients that resulted in optimistic outcomes for Avenue Workforce members and damaging impacts to clients.” For instance, the examine mentioned, avenue groups could not inform clients in regards to the “one family rule,” so they might later lose their service as a result of another person of their family already had LifeLine.
In accordance with his brother Dave, Rick had a cell phone as a part of his brother’s household plan. However in mid-July, a saleswoman got here to his condo with a free new telephone that he hadn’t requested for and didn’t want.
“She insisted on setting it up, and left him with the telephone and a few paperwork that she stuffed out (he didn’t signal something),” Dave mentioned in an electronic mail. “He tried to observe her as she left to present her again the telephone, however she wouldn’t take it and advised him to simply give it to a good friend.”
That’s how Rick was enrolled in Assurance Wi-fi, which is T-Cell’s LifeLine service. And unbeknownst to him, Assurance used Rick’s $30-a-month federal ACP subsidy as a substitute of utilizing the roughly $25 a month in state and federal LifeLine subsidies to pay for the service. In consequence, he misplaced the subsidy he’d been receiving on his Spectrum broadband service.
Beneath federal guidelines, suppliers are required to reveal the one-per-household restrict on ACP and get clients to log off when their subsidy is being switched, mentioned Danielle Perry, chief compliance officer for wi-fi supplier TruConnect and a board member of the Nationwide Lifeline Assn. However Dave mentioned his brother insists that he wasn’t advised in regards to the change and that he didn’t signal something.
One different safeguard, Perry mentioned, is that broadband suppliers should notify clients inside 5 days when their ACP subsidy has been switched to a special service. That’s how Dave came upon about his brother’s state of affairs — he received a observe from Spectrum. That led to a sequence of discussions with Spectrum and Assurance, Dave mentioned, culminating within the cancelation of Rick’s new telephone line and the restoration of his broadband low cost.
T-Cell didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Paul Goodman, an lawyer for the Middle for Accessible Expertise in Berkeley, mentioned this type of subject has plagued LifeLine subscribers for years. Again when landline telephone service was ubiquitous, salespeople had been signing up LifeLine clients for wi-fi telephones with out telling them that they’d lose their backed house telephone line, Goodman mentioned.
Avenue groups are sometimes contractors, Goodman mentioned, and their workers have a monetary incentive to enroll as many shoppers as they will (some extent the Cal State Sacramento examine makes as properly). In the event that they’re promoting providers backed by ACP, nevertheless, federal guidelines don’t permit them to be paid commissions, Perry mentioned.
One good thing about the road groups, the Cal State Sacramento report says, is that they allow low-income individuals to get a cell phone and repair on the spot. However Ashley L. Salas, a telecommunications lawyer with shopper advocacy group the Utility Reform Community, mentioned the usage of avenue groups has been a principal concern for shopper advocates as a result of they don’t present sufficient data for individuals to make knowledgeable selections.
To bundle or to not bundle
Shoppers can have a LifeLine wi-fi telephone and an ACP-subsidized broadband line, Salas mentioned, however the two can’t be bundled into one package deal. It’s not clear why Assurance Wi-fi hijacked Rick’s ACP subsidy for cell phone and knowledge service, however it’s extra profitable than the mixed state and federal LifeLine quantities.
Most of the corporations offering LifeLine telephone service are pushing the California Public Utilities Fee to vary its guidelines and permit them to supply cell phone and knowledge plans financed by all three subsidies — state and federal LifeLine {dollars} and federal ACP funds. Various different states permit this type of bundling, and California allowed an identical bundle final yr with subsidies from the federal Emergency Broadband Profit program. The state stopped that follow when the ACP launched early this yr.
The fee workers opposes the thought, as do TURN and the Middle for Accessible Expertise. Goodman mentioned the wi-fi corporations haven’t provided proof that the extra cash is required to offer higher service.
Perry countered that permitting clients to commit all their subsidies to cell broadband would allow carriers to offer higher bandwidth and higher units. Most of the complaints that the Cal State Sacramento researchers heard from LifeLine clients stemmed from the standard of the free telephones provided by LifeLine providers.
A big proportion of TruConnect’s clients are homeless or extremely cell, Perry mentioned, and it needs to be as much as shoppers, not the state, to determine what broadband plan works greatest for them. The Public Utilities Fee is predicted to rule on the difficulty at its assembly Aug. 25.
Regardless of the road groups’ techniques, there stays a yawning hole between the variety of Californians eligible for LifeLife subsidies and the quantity who use them. In accordance with the Cal State Sacramento examine, solely 30% of eligible Californians have LifeLine service.
Equally, ACP subsidies attain a low proportion of the Californians who qualify for them: 28% statewide and 32% in L.A. County.
The place to take a criticism
Should you expertise an issue with LifeLine or ACP, assist is offered from the California Public Utilities Fee and the FCC:
- The FCC’s ACP Helpline could be reached at (877) 384-2575, with steering in English and Spanish. For video calls in American Signal Language, name (844) 432-2275, For assist on-line, go to the FCC web site.
- The FCC’s Workplace of Inspector Basic has a hotline: (202) 418-0473 or (888) 863-2244. You’ll be able to electronic mail the OIG at hotline@fcc.gov or fax it at (202) 418-2811.
- The California Public Utilities Fee has a LifeLine Name Middle to reply questions and supply help with this system, with help accessible in 10 languages and through TTY. The primary quantity is (866) 272-0357, which may additionally switch you to traces in languages apart from English.
- To file a criticism about gross sales techniques or different points associated to LifeLine, you are able to do so with the Public Utilities Fee’s Client Affairs Department by telephone at (800) 649-7570 or fax at (415) 703-1158; by submitting a kind on-line; or by sending a letter to the California Public Utilities Fee Client Affairs Department, 505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102-3298.
About The Occasions Utility Journalism Workforce
This text is from The Occasions’ Utility Journalism Workforce. Our mission is to be important to the lives of Southern Californians by publishing data that solves issues, solutions questions and helps with resolution making. We serve audiences in and round Los Angeles — together with present Occasions subscribers and various communities that haven’t traditionally had their wants met by our protection.
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Business
New Mexico weighs whether to toss Alec Baldwin criminal charges in 'Rust' shooting
A New Mexico judge is weighing whether to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin for his alleged role in the 2021 shooting death of the “Rust” movie cinematographer.
Baldwin’s attorneys argued during a court hearing Friday that special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey had abused her power by allegedly withholding “significant evidence,” including witnesses favorable to Baldwin, during a January grand jury proceeding.
The 66-year-old actor‘s lawyers said he was a victim of an “overzealous prosecutor” who steered grand jury proceedings in an effort to win an indictment in the high-profile case. At issue is whether the grand jury had been fully advised that they could hear from Baldwin’s witnesses during the proceedings. The grand jurors spent a day and a half questioning witnesses who were introduced by the prosecutors.
“The fix was in,” Baldwin attorney Alex Spiro told the judge Friday.
The grand jury indicted Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins, the 42-year-old cinematographer, who was rehearsing a scene with Baldwin on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty.
At the conclusion of Friday’s hearing, New Mexico First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she would issue her ruling next week. Should she dismiss the case, it would mark the second time that the felony charges against Baldwin were dropped.
Marlowe Sommer’s decision is expected less than two months before Baldwin is scheduled to go on trial in a Santa Fe courtroom.
During the hearing, which was conducted virtually, Morrissey denied that she had acted in bad faith. She said she didn’t prevent jurors from getting answers to their questions or from seeking additional information. She told the judge that grand jurors had been given written instructions that outlined their ability to quiz other witnesses, including those favorable to the defense.
But because the jurors didn’t ask to hear from the witnesses who were on a list supplied by Baldwin’s lawyers, several key figures in the tragedy, including film director Joel Souza, property master Sarah Zachry and assistant director David Halls, were not called to testify. Instead, jurors heard from police officers, a crew member who was in the church and expert witnesses hired by prosecutors.
On the day of the shooting, Hutchins, Baldwin, Souza and about a dozen other crew members were gathered in an old wooden church at Bonanza Creek Ranch, south of Santa Fe, preparing for a scene. Hutchins, according to the actor, told him to pull his Colt .45 revolver from his holster and point it at the camera for an extreme close-up view. That’s when the gun went off.
Hutchins died from her wounds. Souza was injured and recovered.
Last month, Marlowe Sommer sentenced the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, to 18 months in a New Mexico women’s prison for her role in the shooting. Morrissey argued that Gutierrez was criminally negligent by allegedly bringing the live ammunition to the movie production and unwittingly loading one of the lead bullets into Baldwin’s gun. Gutierrez denies bringing the ammunition on set.
Baldwin’s prosecution has long been fraught.
Morrissey and her law partner Jason J. Lewis joined the case last year after the first team of prosecutors was forced to step down due to missteps, including trying to charge Baldwin on a penalty enhancement that wasn’t in effect at the time of the tragedy.
“The government looked a little sophomoric and unprofessional when they charged him for a crime that wasn’t a crime at the time,” said Los Angeles litigator Tre Lovell, who is not involved in the “Rust” shooting matter. “That was embarrassing.”
The original prosecutors also displayed bluster in media interviews, making statements about the need to hold Baldwin responsible for his actions. Defense attorneys have argued that such commentary was out of line and prejudicial against the actor.
Shortly after Morrissey and Lewis joined the case, they dropped the charges against Baldwin. At the time, they said they needed more time to review evidence and address issues raised by Baldwin’s team. Morrissey and Lewis reserved the right to refile the charges.
Immediately after the charges were dropped, Baldwin traveled to Montana to finish the filming of “Rust.”
On Friday, Morrissey said last year’s decision to drop the charges was made at the request of Baldwin’s lead attorney, Luke Nikas, who had presented evidence that the gun Baldwin was using had been modified. Subsequent tests showed the gun was functional that day, but during FBI testing in 2022, the gun was broken by forensic analysts who wanted to see how much pressure needed to be applied for the hammer to drop.
The damaged gun is one of several complications that prosecutors are facing. Legal experts have said that winning a conviction in Baldwin’s case is expected to be more difficult than in the trial of Gutierrez, whose job was to make sure the weapons were safe.
Baldwin was handed the prop gun that day and was told that it was “cold,” meaning there was no ammunition inside. In reality, the chamber of the revolver contained six rounds — five so-called dummies and the lead bullet that killed Hutchins.
“The state has not even alleged that Baldwin had a subjective awareness of a substantial risk that the firearm held live ammunition,” Nikas argued in the motion to dismiss the charges. “Without a subjective awareness, he could not have committed the crime of involuntary manslaughter, which requires that the defendant consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his actions could cause another person’s death.”
Baldwin has argued, with support from Hollywood’s performers’ union SAG-AFTRA, that it wasn’t his job to be the gun safety officer on set.
The actor has said he was relying on other professionals to do their jobs to ensure a safe production.
Prosecutors have an obligation to present evidence in a “fair and impartial manner,” Baldwin’s attorneys said.
The judge grilled Morrissey on her thinking at the time, including an instance when she had interrupted a sheriff’s deputy and prevented her from answering a question about gun safety measures on set. Morrissey said that deputy was not an expert in film set protocols and that she instead wanted jurors to get “the most accurate information,” which would come from a veteran film crew member who was an expert witness.
Baldwin’s attorneys were also sharply critical of Morrissey for divulging during a media interview the date the grand jury was expected to meet. Morrissey said she took responsibility for providing to a reporter the initial date, which had been scheduled for mid-November. However, the matter was postponed, and the case wasn’t brought before the grand jury until two months later, in mid-January.
Lovell, the L.A. entertainment attorney, said he believes the case will go to trial and that efforts to throw out the indictment will be unsuccessful.
“Courts are really reluctant to dismiss cases brought by a grand jury,” Lovell said. “Courts have limited ability to review what goes to a grand jury unless it was provided in bad faith.”
Business
Troubled EV maker Fisker closing Manhattan Beach headquarters
In an effort to stave off bankruptcy, electric-vehicle maker Fisker Inc. is closing its Manhattan Beach headquarters and has secured a $3.5-million lifeline as it continues to explore an acquisition or other strategic alternative.
The troubled company, which had about 300 employees in the 72,000-square-foot offices at the end of March, is moving its remaining workers to an engineering and distribution facility in La Palma in Orange County, said a person familiar with Fisker’s operations who was not authorized to comment.
In all, the company had roughly 1,135 employees as of mid-April, following an announced 15% cut to its workforce.
Fisker has been attempting to avoid bankruptcy since March, when it announced that talks over a strategic alliance with a major automaker had ended, squelching a deal that would have given it $150 million in new financing.
That caused its shares to collapse to pennies, prompting the New York Stock Exchange to delist the stock, which violated another debt agreement the company struck with an investor last year, according to a regulatory filing.
A major automaker, said to be Nissan, was reportedly in talks to invest in Fisker. Nissan was considering making the Fisker Alaska truck at a U.S. plant — a deal that would come with a $400-million investment, Reuters first reported. Fisker did not confirm the reports.
Fisker announced this week that it secured a $3.5 million short-term loan, as it continues to operate and sell its midsize Ocean SUV. The note is due June 24 and has the potential to increase to $7.5 million.
The Ocean, a competitor to Tesla’s Model Y, was released last year to mixed reviews; some praised its build and styling, but the car has been plagued by software glitches.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has four investigations into the vehicle, including one opened this month after complaints that the SUV’s automatic emergency braking system randomly triggered.
Other probes are looking into reports that a door on the Ocean will not open and complaints about a loss of braking performance. The company has said it is working with the regulator.
Fisker said this week that it had added three dealers to its networks in California and New Jersey, which it began building after a plan to sell direct to consumers — like Tesla does — didn’t pan out. It also announced additional price cuts on some Ocean models.
In March, Fisker slashed the price on its entire lineup of 2023 Oceans by more than 30%. The company also said that it had paused production at its contract manufacturing plant in Austria, which produced about 10,200 Oceans last year.
Fisker was founded in 2016 by noted car designer Henrik Fisker, who has said the Ocean was inspired by California. The SUV features a full-length solar roof, an interior composed of “vegan” recycled plastic and a drop-down rear window that can fit a surf board.
Fisker is not the only startup that has been struggling amid a slowdown in the domestic market for electric vehicles and a rise in interest rates.
Rivian Automotive, an Irvine maker of electric trucks, has informed state officials it will lay off more than 120 employees beginning in June. In February, the company announced it was cutting 10% of its workforce. The company’s shares have lost more than half of their value since last year.
Business
Las Vegas' Mirage Resort to close after 34-year run. Volcano to go dormant
Once hailed as “Las Vegas’ first 21 Century resort,” The Mirage Hotel & Casino confirmed Wednesday that its iconic volcano outside of its front entrance is going dormant less than a quarter of a century into the new millennium.
Owner Hard Rock International announced the hotel will cease operations on July 17, with bookings being accepted until July 14. The iconic resort — sporting a jungle-fantasy theme —was perhaps best known for its exploding 54-foot man-made volcano, magicians Siegfried and Roy, and its white tigers and dolphins.
“We’d like to thank the Las Vegas community and team members for warmly welcoming Hard Rock after enjoying 34 years at The Mirage,” said Jim Allen, Chairman of Hard Rock International in a statement.
The resort is expected to be redeveloped into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas, with the volcano giving way to a nearly 700-foot guitar-shaped hotel. The project is expected to open in spring 2027. A similar 638-room hotel stands in Hollywood, Fla.
The Associated Press reported that more than 3,000 employees will be laid off. Hard Rock acknowledged it would pay roughly $80 million in severance packages for union and nonunion labor.
The Culinary and Bartenders Union accounts for about 1,700 Mirage workers. It announced Wednesday that its workers have two options.
The first was a severance package of $2,000 for every year of service plus six months of pension and health benefits. The second option gives employees a lesser, undisclosed amount while maintaining seniority rights for the duration of the property’s closure along with 36 months of recall rights for jobs at the new hotel.
“Culinary Union members at The Mirage have a strong union contract, ensuring that workers are protected, even as the property closes its doors entirely for three years from July 2024 – May 2027,” said Ted Pappageorge, Culinary Union secretary-treasurer, in a statement Wednesday.
The new hotel is projected to employ nearly 7,000 employees, according to Hard Rock management, while 2,500 construction jobs are expected during the rebuilding process.
Hard Rock said that all reservations beyond July 14 would be canceled and that guests should contact the guest services department or booking agency for a refund.
The Mirage’s closure is the second on the strip this year.
In April, the 66-year-old Tropicana closed its doors to make way for a 30,000-seat stadium that is expected to serve as the home of the Oakland A’s.
The Mirage’s opening by casino tycoon Stephen A. Wynn in 1989 was hailed as the ushering of a new era of resorts. It was the first strip hotel to open since the MGM Grand in 1973.
Wynn shelled out $600 million, then the most expensive casino project, for the sprawling 103-acre property.
The Mirage was the first fully integrated hotel, according to Alan Feldman, a Distinguished Fellow at UNLV’s International Gaming Institute.
Integration meant operating and treating all facets of the resort, including casino, food and beverage, retail, entertainment and convention space, with equal importance, according to Feldman, who rose to become an executive with the Mirage and stayed from 1989 to 2019.
Feldman said hotel owners previously cared first about the casino and “everything else was last.”
“They gave away entertainment, food and rooms as long as someone came and played,” said Feldman. “The Mirage was the first to believe you could actually make money in these areas if you invested enough.”
Its glistening 30-story white-and-gold towers were said to make neighboring Caesars Palace look “retiring by comparison.” Traffic occasionally backed up on the strip as engineers tested gas-flared flames 40 feet into the air every few minutes.
“People just got out of the cars and went over to see what was going on,” one limousine driver said at the time.
The hotel included a 20,000-gallon fish tank at its reception desk and 3,049 rooms.
Its animals — and its white tiger habitat — brought the resort fame and infamy, including in 2003 when a tiger critically injured magician Roy Horn.
The Mirage’s opening kicked off a resort building and remodeling spree that included the debut of the Circus Circus’ Excalibur in June 1990, the $250-million renovation of Caesars Palace and the opening of Treasure Island in 1994.
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