[AnnonUSA]

Caught short, 3M will pay $700,000

Last update: March 27, 2008 - 10:19 PM




FRESNO, CALIF. - In a case that proves that size really does matter, 3M Co. has agreed to pay almost $700,000 to settle a Fresno County case that alleged the company sold undersize adhesive tapes.
Fresno County prosecutors made their case stick by showing that 3M's Scotch and Tartan brand adhesive and packaging tapes were 6 percent narrower than advertised.
"They knew what the width was, and they seemed to want to exaggerate it," said Alan Yengoyan, the Fresno County deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case.
Under the settlement announced Thursday, 3M agreed to change its labels. It also will pay Fresno County $600,000 in civil penalties and an additional $75,000 into a state trust fund to benefit county and state weights and measures offices. The company also will pay $18,000 to the state Department of Measurement and Standards, which investigated the case.
In settling the case, 3M did not admit liability or guilt. Company officials could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.
The case involved violations of the state and federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, Yengoyan, said.
A tape that was labeled for "1-inch use" measured 0.94 of an inch. That 6 percent deficiency also showed up on the company's other tape products.
"There is a required dimension for the exact measurement to be put on products," Yengoyan said, "We are increasingly finding it is not always done."
Yengoyan said inspectors from the Fresno office of the state Department of Measurement Standards brought it to the county's attention.
The investigation began in 2006, Yengoyan said, and 3M and the county have been in settlement negotiations since last summer.
Yengoyan said the company did give the county information about its production lines, saying, "3M was cooperative, even though they did not agree to admitting any wrongdoing."

[taco]

scotch tape is some serious shit.

[Slutter McGee]

The District Attorney. Damn, couldnt he better use his time destroying the black community through draconian drug laws???

Sincerely,

Slutter McGee

[TheDriver]

I'm outraged at 3M. All this time I thought it was one inch. FUCK!

[ßü††|맧]

That's a sticky situation.

[blazer07]

Originally Posted by taco

scotch tape is some serious shit.

WOW I didn't realize tape was that serious!! lol

[blazer07]

Originally Posted by Slutter McGee

The District Attorney. Damn, couldnt he better use his time destroying the black community through draconian drug laws???

Sincerely,

Slutter McGee

OMG, did Jesus teach you to be like that??? lol

[taco]

Jesus told me to touch myself every time you post.

[AnnonUSA]

Bee writer pleads not guilty in porn case



Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, March 29, 2008
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B2


WOODLAND – Gilbert Chan, a business reporter at The Bee, pleaded not guilty Friday to a felony charge of possession of child pornography.
Chan, 52, of Davis was arrested after trying to conceal a camera he was using to videotape a youth cheerleading competition at UC Davis on Feb. 3, police said.
Yolo County prosecutors filed a complaint alleging a single felony count of possessing obscene matter depicting sexual conduct of a person under 18.


Chan's lawyer, Steven Sabbadini, questioned the charge. "What he did was film fully clothed cheerleaders during a public performance," he said. "The question is whether that fits the definition of child pornography."
The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. It also can be reduced to a misdemeanor.
Chan, who was not on duty at the time of the incident, is on administrative leave from The Bee.
– Hudson Sangree