Ontario Museum of History & Art’s Culture Fest to highlight Chicanx diaspora
CHP: Wrong-way driver suspected of causing collisions while drunk
Pg 39
Pg 21
VISIT CORONANEWSPRESS.COM
Local. Relevant. Trusted.
Thursday, May 02-May 08, 2024
VOL. 8,
NO. 169
Feds: Grocery chain profits soared during and after pandemic By Suzanne Potter, Producer, Public News Service
C
onsumer groups are accusing major grocery retailers - like Amazon, Kroger and Walmart - of price gouging, both during and after the pandemic. The allegation of corporate greed comes after a new report from the Federal Trade Commission found profits for grocery chains jumped sharply, at rates that could not be justified by supply chain disruptions. Angela Huffman is president of the nonprofit Farm Action. "It's one thing to raise your prices to cover higher expenses, but what these companies did is use the pandemic as an excuse to exploit the American people who needed to put food on their tables," said Huffman. "And the FTC report shows that they're still doing it, here in 2024." The report found that retailer profits rose to 6%
Amazon Fresh store. | Photo by Ted Eytan CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
over total costs in 2021, and 7% in the first three quarters
of 2023 - compared to 5.6% in 2015.
According to a report from Help Advisor, Cali-
fornia households pay the highest grocery costs in the
country, averaging almost $300 a week - about $27 more than the national average. The Food Industry Association blames today's high prices on high labor costs and credit card payment fees. Huffman said she thinks the feds should take antitrust action to increase competition - and consider forcing the grocery behemoths to break up. "That would be the ideal outcome is to take away their excessive power," said Huffman. "But other than that, these companies can be fined for this kind of price gouging. And that's another action we would support. There needs to be some kind of consequences." The FTC staff report recommends "further inquiry by the commission and policymakers," but doesn't propose specific remedies.
City of Riverside's longtime fire chief announces retirement
County supervisors authorize sheriff to hike rates for services in contract cities
By Staff
By City News Service
A
T
See Fire chief Page 40
See Sheriff fees Page 19
fter nearly a decade leading the city of Riverside Fire Department, Chief Michael Moore recently announced that he plans to retire in September. The April 19 announcement coincided with the 42nd anniversary of Moore's first day on duty as a firefighter. “My four decades in the fire service represent a dream come true in terms of public service,” Moore said in a statement. “I’ve been blessed to work with thousands of exemplary individuals who made it their life’s work to protect the public. That has especially been true during my time here in Riverside, where the commitment to excellence remains strong.” Moore, who also served as Riverside’s interim city manager from June 2022 to January 2023, led the fire department to become one of only five firefighting agencies in the state to be accredited as well as an ISO Class 1 department, as recognized by the analytics firm Insurance Services Office Inc., according to a city statement.
he Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco's request to hike the blanket rate charged to 16 cities and other contract entities for the use of patrol deputies and support services. The board authorized the sheriff to implement a 2.45% increase in the base hourly rate charged for the use of patrol personnel. The augmentation, which officials said is needed to recoup higher costs incurred by the department, is retroactive to July 1, 2023. Under the revised rate schedule, the cost of a sheriff's patrol deputy will rise from $209.35 per hour to $214.47 per hour. "This kind of increase is not unusual with increases in pensions, wages and other costs," Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said, adding he expected to hear from representatives of municipalities within his First District complaining about the added pressure to their budgets because of higher costs for law enforcement services.