Illustrates the danger of autopay. Better to manually pay the bill each month. Lots of things are legal many wouldn't expect. Fortunately, due to the huge number of complaints, PPL has recently announced they will allow late payments with no threat of shutoff nor late fees through the end of March.

PPL still hasn't explained exactly what happened. Be nice if some news media would press them on it, but most news outlets simply regurgitate whatever a company or official says.

Noticed a new 5% System Improvement surcharge. PPL used to be relatively affordable with good service. Not anymore. PPL is seemingly not shopping for the best rate possible, which is what they're supposed to do. Their default rate of 14+ cents is among the very highest of any utility in the state. Distributers aren't supposed to profit on supplying electricity, but suspect PPL is in some roundabout way. Very shady and should be investigated.

From my perspective, PPL is extreme cost cutting, which is adversely affecting their service. Never in over 30 years have I ever seen PPL drop the ball so much as in the past year.

The recent billing issues likely isn't due to any hack (if it was, they'd likely have mentioned that; likely be required to and would provide a convenient out), but rather lack of care and incompetence.

In addition, PPL appears to aggressively be seeking new revenue streams. Some of which may be illegal. PUC and others should investigate why PPL seemingly didn't try hard to negotiate the best default rate possible, which they're obligated to do. How it is that nearby electric utility default rates are so much lower. Something shady is going on with PPL.

My hunch is PPL and/or insiders own a stake in 3rd party suppliers and/or generators. This needs to be investigated.

Something about Walmart that brings out the worst in people. Recently there were two incidents of two men spilling various liquids on the floors at a Walmart near Hamburg. Hope they catch them (see WFMZ website for details), since it seems only a matter of time they do the same thing, but escalate it somehow.

As with many states, such crime is often treated as little more than a ticket. However, the victim could file lawsuits against Walmart and the four men. Walmart will likely fight back hard while the four men are likely uncollectible with little to no assets to go after (aka judgement proof). Still worth a try though. If anything, may encourage that particular Walmart to improve security.

To digress, it's disconcerting how few security personnel many big box stores have on duty at any given time compared to stores of yesteryear. Some stores (not saying Walmart per se; maybe they're better?) have long periods during the day when zero AP / security employees are scheduled. Compounding matters is they're often instructed to not engage even to protect customers. Totally hands-off is the norm these days due to liability concerns.

Safety is another reason many shop on-line and/or use curbside pickup, which some retailers push hard. Still though, deer urine isn't the first threat I'd think of. Could have been far worse.

You shouldn't. However, if an aggressive driver is behind you, safer to speed up a bit / move out of the way. Many drivers out there without valid registration / plates, no insurance (or extremely underinsured; state minimums are ridiculous low), and often impaired. Add to that the possibility of being armed.

More to the point, when getting rear-ended, insurance isn't likely going to cover much. Better to avoid conflict, but each to their own.

... for the low wages offered. Basic economics. Pay more (including benefits; work-life balance), get more applicants.

Amber alerts can be turned off. Those tend to be useless and more harmful than anything. Waking up tens of thousands in the middle of the night likely leads to more accidents. Emergency alerts can also be turned off, though personally I find it useful in my local area (Western Berks), so I leave that one on.

One can hope. URL is silly. License plates shouldn't be used for advertising (personally not a fan of vanity plates either). Or at least do it discreetly, such as using a symbol that most recognize, such as the keystone for Pennsylvania.

My first thought too. Wonder who pushed for that? With all the crime, seems a bad idea. Can cities, such as Philly, override the law? If so, that's good in a way, but bad too, since it will lead to less uniformity of the law across the state. To be clear, they should be kept illegal.

Same thing in the Reading area with Tower Health (Reading Hospital). They own / control much of the health providers, in particular, doctor practices. Few independents anymore.

In many respects, medical care is already very centralized and socialized. Might as well go all the way with Medicare for All or some variation of.

The current system isn't sustainable, though somehow has persisted longer than many thought possible. There have been discussions of socializing healthcare in the U.S. since the late 1940s. On an aside, there's a reason dental and vision are separate, which relates to insurance. That's a whole topic in and of itself. So, sadly, change may still be far in the future even now. 2030s or even beyond.

My guess is another pandemic (near inevitable without stricter global controls on virology, such as gain of function research, and other biological disciplines) or widespread nuclear incident (terrorism involving small tactical nukes of 10KT and less; CDC and other govt agencies have long been planning for it) could be the tipping point that leads to socialized medicine (one already saw that with vaccine production and distribution that was government subsidized). Hope it doesn't take another disaster for change to happen, but wouldn't be surprised if it played out that way.

Bottom line, socializing, despite some drawbacks, would be better than the current situation. Some say that's commie stuff, etc. Yet, most seniors like their government Medicare.

Furthermore, something like 1/5 of the entire U.S. population is on Medicaid. Plus even more on ACA (health marketplace that's highly subsidized). All in all, close to half, if not more are already utilizing socialized healthcare today.

Rambling on. Agree with many others the current system needs to be changed.

The search isn't for that. However, if you do (or did) business in PA and have unclaimed property intended for others, such as checks that employees or vendors didn't cash, then yes. However, the state generally won't know unless someone tells them, or it's revealed during an audit.

Broken on purpose I agree. However, employers pay in the vast majority of funds to UC.

2%-10% of the first $10,000 of an employee's taxable wage. For an employee earning say $40,000 the employer would pay $200-$1000 (around $500 being most likely) while the employee would pay $24 (0.06%; 0.07% in 2023). In some states, employees pay in zero.

Long as it doesn't directly affect the rich and powerful, likely never. Luxury condos continue to be built and people with money still moving in. Those well off are often shielded from most crime. If that changes, then expect stronger enforcement.

Until then, those with lower income / less political connections are relegated to avoid being a victim best they can or moving out to suburbs. In particular, to locales with a decent reputation for safety. Not all suburbs are equal; some have pretty bad crime too.

For many city residents I've met, they dislike the crime, but accept the tradeoff for what the city has to offer. I personally don't understand the allure of Philly, but each to their own.

Some places do take it more seriously. Philadelphia has long been lax with enforcing laws and prosecution. The events of 2020 further encouraged more brazen lawbreaking. Many realize the police won't do much. Heck, even if the crime is on camera, takes place in broad daylight, and in front of witnesses they'll likely still get away with it.

As for why scrap yards aren't more scrutinized deserves more investigation. Do various scrap yard owners have strong political connections? Too costly / time consuming to enforce metal theft? Or apathy? Often one hears the authorities say "insurance will cover it". Often it only covers some of the loss at best. Basically, an excuse for the authorities to ignore most property crime. It's appalling.

Not surprised. It's a lose-lose situation for PPL customers. They're stuck paying high rates and have little to no viable alternatives. PPL seemingly didn't negotiate the best default rates they could. The far lower rates of surrounding utilities reaffirms that belief.

That was my thought too. 9.8 cents seems pretty reasonable compared to what many other utilities are charging.

PPL default rate is outrageous. I strongly believe they didn't shop for the best price, which they're legally supposed to, so people would be encouraged to switch to suppliers that are owned / controlled by PPL and/or insiders. Would like to see this investigated.

As some others mention, it could have been the landlord or someone close to them who made it an issue. Especially, since you didn't personally receive any official letter. While not fair, easiest route is getting it inspected, which you're planning, and leave the rest be. Small town politics can be nasty.

Litigation. Downside is it could drag out for a while and require spending more money now. Unless you can find an attorney to take the case on contingency, which seems a long-shot. Even if you win, likely won't get attorney fees back. Depending on the amount of money involved, may be better to cut your losses.

Replacing with used or reconditioned parts is common even for a new vehicle warranty repair. On the bright side, since the dealer has replaced parts, that clearly shows they know the car has issues. Keep pressing the dealer. Eventually they may get the car into reasonable drivable condition or offer to trade it for something else.

If all else fails, contact the local news media. It's a hail Mary, but sometimes gets results.

Long as you're sure the new owner registered the car, then you're likely fine. Most often the issue arises when one leaves their old plate on. Fortunately, you took it off, which substantially reduces the risk.

Personally, I'd suggest mailing it back in a USPS Priority envelope. That way you have tracking. Then sometime afterwards PennDOT will mail a letter indicating the registration has been cancelled. Vast majority of people don't do this and have no problems, but for several dollars, it's worth the peace of mind.

Employers often have policies that are more favorable to employees than the law requires. For example, from my layperson's understanding, PA law doesn't require breaks at all for employees (except minors). Despite no legal requirement, many employers, likely including yours, provide one or more paid breaks plus an unpaid meal break, if scheduled for at least X number of hours, such as 6 or more.

To digress a bit, lots of issues get discussed during political campaigns, but generally little to nothing regarding worker and consumer protections. Most people assume they have legal rights they don't.

Every state in the U.S. is At-Will (some mention Montana as an exception, but my take is even most jobs there are at-will) unless one has a collective bargaining agreement / contract in place stating otherwise. With that said, larger employers are generally careful when laying off / terminating employees to avoid litigation and paying out unemployment more than they have to.

Now to your question, if it's a big box retail employer, make clear you need to leave at your end time. If pressed, say it's for family, school, etc. No need to go into details beyond that.

Bottom line, if you need to leave on time, leave. Or if it's a day you can extend, stay longer. Retail, if that's the job, is used to dealing with that along with call offs. Don't let managers guilt-trip you.

On a related topic, if the job is of a part-time nature (even if you're getting full-time hours currently), they can and likely will reduce hours after the holidays. If it's retail, Feb-March are the most brutal.

Hope this helps.

The ballot may have been mailed to the address listed on her voter registration. Or if she supplied a different address, USPS may have returned it back to the county.

1st Class Mail is traceable to some extent (intelligent mail barcode) so the county should know whether it was likely delivered or returned. Unfortunately, front-line staffers may not have access to such information.

As many others mention, too late now unless she can travel back to vote in person. Can't fault the process either, since mail delivery isn't guaranteed, and she had ample time to make other arrangements.

From my layperson's understanding, PPL is obligated to negotiate the best price reasonably possible. Suppliers may profit from pricing, but distributers may not; pass-through only. Maybe PPL did the best they could, but have my doubts. This needs to be investigated.

You're locked in for the year. I did the same thing back in May. About a month before your anniversary date, you should receive a mailer and/or email from your supplier regarding renewing. While they'll likely charge somewhat more, it may still beat PPL's proposed rate.

My hunch is PPL itself is purposedly raising their rate excessively to shift more people to shop 3rd party suppliers they (and/or insiders) own an interest in. Would like to see this investigated. PA is among the most energy diverse. Such large increases don't make sense to me unless there's corruption involved.

Everyone involved except the jurors get paid full rate. Judge, prosecutors, lawyers, law enforcement, expert witnesses, clerical staff, bailiffs, etc. If it's truly a "duty", they too should work for 1940s pay rates.

Easiest way to be exempted beforehand is "Financial Hardship", which for many is the truth. $9 per day ($25 starting the 4th day) is appalling. 17 cents milage and no paid meals, though parking may be free.

Jury nullification is another way. If doing this directly, keep it discreet. Better to mention it on a questionnaire. Some try to use the "don't trust police", etc excuse, but that surprisingly doesn't always work.

Another way is being overly well dressed. Suit and tie along with high-end shoes, etc. For a civil trial is a toss-up, but for a criminal trial, can be pretty effective from what I've been told.

Ultimately it comes down to the population of a particular county and case load. In some, a large proportion of civil cases never get to court and many criminal defendants pleading out. Less cases, less chance of being called let alone serving. Also, more likely ignored jury duty notices won't be pursued and being excused will be easier.

Post it to Musk's Twitter. Make him feel like he got a deal.