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CBS3.com - Philadelphia's Source For Breaking News, Weather, Traffic and Sports

• Jim's Blog
  

  3-On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan contributes daily reports for all of CBS 3 newscasts. Log on to Jim's "Consumer Corner" blog to learn about everything from scams and rip-offs to interesting deals of the day.
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• Webkinz Warning - Friday, December 28
  If your children received a Webkinz stuffed animal this holiday, chances are that you're having problems registering them on the company website, you're not alone. 
  
  The site, operated by GANZ, is experiencing a large volume of traffic and that is preventing kids from "adopting" their pets or entering their codes to play games. 
  
  The manufacturer has posted a note on the site that says they are working to accommodate the increased visitor load. 
  
  Let's keep our fingers crossed that they fix it soon or else they risk a post-holiday revolt from angry children and their parents.
  
• Gas Prices, A Year In Review- Thursday, December 27
  What a difference a year makes!  Our friends at AAA Mid Atlantic have crunched the numbers for us and found that the cost of gas is averaging about 61 cents higher in the Philadelphia five-county region than it was a year ago!
  
  Here are some of AAA's year-end gas facts:
  
  · Average price for the 5-county region on 12/27/07 is $3.06.
  · Average price for the 5-county region on 12/27/06 was $2.45.
  · Highest average area price was $3.13 on 5/28/07.
  · Lowest average area price was $2.29 on 2/5/07.
  · Highest diesel average recorded: $3.67 on 11/29/07.
  · Largest one-month price increase: From 10/16/07 at $2.72 per gallon to 11/16/07 at $3.09 per gallon, difference of 37 cents.
  · Largest one month price decrease: From 7/20/07 at $2.98 per gallon to 8/20/07 at $2.76 per gallon, difference of 22 cents.
  · During 2007, the area average price per gallon reached the $3 mark - 2 times on 5/7/07 and 11/8/07.
  · National average gas prices reached a record high of $3.23 per gallon on 05/24/07.
  
• Most Researched Vehicles - Wednesday, December 26
  Edmunds.com has compiled its annual list of the new cars and trucks most researched by consumers.  2007 wraps up with the Honda Civic taking the top spot this year.  Nearly 13 million car buyers search the site each month before buying a new automobile.
  
  Here's a list of the top ten cars researched over the past year:
  
  1 - Honda Civic
  2 - Honda Accord
  3 - Toyota Camry
  4 - BMW 3 Series
  5 - Nissan Altima
  6 - Mazda MAZDA3
  7 - Infiniti G35
  8 - Toyota Prius
  9 - Toyota Corolla
  10 - Acura TL
  
  Here is the list of most researched minivans, SUV's and trucks:
  
  1 - Honda CR-V
  2 - Toyota RAV4
  3 - Toyota Tacoma
  4 - Honda Odyssey
  5 - GMC Acadia
  6 - Honda Pilot
  7 - Toyota Tundra
  8 - Toyota Highlander
  9 - Acura MDX
  10 - Saturn VUE 
• Posted December 7, 2007
  Holiday greetings everyone from the CBS 3-On Your Side Consumer team!
  
  Thanks so much for reading my daily blog and for the many e-mails and calls that you've made to us over the past year.   I just wanted to let you know that I'll be on vacation through December 25.   I'll be taking a cruise around South America, and yes, I found a great deal!  So I won't be updating my blog until I return.  I've pre-taped several great holiday stories though, so be sure to continue to watch my consumer segments on CBS 3 Eyewitness News.
  
  The 3-On Your Side family wish you a holiday season filled with laughter and love.  We look forward to providing you with all the consumer news you need to know in the 2008!
  
  
• Airline Delays & Complaints - Thursday, December 6
  The Department of Transportation has released the latest rankings for airline delays and complaints.  The news isn't pretty for those of us that fly out of Philadelphia.
  
  For the month of October, Philadelphia International Airport reported an on-time arrival record of only 69.4% and on-time departure record of 74.9%
  
  Of the major airlines that service Philadelphia, here are how they performed nationally with regards to on-time arrivals:
  
  Frontier     84.4%
  Southwest     82.2%
  Delta        80.7%
  Continental    80.4%
  American    76.1%
  US Airways    75.7%
  Northwest    74.7%
  United        74.4%
  
  When it comes to passenger complaints.  US Airways received the most complaints when factoring in the number of passengers that traveled on the airline.  In the month of October the DOT received 122 complaints, that is way up from the 51 complaints that they received for the same time period last October.
  
  Commuter airline, American Eagle lost the most luggage.  15,351 pieces of luggage were lost or misplaced.  That is 9.57 bags for every 1,000 passengers.   US Airways ranked 12th of 20 airlines.  US Airways lost or mishandled 28,590 bags.  That is 6.42 bags for every 1,000 passengers.
  
  
• Where Will Superman Change? - Tuesday, December 4
  Clark Kent and other phone booth users take note - your options are getting limited.
  
  AT&T has announced that it's getting out of the phone booth business. The company plans to phase out public pay phones and be out of the business completely by the end of next year.
  
  Just ten years ago there were around 2.6 million pay phones, of that number around 400,000 were owned by AT&T.
  
  Over the last decade that number has shrunk considerably and now less than 1 million pay phones are currently being used around the country, 65,000 of them are owned by AT&T.
• Faster Passports - Monday, December 3
  

  Are you planning on traveling outside of the United States over the holidays?  You may remember that new passport requirements went into effect earlier this year.  Hundreds of thousands of travelers were caught off guard, not realizing that air travel to Bermuda, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean now requires a passport.  The back-log at the State Department to process those passports went on for months.  It has improved greatly, but there are always folks that still wait too long to apply and may be out of luck.

  This summer my colleague, Lesley Van Arsdall,  profiled a Philadelphia company that prides itself in removing the panic of passport processing.  The operators, Jon and Marc, are quite simply known as "The Passport Guys."  They are authorized by the U.S. Department of State to expedite U.S. passports and travel Visa's.  They can skip the lines that you and I can't!

  If you need a passport in a hurry - in under a week or less, then these guys are on your side.  For a fee they will process your application and have your new passport in your hands in under 24 hours if needed.   The passport itself will cost $127 for adults, a fee that you pay to the State Department.  Then you'll also pay a fee to the Passport Guys depending on when you need the passport.  It's $145 for 3+ days processing or $225 if you need it in one or two days.  It sounds pricey, but it's well worth the cost especially if you'll miss your trip because you lack a passport.

  I've used the service when I booked a last minute trip this summer.  My passport had expired weeks earlier and I needed a renewal fast.  The Passport Guys did all the leg work and I enjoyed my vacation without any extra stress.  For more information on this company you can visit:  http://www.philadelphiapassports.com/

• Social Security Raises - Friday, November 30
  Beginning next month nearly 50 million Americans that receive Social Security benefits will be getting a raise.  Don't cheer just yet, it's the smallest increase in four years, only 2.3 percent. 
  
  That increase comes out to around $24 per person.  But since the 2008 Medicare Part B monthly premium will also be increasing, by about $3,  that means the average Social Security check will only rise by about $21 bucks.
  
  So how do the numbers play out?
  
  The average Social Security benefit will increase from $1,055 to $1,079 per month for individuals.
   
  The average retired couple, both receiving benefits will have checks rise from $1,722 to $1,761.
  
  The maximum benefit any worker can get at full retirement