SoCal Water$mart 2014-2015 Turf Removal Rebates Available to Local Residents

UPDATE 1: Due to high demand for this rebate program, MWD announced that new terms and conditions are applicable to rebate requests submitted after 1 p.m. on May 12, 2015. Residential turf removal rebates are now capped up to a maximum of $6,000 per property.  Those who received a previous rebate may apply for additional rebates up to a maximum of $6,000 per property for all past and current rebate requests.  The program was increased from $100 million to $450 million

UPDATE 2 (7/9/15): Believe it or not, MWD announced yesterday that the additional turf rebate funds have been depleted due to extraordinary public response and that applications will no longer be accepted later this week.  A waiting list for future rebates will be maintained by MWD to allocate any rebates earmarked for turf removal that are not claimed by approved applicants.

The average homeowner uses over half their water on outdoor irrigation and water-intensive turf grass is the primary culprit. The State of California offers a rebate of $2 to $3 per sq ft of turf removed in the SoCal Water$mart 2014-2015 Turf Removal Program.

To qualify for a rebate, customers must remove actual grass in a designated area and be replaced with a new landscape that does not include live turf or turf-looking plants, but must include some non-turf plants and follow and additional municipal/city requirements. The new landscape must be permeable to air and water; areas with concrete and other surfaces do not qualify for the rebate. Synthetic turf is eligible for rebates unless otherwise not states in your area's terms and conditions.

Funding is available on a first come, first served basis based on available funding. Work must be done within 120 days after receiving approval for the rebate.

Learn more and file for a rebate at socalwatersmart.com.

Find out if your specific property address is eligible, and how much your rebate will be based on estimated square footage at mwdturf.conservationrebates.com/13-TRM1-HT/estimate.php.

If you are served in the Calleguas Municipal Water District, including Camarillo, Moorpark, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks (including Newbury Park and incorporated portion of Westlake Village), Port Hueneme and unincorporated areas including Camarillo Heights, Fairview, Las Posas Valley, Oak Park, Santa Rosa Valley, Lake Sherwood, Somis, and Naval Base Ventura County, you are most likely included in this rebate program.

You May be Eligible to Receive a Rebate for Apple In-App Purchases Made by Your Kids

Apple was sued recently by a group of plaintiffs who claimed Apple was at fault for their kids' in-app purchases on Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Apple did not admit fault, but opted to settle the litigation by offering up a rebate for certain in-app purchases.

To receive a rebate (subject to court approval of the settlement in the fall), you must prove that, before May 2, 2013, a minor purchased in-app items on games like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Temple Run and a host of other game apps in your iTunes account without your knowledge or permission and you did not receive a refund from Apple for the charges.

I can relate to this issue. My kids got ahold of my 1st generation iPad a few years ago and began playing games like those mentioned above. It was all fun and good for awhile, until I began receiving emails from iTunes about various purchases. I thought maybe my iTunes account was hacked. I asked my wife, "who's buying stuff from iTunes?" She didn't know. Then l logged in to discover my youngest was buying virtual items via in-app purchases in the game. He didn't realize he was spending my money, to the tune of over $100.

My boys apparently enjoyed Battle Bears a bit TOO much with these in-app purchases.

I was able to get a refund for most of these "inadvertent" purchases from Apple and I also learned how to block in-app purchases made without use of a password. Learn more about Apple parental controls at support.apple.com/kb/HT4213.

But in the meantime, Apple is contacting iTunes customers to let them know about this proposed settlement. To learn if you are eligible, visit www.iTunesInAppPurchaseSettlement.com (catchy URL, eh?) for details.

If you are eligible for a settlement and the settlement is approved by the court, Apple will give you either a $5 iTunes Store credit or an iTunes Store credit totaling all unapproved charges made to your account within a single 45-day period by your kid. Ouch, for some that might be a pretty large amount! If your claim exceeds $30, or if you no longer have an iTunes account, you can opt for a cash refund.

The big winners in all of this may be the attorneys...the judge has approved $1.3 million from Apple for attorney fees and costs.  And the five Class Represenatives, or plaintiffs, will each receive a $1,500 payment from Apple.

Coppertone Agrees to Stop Calling Its Sunscreens "Waterproof" and "Sweatproof"

Merck & Co. bought Schering-Plough in 2009 and with it inherited the popular Coppertone brand, which is easily the most used sunscreen brand in my household and I'm sure many others.

Back in 2003, lawsuits were filed against Schering-Plough alleging improper marketing of the "waterproof" aspects of Coppertone. On September 21, 2012, Merck agreed to settle these class-action lawsuits without admitting any wrongdoing.  The settlement will cost Merck between $3 million and $10 million, which is about two one-hundreths of a percent of Merck's annual revenue.

According to the settlement, "Merck agrees that all Coppertone sunscreen products manufactured on or after June 22, 2012 for sale in the United States, its territories and possessions, will not use the terms "sunblock," "waterproof," "sweatproof," "all day" and/or "all day protection" in the labeling, advertising, marketing or promotion of these products."

This will have absolutely no impact on my own use of sunscreen as I'm not stupid enough to think that one application of sunscreen will last an entire day if I'm out running, sweating or in the pool all day. But I guess some might be confused by the prominently mentioned "Sweatproof" and "Waterproof" on the front of the label.

It is a bit odd that on the front label Coppertone says "Waterproof" yet on the back label says "Reapply as needed or after towel drying, swimming, perspiring, or vigorous activity."

If you purchased Coppertone products from July 31, 2006 to the date of public notice of the settlement, you can receive "up to $1.50" for each item purchased. They do not define what "up to" means but we'll find out soon enough.

The exact date yet of when we can start making claims has not been announced. When that date comes, the information will be published at www.sunscreensettlement.com, to inform us of our rights, dates and deadlines, etc. Yippee!

The proposed settlement indicates claimants can be reimbursed up to $1.50 each for up to six (6) Eligible Coppertone Sunscreen Products without proof of purchase. Easy enough! But it gets trickier after that, as Merck has the right to require proof of purchase if you claim between 7 and 9 Coppertone purchases. If you bought 10 or more, you will be required to show proof of purchase....like you're gonna have all those CVS and Costco store receipts from 6 years ago.

I was thinking, what if I could produce receipts for, say, 700,000 purchases of Coppertone products since July 31, 2006. I could make over a $1 million! Hmm, maybe I should just stay out of the sun.

In any case, start pondering how many Coppertone sunscreen products you've purchased over the last 6 years and you may get a small chunk o' change. And, of course, apply plenty of broad spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen in our sunny climate and reapply frequently. Sunburns and skin cancer are not fun.