ORLANDO, Fla. - Pull down your lap bars: Universal Studios, the theme-park chain now controlled by Comcast, is rolling out new weapons in its battle against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts — and Disney is fortifying its defenses.

Universal’s parks have always languished in the shadow of mouse ears, and that will not change anytime soon.

Disney has eight parks in California and Florida that attract more than 3 million visitors each year, with summer the busiest season. Universal operates three parks, with annual attendance totaling about 18 million. read more »

After the state’s voters gave big retailers the right to sell liquor starting June 1, at least one chain is invoking a right that elbows out some slim small-store competition.

QFC is enforcing contracts at some of its locations that prohibit private liquor stores from operating in the same shopping centers, according to real-estate brokers involved in two local deals, one in Issaquah and the other in Kirkland.

The restrictions, which are legal, are causing some people to scramble for new locations after they won rights in an auction to operate one of the state’s 167 existing liquor stores. read more »

For more than a year, Jennifer Greiner Clark sold cakes under the table.

Specifically, she baked them in her Ballard kitchen and not in a commercial kitchen, as the law required.

When it looked like her sales would expand beyond friends (who reimbursed her for ingredients rather than paying $150 for fancy 8-inch layer cakes), Clark looked into renting commercial kitchen space.

She found it prohibitively expensive, particularly because she also would need to pay for child care. At home, she bakes and decorates after her children are in bed. read more »

OLYMPIA — KPS Health Plans, a Bremerton-based health insurer, has agreed to refund thousands of dollars to customers who were overcharged due to a billing system error.

Approximately 235 customers are believed to have been billed at incorrect rates. Of those, 61 had the incorrect amount deducted from their bank accounts. Others received incorrect billing statements.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has requested the company issue refunds and notify customers about the problem. KPS has said it will issue refunds right away with letters of apology to customers. read more »

Amazon owed $269 million in sales taxes but made an “immaterial payment” in resolving a tax dispute with Texas by agreeing to begin collecting sales taxes in the state in July and promising jobs and capital investment. Never before had a Texas comptroller accepted such a promise to settle a tax dispute, and some question whether it was legal.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Comptroller Susan Combs’ settlement with Amazon.com — hailed by the company’s allies and rivals alike — is an unprecedented solution to a vexing standoff.

The world’s largest online retailer agreed that on July 1, it would begin collecting sales taxes in Texas, just as its brick-and-mortar rivals do, while promising to bring 2,500 jobs and $200 million in capital investment to the state over four years. read more »

WASHINGTON — The government’s consumer finance watchdog is weighing an overhaul of the fees consumers pay to obtain mortgages.

Regulators might ban origination fees that vary with the size of the loan, known as “origination points.” They also might limit the use of “discount points” that are supposed to result in lower interest rates, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.

The changes would help consumers understand the fees they are paying and guarantee that the fees provide any promised discounts, the agency said. read more »

An Article by Electronic Privacy Information Center

Shortly after the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Federal Communications Commission for the unredacted version of the FCC’s report on Google Spy-Fi, Google has released a mostly unredacted version of the report.

In May 2007, as part of Google’s initial collection of Street View data, Google deployed special vehicles, equipped with digital cameras and other devices, to capture images in designated locations in 30 countries worldwide. Using hidden Internet receivers, Google “Street View vehicles” also collected a vast amount of data from users of private home and business Wi-Fi networks. read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than 19 million U.S. workers are employed by the 3.2 million small businesses eligible for $15 billion in tax credits in the federal health care reform, according to a new report released today. The tax credit helps small businesses pay for health coverage for their employees. A major obstacle to coverage, the report notes, is that many small business owners are unaware of these tax credits because of the noisy — and often misleading — debate over health care reform.

The tax credit program is outlined in a report released today by Small Business Majority and the consumer group Families USA. The report contains detailed information on the number of eligible employers and employees in each state whom the program could benefit. It also includes the total dollar amount of tax credits that could be provided to businesses in each state. read more »

The Washington Retail Association joined a coalition of state retailers and business associations last week in a letter urging Congress to pass a law closing the current Internet tax loophole.

The Legislature passed a joint resolution last year in support of the same tax reform WRA and the business coalition seek in the letter to the state’s Congressional delegation.

In short, pending federal legislation would force online retailers to collect sales taxes, which would level the competitive marketplace with traditional brick-and-mortar retailers who do collect the tax. The pending bills would require online retailers to collect the tax and remit it to the local and state governments where sales were being completed. read more »