Rating System

The Better Business Bureau, which has been under fire for boosting the ratings of businesses that became dues-paying members, said Thursday that it would alter its rating process. "For nearly 100 years, the BBB has stood for public trust, and we are taking these steps to maintain that trust," said Steve Cox, chief executive of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Washington. "Given the feedback, we feel it is our duty to take immediate steps to address the concerns raised and enhance our ability to help consumers easily and quickly find trustworthy businesses," Cox said.

Allergic to peanuts? Need a gluten-free restaurant? What about eggs, shellfish or dairy? No problem. Even at Walt Disney World. Name: http://www.allergyeats.com What it does : Provides a peer-reviewed directory of more than 600,000 restaurants across the U.S. Includes menus (including gluten-free), allergen lists, certifications, nutritional info and more. What's hot: This website is built by a dad with five kids, three of whom have food allergies.

Your article on salad mixes (Bag That Salad, Aug. 25) confirmed what I had suspected all along: These mixes are high in price and low in quality. And speaking of quality, your quality ratings aren't very informative. There's no scale and no indication of what the numbers mean. Is 1 high or low? Is the range 1 to 5? 1 to 10? 1 to 100? It makes a difference. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 the best and 1 the worst, I give your quality rating system a 1. --MARY TERRILL Torrance Editor's Note: We goofed.

Do movies need a ratings system? Yes. Is the Motion Picture Assn. of America doing it well? Not even close. Should things change? Of course they should. And that change should happen now, over the movie"Bully"and the issues of decency and common sense it raises. This film, directed by Lee Hirsch, follows the real-life stories of five bullied kids over the course of a school year. It's a story kids everywhere should see. But it will be released this weekend with no rating, a risky move since fewer theaters are likely to show it. That decision was forced by the MPAA, which despite ample protests insisted on giving "Bully" an R rating, putting it off limits for kids younger than 17 unless accompanied by an adult.

Re "Toss and Tumble," by Ronald Collins, Commentary, March 3: I hate to argue against idealism, but Collins needs to step into reality. Television programs are created to keep consumers' attention until the next aired commercial. It is that simple. As the Home Shopping Network has proven, programming at all might be optional. "Free" television is presently struggling with all of its cable competition and desperately needs to create new methods of maintaining its audience to pay the rent at the studio.

"The Perils of Pedicure: Health Officials Warn of Unclean Foot Baths" (May 4) was scary . . . and disgusting! Like food establishments, nail salons should be examined, tested and rated periodically, with ratings clearly posted. Realistically, how many consumers will "insist" on foot spa disinfecting procedures between customers and know whether those procedures are being performed properly or not? BARBARA SMITH Los Angeles

The nation's four television networks are in talks to establish a rating system, similar to the one used in motion pictures, in an effort to head off the threat of government regulation of programs with violent or sexual content, sources said Wednesday. Top executives from ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox have been meeting in New York and Los Angeles in an attempt to forge an agreement in advance of a White House summit later this month on television violence, the sources said.

Later this month, the television industry is expected to announce its promised new ratings for sexual, violent and language content. Early press reports, based on leaks from the industry coalition committee creating the ratings, indicate that the new system will be modeled on the one used by the Motion Picture Assn. of America.

The film industry movie-rating system, which was severely criticized on Thursday in a 15-page opinion issued by the New York judge presiding over a ratings suit, faces two more challenges next week. Miramax Films said on Friday that it will appeal the decision upholding the X rating given to "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

No one argues that quality measurement on health care provided by individual doctors is desirable ["Blue Cross to Rate Doctors," Oct. 10]. However, we must have some assurance that the yardstick is appropriate. My trusting self tells me that Blue Cross of California is finally paying more attention to quality than merely the bottom line. My cynical self and experience with Blue Cross, however, tell me that this will likely be just another scheme to justify a lower reimbursement rate to most physicians while claiming that the current rate is already serving as the bonus promised for the chosen few. It will be one of the happiest days in my life to be proved wrong in my skepticism.

The Redcoats are coming! The Redcoats are coming! Remember what your elementary school teacher taught you about the War of Independence? The British wore scarlet coats, which made them easy marks and symbolized institutional pomposity, adherence to status over efficiency and an out-of-touch empire bent on doing things the old way. The rebellious American colonists, on the other hand, wore whatever; they were nimble, unencumbered by institutional baggage...

For the third year in a row, Virgin America has been named the greenest airline operating commercial flights in the U.S. by Greenopia , a Santa Barbara-based research and eco-consumer advocacy group. Continental Airlines was named the greenest of the major carriers. Delta Air Lines got a nod for showing the most improvement in sustainability in the last year. To measure the overall "greenness" for its recently released ratings, Greenopia looked at factors such as how transparent the company is about its energy consumption; how easy it is for passengers to purchase carbon offsets; how much recycling is done on flights; and how much the company spends to research alternative fuels.

The Better Business Bureau of the Southland is getting another shakeup at the top. William Mitchell, who led the organization for 26 years, has quietly resigned — for a second time — after criticism over the group's rating system for businesses and his compensation, which exceeded $400,000 a year. Mitchell previously announced his resignation in December, only to rescind it in February. At the time, Mitchell said he was needed to fend off efforts by the national Council of Better Business Bureaus to take control of the local group.

The beleaguered head of the local Better Business Bureau, who resigned in December amid controversy over the group's letter-grade rating system and his high salary, has rescinded his resignation and vowed to fight to restore his reputation. William Mitchell, who made more than $400,000 in 2008 running the Southern California chapter, had resigned in the middle of an audit of the chapter by the National Council of Better Business Bureaus. But on Monday, he circulated an e-mail to his staff in which he criticized the Washington-based national council, saying executives were trying to take over the Southern California chapter and pack its board of directors with their own people.

Californians may end up paying the highest electricity rates in the country to charge their electric vehicles, a new study says. The state's tiered rate system, in which customers are charged higher rates as they use more electricity, could make plug-in hybrid and battery-powered vehicles more costly to own, according to a Purdue University study. The study was unveiled as the first of the electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are reaching consumers. Two vehicles, the all-electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, started being delivered to their first customers last month.

The head of the Southern California chapter of the Better Business Bureau has resigned amid a scandal over the group's letter-grade rating system and controversy over his high pay. William Mitchell, a 26-year employee of the Better Business Bureau of the Southland, is leaving because of health concerns, said Bob Richardson, the chapter's director of operations. The national organization, which issues ratings to businesses supposedly based on how fairly they treat consumers, has been criticized in recent months for giving businesses better grades if they became dues-paying members.

Since its inception, I have fought against the rating system. I have felt it to be a ploy to ward off federal legislation, but in point of fact, I believe it has brought the motion picture industry closer to federal regulation than it ever was. Personally, I have nothing against sex or violence in any film for anyone--provided that it not be gratuitous. When it is, it should be castigated for what it is--bad filmmaking. I believe in the American people's ability to discern for themselves.

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Like those big-box stores that bank on holiday sales, charities too depend on end-of-the-year donations. Hence the current stream of seasonal solicitations. "If you just respond to these solicitations, you may not end up giving wisely or supporting your highest priority causes," says Bob Ottenhoff, president and chief executive of GuideStar, an organization that provides a repository of nonprofit information. Before you open your checkbook, Ottenhoff suggests you step back and ask yourself what really matters to you. Decide what you want your money to do. That goes beyond simply choosing a cause, such as cancer.

Say you're in the mood to watch an old movie you've never seen, let alone heard of ? in this case, "Neptune's Daughter," a 1949 musical comedy featuring bathing beauty Esther Williams playing opposite buffoonish Red Skelton. According to your cable television provider's channel guide, "Neptune's Daughter" rates three stars on a four-star scale. Given that ringing endorsement, you settle in on the sofa with every intention of enjoying the movie ? until you'd rather watch anything but one more amusingly cheesy minute of "Neptune's Daughter.