Press of Atlantic City from Atlantic City, New Jersey • 65

G2 The Press Atlantic City Sunday March 7 1993 MARKETPLACE William Barnhill hopes to sell easier to find golf balls 1 Buying Power News consumers can use from our wire services: Golf ball beeps for errant shooters INDIANAPOLIS William Barnhill put his inventive talents to work for a practical reason He was tired of losing golf balls Barnhill who works in an electrical supply warehouse by day has spent his spare time for the past five years inventing reworking and perfecting what he says is the first audio golf ball got introduced to golf by a friend and the first time I went out I lost all 12 balls that paid $20 he said That gave me the idea of developinga ball easily located" Now after investing $100000 in development the 29 year old inventor and his partners in Protech Enterprises Inc hope to mass produce their Trakflite Sonic Golf Ball Barnhill said his research showed there are 24 million US golfers who probably also lose their golf balls an indication that there might be a huge market for his invention The Trakflite a regular white golfball has a modified core that holds a small battery an electric circuit and a beeper When struck by a golf club the ball emits a high frequency sound that can be heard up to 100 yards away The sound can be silenced after the ball is found Barnhill said Convinced got a produetthat will be successful Barnhill has been making the rounds of golf industry trade shows to introduce the Trakflite At a retail price of about $20 Barnhill said he expects the Trakflite initially will be a novelty item But he said the product has benefits that should broaden its appeal or example Barnhill said the Trakflite could speed up play and help golfers avoid taking penalty strokes for lost balls proposing to revolutionize the he said He still needs $500000 more for full production of the Trakflite but Barnhill said talking to prospective investors and believes have the money soon offers seasonal 800 service Service BASKING RIDGE American Telephone Telegraph Co introduced a new 800 number service Wednesday allowing customers to turn the toll free numbers off and on at will The 800 On Reserve Service is aimed at the business that does not require a year 1 round or permanent toll free number said Dan Schulman national product director for 800 number of businesses need 800 service only on a seasonal basis or for short term promotions or sales Then like to deactivate their 800 service until the next time he said areas summer resorts and Christmas catalog sales are typical The service allows a business to retain its 800 number ff Previously the customers had to pay for the service even i though they were not using it or risk giving up the 800 number The number can be turned off and on with 24 hours notice and when shut off callers hear a recorded announcement telling them the 800 number is not in service A forwarding address can be given if desired company officials said in a prepared statement The service costs $35 a month when the number is active and $5 when it is not in service Installation is $4350 for each 800 number and usage rates vary said There is also a $5 charge each time the number is reactivated Company spokesman Monty Hoyt said the service was devel oped after noticed a trend of customers canceling their service then calling back to have it reinstated some time later jx Even rearview mirrors getting smart DETROIT The day may not be far off when you can forget about adjusting your rear and side view mirrors to fight off the headlight glare from a nearby car or truck Donnelly Corp a supplier of electronic mir rors and window systems to the auto industry unveiled technology Wednesday that automati 1 cally dims rearview and sideview mirrors against headlight glare The system uses a video microchip that may even make exterior mirrors obsolete by the end of the decade the Holland Mich based company said As the glare moves the microchip embedded in the rearview mirror tracks the light source and selectively dims the mirror most affected while other mirrors remain lighter and more reflective Called the system will be sold to manu facturers in time to be included in 1996 vehicles Donnelly Chairman Dwane Baumgardner discuss Wednesday how much the system would cost automakers but he said it would be competitive with existing electrochromatic mirrors that automatically dim when hit by intense light Electrochromatic mirrors are used in a small percentage of cars mostly luxury models because they cost about 10 times as much as standard mirrors Baumgardner expects the microchip technology to become cheaper in future years see it spreading across a wide range of vehicles not just luxury Baumgardner said He compared the difference between and normal mirrors to the differ ence between antilock brakes and standard power brakes brakes will stop your wheels but ABS does a much better job because they control each he said is another step toward a smart The key to the system and to later advancements that could eliminate mirrors altogether is the inexpensive microchip technology developed by a Scotland company of which Donnelly is a 35 percent owner Placingthe video microchips on various parts of the car could feed information to an on board video screen showing where traffic is located eliminating the need for mirrors The more microchips on the car body the more information available to the driver A chip could even be placed in a blind spot and be rigged to send an audible signal when another car enters that area You have right to protect your privacy People who are paid to moni tor world trends in economics tell us that we have moved from an energy based economy toward an information based economy That means among other things that companies nations associations and individuals are increasingly basing their eco nomic strength on gathering sorting maintaining and using vast data banks A number of these information banks will inevitably include in formation about you While it can be helpful some times to be included in such da ta the notion does conjure up images of and fears that the information gath ered about you will be incorrect or shared with other entities that have no right to it A number of laws regulations and policies have been put in place to protect you from misuse of information others keep about you The canny consumer will make sure to know about such protec tions and make use of them One of the more basic of these protections is your right to re view your own credit The three major credit bu reaus in the United States are Equifax Trans Union and TRW You can find local credit bureaus and branches of the main ones in your area under Report ing or Bu in your Yellow Pages These bureaus usually charge a fee for getting a copy of your report but they must provide a Tree report if the report caused a denial of credit within the past 30 days Check carefully Once you obtain the report ex amine it carefully Write the credit bureau and explain any errors you find The agency is required to verify the information within a reasonable time or else remove it from your file 1 If you find negative informa tion that is true you can write explaining your side of the story 'Keep the explanation to 100 words or less The agency must keep your explanation in the file Negative information is kept CONSUMER ACTION by credit bureaus for seven years Bankruptcy information however is kept for 10 years Your health is another area that gathers interest from others About 750 insurance compa nies belong to a data bank called the Medical Information Bureau that collects and maintains medi cal and other information about you from your insurers With your authorization the information can be shared when you apply for life health or dis ability insurance Usually information is kept on people who have significant health problems that make them high risks for extensive payouts The information helps guard against fraud that can raise in surance costs To receive a copy of your MIB report write to Medical Informa tion Bureau PO Box 105 Essex Station Boston MA 02112 The telephone number is 617 426 3660 If the insurance agency that provided the information about you believes that sensitive medi cal facts are contained in it that company may require that the MIB send the file only to your doctor 1 Rebate programs Another source for information about you can be retailers or manufacturers who offer rebates or warranties on items you pur chase These programs often ask you to fill out an information card and some companies sell that information to companies that compile mailing lists for other companies If you are concerned about such companies knowing too much about you ask whether you can participate in the rebate or warranty program without pro viding more information than the basic requirements of your name address and phone num ber On warranty cards these basic facts are needed if manufactur ers are to notify you about prod uct warnings and recalls You may refuse to fill out blanks on the questionnaire that you feel are unnecessary for this purpose You can also request in writing that you be excluded from mar keting programs based on the personal information you pro vide Just enclose the request when you return the warranty card Some telephone companies provide a program that enables a subscriber to see the numbers from which its calls are coming Many 800 and 900 number services use such ser vices If you want your number displayed check with your tele phone company to see if it pro vides a blocking service that pre vents the display Another option is to make your calls from a pay phone or ask an operator to place the call without revealing your number Cellular phones While some companies use caller identification procedures to give faster and better service some also add your number name and address to marketing lists Another telephone privacy is sue is the use of cellular and cordless phones These phones are easy to moni tor by virtually anyone There fore you would be wise not to conduct conversations that you want to keep private over these phones (Even politicians are slowly learning to be careful about this one) Once you are on some of those direct mail and telemarketing lists you can reduce the volume you receive by requesting that your name be removed from the lists irst write to the companies involved and ask to be removed Some companies use special bill ing inserts to make this easier You should also write the Mail Preference Service and the Tele phone Preference Service to have your name removed from (or added to) the lists these ser vice's members use The address for both services is Direct Marketing Association 11 West 42 St PO Box 3861 New York NY 10163 3861 But write two letters one addressed to the mail service and another to the telephone service These steps eliminate junk mail and calls but they will reduce the number of them A further reduction is to say to telemarketers who want information you want to give or who refuse to mail explanatory materials to you Withhold information Another way to protect your privacy is to limit the informa tion you give when making pur chases by credit cards or checks Unless you have an cy check service where you have preapproved the use of your card to guarantee your check it is not necessary for mer chants to record your charge card number on your personal check This is particularly important if the merchant is recording your license number on the check Merchants should be able to handle the transaction by simply noting that you have a major credit card Also do not write your tele phone number on credit or charge card purchase slips Card providers do not require a tele phone number for identification Some merchants who do not have electronic connection with the card provider to verify your account may ask you to provide a telephone number however And of course you ask for and destroy any carbon paper used in the sales slip you? Sure you do (We insult you by reminding you of something thatsimple) Consumer Action appears Tues day through riday and Sunday If you have a problem write to Consumer Action The Press De vins Lane Pleasantville NJ 08232 Be sure to include your name address and telephone number Please do not send origi nal documents you want returned Every letter is read but only those that are the most interesting or helpful are printed Consumer Action cannot re spond individually to those lettersnot used Palace Station applies to go public as Station Casino By ELLIOTS KRANE or The Press LAS VEGAS Palace Station has filed an application with Ne vada gaming regulators and will soon file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for registration as a public corpora tion to be known as Station Casi nos Inc Palace Station includes a casi no and 22 story hotel tower on West Sahara Avenue a Nevada slot route company and a pro posed riverboat casino in St Charles Mo The Palace Station headed by chairman rank ertitta Jr and his son rank ertitta III has grown in 15 years from a small casino to one of the largest hotel casinos in Nevada Opening scheduled Executives of the 5009 room MGM Grand Hotel Theme Park announced a mid ebruary 1994 opening date about six weeks earlier than originally planned MGM Grand Inc reported a loss of $20 million last year and VEGAS WIRE $122 million the previous year The company said its MGM Grand Air subsidiary increased its revenues to $50 million from $473 million However the air line ended its scheduled service between New York and Los An geles in December because of low fares and operating losses ireworks green smoke and just over 5000 green balloons flew over the unfinished MGM Grand Hotel Theme Park re cently to mark the topping off of the giant structure About 400 people including Gov Bob Miller and county offi cials attended the ceremony on top of the MGM 4800 space park ins parapp Larry Woolf MGM chairman president and chief executive officer said that the $1 billion project is a major mile stone Gaming profits up The Gaming Control Board an nounced a' large gain in net prof its by Nevada casinos in fiscal 1992 compared to the previous year The major resorts netted $8486 million in fiscal 1992 or 93 percent of their gross revenue of $915 billion The casinos reported only $48 million in bad debt expenses in fiscal 1991 compared with $166 million in such expenses a year earlier The $915 billion in statewide gross revenues includes $558 bil lion from casino games or 61 percent Hotel rooms accounted for $127 billion or 138 percent Restaurant food accounted for $11 billion or 12 percent andliquor and other: bar sales? for $5244 million or 57 percent ederal taxes can take as much as half of a reve nues Display backed Casino owners in downtown Las Vegas pledged to ante about one third of the money for a high tech light and sound show de signed to attract tourists to re mont Street Jeanne Hood president of the our Queens Hotel told the Las Vegas City Counicl that the own ers would contribute $18 million toward construction of the pro posed $60 million remont Street Experience The city and its redevelopment agency and the Las Vegas Con vention and Visitors Authority will also be asked to contribute to the project Poker tournament set The 24th annual World Series of Poker at Horshoe Ho telCasino will get under way April 20 More than 3000 en trants from 20 countries around the world arc expected to play for about $8 million The final four days of the tournament will offer play for $1 million with a $10000 buy in (Elliot Krane is a free lance writer living in Las Vegas Nev) Urban still exists study charges Washington Post service WASHINGTON Owning a MONEY MANAGEMENT home is a major investment the' biggest one most people ever make It can be very rewarding both emotionally and financially But a home is also something! that wants protecting and that means insurance But what if you get insur ance? Well for one thing you proba bly buy the home in the first place because most mort gage lenders require you to have insurance And if you did manage to get the place you would be exposed to major losses from fire storms vandalism and other perils Thus insurance plays a key role in the American dream In recent weeks however a number of groups and experts have accused the insurance industry of writing off entire neighbor hoods based on the race and Such accusations have sur faced periodically since the 1960s ollowing the riots of that period various academic and government studies lent credence to them Less attention has been paid to the issue re cently but earlier this month the Association of Community Organ izations for Reform Now (ACORN) rekindled the debate with a study of 14 cities that shows that redlining continues The insurance industry hotly denies that it redlines It points put that redlining is illegal in every state as is discrimination based on race and that even own data indicate that homeowners were able to obtain at least some price quotations in every city 7 primary responsibility for over seeing the insurance industry are divided on the issue The chairman Rep Jo seph Kennedy II Mass noted that in two Boston neigh borhoods he has lived in insur ance was available only through the AIR plan a special insur ance pool that offers fire insur ance and certain other coverage in areas where insurance is hard to get presence of discrimina tion in the insurance industry is no more surprising than its exis tence in the banking industry or other sectors of our said Kennedy expressing surprise that little has been done to detect and remedy Residents of these areas cannot get insurance protection for their homes and cars and small businesses cannot get protection for their stores offices and factories according to the charges data on where and to whom they make mortgage loans The mort gage data show that loans are often much more readily avail able to whites than to blacks income of the residents This they charge is an important contributor to the decay of many inner cities and other predominantly minority areas around the country Residents of these areas can not get insurance protection for their homes and cars and small businesses cannot get protection for their stores offices and facto ries according to the charges maintain that the ACORN document is simply a series of conclusions based on flawed research and preconceived David armer vice president of the Alliance of American Insurers a property insurance trade associ ation told a House hearing last week State regulators who bear the Kennedy is considering legis lation that would require insur ers to compile records census tract by census tract on where they write coverage If this were done he said it would much needed light on industry practices and put to the test its contention that discrimination does not Kennedy noted that banks are now required to collect similar Kennedy also favors requiring insurers to inform people in writ ing of the reasons they have been turned down for coverage In the meantime however homeowners who cannot get in surance have little recourse be yond the AIR plan which stands for air Access to Insur ance Requirements available in 29 states.