Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Bainbridge Island is an island-city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, located in Puget Sound. The population was 20,308 at the 2000 census but is now estimated at over 26,000. In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine named Bainbridge Island the second-best place to live in the United States. Its crime rate is also significantly below the national average. The local newspapers are the Bainbridge Island Review (weekly) and the Kitsap Sun (a daily that also produces the weekly Islander). The Bainbridge Conversation and the Voice of Bainbridge are two blogs with regular commentary on island issues.