Spa and Hotel news from SpaCast.com. Part of Spa Index Media Network.

More on those Fish Pedicures, this time from New York

Using live fish to eat away dead skin in pedicures would be banned in New York State for health and humane reasons under a proposed bill.  ... Fish pedicures are illegal in at least 14 states, according to state Senator Jeff Klein of the Bronx and Westchester, who proposed the bill. The bans cite the concern that health conditions led by fungal infections may be transmitted by unsanitized fish in dirty water. Animal-rights groups are pushing for outlawing the procedure because it is inhumane to the fish.

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Scam Alert: Day Spas and the public are the target victims on California Central's Coast

The police in Santa Maria, California, a central coast city near Santa Barbara, is warning the public about a sales scam involving a local day spa. Victims in the Santa Maria area have recently been contacted by sales persons who approach them in public areas and use high pressure sales tactics to encourage the purchase of “Spa Packages” to local area day spas.   The packages do not exist and are not authorized by the spas.

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Turning up the heat on Tanning Salons

The new 10 percent tax on ultraviolet tanning, a part of the health care reform law passed by the federal government in March, went into effect July 1. Some area salon operators are feeling the heat.

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Canada spas still want that fish pedicure!

The Pillar and Post's 100 Fountain Spa wants to bring the fish pedicures to Niagara-on-the- Lake and has gone so far as to buy a tank and a stock of more than 50 Garra rufa fish.  "It's something that Niagara needs, Canada needs. Anything that is new is good for tourism."

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http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2657591

Massage Therapists pleased that California AB 1822 Suspended

Swarms of politicians made their way to the California Capitol building Wednesday morning (May 19) for a much-anticipated hearing set to discuss the fate of Assembly Bill 1822 and the California massage therapists that it directly affects.

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Foreclosure News: Mayflower Inn & Spa, CT

The Mayflower Inn & Spa, among the top resorts in Litchfield County, Connecticut, is now in foreclosure, having defaulted on its $21.5 million mortgage.

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The bankrupt Spa Chakra receives court approval to honor GCs

At hearings held Friday, December 11th and Monday, December 14th in the United States bankruptcy court, Spa Chakra, Inc., the now bankrupt global spa network received court approval to honor and fulfill all gift card and other customer loyalty programs and continue to pay its employees.

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SpaCast: Ilinois Atty General sues Chicago Medi-Spa for Deceptive Marketing

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Chicago-area medical spas, Nu U Med Spas, for performing unapproved procedures without a physician's supervision and luring patients through deceptive marketing.  Madigan's complaint claims that Nu U Med Spas try to lure customers into buying "Lipodissolve, which is an injected therapy used to dissolve fat cells."

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#SpaCast: Arizona Board of Cosmetology sued over Fish Pedicure Squabble

A conservative watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against an Arizona agency on behalf of a salon owner who uses nibbling fish to remove dead skin from the feet of customers.  The lawsuit filed by Goldwater Institute on Monday says the Arizona Board of Cosmetology overstepped its bounds when it decided the fish perform pedicures and are subject to regulatory control.

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To have fish eat your feet or not, that is the question - and it is one that a court may have to answer.  A lawsuit has been filed by the Goldwater Institute public interest group against the Arizona Board of Cosmetology to decide whether the board can prohibit the use of small fish that eat flaky dead skin off feet as part of cosmetic treatment.

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#SpaCast: US medical spas facing state legislation

Medical spas in the US and elsewhere have increased in numbers and are popular as medical tourism destinations. Several countries have reported problems of medical spas undertaking medical procedures which neither the spa nor the staff are qualified to do. Unfortunately, this reflects badly on the majority who are professional. They have tended to fall between the gaps in legislation, but one of the first countries seeking to remedy that is the USA. Nationally, the number of medical spas around the country has grown from 500 in 2004 to 2,500 today. If this growth rate continues, more states will follow the four who are preparing regulations, and almost every sate has discussed the idea.

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