Announcements | 
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Share with your FB friends: Perils of ‘Bounce Houses’ |
| NY accident, other mishaps illuminate perils of inconsistently regulated ‘bounce houses’, AP 6-7-11. They look like harmless fun — fluffy, inflated castles, ships and slides filled with children jumping around carelessly, their parents letting their guard down a bit during playtime. But an accident that sent three of the huge toys aloft on a breezy afternoon on New York’s Long Island, left a woman seriously injured and hurt 12 other people is drawing attention to the little-known hazards of the inflatable playthings sometimes called “bounce houses†and the inconsistent regulations covering them. |
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Popular Police Cars Crown Victorias Prone to Explode |
| The last minutes of trooper Patrick Ambroise's short life were spent in a Crown Victoria Police Interceptor - a car praised for its strength, hailed for its durability and known to explode in high-speed rear-end crashes. By one estimate, fiery Ford Crown Victoria crashes have claimed more lives than the notorious Ford Pinto, subject of a nationwide recall in 1978. "Basically, the Crown Vic is a big Pinto," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a WashingtonÂ-based advocacy group. Ambroise, who died last year, is the latest of at least 30 law enforcement officers since 1983 who fell victim to fiery Crown Victoria crashes. Five were in Florida. Another 20 escaped patrol cars that crashed and caught fire. Pat Beall, Palm Beach Post 06/05/2011 | Read Article: Palm Beach Post |
Chicken-Feed Drug Pulled from U.S. |
| The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that the chicken-feed drug 3-Nitro will be discontinued in the U.S. due to high levels of arsenic found in chickens fed the chemical. During a study, the agency found that chickens given the drug had a higher level of "inorganic arsenic" in their livers than chickens not given the drug. However, the F.D.A. did stress that the amount poses no real threat to humans. Marissa Cevallos, LA Times 06/09/2011 | Read Article: LA Times |
Laws/Cases |
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Former Hospital Admin Testifies Against Sheriff |
| A former hospital administrator testified Wednesday in the second day of testimony in the criminal trial against Winkler County Sheriff Robert Roberts, accused of retaliating against two whistle blowing nurses in 2009. Stan Wiley testified he knew Dr. Rolando Arafiles was going to the sheriff to file a harassment complaint against one of his nurses. On Tuesday, Anne Mitchell told the court she tried for months to get officials to investigate Arafiles before reporting him to the Texas Medical Board. After she and fellow nurse Vickilyn Galle sent an anonymous letter in 2009, Arafiles was contacted and allegedly asked Roberts for help to discover who filed the complaint. Audrie Palmer, Midland Reporter 06/09/2011 | Read Article: Midland Reporter |
Family of Longview Woman Who Died in Jail Sues |
| The family of Amy Lynn Cowling today filed a lawsuit against Gregg County, alleging the inaction of jail officials there led to the death of the 33-year-old mother of three just after Christmas last year. Autopsy reports show she died from seizures she suffered as a result of withdrawal from methadone and Xanax, drugs the county doctor would not allow inside the jail. The lawsuit comes just a day after Gregg County Sheriff Maxey Cerliano reported that another inmate, 30-year-old Micah Aaron Garner, also a methadone addict, died in the jail, becoming the 10th inmate since 2005 to die at the facility. Brandi Grissom, Texas Tribune 06/09/2011 | Read Article: Texas Tribune |
Feds Sue State Over Possible Forced Overtime at CPS |
| The U.S. Labor Department filed suit against a state agency Wednesday alleging that 800 Child Protective Services workers were denied more than $1 million in overtime pay over the past three years. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Austin, said the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services broke federal wage laws by willfully declining overtime pay for the caseworkers and investigators. Chuck Lindell, Austin American Statesman 06/09/2011 | Read Article: Austin American Statesman |
Jury Awards $30M to Chico Woman for Boat Accident |
| A Butte County jury awarded $30 million Tuesday to a Chico woman whose head was gashed by a boat propeller in a horrific wakeboarding accident five years ago on Lake Oroville. The Superior Court panel laid 80 percent of the blame for the injuries suffered by 27-year-old Niki Bell on MasterCraft Boat Co., the manufacturer, based in Vonore, Tenn. Plaintiffs' lawyers charged the MasterCraft X45 has a design flaw that caused the front end of the boat to submerge partially during a low-speed turn and dump Bell and another woman into the water. Andy Furillo, The Sacramento Bee 06/09/2011 | Read Article: The Sacramento Bee |
Federal Court Won’t Dismiss Lawsuit Accusing Exxon’s Texas Refinery of Violating Clean Air Act |
| A federal court will allow environmental groups to pursue a lawsuit that accuses the largest U.S. refinery of violating federal air pollution laws thousands of times in the past five years. The lawsuit filed by Sierra Club and Environment Texas says Irving-based Exxon’s Baytown refinery released 8 million pounds of illegal pollution, including cancer-causing toxins, without facing proper fines or being forced to fix equipment. Associated Press, The Washington Post 06/09/2011 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Suit: Non-Working Stoplight Caused Fatal Crash |
| A Houston woman has filed a lawsuit against CenterPoint Energy, claiming the company and others are responsible for a two-car accident that killed her eight-month-old daughter in May. According to the lawsuit, the stoplight at the intersection where the accident occurred was not working due to maintenance by the company, which led to the accident. "The sole reason this accident happened was because they didn't advise anyone nor did they take steps to control the traffic once they turned out the lights," the plaintiff's lawyer told the Houston Chronicle. The suit is seeking unspecified damages. Anita Hassan, Houston Chronicle 06/08/2011 | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
Wells Fargo Settles Gender Bias Lawsuit |
| Wells Fargo has agreed to a $32 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by female employees against the bank's subsidiary, Wachovia Securities LLC. The lawsuit alleged Wachovia had "systemically denied equal employment opportunities to its female financial advisers, keeping women from moving into more 'prestigious roles' or management positions." Bloomberg reports that the average payout for each plaintiff will be around $18,000. Tom Schoenberg, Bloomberg 06/08/2011 | Read Article: Bloomberg |
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