| TTLA STATEWIDE PAC DRIVES: All IN TO WIN |
In order to WIN in 2018, we need EVERY TTLA member to support the TTLA PAC. So, we are holding a series of ’=80=9CALL IN TO WIN’=80=9D PAC Fundraising Drives. We’ll be calling every TTLA member to ask them to contribute at least $7 a month to the PAC. Please join us on one (or more!) of these days to get every TTLA member engaged in our political efforts. Volunteers are the key to our success, and all you have to do is choose a day, RSVP and then SHOW UP. We will give you all the tools you need to be successful. Click on the headline to RSVP!
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Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Interactive: Floods Are Getting Worse, and 2,500 Chemical Sites Lie in the Water’s Path |
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Anchored in flood-prone areas in every American state are more than 2,500 sites that handle toxic chemicals, a New York Times analysis of federal floodplain and industrial data shows. About 1,400 are located in areas at highest risk of flooding. As flood danger grows — the consequence of a warming climate — the risk is that there will be more toxic spills like the one that struck Baytown, Tex., where Hurricane Harvey swamped a chemicals plant, releasing lye. Or like the ones at a Florida fertilizer plant that leaked phosphoric acid and an Ohio refinery that released benzene.
HIROKO TABUCHI, NADJA POPOVICH, BLACKI MIGLIOZZI and ANDREW W. LEHREN , The New York Times02/07/2018    |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Hazing in the Locker Room? Texas, UIL Don’t Have Specific Policies Requiring Supervision |
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When extreme hazing incidents like the alleged abuse among members of the Forney soccer team occurs, many question how bullying is allowed to escalate to sexual violence in campus locker rooms. Texas doesn't have any laws requiring adults to monitor athletes in locker rooms, where experts say hazing is more likely to occur. And the governing body for high school sports leaves it up to local districts to decide where and when supervision is needed.
Eva-Marie Ayala & Corbett Smith, The Dallas Morning News 02/07/2018
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| Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Houston Car Buyer Wins Odometer Tampering Case Against Dealer |
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A man who bought a $26,000 used truck in Houston was recently awarded $52,500 in damages by a federal jury in Houston after jurors determined the dealer either knew or should have known that the odometer had been rolled back. The jury deliberated for about four hours before awarding Garrett Gable of Ohio three times what jurors figured he overpaid for the vehicle that had more than twice as many miles as he was told at the time of purchase. Gable sued Nikou Group Investments, which does business as 1st Choice Auto and its president and owner Reza M. Nikou, for damages under the federal odometer act and the Texas deceptive trade practices act.
L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle02/07/2018 |
| Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| Jury Verdict Rendered in Downtown Tunnel Case |
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A Houston jury has awarded more than $200,000 to a downtown property owner in a dispute over access to the pedestrian tunnels that circulate beneath the city center. The verdict last week came in a 2016 lawsuit between Theater Square, an entity associated with the Linbeck construction company, which owns a block on the north end of downtown, and the current and previous owners of the former Houston Chronicle building site. The Linbeck entity subsequently sued Hines and Hearst, saying it intended to build a high-rise on its property and wanted to protect access to the tunnel system through an existing basement corridor.
Nancy Sarnoff, Houston Chronicle02/07/2018 |
| Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| $100M to Flight Nurse Burned on 90 Percent of Body In Helicopter Crash |
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A $100 million settlement has been granted to a flight nurse who was burned on 90 percent of his body during a crash in Colorado. The plaintiff was on a medical flight when it went down over Frisco, causing the death of the pilot and another passenger. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the crash was probably caused by a preventable hydraulic issue. Following the crash, the plaintiff filed suit against Airbus Helicopters, which will be paying an undisclosed portion of the $100 million settlement. "His needs will be taken care of for life and that is what should happen," stated an attorney for the plaintiff.
Kirk Mitchell, Denver Post02/01/2018 |
| Read Article: Denver Post |
| Pittsburgh Boy Injured by Foul Ball Gets $1.7M Settlement |
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A jury has awarded $1.7 million to a 14-year-old Pittsburgh boy who sustained a brain injury during a Little League baseball game. The child was injured the day before his 12th birthday. The settlement was given to the boy for injuries, pain, and suffering from when he was struck by a foul ball while in the dugout. During the incident, the child sustained a fractured skull and intense bleeding in his brain, which caused permanent brain damage. His family filed suit against the Sewickley borough where the game was played and the Avonworth and Quaker Valley Athletic Associations.
Wesley Robinson, PennLive.com02/01/2018 |
| Read Article: PennLive.com |
| Auto Insurance Rates Have Skyrocketed — And in Ways That are Wildly Unfair |
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Auto insurance rates have increased at more than twice the rate of inflation recently, with premiums hitting a national average of $1,427, an online marketplace has found. Catastrophic weather drove some of the rate increases last year, the Zebra says. What the report only hints at, however, is how unfair these rates are to some — and how ineffectual state regulators have become at regulating them. Consumer advocates say insurers have become adept at using Big Data to set rates for drivers using formulas that are complex and sometimes hidden from view. In the crazy, mixed-up world of car insurance, credit ratings and college diplomas can have a bigger bearing on car insurance premiums than someone’s driving record. The people most often hurt are low-income drivers who can least afford to buy state-mandated insurance, they say.
Fredrick Kunkle , The Washington Post02/07/2018 |
| Read Article: The Washington Post |
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