Declarations

Big Rig Giveaway

“I like Volvos. … I really like the style of the new ones.”

—Ron Terrill, a truck driver from Oklahoma, said he entered Cincinnati, Ohio-based Great American Insurance Group’s “Big Rig Giveaway,” for the first time in 2010 after learning that the giveaway rig was a Volvo. Terrill ended up winning the Volvo VNL 780. A trucker with 20 years’ experience, he is an independent owner-operator who drives a five-state delivery route for Great Wide, which, coincidentally, is insured by Great American. The “Big Rig Giveaway” has awarded previous winners with Freightliner, Peterbilt and Kenworth rigs.

Closely Watched

“I don’t think there is another city in the U.S. that has as an extensive and integrated camera network as Chicago has.”

—Michael Chertoff, the former U.S. secretary for Homeland Security, comments on Chicago’s status as the most closely watched city in the country. In less than a decade, Chicago has linked thousands of cameras in a network covering most of the city, creating the most extensive and sophisticated video surveillance system in the United States. Officials can watch video live at a sprawling emergency command center, police stations and even some police squad cars. Authorities say the system helps them respond to emergencies in a way never before possible. AP

They’re Not Going Away

“Given the size of the baby-boom generation, if the shift toward later retirement persists it will mean added pressure on the entry of younger workers on the labor force.”

—Richard Curtin, director of a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers. More adults over age 65 are staying in the work force, which could make it harder for younger workers to find jobs. Older workers have delayed retirement because of a drop in household wealth during the past decade, according to the group’s report. While employment for older workers remained low compared with the rest of the population, the over-65 group was the only one to increase its employment rate over the past decade, the report said.

Unacceptable in a Modern Society

“This is unacceptable in our modern society and an important reminder that we must provide FDA with the needed tools.”

—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. The Department of Health and Human Services says federal inspectors are conducting fewer reviews of food manufacturing plants due to the shrinking workforce at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Around 76 million people in the U.S. get sick every year with foodborne illness and 5,000 die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Topics USA