Declarations

Climate Prep

“You’re getting storms that you’ve never seen before; you’re getting winds that you’ve never seen before. We’ve got to be adapting.”

—U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on adapting to changing weather patterns. During her keynote speech at the Leahy Center Envi-ronmental Summit, she said some people are still burying their heads in the sand and not preparing for changes affecting the planet. Work must be done to find alternative power, sources, she said.

Boom Boom Comp

“This is a message to employers of this industry that, if they are going to bring young, often uneducated, laborers into this industry to make huge profits, then they need to have workers’ compensation to cover these unforeseen accidents.”

—Charles Burnette, attorney for LeAndra Lewis, a stripper at South Carolina strip club Boom Boom Room Studio 54. Lewis was shot while working in 2008. The state Supreme Court ruled that Lewis should be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits after a fight broke out at the club and a bullet hit her in the abdomen, causing organ damage.

A Constitutional Right

“If riding a motorcycle without a helmet makes one a fool, a person has a constitutional right in America to be a fool. … There is nothing that I can do to stop them.

—Nebraska Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said that although he questioned the wisdom of riding helmetless, he supported a bill that would allow motorcycle riders 21 or older to choose whether or not to wear a helmet.

Uber Safe

“Uber uses its website to try to convince customers that Uber offers safer rides than taxi cabs.”

—Uber Technologies Inc. was sued by more than a dozen California cab companies over claims it falsely advertises its rideshare service as being safer than taxis.

Fatal Work Zones

“People often think work zone crashes result in the deaths of roadside workers, but last year, 87 percent of work zone fatalities were motorists.”

—Texas Department of Transportation Deputy Executive Director John Barton.