Declarations

Fighting Workers’ Comp Cuts

“These proposed regulations and guidelines … would leave thousands of injured workers with no compensation at all for their workplace injury.”

— Robert Grey, chair of The New York Workers’ Compensation Alliance (NYWCA). The group has launched a campaign to fight proposed Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) regulations and impairment guidelines. The NYWCA says the guidelines would drastically cut compensation awards for injured workers.

49 Are Fine

“Forty-nine other states are doing just fine without this unlimited system.”

— Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, speaking at a news conference about a proposed bill in Michigan that proponents say would significantly reduce the state’s auto premiums by, among other things, ditching the requirement that drivers buy unlimited medical benefit coverage. Duggan and House Speaker Tom Leonard say drivers could save 20 percent on the overall cost of a comprehensive auto insurance policy and nearly 50 percent on a basic policy if the bill is passed.

Java Addiction

“I’m addicted, like two-thirds of the population. I would like the industry to get acrylamide out of the coffee so my addiction doesn’t force me to ingest it.”

— Attorney Raphael Metzger is among a group that wants coffee manufacturers, distributors and retailers to post ominous warnings about a cancer-causing chemical stewing in every brew. They have been presenting evidence in a Los Angeles courtroom to make their case.

Rethinking and Responding

“Every one of these storms should force anybody who’s been a victim of them to rethink where they are, where they live, and how they respond to natural disasters that continue to come and come with more frequency. … If you spend money on the front end on mitigation projects, you’ll save a lot of money and potential loss of life on the back end.”

— New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayor. He shared his city’s experience following Hurricane Katrina and discussed with other mayors how Houston is working to rebuild after Hurricane Harvey and what other communities can learn from the experience.

Illegitimate Classes

“We’re not talking about these classes were easy classes. These were illegitimate classes. … We seek to hold the university accountable.”

— Robert F. Orr, an attorney representing former student athletes at the University of North Carolina who filed suit against the school over what they called sham classes. Whether the academic scandal lawsuit should be dismissed is now in the hands of a state judge after being sent back by a federal judge in April.