Declarations

Housing and Recovery

“Ensuring that residents, and especially families, have access to adequate, affordable housing is a critical part of that recovery process.”

—Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, announcing plans to allot $122 million in state and federal aid to rebuild homes hit by a devastating tornado in Joplin. The money could start flowing soon to owners of single-family homes needing to be rebuilt or repaired and could continue on a longer-term basis for the construction of additional homes and apartments. The May 22 tornado that struck Joplin killed 159 people and damaged about 8,000 homes. The latest state unemployment report indicates that the Joplin area lost about 9,400 jobs in June, largely as a result of tornado damage to businesses. AP

Best Available Option

“It’s not what I wanted, but it’s the best option that was available and would be for any time.”

—Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton ended America’s longest state government shutdown in the past decade on July 20 by signing a new budget, even though he was “not entirely happy” with it. Democrat and Republican lawmakers in Minnesota had argued bitterly over taxes and spending for months. When government shut down July 1, it closed state parks and rest stops, laid off 22,000 state employees, stopped road projects and much more. The end to the shutdown began when Dayton moved to accept a borrowing plan offered by the Republicans. AP

License to Print Money?

“There’s a reason white-collar attorneys make so much. It’s because insurance pays them.”

—University of Pennsylvania Law School Professor Tom Baker in a story on directors and officers (D&O) coverage for News Corp. executives facing a hacking scandal. With executives from News Corp. and some of its subsidiaries heading for the exits, legal bills from the phone-hacking scandal rocking the company are no doubt stacking up. Big corporations such as News Corp., which has 51,000 employees and had $32.8 billion in revenue last year, usually buy at least $100 million in directors and officers insurance, legal experts said. In most cases, the coverage includes defending criminal charges for current and former executives. Reuters