Declarations
Brewing Brewer
“The ruling is especially disturbing given the current influx of illegal aliens, a crisis President Obama created and escalated.”
—Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer upset over a U.S. Court of Appeals decision that her state’s policy of denying driver’s licenses to people who came to the U.S. illegally is probably unconstitutional.
A Reason for Change
“There’s a reason that these changes have been made … the old system was weighed down with bureaucratic inefficiencies. … Workers’ compensation costs were costing the state jobs.”
—Alex Weintz, spokesman for Okla. Gov. Mary Fallin, on administrative changes to the Oklahoma workers’ compensation system that have resulted in delays of hearings for thousands of injured workers. The state’s workers comp system is being split into two agencies, each with its own offices and equipment.
More the Better
“I’m not saying that the feds are not doing a good job. … More eyes on the job are better than fewer.”
—North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak urging the state to employ railroad safety inspectors to help the feds monitor crude oil shipments from the state’s booming oil patch. The goal is to prevent fiery oil train crashes like the one outside Casselton in December 2013 that forced some evacuations.
Sinkhole Museum?
“On the one hand, we don’t want to be known as the sinkhole museum. But on the other hand, it’s bringing a lot of people that may not have otherwise come.”
—Katie Frassinelli, National Corvette Museum in Kentucky. Since a sinkhole in February swallowed eight pristine models of vintage car muscle valued at more than $1 million, museum attendance has skyrocketed.
Independent Contractors
“Uber will vigorously defend the rights of drivers to build their own small business, and riders to enjoy competition and choice.”
—An Uber spokesperson responding to a lawsuit. Lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan says the ride-share firm misclassifies its drivers as independent contractors to avoid paying them the same as employees with benefits.