Declarations
Communication Breakdown
“We communicated effectively to our staff and to our residents, and certainly to the family members of each resident that was exhibiting signs and symptoms of pneumonia.”
— Illinois Veterans’ Affairs Director Erica Jeffries commenting after Illinois workplace safety officials reprimanded state veterans’ officials for how the agency told staffers about a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a Quincy veterans’ home in 2015. Jeffries, who has since resigned, said employees were informed about the outbreak through emails, meetings and informational material posted at nursing stations.
Tornado Targets
“The more we grow and the more targets we give the storms, the more targets they can hit.”
— Mark Fox, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Dallas-Fort Worth office, told The Texas Tribune that growth in Texas’ urban corridors is exposing more people to tornadoes. More than 8.8 million people live in the 46 counties that Fox oversees, all of which are located within “Tornado Alley.”
Lack of Uniformity
“… the law governing employment relations in this state remains far from uniform.”
— Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants wrote in his concurring opinion regarding a case in which the court ruled the state’s independent contractor statute does not determine whether a claimant is an employee eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. In the wake of the case, Gants called for greater uniformity among the state’s legislation concerning employment status.
Hurricane Recovery
“We know that we’ve got some work to do. We know that we want to streamline the process. We are going to make it a better process.”
— North Carolina Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry to a state House committee monitoring relief for Hurricane Matthew, which caused extensive flood damage to the state in 2016. Sprayberry acknowledged before the panel that homeowners and businesses seeking federal assistance for repairs due to the storm have faced a laborious process, including delays in receiving recovery funds.
Inverse Condemnation Doctrine
“We continue to believe that inverse condemnation, as applied to a privately owned utility, is a flawed legal doctrine that is bad for all Californians.”
— PG&E, which suffered another legal setback in late May with a judge saying he won’t release the company from a legal claim over the most destructive wildfires in California history, has been challenging a state law allowing private property owners to hold the utility responsible for losses caused by its equipment, even if it didn’t act negligently.
Making a Change
“Until now, we have been operating as an MGA, which was a step on our path toward becoming a carrier.”
— Guy Goldstein, co-founder and CEO of Next Insurance, told Carrier Management in a series of questions-and-answers about the move to reposition itself in the industry by becoming a licensed insurance carrier. Next Insurance launched in 2016 as a digital insurance agency for small to medium-size businesses.