Declarations

“Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, here comes the bird flu.”

— Karyn Rispoli, an egg market reporter at commodity researcher Urner Barry, said about the bird flu virus sweeping across the U.S. The virus is rapidly becoming the country’s worst bird flu outbreak, having already killed over 37 million chickens and turkeys and with more deaths expected as farmers perform mass culls across the Midwest. The crisis is hurting egg-laying hens and turkeys the most, with the disease largely being propagated by migrating wild birds that swarm above farms and leave droppings that get tracked into poultry houses.

“Contrary to conventional perception, hurricane losses were not the primary culprit — results continue to erode despite the last major landfall occurring in 2018 (Hurricane Michael). The deterioration in performance is a by-product of the greater frequency of secondary perils (severe thunderstorms, wind, hail), higher reinsurance costs, escalating litigation costs, and building codes/laws that have been flouted by parties looking to profit.”

— That was from a white paper posted in early May by the AM Best insurance rating firm, about why Florida lawmakers need to take quick action at a special session to prevent financial disaster for more Florida-based carriers.

“He thought no one was in the building. He was given no warning, no second chance.”

— Deborah Gordon, attorney for a Detroit Red Wings Zamboni driver who said he was unfairly fired for urinating in a drain, claims her client has a health condition that causes him to frequently urinate. Al Sobotka filed a discrimination against Olympia Entertainment in April, two months after he was fired, following 51 years with the Red Wings. Sobotka, 68, couldn’t get to a restroom so he urinated in a drain that carries ice runoff from the Zamboni machines at Little Caesars Arena. Someone saw him and apparently reported it in February.

“We want them to see justice in their lifetime.”

— Damario Solomon-Simmons, a civil rights attorney whose lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was granted by an Oklahoma judge. Solomon-Simmons sued under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law, saying the actions of the white mob that killed hundreds of Black residents and destroyed what had been the nation’s most prosperous Black business district continue to affect the city today. The lawsuit also seeks reparations for descendants of victims of the massacre. The three living survivors of the massacre are over 100 years old.

“We live in a digital world and technology moves very fast. This is our effort to finally get ahead of the curve, at least when it comes to consumer data.”

— Connecticut Rep. Mike D’Agostino, D-Hamden, co-chair of the General Assembly’s General Law Committee, said about legislation dubbed a “consumer bill of rights,” which allows consumers in the state to know when their personal information is being tracked and how it’s being used. The legislation also allows people to access, correct, delete and obtain a copy of their personal data, as well as opt out from having their information used by marketers, retailers and others for various purposes such as targeted advertising.

“Even as we believe that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, we find ourselves looking back on another year where COVID was the leading cause of job-related deaths.”

— Labor & Industries Director Joel Sacks said that COVID-19 was responsible for about one quarter of the 106 work-related deaths reported in Washington in 2021.