bh:Courageous

Declarations

“Nine brave, heroic, courageous firefighters of the city of Charleston have perished fighting fire in a most courageous and fearless manner, carrying out their duties. To all of their loved ones, our heart goes out to them.”

— Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley after a fire swept through a Sofa Super furniture store and warehouse, collapsing the roof and claiming the lives of nine firefighters in a disaster he described as “difficult to fathom or quantify.” Firefighters rescued two employees from the blaze.

Racketeering

“They willfully caused victims of Hurricane Katrina extreme emotional and financial distress in their calculated strategy to falsify and conceal evidence, intimidate anyone who got in their way, and used their privileged position to pressure policyholders into accepting pitiful payments both before and during the mediation process.”

— Don Barrett, an attorney with the Scruggs Katrina Group, upon filing federal racketeering charges against State Farm, E.A. Renfroe Co. and Forensic Analysis and Engineering Co. on behalf of 21 Mississippi policyholders whose homes were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

Oldest trick

“This is (Dickie) Scruggs using one of the oldest tricks in the book: if attacked, deflect. Clearly he’s stung by U.S. District Court Judge Acker’s criminal contempt charge and surprised by the evidence that could disqualify him from other cases and now is trying to deflect it all.”

— State Farm National Spokesman Jonathan Freed in firing back at that the Scruggs Katrina Group which filed racketeering charges against the insurer and its engineers over Hurricane Katrina claims.

No time to comply

“He thinks the bill is well-intentioned and he supports the concept.”

— Spokesman for Alabama Gov. Bob Riley who decided to veto legislation that would have raised the minimum amount of liability insurance that motorists must buy because he was concerned it didn’t give policyholders time to comply.

Life-saving in mines

“The provisions in this new legislative package build upon the solid groundwork provided by the MINER Act and could result in lifesaving advances for years to come.”

— U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., who is sponsoring sweeping mine safety legislation along with Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Ky., and Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. that would ban so-called belt air ventilation and speed the installation of better underground communication systems and airtight refuge chambers.

No change

“I’m not going to do anything different.”

— Bill Proenza, the director of the National Hurricane Center, who has been outspoken in warning about an aging satellite, after he was chastised by a superior for his comments. Proenza has said that the QuikScat satellite, which was launched in 1999, is showing signs of its age and certain hurricane forecasts could be up to 16 percent less accurate if it fails.