Category: Current Affairs
Published On: August 3, 2008
ne of my favorite websites, www.edmonds.com, has added a Gas Guzzler Trade-In Calculator to its already rich car value related website! Here’s the Edmonds blurb: “You would like to save money on gas so you’re considering trading in your gas guzzler for a more fuel efficient car. This calculator shows how long will it take before you pay off the balance of a vehicle purchase and really begin saving money.” Here’s how it works: “Select the new or used fuel-efficient vehicle you would like to purchase. Edmond’s will provide the True Market Value® price and MPG for the vehicle you select. Manufacturer incentives are not included.” Incidentally, Edmonds is… Read More
Published On: July 27, 2008
From practical to stylish, high tech companies worldwide are developing and marketing new hands-free devices to help you comply with the new hands-free cell phone laws in various states in the union. Being an attorney who represents injured people, I’m thrilled to see the proliferation of these devices. I can’t tell you how many clients will come to me after a devastating car accident and say “She/he was on the cell phone and didn’t see me.” It reminds me of a case that I had several years ago where my client was rear-ended by a guy who was watching a… Read More
Published On: July 27, 2008
Have you been noticing the proliferation of the Daimler AG’s Smart Car recently? Sure, it gets great mileage, looks pretty cute and zips right along. But its recent emergence on the scene got me to wondering just how safe this little tiny car would be in a big crash. According to greencar.com, “The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently crash tested the 2008 smart for two and found it performed so well it earned the Institute’s best ratings for front and side crash protection. Plus, its rear crash worthiness was rated as “acceptable,” the Institute’s second-highest rating.” Read the complete IIHS report… Read More
Published On: July 27, 2008
My favorite blogging New York Personal Injury Attorney, Eric Turkewitz, relates a great story of corruption involving a former judge/district attorney and her formerly disbarred high-powered real estate attorney husband. Here’s what Turkewitz tells us: Al Pirro Jr. last week quietly settled a lawsuit for $200,000 that involved Jeanine Pirro and her failed political campaign for Attorney General. Jeanine — also a former judge, District Attorney, failed Senate candidate against Hillary Clinton and now a talk show host — was in the backseat of her husband’s SUV on October 18, 2006 when it sideswiped a motorcyclist as they approached a light. The collision knocked him down, broke his ankle and sent him skidding… Read More
Published On: July 17, 2008
Donie Vanitzian (see her bio below), the preeminent consumer protection advocate, has written a fabulous book, published by Thompson-West. A must read for any owner, or prospective owner, of a condominium or a property which is governed by a homeowners association. Click here to order it directly from Thompson-West! This guide is an annual pamphlet that discusses all aspects of subdivision and condominium law from a homeowner’s perspective, as well as from a homeowner’s association and developer’s perspective. It provides advice on what to avoid and what to look for when purchasing a common interest development, as well as guidance on mediation, arbitration,… Read More
Published On: July 9, 2008
The most unbelievable video that I have seen in a long, long time. Two teenage girls steal $150 from a 9 year old little girl selling Girl Scout Cookies. Not only do they show no remorse, they are “pissed” because they now have charges pending against them. What is this world coming to? You have to watch this to believe it. Now 18, One of the Teenage Girls Is Arrested! Click Here for Video
Published On: July 4, 2008
(Albany) has published Holding Bishops Accountable: How Lawsuits Helped the Catholic Church Confront Clergy Sexual Abuse (Harvard University Press 2008), available here. The abstract (from SSRN) reads: The sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy is arguably the most acute crisis Catholicism has faced since the Reformation. The prevalence of clergy sexual abuse and its shocking cover-up by church officials have obscured the largely untold story of the tort system’s remarkable success in bringing the scandal to light, focusing attention on the need for institutional reform, and spurring church leaders and public officials into action. Stories of the tort system as an engine… Read More
Published On: June 25, 2008
As you know by now, I’m a great proponent of the new California hands-free law which goes into effect on July 1, 2008. I blogged about it in May: Click Here. A corollary, of course, are my rants and raves about texting while driving: Click here, here, here and here. So, I’ve decided to post (yet again) on this subject and provide several useful links to articles, videos and hands-free equipment vendors below. What to Expect from California’s New Hands-Free Law: The Public Policy Institute of California writes the following press release: Update: 2009 Law Bans Text Messaging while Driving – See Video As of July 1, 2008,… Read More
Published On: June 21, 2008
Yet more outrage today when I read the Center for Responsible Lending report entitled “Tarnished Golden Years: Unauthorized Bank and Credit Union Overdraft Fees Threaten Financial Security of Older Americans.” (Read entire report here) The Center has yet another report, Shredded Security, which reports the following: As AARP reports this week that bankruptcy among older Americans has doubled since 1991, and as banks raise their overdraft fees and make it easier to hit their account holders with multiple charges, we release findings on how unauthorized overdrafts strip fees from Americans 55 and older at the level of $4.5 billion per year. Nearly $1 billion of… Read More
Published On: June 21, 2008
How outrageous is this? CNN reports that an Ohio high school teacher is being accused of burning a cross on a male teenage student’s arm. It is shocking to me that the Mount Vernon City School District school administrators are just now beginning the process of firing the teacher. Shouldn’t they have fired him immediately? The teacher, John Freshwater, has been teaching eighth-grade science for 21 years in Ohio. He has been reprimanded several times for refusing to remove his Bible from his classroom desk while simultaneously teaching creationism and evolution. By the way, he used an electrostatic device to mark the… Read More