Monthly Archives: <span>August 2018</span>

Meteorologists Aid Wildfire Fight by Keeping Crews Informed

As they sit at their screens in a small office outside Pendleton, a group of meteorologists can already tell what the rest of the population is soon going to find out the hard way: it’s another smoky day in Oregon. …

Lawyers Plan to Shift Blame for California Warehouse Fire at Trial

Lawyers for the two men charged in the Northern California warehouse fire that killed 36 people said Friday they are now preparing for a trial where they will try to shift blame for the blaze from their clients to others, …

Pedestrian Reprogramming Considered to Prepare for Self-Driving Cars

You’re crossing the street wrong. That is essentially the argument some self-driving car boosters have fallen back on in the months after the first pedestrian death attributed to an autonomous vehicle and amid growing concerns that artificial intelligence capable of …

Lexus Seat Defect Results in Jury Award of $242M Against Toyota

A Texas jury on Friday hit Toyota with a $242 million verdict after finding that defects in the front seats of a 2002 Lexus ES300 caused serious injuries to a Dallas family’s two young children during a rear-end collision in …

California Drops Wildfire Utility Liability Protection Plan Proposal

California lawmakers are abandoning a proposal by Gov. Jerry Brown to shield electrical utilities from some financial liability for wildfires. For now. There’s not enough time to settle the contentious and complex issues involved before the legislative session ends Aug. …

Cancer-Stricken Texas Firefighters Often Denied Workers’ Comp

Many Texas cities are denying workers’ compensation to firefighters with cancer, according to union leaders and state lawmakers. Over the past six years, more than 90 percent of the 117 workers compensation claims filed by Texas firefighters with cancer have …

Study: Uber Impact on Virginia Drunk Driving Crash Rates Questioned

Brittany Young read Uber’s boast that “there’s a strong correlation between Uber’s presence in cities and a reduction on drunk driving,” and decided to find out if that claim held true in Virginia. Young was one of four William & …

Church Group’s Opposition Surprises Advocates of Arkansas ‘Tort Reform’

So-called tort reform has been an easy sell in states controlled by Republicans, and backers of a lawsuit-limiting proposal on the ballot in Arkansas this fall expected little trouble winning passage until they ran into a surprising obstacle from a …

Taxpayers Foot Bill for Pennsylvania Politician’s Car Wrecks

A Pennsylvania state representative has had three car accidents in three years – with repairs and insurance claims covered by state taxpayers, records show. Rep. Margo Davidson, a Democrat who represents Delaware County, has a total bill for repairs and …

Jury Holds Nevada Liable for 2017 Wildfire That Destroyed Homes

A jury has found the Nevada Division of Forestry liable for the loss of 23 homes and 17 other buildings in a 2016 wildfire after strong winds re-ignited a prescribed burn. The verdict Friday set the stage for future court …