Good Ol' Danny came by, and visited for a bit... first time since he got his wicked sickies. He was kind enough to do my laundry for me a week ago, and was feeling guilty about not dropping it off... no problem here! Not like I was going to use it for a week or two more. He also brought over some yummy sushi!
(Anyone can vote, Floridian or not, and feel free to add opinions in comments below.)
Volusia County, Florida has no luck. In 1994, a woman was struck by lightning and sued the county for not warning her that the sky occasionally shoots electricity. Three years later, an alligator attacked a little boy and his mother sued Volusia County for not having enough warning signs. (She won $35,000.) Finally, in July of 2000, a young girl was bitten by a shark while she was dangling her leg in shark-infested waters, and last month she filed a suit complaining that she was inadequately warned that sharks eat stuff like that. Apparently, the citizens of Volusia County are not going to be happy until every square inch of Mother Nature lets you know she's trying to kill you.
High-court case casts long shadow
For decades, state law has held that citizens accept a certain risk in simply living, that dangers exist in the natural world for which no one is to blame.
Given that principle, the courts have consistently held, a municipality has no liability for a lightning strike within its borders, nor a shark attack in its waters, nor many other tragedies that might occur in nature.
But all that could change with a case set for oral arguments this morning before the Florida Supreme Court, a case that has captured the attention of the state's municipal lawyers and legal scholars because it could expose local governments to all sorts of new litigation.
The case before the court involves the 1997 drowning deaths of two people caught in a Miami Beach rip current. Their families want to sue the city, but two lower courts have already ruled against them. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether the suits may go to trial.
"Depending on how broadly the Supreme Court writes its opinion," said Joseph Jackson, a professor at the University of Florida College of Law, "it might have an impact on not just the dangers of rip tides but also sharks, alligators, a whole host of naturally occurring dangers."
Several South Florida communities have filed legal briefs in support of Miami Beach, concerned about how a ruling in the families' favor might affect them.
'Test for liability'
"This case is a very important test for the liability of local governments," said Edward Guedes, a partner in the law firm that acts as attorney for Key Biscayne and Bal Harbour. "How long until governments say: 'You know what? We won't put in any lifeguards. We won't maintain the beaches.' "
Central Florida officials are watching, too.
"It would have significant ramifications," said Scott Knox, the attorney for Brevard County. "It could extend to sharks, lightning, all sorts of things. You've got jellyfish in the ocean, barracuda. How many things can you be expected to warn people about? There's an element of common sense here."
The families of Eugenie Poleyeff and Zachary Breaux filed suit against Miami Beach for not providing lifeguards along the stretch of beach where they entered the water in February 1997, even though the city had built changing facilities and licensed a concessions business there. The day of the drownings, lifeguard stations at other sections of the beach displayed rip-current warnings, but nothing alerted Poleyeff to the water's dangers.
Hearing Poleyeff's calls, Breaux jumped from his beach chair and sprinted into the surf while his wife and daughter looked for a lifeguard. By the time help arrived from lifeguard stations several blocks away, Poleyeff, 66, and Breaux, 36, had drowned.
The trial court dismissed the suits against the city, and an appellate court upheld that decision, ruling that a municipality cannot be held liable for naturally occurring dangers.
But now the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.
Should the justices find in favor of the families, Volusia County Attorney Dan Eckert said, the effect on municipalities would depend on how broadly the court rules. "That could be hard to predict," he said. "The court has accepted review, so obviously it believes the issue merits consideration."
It is possible that the court could decide in favor of the families but issue its ruling so narrowly that it applies only to the Miami Beach incident, said Guedes, the South Florida attorney. It's also possible, he said, that a ruling in the families' favor could be broad enough to open local governments to all sorts of new liability.
"Where do the courts want to draw the line?" he asked. "At what point as a society are we going to say there are risks inherent in life?"
The attorney for the Breaux estate insists the case is about the drownings and nothing more.
"We're not talking about sharks or alligators or anything of that sort," Nancy Little Hoffmann said. "The courts have held for years now [municipalities] have a duty of responsible care to warn and protect beachgoers."
Guedes said the quirks of municipal liability could lead to fewer services for citizens. If a local government takes no responsibility for a beach, provides no lifeguards or warning signs, he said, it can potentially absolve itself of liability in that area. Once it decides to maintain the area, however, it can be held responsible for accidents that happen there.
The same principle holds for warning signs, said Knox, the Brevard County attorney. Leave an area without warnings, he said, and a local government may have no legal exposure. "Once you post signs," however, "you have liability if you don't keep them up and maintain them."
Warning signs, particularly for sharks, would be disastrous to local tourism, said Deborah Boyd of the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority.
"If you put a sign like that up, I think it puts a fear in people automatically," Boyd said. "I think it would really deter tourism."
Reverberations in Volusia
The issue could have particular resonance in Volusia, known as the shark-attack capital of the world. The county last weekend recorded its 17th bite incident of the year, though, as usual, none of the attacks has been considered serious. Most Volusia attacks involve young sharks that become disoriented in the waves, said Joe Wooden, Volusia's deputy beach chief.
Just last month, a Kentucky family filed suit against the county over a New Smyrna Beach shark bite in 2000. The 13-year-old victim, who suffered injuries to her leg and hand, was treated at a local hospital and released.
The family says the county should have posted warnings.
Jackson, the law professor, said the chances aren't good for the family to prevail under current law.
Volusia was sued once before over a shark bite, a 1970s case that was dismissed, and also has been sued because of a lightning strike and an alligator attack.
St. Petersburg also was sued unsuccessfully in the 1970s over a shark bite.
"The general rule is that for animals that are native to the environment, there's no particular duty to warn," Jackson said.
The Supreme Court decision, for which there is no timetable, could determine whether that remains the rule.
The county soon discovered that attaching warning labels to every alligator and storm cloud was a logistical nightmare for their paste department, so they knew they had to take a radical approach to preventing these lawsuits. They've authorized the formation of the Super Squad, a genetically engineered team of shark obedience trainers who wear lightning rods and run through the streets blasting citizens with precautionary alligator poison. The program will cost the taxpayers nearly $72 billion, and the small fee of every fifth newborn being seized by the county and used in the making of the unique protein pulp required by the Super Squad's enhanced biosystems. As a proactive safety measure, actor Jean Claude Van Damme has already agreed to hunt down and defeat any of the squad members who go renegade. 
You're the policeman. You protect the weak and
ensure that justice is done, all while wearing
really tight pants. Why wear a uniform if you
can't have style? You don't take any crap and
are more than happy to use your nightstick on
anyone who gives you lip.
What member of the Village People are you?
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I'm glad he stopped by.. we got to gab and hang out for a bit. I told him a bit about Metamorphosis Alpha (Well, the sort of revised version I played when I was 12.. we knew we were on a ship, and were long awakened "sleepers" rather than mutants.. some article in an ancient issue of Dragon, no doubt..)
After getting into the gaming mindset, we discussed his rogue (read- thief) that he's planning on playing on occasion with the Sci-Fi club he sponsors at the school...All of the stats were in place via his GM, so we just bandied back and forth ideas for his background, mannerisms, and motivations. He wants to have some redeeming qualities that'll make the guy fun to play. The Latin dictionary was handy for his mock-spell casting bluff...a tool I haven't used for that purpose in years. I'm a little wistful about gaming... with the right group, it's a great way to socialize and have fun on the cheap. (Flip side, the wrong group can foster the most social person to decide to become a hermit.) I think it'd be fun to play with Danny and a few others in a Metamorphosis Alpha sort of game, at least as a one or three-shot.
Numenorean
To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
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After he took off, I set upon the task of finally trimming the beard back to a close goatee again. The crazed caveman look was nice for a while, but it's good to be back to the general hippie/pirate/whatever guy instead for a bit.
Made a New icon, for Florida-specific stories. (or whatever... heck, I have 50 spaces to fill so why not): Maybe I'll update the "sticker zones with little lj logos or something.
Get your own plate for whatever state at the ACME License Maker.
Back is pretty much filled in, still pink along the cut-line, but the scab is starting to fall off. I think that the paper "butterfly bandages" are not really needed, but they're not doing any harm.
Shaved hair growing back, too. funny how much more swiftly my beard grows.
Miami's Local Feeds has begun updating my journal again! I wonder what stopped it for a week?
Frankie came by, looking to mooch from me, for the first time after I talked to him about it. . I told him that I had nothing for him, and that he must've forgotten what we had discussed.
I got an emergency call form the big kahuna last night, 8 year old went missing and code red's system took a dump. I got in there, and took care of it. It turns out that she was found earlier and taken to a mall up the road.
Bro called me about some sort of DVD / VCR combo for sale at sears for $35. if that's true, I'll pick up two of them, and give one to Danny, so he can watch his currently player-less discs.
Skinny cow's "strawberry shortcake" ice cream sandwiches are yummy, and really not a big drag on points (2) at all. I'll try the Dulce de leche next week.. or maybe mint.
Gel 'heals wounds more quickly'
A gel that helps wounds heal in half the time it takes currently has been developed by British scientists.
The gel, called Nexagon, works by speeding up the rate of wound closure and reducing inflammation.
Scientists at University College London have received an award for the gel at the Medical Futures Innovation Awards.
Although the gel still needs to go through clinical trials, they believe it could transform treatment for millions of people in just a few years.
Laboratory tests on animals have shown that an ordinary cut that would normally take about a week to close heals in three days with the gel.
It has proved effective on skin, brain tissue, the cornea in the eye and even with injury to the spinal cord.
The scientists believe it will have a wide range of potential applications.
They say it could benefit patients undergoing cosmetic surgery, those with chronic wounds or spinal injuries.
In particular, they believe elderly people could benefit from the gel, as they are more prone to slow healing wounds and infection.
They say the gel could significantly reduce the amount of time patients have to stay in hospital and enable health services to make substantial savings.
Nexagon works by speeding up the process by which cells organize themselves to enable them to grow across and close a wound.
It targets the gap junction - a small channel that allows cells to talk directly to their neighbors.
Dr David Becker, who led the team that developed the gel, said millions of people could benefit from it.
"An estimated 95 million people worldwide suffer wounds each year and yet few effective wound healing treatments have been developed," he said.
"There remains a large unmet need. I would like to see this product go through clinical development so that patients can take advantage of this revolutionary technology as soon as possible."
The scientists won the best biotechnology start-up innovation award at the Medical Futures Innovation Awards in London.
How to Exploit the New Cell-Phone Rules If you have a cell phone (especially if you hate your service) you may want to read.
THERE ARE JUST 17 days until wireless local number portability goes into effect. It's definitely something worth talking about.
The Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) wireless number portability mandate, which will allow cell-phone users to take their phone numbers with them when they switch carriers, begins on Nov. 24 for the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. The rest of the country will be covered by May 24, 2004.
Cell-phone companies have plenty of reasons to be worried. "Consumers will be in a better bargaining position because this was the last hook carriers had over their users," says Alan Keiter, president and founder of MyRatePlan.com, a consumer-information Web site for wireless and long-distance plans. "They will be less tolerant of flaws in the carriers' networks and customer service because they won't be as tied to one carrier."
After the introduction of wireless number portability, anywhere from 12 million to 18 million people are expected to switch who wouldn't have done so otherwise, says David Meredith, vice president at American Management Systems, a communications consulting company in Fairfax, Va. That's in addition to the 36% of wireless customers who already switch their provider each year, according to company research.
The carriers, naturally, will do everything they can to stop the bloodletting. "Right now, the carriers are playing defense, looking to market to their existing base," Meredith says. "After number portability is introduced, we expect they will be more on the offense — trying to attract new customers."
That's good news for well-informed consumers. And since the cell-phone carriers haven't exactly been proactive in keeping you informed, we've decided to help. Here are seven of the wireless industry's best-kept secrets — and how you can use them to your advantage.
1. Don't Cancel...Yet
Rule number one: Switch your carrier before you cancel your existing service. Your phone number belongs to your current carrier until it's transferred, so if you cancel before you switch, that number will simply go back to the original carrier's pool. "You can't switch something you [no longer] have," says MyRatePlan's Keiter.
Here's how it's supposed to work: You go to your new carrier and say you want to sign up, but you also want to keep your number, Keiter explains. Your new carrier will put a request for your number transfer directly with your current carrier. The two carriers will then match your information (bring an old invoice to your new carrier to avoid possible mistakes), and once the number is switched, your old service will be automatically canceled. Keep your old phone until the switch happens and then double-check that your old service is no longer in effect.
2. Know Your Rights — and Obligations
Your carrier can't stop you from switching or try to delay the process, even if you still owe a contract-termination charge (typically $150 to $200) or monthly dues. "There are some thoughts that carriers may try to hold up the process," Keiter says. "They may say, 'You still owe us money, so you've got to pay it first.' They are not allowed to do that." FCC (news - web sites) regulations clearly state as much.
On the timeline, be aware that even though the wireless industry has said "porting" (as it's called) should take no longer than 2 1/2 hours, you might have to wait a bit longer, especially in the beginning. Your old carrier could also require you to pay a porting fee, Keiter says. Ask your new carrier to reimburse you.
3. Avoid the Crowd
The wireless companies admit it: The process won't be flawless at first. In a letter to the FCC dated Sept. 23, for example, Sprint PCS says that "mistakes invariably will be made in any project of this magnitude and Sprint expects some difficulties to be experienced at the outset."
"It wouldn't surprise me if there are some glitches, especially in the first couple of weeks," Keiter says. To avoid possible problems, don't rush into the store right away. Moreover, "this is probably the worst time of the year for this to be implemented from the carrier's perspective, because it's already a very heavy shopping [season]," Keiter says.
4. Look Around for the Best New Plan
Before you switch, do your homework. And be prepared to dedicate many hours to the cause. After all, now that you're no longer limited to the plans offered by your carrier (assuming you were reluctant to leave previously), you've got a whole new world of options to consider.
One smart strategy is to know what you need before you go shopping for a new plan — and then ask for it, suggests Bill Hardekopf, founder of CellUpdate.com, a consumer information Web site focusing on wireless plans. Your old bills will tell you about your calling habits. How many minutes do you use a month? Do you need long distance included in your plan? What should your "local calling area" be — national or regional, with which you'll be charged roaming every time you leave your area?
Once you know the answers to these questions, call each of the wireless providers in your area and ask them what they can offer that fits your needs, Hardekopf explains. "Don't get lured into other juicy offers," he says. Chances are, the carriers will have a lot more plans than you see on their brochures, which often list only the company's current promotions.
5. Time to Bargain!
When you find a great deal with a new carrier, tell your current provider about it — before you switch. Unless you're absolutely certain that you want to switch carriers, chances are you might end up with a matching — or an even better — offer from your current provider.
"If you're a high-value customer...the carriers will reward that value by giving you a richer offer to stay with them," says AMS Vice President Meredith. After all, the cell-phone companies spend anywhere from $350 to $425 to gain each new customer. If they can keep you on board for less than that, they'll be willing to spend the money, he adds.
So how much should you expect? On average, cell-phone companies shell out $65 for each customer retained, Meredith says. But you could get a lot more if the company deems you a valuable customer. "If you have a couple of phone lines, you're using a ton of minutes, you're using other data services, you're a more valuable customer than someone who's using the phone only in case the car breaks down," he says.
6. Two-Year Contract? Think Twice Before You Sign
So your carrier surprised you with a very lucrative offer. But wait. Will you have to sign a one-year or a two-year contract to get it? Keiter advises that you stay away from two-year contracts.
"One thing we're seeing more is slightly better deals if you agree to a two-year contract," he says. "That's because they want to lock you in as soon as possible so they don't have to deal with this again, because they're not sure how aggressive pricing is going to be in a year.... I'm not sure the deals [right now] are so much better that I would sign a two-year contract upfront."
7. Stay on Top of New Offers
Wireless number portability will force the cell-phone companies to come up with more creative offers in the battle for customers (the more reason not to sign a two-year contract yet). "We're already starting to see more aggressive stuff," Keiter says. "T-Mobile just the other day introduced a three-day weekend plan — you get free minutes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday."
Stay on top of new offers so you're prepared for your next switch. Meredith predicts that in the near future, the different carriers will start targeting users with different needs. "In the past, it has almost been one size fits all," he says. In the future, you'll see some carriers position themselves as pricing leaders, offering the lowest prices, others differentiating themselves on excellent quality and customer service, and still others offering the latest camera phones, screen savers and other data services for the techno geeks. "The carriers are going to start to position themselves to cater to those different markets," he says.
Wow, the rain has been almost continuous! I think I'll share the wealth, and send it out and about over the USA, using my mental powers and connections with Norse weather gods.
posted by Scottobear at
7:25:00 PM
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