Blogs

Climate Change Blog 44 Facts on the Ground: California went from one extreme, drought and wildfires, to another, heavy rain, flooding, landslides and wind in the Bay Area and blizzard and heavy snowfall in the Sierra Nevada. Meteorologists spoke of a “bomb cyclone” and an “atmospheric river” to drive home just how unusual this late October storm was.   The vast storm covered Marin County to the area just south of Big Sur to southern British Columbia. After heavy rainfall in Santa Barbara County residents that were not told to evacuate were advised to shelter in place and go to inner rooms or higher floors because of life-threatening flash flooding ...

Climate Change Blog 43 Facts on the Ground: The fires, as predicted, continue to grow around the world. The largest and most devastating, is in Siberia. It is not only destroying local communities, but it is adding immense amounts of carbon to the atmosphere in a positive feedback loop increasing global warming and producing more fire. Fires have burned elsewhere including Turkey, Italy and Greece. Wildfires in Northern California have burned more than 1.3 million acres. The Caldor Fire near Pacific has burned more than 62,000 acres and forced about 23,000 residents of El Dorado County to flee or prepare to leave their homes. The overall number of people ...

Current economic conditions are very uncertain and can be quite turbulent within a blink of an eye. Due to this, others have decided to plan for the worst and go on a tight budget to account for unforeseen circumstances. Others have been retrenched, or their salary has been reduced. All of these unforeseeable circumstances are concerning to almost everyone.  Unfortunately, health conditions and expenses that incur when treating them could strike at any time. Therefore, a health insurance plan is crucial when budgeting expenses, so here is how to find one that fits your budget. Using short term health insurance Having a tight budget calls for desperate ...

Climate Change Blog 42 Facts on the Ground: Parts of central China received record-breaking rain in late July. The subway in Zhengzhou was flooded and people were trapped standing in water up to their necks frantically calling loved ones and for help. Streets turned into raging rivers and swept cars and people away, caused power outages and suspended rail services and flights. At least 25 people died in and around Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, including 12 people in the subway. Trapped subway riders waited in some cases 40 hours for rescue. Scientists attribute record-breaking flooding, heating and wildfires to climate change which are ...

The stop-and-frisk policy followed by police officers can function as a form of racial profiling. They may investigate individuals they believe are prone to commit crime. When they do so, it violates human rights and the Fourth Amendment. It is well known that “stop-and-frisk” policies disproportionally target minority communities.  What is stop-and-frisk? Stop-and-frisk is an investigatory stop that takes place when police officers observe a minor crime and use the occasion to question and search a subject of interest about the suspected criminal activity.  The legal basis for stop-and-frisk is in the Supreme Court case of Terry vs Ohio in 1968. It authorizes ...

Instagram has around 1 billion users next to Facebook, followed closely by Twitter with over 350 million users and Pinterest with over 450 million users. Instagram is considered a better platform to advertise due to various reasons pertaining to its enormous growth in a short period. Instagram is regarded as the wisest investment by Facebook in the past decade due to the vast profits it generates every year.  Easy and quick money  According to a recent statistic, when it comes to targeted customers, Instagram is the first choice for nine out of ten advertisers. It is easy to target the customers based on their demographic using Instagram, and people under ...

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog.  Frankly, it has been a little overwhelming with the continued attacks on voting rights, trans kids, and immigration to name just a few. But the one that finally got to me was the recent decision by the Supreme Court further eviscerating the Voting Rights Act. I spoke about  Mark Brnovich, Attorney General of Arizona, et al., v. Democratic National Committee, et al. [i] in which the DNC challenged some discriminatory voting laws in Arizona.  This case comes under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.  The earlier ­Shelby County case challenged section 5 of the VRA. [ii] The two laws challenged are: a requirement ...

Climate Change Blog 41 Facts on the Ground: The current list of record-worst conditions (May/June, 2021) in the entire western half of the US is shocking, unprecedented and ominous. Record driest conditions were measured in AZ, NM, UT, western CO, WY, ID, CA, OR, WA and ID. Record wettest: eastern CO, and WA. Record warmest: AZ, CA, NV (more below). And near record conditions existed in all of those states in all those categories. According to the United States Drought Monitor, 84% of the West is now in drought, with 47% rated as “severe” or “extreme.” In Utah, 90% of the state is in the two most severe categories; in Arizona, 87%; North Dakota, ...

Milieudefensie vs SHELL: An Environmentalist Delight   May 26 th , 2021 would go down in the annals of climate change and environmental justice activism as the day a global energy giant, Royal Dutch Shell “RDS”, (the top holding company of the global Shell group of over 1,100 companies) was undone at the Dutch Hague District Court by the indefatigable litigation efforts of climate change/Environmentalist activists unapologetically committed to the reduction of harmful emissions by fossil fuel companies. RDS was adjudged by the court to have a binding legal obligation to reduce harmful emissions from its oil and gas operations including indirect emissions ...

Have you woken up this morning and realized that your planned career path is not going as well as you had expected? Is the complete lack of fulfillment that you feel simply how things are supposed to be? It is not, and studies indicate that people who are unhappy at work are more prone to ill-health and early death. Therefore, if you are unhappy or feel stuck in a rut, do not dwell there. Take action to change your circumstances. Here are some ideas: Make a radical change It might be time to take a massive step and undertake a complete career change. If you feel that your current career field will never provide job satisfaction, make a move. There is ...

When you work too much, it tends to play havoc with your eating habits, reduce your fitness level, cost you sleep, increase your stress levels and it may cause you to start using unhealthy coping mechanisms.  The result of this can be poor circulation, high blood pressure, increased weight, depression, and much more. Here are some ways to combat the effects of overwork and prevent these negative consequences.  Relieve work stress the right way When working long hours, drinking can become a coping mechanism but regularly drinking too much increases your chances of developing many serious health problems, including cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease, depression ...

A wrongful death is a particular kind of lawsuit that is filed when someone dies as the result of someone else’s negligence or intentional act. In the United States, car accidents are the most common cause of wrongful deaths. Traffic participants lose their lives because of distracted, aggressive, drunk, and even impaired drivers. Medical malpractice is another major cause of fatal wounds. At times, healthcare providers are negligent and the patient is harmed.  State laws can affect how a wrongful death claim is filed. To be more precise, the lawsuit can be pursued by a representative on behalf of the eligible survivors. The eligibility of family members and ...

Climate Change Blog 40 Facts on the Ground: Severe weather in the form of violent tornados caused widespread damage and loss of life in the Southern states of Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina. Tornado watches and warnings were issued from Oklahoma to the Carolinas and North Texas in early May. Hail the size of softballs and wind gusting to 80 mph accompanied some of these storms in Georgia. Many storms snapped utility poles, power was lost, trees were down and many structures had their roofs blown off. New Mexico’ faced its first major wildfire of the year in late April as nearly 6,000 acres burned in a matter of days. ...

Starting a new business can be overwhelming, especially when things get busy. However, once the initial hubbub quietens, where are you going to find customers? Even with a loyal set of repeat clients, you need new customers to maintain a business growth trajectory.  Achieving this takes more than a fancy website and some catchy marketing. It is about changing website visitors who browse but do not buy into loyal, paying customers. You need an inbound lead conversion strategy to make a success of this. Here are some basic strategy elements: Derive a lead conversion process This is where you lay out the strategy for creating leads and converting them into ...

The idea that going to college is the best path to follow for career success is a prevalent one. It can feel like this traditional path is the only one to follow. The truth is that there is more than one path to career success as many successful professionals who never graduated have proved.  There are other career paths If you want to be a professional like a lawyer, doctor or engineer, you will need a college education but an academic education is not the answer for everyone. Many jobs today require skills and experience just as much, if not more, than a college education.  Doing an internship and shadowing someone already in a position is often a very ...

The legal field is a highly demanding environment, and it requires a great deal of discipline and being incredibly organized. For this reason, law firms and legal teams need to divide their time efficiently and prioritize their tasks well. This is where legal transcriptionists come in. Your role as a transcriptionist within this field of business is to have a basic knowledge of legal terms and be professionally trained to transcribe important recordings. This way, lawyers and prosecutors, and other professionals can rely on you to provide the highly essential information from important video or audio recordings.  There are some things to take into consideration ...

Holding on to our marriages in fear of being lonely or trying to make things work out for a person who doesn’t show any sign of improvement can be dangerous. What if everything dreadful we dreamt of becomes tomorrow’s reality? Choosing to forget how she has always given you a hard time is something to get worried about. It's so hard to change the person who doesn't believe in you. The best thing is to let the failing relationship end. Below are reasons why you should never try to work out a failing marriage. Wasted time The phrase time is precious is something that we should all keep in mind. When a person keeps arguing about the same thing differently, ...

Has anyone else's clients been assigned the Emmon value of a car?  A client was just assigned $209.00 for the value of his used car.  It is his only car.  The caseworker told me that because he is a widow and he is considered permanent placement in a nursing home, the car is a countable resource.  I think I could fight it but, the value is so low, it doesn't matter.  I just want to know in case a future client has a Ferrari.  CFR § 416.1218. Exclusion of the automobile. (a)  Automobile; defined.  As used in this section, the term  automobile  includes, in addition to passenger cars, other vehicles used to provide necessary transportation. (b)  ...

When employees exercise their rights that are protected under the law, employers may retaliate against them. Common activities that may incite retaliation include filing a claim against an employer for sexual harassment or whistleblowing in an attempt to thwart illegal practices. An employee facing retaliation may have grounds for a legal claim against an employer.  What is retaliation? Retaliation is when an employer illegally acts in adverse ways against an employee for reporting or complaining about discrimination or harassment in the workplace. Retaliation can take many forms, such as demotion, termination, salary reductions or loss of hours. An employer ...