California Legal and Regulatory News

Kittens are the cutest little things. Cat owners get all excited over seeing large-eared little kitties running and zigzagging about, and falling all over one another, but just like human babies they really don’t have an inkling about the world. They run basically on energy and get all revved up with excitement, and then just run, and jump without much forethought. So if you’re a new owner to one or more kittens, it’ll be up to you, to be your kitten’s guardian, to make sure you not only feed him the proper cat food, but to also make sure they don’t wind up getting into dangerous situations or getting hurt. Here are some quick tips on how to keep your kitten safe:

1. Keep your kittens in a kennel or an open-topped box filled with newspaper or a towel, to keep them out of trouble when you cannot keep an eye on them. If you’ve adopted two kittens, they will probably be fine with that, since they have company. If your kitten is by himself, and is meowing a lot, you may want to put in a small stuffed animal, or wrap up a ticking clock in a soft towel and put it in the box to soothe him.

2. Purchase cat food that is especially for kittens as you want to make sure that they are not only getting the proper nutrition but that the morsels are the right size and that they won’t hurt your kitten’s new teeth. Depending on how old your kittens are, you may be restricted to a certain type of cat food. Check with your veterinarian. I highly recommend a premium cat food such as Life’s Abundance. It is a top rated premium grade cat food which is formulated by Dr. Jane Bicks.

3. Keep your kittens away from other pets until they are old enough to have strong immune systems. Depending on how old your kitten is they may be more susceptible to sickness, and because they may not have received all of their vaccinations this makes them even more vulnerable. So segregate your kittens from any other pets you have, especially if those other pets are exposed to other animals on a regular basis.

December 19, 2008 (by Michael Ehline)

According to reports the Swedish hip-hop artist David Moses Jassy who has been accused of alleged road rage in the death of John Osnes a jazz pianist pleaded not guilty.

These charges stem from an incident that occurred in November when Osnes age 55  was walking across an intersection according to police, when Jassy driving an SUV drove into the crosswalk. Police then stated that Osnes struck the front of the vehicle; this is when police allege Jassy exited the vehicle, punched and kicked Osnes. Then police stated that Jassy returned to the vehicle and drove over Osnes.

Jassy age 34 is currently in custody on $1 million bail and being represented by attorney Donald Etra. Etra made a statement after the Superior Court arraignment where Jassy plead not guilty that they will aggressively defend the charges and Jassy understands the seriousness of the charges against him.

In somewhat negative negative CAlifornia safwety news from the bay area, some passengers were hurt when riding in San Francisco’s historic and famous cable car system. According to various reports and statements from a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority spokesperson, the injuries happened during or perhaps immedietly after one of San Francisco’s cable cars derailed. This tragic and unfortunate cable car derailment was reported at approximately 12:00 a.m. in the vicinity of Washington Street where the rail curves for the cable car to turn onto Powell Street, according to a spokes person Judson True of the California SF Municipal Transportation Authority. Incidentially if you happen to reside in the greater bay area and you have been involved in an injury and therefore need the services of a wonderful
California Domestic Violence lawyer then take a look at the good offices of Edward N. Ajlouny. His clients from all over clients from all over the San Jose and surrounding region receive both aggressive and effective representation. After all, if someone’s negligent or intentional actions have injured you should be compensated for your loss. He is easily one of the best Lawyers in his area. He serves the bay are in general including the communities of Mountain View, Fremont, Milpitas, Campbell, Morgan Hill, and Cupertino. Now back to the article: before this incident occurred the operator of the cable car exited the car and began pushing the cable car.
According to the authorities, the cable car fishtailed and at least three passengers were injured, one sustained a broken leg and two other passengers sustained minor injuries, sadly enouph. All three of the injured victims were transported to the hospital after the accident. Wow what an awful tragedy to be certain.
All in all it should be noted that the actual speed of the cable car was unknown at the time of this regrettable accident, according to the relevent authorities that are looking into the case. This particular speed will obviously be under a microscope by the state of california along with factors outside of human control such as the gravitational force and the slope from the hill the cable car happened to be on during the time of the incident. As a matter of fact, these are just several of the relevent factors that will be under the microscope during what will certainly be a thorough investigation, considering the serious injuries that were sustained by the passengers in question. The spokesperson True also went on to later comment that at normal speeds a cable car usually does not derail, only fueling speculation of the obvious suspicion that there was some sort of human erroe involved in the tragic accident. The identities of the injured victims have not been released at this point in time and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority has stated that at this particular time all of the cable cars will run on schedule in the foreseeable future.

At a point in time when brushfires, wildfires and occasionally even arson are wiping out large swathes of land across the state I thought it would be a relevent time to post this article, written by expert Richard Patton. Many peoplehave been effected in recent months all over the west coast. This article has been slightly edited for length and format. I realize that to many individuals, anything that has not been done is something that can’t or should not be done. But it is quite common to protect a building from an internal fire for a fire rating duration of up to four hours. As a matter of fact, the fire protection community was so enamored with the idea of a fire resistant structure that they termed it a “fireproof” building. Then, for more than 70 years or so the fire officials who controlled the fire codes wrote codes to prevent fire sprinkler systems from being installed in nearly all the “Life-At-Risk” type buildings, including high rises, hospitals and even individuals houses. The idea was that if the building was “fireproof” then there was no point in installing sprinklers in them. The fact that the contents of the buildings would burn and that when the contents burned, so did the people within, apparently got lost in the shuffle, so to speak.

To build a house which is resistant to an external fire there are some ready solutions. Of course the roof must be fire resistant but this is no major problem because such roofs are already on the market.

All in all, in order to protect a house from being ignited by an external fire the following is required: The exterior walls have to be constructed from a fire resistant material. Wood trim should be non existent or at least should be painted with fire retardant paint. Shutters for the windows should be available to block radiant heat from entering and igniting the interior combustibles. If a wood deck or porch or other exposing combustible construction exists, install some sidewall sprinklers or special fog nozzles arranged to wet down the combustibles and shield the house. What also is required is to determine the probable maximum temperatures created by the exposing fires and the probable maximum time duration of the exposures. Then it will be much easier to define the fire resistance required to keep the fire out of the house. Broadly speaking, all of this should be quite simple to accomplish for a technologically advanced nation such as the United States.

 In general, those who value their houses and safety should have had the knowledge to gain this safety years ago. Why has the fire protection community ignored the problem and failed to define the solutions for these many decades during which homes have burned when the forests and brush have burned? I know the answers to those questions, but I also know that the answers will not be well received.

 It should be noted that fire is a hundred billion dollars per year business. Yes in the tens billions, you heard correctly. The National Fire Protection Association and Underwriters’ Laboratories are the gate keepers to the controlled market place. The International Association Of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the fire department plan reviewers and inspectors are the enforcers. It is virtually impossible to market a fire related product unless one pays hugely for the laboratory testing and is able to write the product into the appropriate fire code. What I would like to see is the technology to protect the home defined, but not controlled, mandated and stagnated by government. That way, within a free market where advances can be made as technology improves, the fire science could be perfected. Under the present code system, once the code is written the ability to make advances disappears because those who control the standard and thus control the market, will prevent change. In addition, those who control the codes will write them so as to bar competitors from the market. 

For instance, the fire sprikler industry produced codes which essentially required large iron pipe and huge water supplies, sometimes creating costs for protection many times greater than would be needed for properly engineered systems. One reason that this happened is that by maximizing the price they believed they maximized their profits. But, more important, the mandating of pipe sizes in steel pipe up to eight inch represented a barrier to the plumbing industry, which primarily of smaller businesses. The plumbing industry was not ready to handle the large steel pipe which was actually required here. The steel pipe had a serious corrosion issue, unfortunately and was much more susceptible to earthquake damage.

RICHARD M. PATTON, FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEER 

AUTHOR, THE AMERICAN HOME IS A FIRE TRAP

President of

THE CRUSADE AGAINST FIRE DEATHS, INC.

POST OFFICE BOX 196 CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA 95611 ? PHONE 916 721 7700 FAX 916 721 7738

WEB SITES: WWW.FIRECRUSADE.COM

A Personal Injury Settlement Amount Is Impossible To Determine
By Michael Ehline

When a person is involved in any type of accident, auto, work or any other and they seek an attorney to represent them much of the settlement amount will depend on how their case it built by the attorney and on the insurance company and insurance adjuster. Some insurance companies, will ow ball your lawyer and leave him no choice but to sue. The jury who will hear the evidence and make their decision how much of a verdict should be awarded to the plaintiff, and often the defense attorney can gauge whether the case should settle on the court house steps.

Choosing the right attorney in Irvine, Cypress or Dana Point who will investigate your accident and has experts who will testify in court will help the amount of the settlement in many cases. However, the end result is what the witnesses, insurance adjustor’s, and if unable to settle, the jury has heard, and comprehends about your accident. While this may sound easy, each accident is unique and has elements that need to be explained to the jury in a manner that they will fully understand.

The attorney that you have chosen also needs to present himself in a manner that the jury will listen to with their full attention, one that has experience in the type of accident you have suffered and has a skilled staff and experts at their disposal.

This alone can help the amount of your court house steps settlement, a well presented case will have more effect on the jury than a poorly presented case, this is also the reason why a personal injury settlement amount is impossible to determine and is almost always an educated guess. This is because the amount of your settlement ultimately lies in the hands of the attorneys, insurance company and if unable to settle, the jury, and what they understand about the injuries that you have wrongly suffered. When a jury is confident they understand a case and the injuries involved they will also feel confident in awarding the proper amount of verdict to the injury victim.

It is wise to understand this because as each accident and injury are unique so is each person and it takes experience to tell a story to twelve unique individuals, giving them the proper information to all come to the same decision at the same time and with the same information. For this reason this is why a personal injury settlement amount is impossible to determine, and if it is unreasonable, it will be the decision of twelve unique individuals as a damages verdict.

When an accident victim seeks an attorney they need the proper legal representation, meaning if you have an accident on a job site you would not speak with or hire a criminal attorney. When you have an accident and are injured you want the most experienced Orange County personal injury attorney, or Los Angeles injury lawyers. Reading education articles written by lawyers is also a helpful way to learn about your legal rights, duties and obligations.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Ehline
http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Personal-Injury-Settlement-Amount-Is-Impossible-To-Determine&id=1040192

The Unseen Danger of Riding the Train
By Michael Ehline

Each day thousands of people ride the train to work and for various reasons from the ease of transportation without dealing with city traffic, the savings of having one car that needs upkeep, insurance and gasoline in today’s high fuel market at the gas pumps. There is also connivance of not having to look for or pay for parking, so it is connivance along with saving money that have many people on the train five or six days a week. But the unseen dangers of riding the train are real and present at all times.

While driving a vehicle in the city can be dangerous and accidents occur several times a day on the streets, freeways and highways of Van Nuys. These same people do not realize the dangers that can be waiting for them any day of the week on the train.

Dangers can lurk anywhere from the train station to the train itself, when walking in the train station there are often wet floors that have recently been mopped that can be a hazard where a slip and fall injury can occur. There is the fact that once on the train the rider has no protection such as seatbelts in case the train comes to a halt quickly or if there is an accident of any type. The train is often crowded and this means that there are more possibilities of injury due to standing on the train, more people crowded while waiting for the train to board it leaves the possibility of being push, shoved and otherwise maneuvered where injuries are possible.

The unseen dangers of riding the trains are all around in Van Nuys, Marina del Rey, San Dieo and Los Angeles Counties, and with each ride it could end in severe injuries and when it does there will be medical bills, lost time from work and the passenger train rider and victim hit by the train needs to be compensated. This is why there are Los Angeles train accident attorneys that specialize in train accidents and know how to prepare a case that will bring the settlement the train injury victim deserves.

The types of injuries that can occur during an accident on a train are lacerations, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, back injuries, head injuries, spinal cord and brain injuries, and even worse at there are hundred of deaths associated with train accidents.

One problem with riding the train is that the train rider has no control and this means when an accident is going to occur there is no time to be prepared for the impact.

The experienced Los Angeles train accident attorneys typically are Los Angeles accident attorneys who understand there might be multiple injuries like brain injuries and anatomy and wrongful death when a person is involved in a train accident no matter how minor the accident is because they have no real protection. This attorney will also know the laws that are specific with trains as they are a form of public transportation so they have different laws that govern them than the laws that cover other traffic accidents.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Ehline
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Unseen-Danger-of-Riding-the-Train&id=1242753

Learn more: Address 633 W. Fifth St., 28th Fl. Los Angeles, CA 90071; 1875 Century Park East Suite 700 Los Angeles, CA 90067; 14003 Palawan Way Marina del Rey, CA 90292; 620 Newport Center Drive Newport Beach, CA 92660. Phone 888-400-9721.

Whether  or not airbags are safe depends on the the issue being presented by the injury causing device and whether or not it was defective. At this time there are many gadgets in automobiles which make the ride more enjoyable, yet there are also a number of devices which are installed in the newer vehicles which provide safety for the driver and the passenger in the front seat when the vehicle is in an accident.

These of course are airbags; in many models there are not only front airbags but also side airbags, which cushion the body in an accident, however while they protect there have also been some misfortune with these devices.

Not too long after they were placed in the first models there were reports of airbags which opened when there was no accident, there were individuals injured and even deaths, these were mostly in younger children, who should have been seat belted in the back of the vehicle rather than in a seat where an adult would be seated. Whether they are safe from a Los Angeles injury attorneys viewpoint depends at least partially on whether the driver in question was shorter or seated closer to the steering wheel so as to drive properly, this means should the airbag device deploy it may hit the driver in question rather hard in the chest and even face. Others who have the potential to be injured are babies who are seated in a car seat that sits facing backward, when strapped in the front seat, should the passenger airbag deploy, this device may hit the baby seat somewhat hard.

Older vehicles were not outfitted with airbags and when in an accident today people that have an automobile without airbags suffer more injuries such as broken ribs from hitting the steering wheel, injuries and even death from hitting the windshield, these injuries ranged from scrapes & bruises, to major injuries.

Many of the accidents today in the Torrance, West Covina and Burbank areas are newer vehicles which are indeed outfitted with airbags, and while the driver and passenger have the protection of airbags there are still injuries which are involved where a personal injury attorney is required.

Visitors from the United States in general and California in particular are becoming increasingly reluctant to visit Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, especially without a secure hotel room. The Reuters online news network has reported that weddings have been canceled. Lobster houses are nearly empty on the normally well traveled New Year’s weekend.
While the Mexican Government has reportedly been handing out maps of trails for immigrants to enter the U.S. illegally, it is somewhat ironic that many Americans are deliberately avoiding mexico.
Americans have long tolerated shakedowns by law enforcement authorities south of the border who all too routinely supplement their income by pulling over drivers for supposed traffic violations, and visitors have long realized that some sections of Baja California are a hotbed of narcotic-driven violence. Yet a number of assaults in the last few months by masked and armed bandits,
a few of which have been using flashing lights in order to look like the police, seems to symbolize a whole new low which has scared even veteran visitors.

Lori Hoffman, for example, who happens to be a San Diego nurse, stated that she was sexually assaulted on October 23 by 2 masked men right in front of her boyfriend, San Diego Surfing Academy owner Pat Weber, who was forced to kneel at gunpoint for some forty five long minutes while they raped her. They were at a campground with at least thirty tents, about two hundred miles or so south of the California border.

The masked Mexican men shot out windows of their trailer and forced their way inside, ransacked the cupboards and left with about $7,000 worth of merchandise such as computers, video equipment and even a guitar.

Weber, who has taught dozens of students in Mexico over the last ten years, will not be returning. “No more Mexico,” stated Lori Hoffman, who reported the attack to the Mexican authorities. perhaps not surprisingly, there have been no arrests.

News of these horrible assaults on U.S. tourists has begun to overwhelm this appeal, especially in the northern region of Baja California, which is a haven for lawless narcotic gangs. The relatively isolated southern tip of Baja, meanwhile, with several popular resourts, remains safer, relatively speaking and is still quite popular with many celebrities, anglers and visitors fromother countries as well.

Local media and also various surfing sites which promoted Baja California previously have reported a number of horrific crimes which U.S. and Mexican officials alike consider to be credible. Some Longtime visitors are especially wary of a toll road near the border which runs through Playas de Rosarito, also known as Rosarito Beach.

At the end of November, for example, as they returned from the Baja 1000 off-road race, a San Diego family was pulled over on the toll road by a vehicle with flashing lights. A number of heavily armed men then held the whole family hostage for some 2 hours. They finally released them but stole their vehicle, leaving them stranded and in shock.

Before dawn on Aug. 31, three surfers were carjacked on the same stretch of highway. Gunmen pulled them over in a car with flashing lights, forced them out of their vehicles and ordered one to kneel. They took the trucks and left the surfers.

Aqua Adventures of San Diego scrapped its annual three-day kayak trip to scout for whales in January, ending a run of about 10 years. Customers had already been complaining about longer waits to return to the U.S.; crime gave them another reason to stay away.

 In the meantime,  the State Department has long been prudently warning motorists on Mexico’s border to watch for people following them, though no new warnings have been issued.

In news out of Sacramento, California sued the United States Environmental Protection Agency today for denying its first-in-the-country greenhouse gas limititations on various types of motor vehicles, challenging the Federal Government’s decision that individuals states should not be setting their own setting emission standards. Additional states such as Vermont and possibly New York are believed to be joining this suit, which was anticipated after the EPA on December 19 denied the Golden State’s request for a waiver, which is currently mandated.
The suit in question was filed in the 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson denied California a waiver which would be required under the federal Clean Air Act to move forward with regulating greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and trucks.In announcing this decision, Johnson stated that the federal government was moving onward with a wider solution and dismissed California’s arguments that it faced unusual threats from the impending climate changes.Johnson said energy legislation will help to raise fuel economy standards around the country to an average of thirty-five mpg within about tweleve years or so. He thinks it is a better idea than a lot of state regulations. Meanwhile, EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar said the federal Energy Independence and Security Act “is a more beneficial national approach…..” Meanwhile Golden State officials claim that the 2004 law is more strict than the new national standard. It would have required the auto industry to cut emissions by one-third in new vehicles by 2016 or reach an average of 36.8 mpg.   By the way, if you have been in an automobile accident and you require legal help, take a look at Los Angeles Car Crash Attorneys
and if you have been involved in a motorcycle mishap please take a look at los angeles motorcycle accident attorneys   The folks at Ehline law are quite simply some of the best los angeles criminal defense attorneys you will be able ti find and they cover a nimber of localities throughout Southern California including Burbank,Century City, Newport Beach, Redondo beach and Torrance.Incidentially 12 additional states including Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington — have adopted the California emissions standards and the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Utah have said they plan to in the near future. The rules also are under consideration in Iowa.

15 states plan to intervene on California’s behalf, including 13 of those that have either adopted or are in the process of adopting the rules. Delaware and Illinois, which have not passed the standards, also are part of the lawsuit.
The EPA’s decision was a big victory for auto manufacturers in general, which had hoped that they would not be forced to limit their selection of automobiles and raise prices in the states which adopted California’s standards.It was the first time the EPA had fully denied California a waiver under the Clean Air Act since Congress gave the state the right to obtain such waivers in 1967.
The auto regulations are an integral part of California’s global warming law, which has the goal of reducing emissions by a full quarter within the next twelve years.
 Auto emissions account for about almost twenty percent of the state’s proposed reductions.

As 2008 begins in a few days, literally hundreds of legal changes will take effect in California to usher in the new year. Law changes include an automobile smoking ban, minimum wage hike and a mandate for more efficient lights, among numerous others.
The smoking ban is simply the latest effort out of Sacramento to protect individuals from the hazards of secondhand smoke.
As it stands now, the Golden State already forbids such smoking in enclosed working areas such as bars and clubs, or within twenty-five feet of a playground. This law underscores the touph stance the
state has on smoking. After all, only 2 other states—Arkansas and Louisiana—have such laws whiich forbid the smoking of cigarettes within automobiles in which
kids are passengers, according to the San Jose Mercury online newspaper. This laws initiator,
state Senator Jenny Oropeza, a Democrat from Long Beach, has agreed that there must be another reason for the traffic stop to ensure the approval in the Assembly.
Yet another law aimed at drivers, the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving—goes into effect on the first of July. For drivers under the age of eighteen,
it also extends to the handsfree use of cell phones as well. Pretty strict stuff, but there really have been a lot of safety related complaints about
this activity and calls for it’s regulation.
Among some of the other notable changes include
Legislation presented by the democratic Assemblyman Jared Huffman from San Rafael, which will basically gives the California Energy Commission
until the end of next year to develop tighter efficiency standards for all general purpose lights. Other bills by him include allocating a quarter billion dollar subsidy
to promote the installation of solar water heaters and also mandate water-efficiency standards for the design of all new buildings.