Haiti Earthquake

U.S. NAVY | PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti | https://picryl.com/media/haitian-citizens-gather-in-a-severely-damaged-compound-in-port-au-prince-haiti-3059ad | Public Domain | https://www.navy.mil/

Death tolls rose to 2,000, along with more than 9,900 injured after the earthquake in Haiti on August 18, 2021. These numbers are likely to rise as search and rescue operations are still being conducted. The Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate (DGPC) claimed that over 137,000 families have been affected in the Sud, Grand'Anse and Nippes departments. 500,000 people, or about 40 percent of the total population within those departments, require emergency humanitarian assistance.

61,000 homes have been reported to have been destroyed and over 76,000 sustained damages in the most effected departments of the flooding. 24 health facilities have also been affected by the earthquake with 20 of them suffering from infrastructure damages and 4 of them being completely destroyed. This flood has other effects on surrounding areas such as triggering flooding in Jacmel, Les Cayes and Marigot.

EPA Plans to Start Cleaning Up Soil with Lead and Arsenic in Garland Neighborhood

William Addington | picture of the Historic Downtown Garland square | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garland_Sqr_1.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expecting that they will begin cleaning up soil that has high contamination levels of lead and arsenic near Park Crest Elementary School in Garland, Texas. This is due to the Globe Union lead battery manufacturing site.

Nearby residential areas can expect clean up to begin by the end of August 2021. EPA expects to spend approximately 10 weeks cleaning up the site of the incident. EPA also claimed that if more locations are identified as being contaminated with lead, the cleanup process will likely take longer than ten weeks. Testing of the local soils began back in September of 2019, which is what prompted the EPA to get involved with this matter.

Forever Chemicals: California Unveils Health Goals for Drinking Water

David Hawgood / Drinking fountain, Kew Gardens / CC BY-SA 2.0 | Drinking fountain, Kew Gardens Supplied by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drinking_fountain,_Kew_Gardens_-_geograph.org.uk_-_788808.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

New health limits for two PFAS contaminants help California take a step in regulating these “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The proposed targets are 0.007 nanograms per liter of water for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and 1 nanogram for perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS). A nanogram per liter is equivalent to a part per trillion or one cup of a contaminant in a trillion cups of water. Establishing these health limits set in motion a process to create a new state regulation to replace the current California guidelines.

Airbnb to Take Legal Action Against Guest at Sunnyvale Property

Pacific-Azure-Malpais | Pacific Azure offers several options of Airbnb homes in the tropical paradise of Mal Pais, Costa Rica. | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pacific_Azure_Villa.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

AirBNB will be pursuing legal claims and damages caused by a resident that threw an unauthorized party in Sunnyvale where a gun was drawn killing one person and injuring another individual. AirBNB has informed the tenant of its legal plan, supposedly there was 150 to 200 guests at the party on August 7th. Throwing a party unauthorized in a home rented from AirBNB violates AirBNB regulations, resulting in the tenant being banned from using AirBNB services permanently.

Following this incident, AirBNB has made some new policies for its users to prevent future instances of this caliber from happening. For instance, AirBNB will no longer allow guest to make a one-night reservation on Halloween without a history of positive reviews from previous renters. AirBNB is now taking legal action against other users throwing unauthorized parties around the country. The Sunnyvale home was also not properly listed as a short-term rental location, nor was the resident present during the guest’s entire stay. Both of these actions violate the AirBNB regulations as well. 

Bloomington Council to Discuss Financial Help for Flood, Sewage Victims

B137 | Flood in Upstate NY. Basement flooded over two feet deep. | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flash_flood_Canandaigua_NY_July_23,_2017_04_flooded_basement.jpg | Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. | https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

The Bloomington City Council has proposed that the city come up with a plan to help residents that have had their basements flooded with sewage due to the heavy rains that occurred in late June. The City explains that it has an obligation to help its residents and to find out the full scope of damage that has been done to properties in Bloomington.

If the City Council does not agree on some form of reimbursement for the resident of Bloomington, they may end up in court. Rumors have started about local attorneys planning to pursue a legal settlement with the city of Bloomington for the damages that hundreds of residents endured due to storm water and sewer backup flooding their basements. City officials have stated that they have been trying to address that sewer back up situation, but it can take a decade to update sewer systems and the Bloomington sewer system spans over eighty-five miles

Second Lawsuit Filed Regarding Public Trail Near Riley

pixabay.com | A train track with a train on it / A train track with a train track and a brick wall public domain stock photo. | https://garystockbridge617.getarchive.net/amp/media/railway-track-the-land-f1acc2 | Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license | https://web.archive.org/web/20161229043156/https://pixabay.com/en/service/terms/ 

Another lawsuit has been placed against the United States Government claiming that Vigo County landowners should receive some form of compensation under the fifth amendment for the land that was ordered to be converted to a public trail near the town of Riley. This is approximately a six mile stretch of land that the Indiana Rail Road company was operating under an easement until petitioned to abandon the line. A trail use request was filed for the property and on June 9th “a notice of interim” use of the property sign was posted by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.

The lawsuit has been placed on behave of the Vigo County landowners seeking one million dollars in compensation plus costs of litigation and attorney fees for the land being converted into a public trial. The landowners believe that the trails act is impeding regulations by preventing the abandoned railway from reverting back to its landowners. Instead, the land has been taken by the federal government and granted an easement for a recreational trail.   

Durst Sues Landmark Theatres for $49M in Damages, Unpaid Rent at UWS Cinema

Library of Congress | The Landmark, designed by Thomas W. Lamb, opened in 1928. | https://picryl.com/media/auditorium-details-at-the-landmark-theatre-in-syracuse-new-york-4384a4 | No known restrictions on publication. | https://www.loc.gov/

Landmark signed a twenty-year lease for the space of their theater in 2016 with the Durst Organization. However, landmark wanted to renegotiate these terms after Cohen media group acquired the Landmark company in 2018. The two companies could not meet agreeable terms and their relationship soured. Landmark removed ticket kiosks, light fixtures, and 700 seats from the theater when leaving the space. Durst has estimated that the damages will require 1.6 million to repair.

Durst is also asking for the 46 million dollars in rent his company would have accumulated from this contract along with an additional one million dollars in arrears accumulated from the beginning of 2020 (When Landmark allegedly stopped paying full rent) through September when Durst had the lease terminated. Landmark closed their theater in august of 2020, three years after it had opened.

City Looks at FEMA Grant to Help Residents Impacted by Flooding

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Residents of Rock Springs effected by the recent flooding from July 28 through August 1, are curious about what lies ahead for the reconstruction of their city. 10 homes were destroyed, and hundreds sustained damage. While many residents shared their stories of how the flooding had affected their homes and families, others asked the city council to look for possible solution to prevent future flooding such as a drainage ditch or detention ponds.

A state of emergency has been declared. This action was claimed necessary in order to get the Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that could help pay for residential damages. Forms were distributed to residents to be filled out. Twenty-five of these forms are necessary to apply for the grant and fifty-nine forms were submitted from the residents. Although the grant has been applied for, residents fear that the financial help may never arrive due to the lack of funding given by this grant in the case of other flooding incidents that had a larger total damage.

‘Our House was an Island’: Property Owners Reckon with Aftermath of Flooding

John Phelan | Tractor show on the Common, Belchertown Massachusetts | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tractor_show_on_the_Common,_Belchertown_MA.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tractor_show_on_the_Common,_Belchertown_MA.jpg

On July 18, 2021, peak flooding in Belchertown, Massachusetts turned many residents’ homes essentially into islands. A culvert burst on East Street caused the road to collapse around 3am. Residents claim that their basements, garages, driveways, and areas around their homes were under several feet of water.

A survey was conducted by lawmakers and town officials to record the aftermath of the flooding. Residents are looking towards state leadership for help with the town and its citizens.

After surveying the area, town officials have concluded that due to heavy rainfall and the break of the beaver damn, too much water was let into the irrigation system which caused the rupture of a culvert below East Street.

Over 100 property owners along EcustaTrail suing government for compensation; How it works

Ymblanter | Main house (at the background) and headquarters (foreground), Somerset Place, North Carolina | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Somerset_Place_main_house.jpg |  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

In North Carolina over 100 homeowners are suing the federal government for invoking its power of eminent domain by taking property that was used as a rail road and converting it to a public walkway called the Ecusta Trail.

The plan for the Ecusta Trail is a 19.1-mile pedestrian walkway along an abandoned train rail. Landowners that have railroad easements on their property are eligible to make a claim.

Some of the concerns from landowners are loss of privacy, trespassing, inability to cross over the rail-trail conversion, loss of access to the river and a negative impact to farming operations.

If the landowners win the case, compensation will vary and will include severance damages and the value of the land taken.

UVM Study Says Lake Champlain Cleanup Could Boost Economy

public-domain-image.com | Connected Lake Landscape | https://picryl.com/media/beautiful-connected-lakes-landscape-c72336 | public domain | public-domain-image.com

A new study founded the University of Vermont’s Gund Institute states that clean water at Lake Champlain will not only be good for the environment but for the economy as well. Some benefits of cleaning the water of Lake Champlin are environmental, economic, health, and ecological. The City believes that with their large up-front investment into cleaning the lake and surrounding areas, their property value and local economy will increase. For example, by cleaning the water, the lake will gain tourism.

How Fire Season Affects the Economy

The U.S. National Archives | San Diego Wildfires | https://nara.getarchive.net/media/wildfires-san-diego-ca-october-26-2007-northern-california-fire-crews-work-b7f102 | No known copyright restrictions | https://catalog.archives.gov/

59,000 wildfires burned more than 10 million acres of land across the U.S. in 2020. This number is higher than the number of acers burned by wildfires between 2000 and 2019. How might wildfires affect the economy? In 2018, wildfires cost the state of California $148.5 billion, with wildfires growing, so may these numbers.

Local wildfires also caused 3,700 deaths and over 17,000 injuries in the year of 2019. With the trauma that may arise from these injuries and fatalities, behavioral economics surrounding wildfires may become a subject of increased study.

Homeowners Demand City Foot the Bill after Construction Project Filled Homes with Grout

Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada | Downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Winnipeg,_Manitoba_%28471504%29_%289447546766%29.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

In late May 2021, the City of Winnipeg’s hired contractor pumped grout into several homes. The city-hired contractor was working on a new land drainage sewer shaft at Semple Avenue and Scotia Street.

Many of the Seven Oaks residents are voicing frustration with the City of Winnipeg’s slow response. They believe that the city should be held liable, and they feel like it is the city’s insurance that should pay for the repairs.

Area councilor Ross Eadie said the city purchased liability insurance for the original sewer repairs and all damages should be covered. However, the residents whose homes were impacted by the spill say that if the city doesn’t respond to requests to pay for repairs, they are considering taking legal action.

Billionaire Buyer of USC Presidential Mansion Revealed

Los Angeles | Stimson House | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stimson_House,_Los_Angeles.JPG | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.| https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Tianqiao Chen, a Chinese billionaire paid $25 million for the USC presidential mansion in San Marino, California. Chen recently donated $155 million to Caltech for neuroscience research, and the university dedicated a new facility to him just a mile from the home.

The sale of this home comes as the median home price in Southern California has jumped to $680,000 which topped the previous record of $667,000. Multiple factors are credited for the increase in sales including and expanding buyers’ market, more demand for space as people work from home, and low mortgage rates.

The USC presidential mansion sold for $500,000 more than the asking price which made it the most expensive home sale in San Marino history. The house went under contract less than a month after listing. The mansion was built in 1934 by Reginald Davis Johnson, a local architect and the land was donated by U.S. Gen. George Patton and railroad mogul Henry Huntington. USC wanted to make sure the home went to the right buyer that would honor the historical significance of the site.

Fraud Lawsuit Filed Against Two Tucson Real Estate Companies

Wikimedia Commons | Tucson, Arizona, with the w:Santa Catalina Mountains in the background. | https://picryl.com/media/catalinasandtucsonaz-a5016c | public domain | http://commons.wikimedia.org/

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against two Tucson businesses, Deed and Note Traders, LLC and 881 Home, LLC, for deceiving consumers in transactions.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants sold houses under a “wrap mortgage” arrangement and failed to make their loan payments, despite collecting down payments from consumers. The defendants also allegedly violated the Deed and Note Traders’ 2006 Consent Decree with the state by failing to provide consumers a title report and a minimum 15-year loan repayment term.

The lawsuit is seeking restitution for up to $10,000 in civil penalties for each violation of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, $25,000 for each violation of the consent decree, injunctive relief, attorney’s fees and costs, and the amount owed from Deed and Traders on the 2006 Consent Decree.

Vermont Enacts Restrictions on PFAS Chemicals

Justin.A.Wilcox | The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of Vermont, United States | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vermont_State_House_Montpelier_VT_2014_10_18_09.JPG | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

A law restricting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances has been set in place in the State of Vermont. The law names three PFAS chemicals to be of concern to children. Governor, Phil Scott, signed this law into effect after gaining approval from both of the houses of Vermont legislature. The law is to be applied on a staggering basis. Manufacturers that are using any PFAS in products sold in Vermont now must report information regarding these chemicals to the Health Department annually.  

Judge Upholds Dismissal of Case Against Resort Developer

Flickr: Helena, Montana looking East from Roberts Street | Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helena,_Montana_looking_East_from_Roberts_Street.jpg |  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

In Helena, Montana, a U.S. bankruptcy judge supported the court’s decision regarding the state of Montana not being able to file an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Tim Blixseth, co-founder of Yellowstone Club, over ten years ago.

The Yellowstone club filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and Blixseth was accused of pocketing 375 million  dollars in Credit Suisse Loans. After an audit had been conducted, it was found that Blixseth owed $56.8 million in taxes, penalties, and interest arising from several audit issues.

Blixseth maintains that the state did not uphold the law.

On June 3, 2021, a Nevada Judge, Mike N. Nakagawa, confirmed the ruling to dismiss the involuntary petition, noting it had lingered for ten years. The case was then referred to bankruptcy court to determine if it should be dismissed.  

Maine Bans Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Under Groundbreaking New Law

formulanone from Huntsville, United States | Augusta, Maine | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maine_State_Capitol_%2835759599072%29_%28cropped%29.jpg |  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

The state government of Maine has banned the use of toxic PFAS compounds in all products by the year 2030. This is the nations and worlds first government to ban over 9,000 PFAS compounds known as forever chemicals. This ban is because these compounds do not fully break down and can be toxic to humans and the environment.

PFAS compounds are a per / polyfluoroalkyl substance that have been linked to cancer, liver disease, decrease immunity, kidney disease, decreasing sperm count, endocrine, and more. Many local public health advocates are claiming these chemicals may be toxic even at low exposure. With traces of these chemicals appearing in humans, animals, and our environments across the globe, the state of Maine will no longer allow for these chemicals in their goods and will keep record of the forever chemicals coming in and out of the state.

Class-action Lawsuit Against Detroit Water Department Filed Due to Infrastructure Flood Failure

Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA | U.S. Post Office, Downtown Detroit, Michigan from Windsor, Ontario | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Post_Office,_Downtown_Detroit,_Michigan_from_Windsor,_Ontario_%2821772731715%29.jpg | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

Part of Interstate 94 near Detroit, Michigan was closed for repairs after flooding in June. After over 7 inches of rain fell in the area authorities claimed that a combination of power failures affecting pumping stations and oversaturation of rivers used for drainage were the cause of the flooding.

A class-action lawsuit was filed potentially involving thousands claiming property damage due to the flooding. The class-action lawsuit was filed against the Detroit Water and Sewerage

Wyoming’s New Nuclear Power Plant Would Be the First of It’s Kind. What Makes It Different?

Carol M. Highsmith's America Project in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive. | Steam Piping on one of the turbine decks. | https://renopenrose.getarchive.net/amp/media/steam-piping-on-one-of-the-turbine-decks-at-the-palo-verde-nuclear-generating-71e431 | No known restrictions on publication. | https://www.loc.gov/

Wyoming’s governor, Mark Gordon revealed the production of a nuclear power plant designed with the world’s first Natrium reactor. A Natrium reactor is a small modular reactor (SMR), whereas most nuclear power plants contain a large reactor. Large reactors can result in multi-billion-dollar investment and long-term production. With SMR production, cost-saving is guaranteed due to smaller size and designed to replace coal-fired plants.