What is not clear from the blurb is whether Mayumi has any status at all, though it appears that she may be a lawful permanent resident (LPR). If she is an LPR, let this situation be a lesson to all LPRs – you should apply for citizenship before concocting an insane scheme to draw attention to yourself. In all seriousness, Mayumi you are not helping the immigration debate.

Gwinnett County recently announced that it will be joining Cobb, Hall, and Whitfield Counties as a county that practices 287(g), a federal program that trains and authorizes deputies to enforce federal immigration law.

With 287(g) expanding, it is now more important than ever to know your rights and be prepared. If you are a person affected by the expansion of the program, remember, do not sign anything! Ask to speak to an attorney immediately, and do not allow yourself to be pressured into accepting what the ill-trained 287(g) officers say is your fate.

From the Southeast Texas Record:

A Pittsburgh-based law firm and a West Virginia physician were part of an intricate web of deceit that reached as far as Texas and led to big money for all, say their accusers in a civil fraud lawsuit.

The Robert Peirce and Associates firm and Bridgeport, W.Va., radiologist Dr. Ray Harron face allegations in federal court leveled by CSX Transportation that the two conspired to create false asbestos exposure diagnoses for CSX employees.

With a trial set to begin Aug. 11 at U.S. District Court in Wheeling, W. Va., CSX seeks to recover the cost of defending and settling allegedly fraudulent asbestos claims.

Read the full post:  Alleged asbestos fraud scheme started years ago

The EPA’s sampling revealed asbestos and several metals in water, bank sediments, and recent flood deposits in Whatcom County, north of Swift Creek and approaching the Canadian Border. EPA has shared the study results with local property owners, the local and state health departments, the Washington Department of Ecology, and officials in Canada where the Sumas River continues northward.

“These asbestos levels deserve close attention,” said Dan Opalski, Director of EPA’s Superfund Cleanup Office in Seattle. “The new data will enable agencies to make important health recommendations so local families make informed decisions to protect themselves.”

The samples taken from the Sumas riverbank showed higher concentrations of asbestos than previous samples of Swift Creek dredged material. Concentrations ranged up to 27 percent asbestos along the Sumas riverbank.

The Whatcom County Health Department and Washington Department of Health have sent an advisory to residents and property owners along the Sumas River. The advisory outlines measures people can take to limit their exposure to asbestos in water, sediment and flood deposits.

Agencies including Whatcom County Health Department and Whatcom County Public Works, state departments of Health, Ecology, and Labor and Industries, and federal Army Corps of Engineers, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and EPA are coordinating resources and information to address this problem for both the near term and long term.

Engineering options – including building a structure that would control sediment near the landslide – are being considered. The situation may also call for changes to local land use planning.

“The cleanup of the Vermont asbestos group mine site is long overdue,” said Joseph W. Belluck, a partner at the New York law firm of Belluck & Fox, LLP, which handles asbestos-related injury cases. “Public access to the site should be controlled immediately, and runoff from the site stopped to protect the public from exposure.”

The cleanup of the Vermont asbestos group mine site is long overdue.  Public access to the site should be controlled immediately, and runoff from the site stopped to protect the public from exposure. This is a reminder of how widespread asbestos contamination remains in our communities and how important it is to minimize asbestos exposure.

The U.S. Department of Justice and state of Vermont announced earlier this month a legal settlement with the former owner of the asbestos mine and mill to address industrial contamination at the Vermont site and 12 other sites around the country. In legal filings, the Justice Department had said the contamination posed a threat to public health and the environment.

The consent decree, filed July 2 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, is In re: 0-1 Holdings Inc., et al (Case Nos. 01-30135 (RG) and 01-38790 (RO).

Under terms of the consent decree, G-I Holdings, Inc., a private New Jersey company that manufactures roofing materials, will take steps to fence and secure the 1,673-acre abandoned mine and mill site and will monitor air emissions from the site.

The site has two towering piles of mine and mill tailings that are eroding and harming downstream creeks, justice officials say. The piles also attract hikers, rock collectors and ATV enthusiasts who may unknowingly be exposing themselves to airborne asbestos. Inhaling microscopic asbestos fibers can cause serious respiratory illnesses including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs.

“This is a reminder of how widespread asbestos contamination remains in our communities and how important it is to minimize asbestos exposure,” Belluck said.

G-I, which has been in bankruptcy protection since 2001, will reimburse the federal government and Vermont for up to $25.8 million of the estimated $300 million for past and future cleanup costs.

The Vermont site is the most significant of 13 contaminated industrial sites covered by the settlement, according to the Justice Department. The federal government has up to 10 years to bring claims for cleanup costs and environmental damage at three related heavily-contaminated industrial sites in New York and New Jersey, known collectively as the Linden sites.

The consent decree is subject to public comment for 30 days and court approval.

About Belluck & Fox, LLP

Belluck & Fox, LLP is a nationally recognized law firm that represents individuals with asbestos and mesothelioma claims, as well as victims of crime, medical malpractice, motorcycle crashes, lead paint and other serious injuries. The firm has won more than $200 million in compensation for its clients and their families.

Partner Jordan Fox is a well-known asbestos and mesothelioma attorney who has been named to the Best Lawyers in America, New York Magazine’s “The Best Lawyers in the New York Area” and to Super Lawyers. On two separate occasions his verdicts were featured as the National Law Journal’s Largest Verdict of the Year.

Partner Joseph W. Belluck is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in New York Magazine’s “The Best Lawyers in the New York Area” and in Super Lawyers. Mr. Belluck has won numerous cases involving injuries from asbestos, defective medical products, tobacco and lead paint, including a recent asbestos case that settled for more than $12 million.

• Read the post A Trademark with Eight Legs?

• Read full post on Adoption from India

• Read the full post The Senate is on the Immigration Path!

• Read the full post The Elusive Dream, Illusions of Hope

So why are GM and the country so afraid?  The answer appears to be very straight forward – loss of the company and the attendant jobs.  That’s arguably never a good thing.

Consequently, in our bailout driven economy, there is much talk of the Treasury, a/k/a Santa Claus, waiting on the scenes for yet another golden delivery.  The great Greek playwrights had a most descriptive word for this process – deus-ex-machina, which means “chariot from the heavens”.

• read the full post from Charles Moster of MosteryWynne: “GM Bankruptcy - To Fear or Not to Fear“

With the prospect of eventual passage of the bill, let’s take a look at it and see what we’re in for.

The Bill has two overriding objectives. The first is to amend the existing patent statute (Title 35 of the United States Code) to bring it closer into harmony with worldwide patent practices. The second and more controversial objective is to address concerns about patent litigation and so-called “patent trolls,” which are outfits that do not produce any goods or services but instead own patents and then sue for infringement on those patents.

read the full post from Matt Burr of Moster & Wynne:  “And the patent goes to…“

The purpose of Chapter 11 is to allow the honest debtor to reorganize its debts and thus restructure obligations to creditors.   The process necessarily involves the reduction of creditor claims so that available assets can be more equitably distributed.  In most contexts that makes perfect sense.

However, the Bankruptcy Code recognizes special protection for discrete groups like the American taxpayer when a situation so warrants.

• read the full post from Charles Moster of Moster & Wynne:  “Bankruptcy & Bailouts - Need for Reform“

The Illinois attorney general’s office says its lawsuit names Juanita Mendez, who it says also used the last names Cruz and Sanchez. It also names her associate, Melesio Reyes.

• read the full story from the Chicago Tribune:  “Lawsuit filed against immigration services firm“

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

“The California Supreme Court, two weeks ago, reinstated consumers’ right to sue for false advertising in major lawsuits against the tobacco industry. Although the high court reversed the lower courts’ rulings, Prop. 64 stands as a cautionary tale about the power of money in politics.

Prop. 64’s proponents spent $14.5 million. That’s nearly five times the $3.1 million spent by the opposition, a coalition of consumer lawyers, environmentalists and unions.

The bulk of the money for the Yes-on-64 side came from corporations. Many of those corporate benefactors now are fending off major consumer lawsuits and investigations stemming from their greed and excesses earlier this decade. One of the largest corporate donors was American International Group, which survives only because it received $180 billion in taxpayer bailout money. AIG and its subsidiaries gave $180,000 to help pass Prop. 64. At the time, the company’s executives had been among the most strident advocates of limiting consumers’ right to sue.”

From the ABA Journal:

“Scott William Weinstein of the Fort Myers, Fla., law firm Morgan & Morgan told the publication that his firm is ready to file about 40 cases and is screening around 3,000 others. He said he is also working with two New York law firms that are ready to file another 74 cases.

He has filed a motion to consolidate the cases pending in federal courts.

Another plaintiffs lawyer, James Sokolove, has set up a consumer hotline to screen possible cases and has posted a YouTube video about the dangers of dental cream, the story says.”

“Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92% of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5000, or 10% of pretax family income. The rest met criteria for medical bankruptcy because they had lost significant income due to illness or mortgaged a home to pay medical bills. Most medical debtors were well educated, owned homes, and had middle-class occupations. Three quarters had health insurance. Using identical definitions in 2001 and 2007, the share of bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6%. In logistic regression analysis controlling for demographic factors, the odds that a bankruptcy had a medical cause was 2.38-fold higher in 2007 than in 2001.”

From the economic disaster that started in the fall and continued through the spring of this year, to an election that has promised change, but which has not yet had time to fulfill all its promise, to the impending departure of two of AILA’s long time and key leaders, we have seen our fair share of challenges and obstacles.

BUT, we stand at the dawn of a new day. We believe that with the key personnel the Obama administration has begun to put into place at the Department of Justice, USCIS, ICE, CBP, and within the White House that we will see aggressive and positive administrative change and reform. For example, just today we have seen the outrageous Mukasey Compean decision reversed by Attorney General Eric Holder. I believe this action is just the beginning of a restoration of constitutional due process principles for which we have long been clamoring.

Read the rest of ‘Immigration One Year Later‘ by Charles Kuck.

From the Flathead Beacon:

On May 8, following a months-long trial, a U.S. District Court jury in Missoula acquitted W.R. Grace & Co. and three former executives on charges that they knowingly exposed Libby residents to tremolite asbestos from the company’s vermiculite mine and then covered it up to continue making profits and avoid liability.

The mine was first opened in 1939 and W.R. Grace purchased it in 1963, keeping it in operation until 1990. Vermiculite, a mineral containing the deadly asbestos, was used predominantly as insulation and fireproofing in millions of homes across the nation. At one point, 80 percent of the world’s vermiculite came from the Grace mine.

Libby’s story has been told countless times over the last decade. Books have been written and documentaries have been produced. Roving journalists became part of everyday life. They were there to tell the story of miners sickened by years of breathing in asbestos-laden dust, of family members who became sick after miners brought it back on their clothes, and of the hundreds of others who fell ill by exposure.

Last month, the government dropped charges against two W.R. Grace executives, William J. McCaig and Robert C. Walsh. The three who were found not guilty on May 8 were Henry A. Eschenbach, Jack W. Wolter and Robert J. Bettacchi. The final defendant, Grace’s in-house lawyer O. Mario Favorito, is scheduled for trial in September.

Read the full story here:  A New Chapter for Libby

At the heart of the matter is the amendments that affect attorneys most and forces them to be declared as a ‘debt relief agency’ and restrict their advice to clients.

From the Memphis Daily News:

Memphis attorney Ben Sissman, a private practitioner at The Law Offices of Ben Sissman, said the biggest issue attorneys have with the changes in the code is “it (means) the individual (filing for bankruptcy) has to pay more to get the same relief.”

BAPCPA discourages debtors from filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, under which most debts are forgiven, in favor of Chapter 13. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy means the monies owed are forgiven after the debtor has repaid some portion of their debts.

Prior to BAPCPA, a debtor with any income could file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but the new law places more stringent limits. The formula for determining whether a debtor is eligible for Chapter 7 now takes the debtor’s income and compares it to the median income of the debtor’s state of residence. If the debtor’s income is higher than the state’s median, the debtor is subject to a “means test” to determine if they qualify for a Chapter 7.

Attorneys argue this amendment falls under the category of “presumption of abuse.”

Also, bankruptcy lawyers are now termed “debt relief agencies.” Many people think of DRAs as places that advertise they can significantly reduce a person’s debt without having to file bankruptcy.

Placing bankruptcy attorneys in the same category as DRAs has angered many lawyers, including Sissman.

“It is designed to make people think there’s something sleazy about you,” Sissman said. “It’s designed to be offensive. No lawyer wants to stand out there and say, ‘Hi, I’m a lawyer, but I’m also a debt relief agent.’ It doesn’t accomplish anything other than to make lawyers look bad.”

Read the full story here: Local Lawyers speak out against Bankruptcy Act’s limits

…Labor law experts and a California worker exposed the ugly truth about corporate abuses of workers trying to exercise their freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life.

At the center of the discussion: Kate Bronfenbrenner’s new report, “No Holds Barred: The Intensification of Employer Opposition to Organizing,” released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the American Rights at Work Education Fund. The report shows that the problems the Employee Free Choice Act would address are getting worse.

Bronfenbrenner has studied these issues for decades as the director of labor education research at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Relations. This is her fourth survey over 20 years, enabling her to put into historical perspective the obstacles workers face today.

At the Capitol Hill briefing, Bronfenbrenner said weak laws and a hostile environment have emboldened corporations, over the past decade, to step up their abuses against workers trying to form unions.

The research provides a detailed portrait of a system that has failed private-sector workers. Workers have come to understand what our data confirms: Employers are using an arsenal of legal and illegal tactic to interfere with workers trying to organize, and they are doing it with impunity.

The study is the result of an in-depth examination of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) documents, examination of companies, interviews with workers and investigations of unfair labor practice filings, to give a clear picture of what the process of forming a union really looks like. And it’s not pretty:

• 63 percent of companies have supervisors interrogate workers in mandatory one-on-one meetings.
• 57 percent of companies threaten workers with plant closings.
• 47 percent threaten to cut wages and benefits.

Read the full story here:  Workers face increasing abuse in attempts to form unions

Read the full post here:  Immigration checks at local jails

Read the full post here:  H-1B and L-1 Visas - The Attacks Continue!

In April 2007, EPA inspectors discovered the school operators failed to conduct inspections to determine if asbestos-containing material was present in school buildings, and all had failed to develop asbestos management plans. The schools have since completed inspections and have developed asbestos management plans.

“All schools, including charter schools, need to conduct asbestos inspections and have asbestos management plans,” said Katherine Taylor, associate director for the Communities and Ecosystems Division in EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “We are pleased that these schools have now conducted inspections and put asbestos management plans into place, as asbestos in schools has the potential for endangering the health of students, teachers, and others, including maintenance workers.”

The schools are:

* Phoenix Advantage Charter School: The operator, Phoenix Advantage Charter School, Inc. was fined $12,600. The school’s first management plan documented over 10,000 square feet of assumed asbestos-containing materials. The revised management plan shows after more testing and abatement actions, the school building still contains 3,200 square feet of actual or assumed asbestos-containing materials.

* The Arts Academy at Estrella Mountain and South Mountain: The operator, PCL Charter Schools, was fined $10,200. The Estrella Mountain location was found to not have any asbestos containing materials, while the South Mountain location’s management plan shows that the school contains 2,059 square feet of asbestos-containing materials.

* The Hearn Academy: The operator, Ball Hearn, was fined $8,800 and the school was found to contain 1,230 square feet of asbestos-containing materials.

* Tucson Preparatory School: The operator, Tucson Preparatory Partnership, Inc., was fined $200 for not having a management plan at its former location on North Oracle Road. An asbestos inspection conducted by the new tenants of the North Oracle building identified no asbestos-containing materials.

* AAEC at Paradise Valley, South Mountain, and Red Mountain: The operator, Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center, Inc. was fined $3,900 for failing to conduct an inspection of Paradise Valley school, and for not having management plans at its Paradise Valley, South Mountain, and Red Mountain schools. No asbestos-containing materials were identified at these schools.

Federal law requires schools to conduct an initial inspection using accredited inspectors to determine if asbestos-containing building material is present and develop a management plan to address the asbestos materials found in the school buildings. In certain circumstances, an inspection is not required if the school has a signed statement from the architect or builder stating that a new building was constructed with no asbestos-containing materials.

Schools that do not contain asbestos-containing material must still develop a management plan that identifies a designated person and includes the architect’s statement or building inspection and the annual notification to parents, teachers, and employees regarding the availability of the plan.

The EPA’s rules also require the school to appoint a designated person who is trained to oversee asbestos activities and ensure compliance with federal regulations. Finally, schools must conduct periodic surveillance and re-inspections, properly train the maintenance and custodial staff, and maintain records in the management plan.

Local education agencies must keep an updated copy of the management plan in their administrative office and at the school, which must be made available for inspection by parents, teachers, and the general public. Asbestos is a known environmental carcinogen. Individuals exposed to airborne asbestos fibers could contract illnesses such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

A Florida Starbucks manager claims that the company didn’t pay overtime in violation of federal law.  The case has been granted conditional class-action status this week by a U.S. District Court judge in Broward County.

The lawsuit seeks to compensate store managers dating back to January 15, 2006.  This is very similar to a previous lawsuit that was settled last year for an undisclosed amount for 900 plaintiffs.  The plaintiff attorneys have until May 11th to provide a complete list of any plaintiffs to the court.   It will likely follow a similar path as last year’s suit which also began as a conditional class-action.

Starbucks also paid $100 million in upaid tips and interest to baristas in California last year.

They also paid $3 million to settle another California lawsuit that alleged the company didn’t reimburse mileage expenses.

And in Houston last year, Starbucks paid 350 assistant managers after it was alleged that they were forced to work off the clock.

The lawsuit alleges that Clearwire’s advertising is deceptive and that its Early Termination Fees are unlawful.

Clearwire is a Washington-based company with its headquarters in Kirkland, Washington. Clearwire has claimed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has hundreds of thousands of U.S. subscribers to its internet service, which it offers in sixteen states.

The complaint alleges that Clearwire engages in unfair business practices in the imposition and collection of Early Termination Fees. The complaint alleges that the majority of Clearwire’s subscribers are required to enter into one or two-year agreements. Should a subscriber decide to cancel Clearwire service for any reason, including lack of internet service or moving to a location in which Clearwire service is not offered, Clearwire charges the subscriber an Early Termination Fee. The complaint alleges that the Early Termination Fee constitutes an unlawful penalty, stymies competition, and is otherwise void and unenforceable.

The complaint also alleges that Clearwire engages in false advertising of its internet and telephone services. Although Clearwire advertises its internet service offering as a reliable, comparable, and “always-on” alternative to cable internet or DSL, the complaint alleges that Clearwire’s internet service is actually far inferior to cable internet and DSL, as consumers frequently experienced service disruptions, including dial-up speeds and lack of service entirely. With respect to Clearwire’s telephone service, although Clearwire advertises its telephone service as a superior alternative to traditional land-line telephone service, the complaint alleges that Clearwire’s telephone service is far inferior to traditional land-line service, as subscribers experience frequent service disruptions.

The plaintiffs who have brought the lawsuit are from various states in which Clearwire offers service, including Washington, Hawaii, Minnesota, and North Carolina. They seek recovery of any Early Termination Fees paid by Clearwire subscribers, as well as an injunction prohibiting Clearwire from enforcing the Early Termination Fees and from further false advertising.

The lawsuit is captioned Minnick et al. v. Clearwire US, LLC, and was filed in King County, Washington. Plaintiffs are represented by the Washington, D.C. law firm of Tycko & Zavareei LLP and the Seattle, Washington law firm of Peterson Young Putra. A copy of the complaint can be downloaded from the Tycko & Zavareei LLP website, www.tzlegal.com.

In new scientific analysis also released today, NRDC found high levels of propoxur and tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP), another carcinogenic neurotoxin common in household pet products, on pet fur after use of ordinary flea collars. NRDC is also petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling for the removal of these chemicals from pet products.

“Just because a product is sold in stores does not mean it is safe,” said Dr. Gina Solomon, NRDC senior scientist and physician. “Under California law, consumers have a right to know if a flea control product exposes them to health risks before they buy it.”

NRDC filed its lawsuit in California Superior Court in Alameda County against 16 retailers and manufacturers including Petsmart, PetCo, and Petstore.com, for failing to comply with California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, known as Proposition 65, which prohibits businesses from knowingly exposing consumers without proper warning to any chemical “known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm.” These companies have failed to caution consumers about exposure to propoxur from the use of their products, which should have been labeled with a warning as of August 11, 2007.  Proposition 65 provides for penalties of up to $2,500 for every violation.

NRDC’s new report, Poison on Pets II, found flea collars containing TCVP and propoxur pose serious neurological and cancer risks. These chemical-laden flea collars expose humans to highly hazardous chemicals that can damage the brain and nervous system and cause cancer. Children are particularly at risk from these pesticides because their neurological and metabolic systems are still developing. They are also more likely than adults to put their hands in their mouths after petting an animal, leading to the ingestion of hazardous residues.

Poison on Pets II tested the fur of dogs and cats wearing flea collars to measure the invisible pesticide residues left on the pets from these collars. This analysis, which was the first study of propoxur residues on pet’s fur, found that propoxur levels are so high in some products that they pose a cancer risk in children that is up to 1,000 times higher than the EPA’s acceptable levels, and up to 500 times higher for adults. The study also showed that after three days, 100 percent of the pets wearing collars containing propoxur and 50 percent of the pets wearing collars with TCVP posed a significant neurological risk to toddlers. Testing also revealed that unsafe levels of pesticide residue remain on a dog’s or cat’s fur two weeks after a collar is put on an animal. Families with multiple pets that wear flea collars have even greater exposure risks.

The EPA has never compiled data on pesticide levels found on a pet’s fur after use of flea collars. NRDC’s testing and careful calculations reveal that the EPA’s decision to leave these products on the market may create a significant health risk to pet owners, most notably young children.

The availability of many effective and safer alternatives for flea and tick control makes the continued use of these pesticides an unnecessary risk. NRDC’s groundbreaking 2000 report “Poison on Pets” led to the ban of six other pesticides in pet products, but products containing TCVP and propoxur are still on store shelves.

“The EPA’s evaluation of these chemicals was dangerously flawed and underestimates the risks to children,” said Miriam Rotkin-Ellman, NRDC scientist. “There is no reason to use carcinogens and neurotoxins to fight fleas and ticks when there are other safer and effective treatments available. The EPA should not allow these toxic chemicals in pet products.”

NRDC’s recommendations for safe flea and tick control include the frequent use of a flea comb, regular bathing of pets, as well as vacuuming and washing of their bedding regularly. If chemical-based flea control is necessary, the safest options often containing the least toxic chemicals are those dispensed by pill. Visit NRDC’s free online flea and tick product guide for pet owners that ranks more than 125 products, categorizing products by the level of their potential health threat, at NRDC’s consumer-oriented Green Paws website: www.greenpaws.org.