Declarations

Still Not Fixed

“They got an advert on TV saying they fixed the Gulf, but I’ve never been fixed.”

—Louisiana oysterman Jules Melancon, whose livelihood was disrupted by the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Melancon, the last remaining oysterman on Grand Isle, La., was compensated by BP but deems the sum inadequate. He says he has not found a single oyster alive in his leases in the area since the leak and relies on an onshore oyster nursery to make a living.

No Crank Call

“I was sure it was a crank call. … I just figured it was some of my buddies messing with me.”

—Roger Lemirande, a Wisconsin trucker, on the phone call telling him he won a customized truck in Great American Insurance Group’s annual Big Rig Giveaway. Lemirande, who’s been driving for 35 years, won the contest at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

On Watch

“I am very happy that Congress has acted to protect homeowners. … However, we will have to watch FEMA’s implementation of it to be sure it actually fixes the problem.”

—Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said he is withdrawing the suit aimed at stopping flood insurance premium increases mandated under a 2012 reform law. In March, Congress passed a new law — The Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act — rescinding many of the increases.

Sharing Economy

“This legislative proposal acknowledges what our community already knows: San Franciscans should be able to share the home in which they live.”

—San Francisco-based Airbnb said it was reviewing a proposal in which lawmakers are considering making it legal for city residents to rent out their homes on sites such as Airbnb, but only if they have liability insurance and work with policymakers.

Driver Inattention

“The numbers tell the sad truth: we are in the midst of a surge in driver inattention.”

—New Jersey’s Acting Attorney General John Hoffman on the staggering toll driver inattention has taken on New Jersey’s roadways. From 2004 to 2013, driver inattention was a major contributing circumstance in 1.4 million crashes in New Jersey.

Topics New Jersey