Declarations

Easy attack
“For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do.”

–Dr. Jerry R. Gillespie, director of the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, quoting Tommy Thompson, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

No suit
“Whether the government employees’ actions were wise, foolish or negligent is irrelevant …”

–U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said, ruling that residents who allege their homes were destroyed by a backburn that got away from firefighters cannot sue the U.S. Forest Service over their losses.

Sad goodbye
“Gary has served the people of Washington well and I am grateful to him for all his work to help Washington businesses become more competitive in this global economy.”

–Gov. Chris Gregoire, commenting on the resignation of Washington State Department of Labor & Industries Director Gary Weeks. Weeks announced he will be leaving the state agency that oversees Washington’s workers’ compensation system, and workers safety and health on October 13 to become the executive director of the Washington Health Care Association. Weeks is credited with helping small business, including creating a Small Business Liaison, for aggressively pursuing fraud, and for promoting a healthy balance between voluntary workplace-safety efforts and enforcement.

New wage
“Raising the minimum wage is something I have wanted to do for a long time and I am happy that this year, we have the right bill and the powerhouse economy we need to get this done.”

— California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, commenting on his signing of Assembly Bill 1835, which will raise the minimum wage to $8 per hour by Jan. 1, 2008. When the minimum wage rate goes into effect, it will be greater that the minimum wage rates in any other state.

Produce recall
“It is possible that the recall and the information will extend beyond Natural Selection Foods and involve other brands and other companies, at other dates.”

— Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer with the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, commenting on the voluntary recall by Natural Selection Foods of product containing its spinach. The San Juan Bautista, Calif.-based company’s spinach is believed to be the source of an E. coli outbreak that has killed one person and sickened nearly 100 others in 19 states. As of September 18, 29 people had ben hospitalized, 14 with kidney failure.

Topics USA Washington