Declarations

Atlanta Winds

“Last night’s storms struck our capital city, a center for business, tourism and government, and we are working with city officials to support them during this disaster. State resources are being made available to assist in the cleanup efforts. I have also spoken to FEMA Administrator David Paulison, and we will continue to coordinate closely to marshal federal, state and local resources as we recover.”

—Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue reporting on the March 14 storms and tornado that struck Atlanta and other portions of Georgia, damaging several high-profile commercial properties and state office buildings. On March 15, Perdue issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in the affected areas.

Mine Response Time

“The whole purpose of this is to make sure that if there’s an accident and someone is injured, that valuable time isn’t wasted trying to describe the directions to the helicopter flight service.”

—Kentucky State Sen. Ray Jones II, D-Pikeville, commenting on legislation in Kentucky that would require coal companies to post their GPS coordinates at mine sites and to provide them to emergency dispatching centers.

Alabama Rising

“If we maintain a market in a very high-risk area and other states can’t maintain a market in other high-risk areas, I would call that successful.”

—Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell, after homeowners’ insurance rates in Alabama jumped by 69.1 percent. Bell said he understands consumers are unhappy about rising prices, but noted that private companies are still shouldering all risks of hurricane damage in Alabama, unlike in other places where state government has taken on risk or insurance is unavailable.

Humble Apologies

“I am truly and humbly sorry for that, and I apologize to the court, to the legal profession I love so deeply, and to the people of the state of Mississippi.”

—Zach Scruggs as he pleaded guilty March 21, to misprision of a felony, which means he had knowledge of a felony but didn’t report it. He, his father (Richard “Dickie” Scruggs) and three others were originally charged with conspiring to bribe a judge in a dispute over $26.5 million in legal fees.

Five’s a Crowd

“There’s no question that with every person you add with that teen driver, the chances of a crash go up significantly.”

—Kevin Bakewell, a senior vice president for AAA Auto Club South on the association’s support of a Florida bill that would prohibit minors from driving with more than three underage passengers, unless accompanied by someone who is at least 21 years old. The legislation (SB 282, HB 77) would also prohibit minors from having any underage passengers within the first six months after receiving their license.

Topics Alabama