Best of luck to everyone in New Orleans over the next couple of days…in my thoughts. More to come… PJ Harvey -The Words that Maketh Murder And she ain’t talking about Steve Newhouse killing the Times-Picayune. Have a nice day. Continue reading Across the bow…
In an article published online last evening, David Hammer of the Times-Picayune called into question whether over 50,000 plaintiffs attempting to sue BP in the trial beginning February 27th would have their suits rendered ineligible for compensation because they didn’t try to get money from Feinberg’s Gulf Coast Claims Facility first. He writes: “The “presentment” issue could endanger 60 percent of them (court claims). In … Continue reading A few quick questions for the Plaintiff Steering Committee…
Feinberg has maintained that periodically he will be taking a look at the GCCF, it’s claims structures and the state of the Gulf to determine whether any modification to payments is necessary. It is this reappraisal which led to the changes last August where businesses had to show a growth rate of five percent to qualify for continued payment of interim claims. This is also … Continue reading Ken Feinberg’s next modification…
Wow, sure seems like Ken’s getting defensive down in the Gulf… Defending himself against accusations that interim claims are not being paid, or are not enough, Ken Feinberg said, “I just think people should move on already. I mean, this is not a lifelong operation…I have no objection to people taking the interim payments, but I do think that there should be a recognition that … Continue reading Yep, its still the fishers fault, part 17…
Congratulations, and thanks much for the continued coverage of the spill and aftermath… “Times-Picayune reporter David Hammer won a national environmental reporting award Monday for his coverage of the BP oil spill. The Society of Environmental Journalists announced the winners of the 2010-2011 Awards for Reporting on the Environment. Hammer reported on the risky decisions and lax safety practices that led to the April 20, … Continue reading Congratulations, David…
Ken Feinberg, in an article from yesterday’s Times-Picayune, reports the pace of payments by the GCCF have improved, sped up and are finally hitting their stride. In the article by David Hammer, it is reported the average amount of final payments have increased, as has the percentage of final payments paid, also, the GCCF has processed 95% of the 300,000 claims that were filed before … Continue reading Kenneth Feinberg “says” things are picking up…well, Ken “says” a lot of things…
Ken Feinberg has been getting a lot of flack from people in the Gulf Coast regarding his claims process. The accusations are flying a mile a minute, some of them coming from various members of Congress, the Justice Department and the Attorneys General of Alabama and Mississippi. Apparently having had enough of this, Feinberg wrote an editorial in last Sunday’s Press Register, where he took … Continue reading The GCCF Statistics…What Ken’s editorial doesn’t report…
Hey, I thought this whole oil spill deal was all kinda, you know…over. At least that’s the impression I got watching all them there sparkly British Petroleum commercials, but man, over the past two days, the news has been flying pretty serious again in the Gulf, and between you, me, the courts and the water…I think this has just begun…Maybe I just got distracted by … Continue reading And so it begins: Year Two…
From the St. Petersburg Times: “Lenny Stamos, owner of Beach Cyclists in St. Pete Beach, said he sent in five years of sales tax returns to document his $34,000 loss for last summer. The agency turned down his emergency claim for insufficient documentation, he said. He’s represented by a lawyer. “My wife and I borrowed $30,000 on our credit cards to keep the business going,” … Continue reading People continue to be left behind by the GCCF…
It would appear a pattern is developing in this great land of ours. Simply put, we begin with a tragedy, then we have an investigation which discovers the governmental agencies designed to prevent such tragedies either fell down on the job or didn’t care, and even worse, the fail-safe for the agency that didn’t do their job is woefully unprepared to handle the mess created. … Continue reading So, they’ll get it right this time? Oil spills, mine disasters, levees and forgetfulness…
Drake Toulouse: Photography and Words 