Man pleads guilty to fatal hit and run

For a 44 year old man, a lesson was learned in the hard way. Breaking a simple rule and killing another in the process caused him his liberty.

Travis Weber had been arrested for the death of a bicyclist in a hit and run accident. On the eve of his trial, Weber pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter. The change of Weber’s plea of not guilty to guilty included an enhancement for hit-and-run driving and a consensus between both lawyers that Weber would be sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment.

In the preliminary investigation, California Highway Patrol Officer Michael Edwards testified that he found bottles of vodka and beer in Weber’s truck. He further testified that during Weber’s arrest, the latter admitted that he was on a drinking spree for five days.

The death of Edward Costa in December 2008 left his wife and two children in mourning since then. Costa’s dreams were abruptly cut off due to his untimely death. But due to numerous tipsters, Weber was apprehended. Were it not for such cooperation, he could still be at large up until now.

Drinking and driving are facts of life but both should never be done simultaneously as this deadly combination would bring irreversible consequences.

The personal injury lawyers hired by the parties must have done a good job to come up with a fair agreement on the case. An agreement that would save the Costas time for trial but still get the justice they deserve.

Share |

Americans Pessimistic Over the Economy

A recent survey showed that more than 50 percent of Americans are pessimistic over the condition of economy and admitted that they have refrained from buying luxury items.

According to America’s Research Group, the majority of consumers think that the worst of recession is not yet over. Meanwhile, this finding is not surprising given the fact that massive layoffs and disposable incomes have become the major concern of ordinary Americans today.

With a financial crisis, many people have been forced to drastically cut their expenses. This trend is shown in the research group report which revealed that more than 74 percent of consumers consider the price of foods before purchasing these.

The findings just shows that the consumer confidence in the US has already reached record-low, also a clear indication that majority of Americans are greatly affected by the financial crisis. And with threats that unemployment rate may jump up to 10 percent for the next few months, pessimism continues to grow.

In an effort to lessen the burden of ordinary workers, the government recently passed a new tax incentive which includes less withholding tax on their salaries. Meanwhile, this may not be substantial since it will only allow a person to save roughly $400 every year or $7.69 a week.

Share |

Providing Medical Assistance to the Uninsured

With an H1N1 Influenza or Swine flu pandemic looming over the horizon, 50 million uninsured Americans are at risk. In any epidemic, the uninsured have the worst options with several thousand resorting to self-medication, flooding emergency rooms and, at most, prayer.

Although top laboratories in the country are racing to develop new vaccines that would be effective against this new strain of the Influenza virus, one in every seven people would not get the much needed protection because of the high cost of treatment.

What most people don’t know is that anybody can go to federally-funded community centers and get medical assistance at little or no cost. Varying from state to state, medical assistance programs for the uninsured would often involve free medical services to purchase discounts for prescribed medicines.
Health experts agree that obstacles like high costs would not help in fighting off a pandemic such as swine flu.

In response, lawmakers are already passing legislations that would provide temporary medical assistance to the uninsured at times of public health emergencies like earthquakes, hurricanes, acts of bio-terrorism and epidemics. Another bill aims to give everyone one free flu shot every year.

In principle, the federal government should be the first to move in preventing a medical emergency from gripping the country. Programs have been established to face such challenges but with the current economic recession, authorities should expand their coverage and lower the limits for people needing medical assistance.

However, one question is still subject to debate: “Should taxpayers pay for medical assistance for illegal immigrants?”

Share |