Monthly Archives: <span>September 2015</span>

2015 a Notable Year for Louisiana Hurricane Anniversaries

Call 2015 the year of hurricane anniversary coincidence in Louisiana. Besides marking the 10th anniversary of the devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this year is the 100th anniversary of a deadly storm that struck in 1915, the 50th anniversary of …

Coastal Louisiana Struggles 10 years After Hurricane Rita

Vacant slabs, weed-choked lots and solitary stairs to nowhere permeate this tiny town in southwest Louisiana. All that remains of the Klean-N-Kruise car wash is a rusted white sign overlooking an empty, overgrown lot. Residents travel 30 miles away for …

Bangladesh Works Hard to Meet U.S. Factory Safety Conditions

Bangladesh said it has met the conditions put forward by the United States for better safety and workers’ rights in its factories that were essential to regain preferential trade status the impoverished South Asian nation lost in 2013 after two …

Warner Music Loses Bid for Copyright to ‘Happy Birthday’ Song

A U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled that Warner/Chappell Music does not own a valid copyright to one of the world’s most recognizable songs, “Happy Birthday to You,” a decision that brings the song into the public domain. The highly-anticipated ruling …

Liberty Mutual Appoints Morelli Engineering Practice Leader for Property

To better meet the property risk engineering needs of commercial insurance policyholders, Boston-based Liberty Mutual has appointed Robert Morelli, National Accounts Engineering Practice Leader. In this role, Morelli is responsible for the development and delivery of engineering products and services …

NICB: Watercraft Thefts Continued to Sink in 2014

As boat owners begin the annual task of winterizing and dry docking their boats for the season, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that watercraft theft continues to drop. NICB’s annual report looks at watercraft theft and recoveries in …

Indiana’s Crumbling Roads Spurs Lawmakers Call for Investigation

Two top Republican lawmakers are considering an independent investigation into how the state bought $71 million in asphalt that is possibly defective and may be causing newly paved roads to crumble. Valparaiso Rep. Ed Soliday told The Indianapolis Star that …

California Wildfire Evacuees Return to See Scope of Destruction

The scope of devastation from one of California’s most destructive wildfires is becoming clearer and so too is the size of the humanitarian need in one of the state’s poorer counties. Gov. Jerry Brown requested a presidential disaster declaration on …

Researchers Find 2 Ways to Make IoT Configuration Easy and More Secure

With an ever increasing number of everyday objects from our homes, workplaces and even from our wardrobes, getting connected to the Internet, known as the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT), researchers from the University of Southampton have identified easy-to-use techniques to …

Despite Wildfire Danger, Wildland Urban Interface Continues to Grow

A new U.S. Forest Service report shows the continued expansion of housing development near forests, an area referred to as the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), with direct implications for the cost of wildfire fighting. Increasing densities of people and infrastructure in …