Post-Katrina Reconstruction Liability: Exposing the Inferior Risk-Bearer

This Article describes the doctrinal, functional, and moral flaws inherent in the Gulf Coast Recovery Act (GCRA), a United States Senate bill that would provide liability protection to government contractors engaged in disaster relief work in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, as well as in future disaster areas. First, the Article discusses the history of the government contractor defense and finds that the protection provided by the GCRA is quite unlike the traditional government contractor defense. This Article further argues that this doctrinal departure cannot be justified on grounds of efficiency or fairness, as the GCRA allocates risk away from government contractors and the government and towards the disaster area residents and relief workers who are potential victims. Finally, this Article notes that even if the sort of protection provided by the GCRA may be justified under some conditions of market failure, there is no empirical evidence that government contractors in the Gulf Coast have experienced such conditions, and there are superior alternatives to the GCRA that could provide such protection while preserving a path for victim compensation. This Article concludes that the GCRA is an untenable solution to a problem that has not been proven to exist, and one that violates the basic principles of good government

Post-Katrina Reconstruction Liability: Exposing the Inferior Risk-Bearer

This Article describes the doctrinal, functional, and moral flaws inherent in the Gulf Coast Recovery Act (GCRA), a United States Senate bill that would provide liability protection to government contractors engaged in disaster relief work in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, as well as in future disaster areas. First, the Article discusses the history of the government contractor defense and finds that the protection provided by the GCRA is quite unlike the traditional government contractor defense. This Article further argues that this doctrinal departure cannot be justified on grounds of efficiency or fairness, as the GCRA allocates risk away from government contractors and the government and towards the disaster area residents and relief workers who are potential victims. Finally, this Article notes that even if the sort of protection provided by the GCRA may be justified under some conditions of market failure, there is no empirical evidence that government contractors in the Gulf Coast have experienced such conditions, and there are superior alternatives to the GCRA that could provide such protection while preserving a path for victim compensation. This Article concludes that the GCRA is an untenable solution to a problem that has not been proven to exist, and one that violates the basic principles of good government

Town of Cumberland Town Council Meeting June 16, 2014

Town of Cumberland Town Council Meeting June 16, 2014 is the complete packet for the Cumberland Town Council meeting for June 16, 2014, and includes the minutes of the Town Council meeting of June 2, 2014. Agenda items include swearing in newly-elected Town Councilors; electing Council Chair and Vice-Chair; holding a Public Hearing to award the Tax Anticipation Notes for FY’15; hearing a report from the Finance Committee Chair and authorizing the Town Manager to transfer interdepartmental operating funds for FY’14; Commercial Hauler’s license renewals; FY’15 Town Council Committee Assignments; holding a Public Hearing to consider and act on annual temporary Victualer’s Licenses for Non-Profit Organizations; setting a Special Town Council Meeting date of June 30, 2014; setting a Public Hearing date of June 30th to consider and act on authorizing the Town Manager to execute a lease agreement with Verizon; setting a Public Hearing date of June 30th to consider and act on authorizing the Town Manager to execute a Purchase & Sale Agreement with the Maine Central Railroad Company; amending the dollar amount for the municipal property tax levy for LD1 for FY’14; setting a workshop date of July 14th re: amendments to Chapter 200 (Roads and Public Property), Section 2 (Animals at large) and Chapter 17 (Animal Control), Sections 3 (Dogs at Large) and 5 (Violations and Penalties) of the Cumberland Code; and authorizing the Town Manager to enter into an agreement with Sevee & Mahar to close the construction and demolition landfill at the Public Works facility on Drowne Road

Town of Cumberland Town Council Meeting June 16, 2014

Town of Cumberland Town Council Meeting June 16, 2014 is the complete packet for the Cumberland Town Council meeting for June 16, 2014, and includes the minutes of the Town Council meeting of June 2, 2014. Agenda items include swearing in newly-elected Town Councilors; electing Council Chair and Vice-Chair; holding a Public Hearing to award the Tax Anticipation Notes for FY’15; hearing a report from the Finance Committee Chair and authorizing the Town Manager to transfer interdepartmental operating funds for FY’14; Commercial Hauler’s license renewals; FY’15 Town Council Committee Assignments; holding a Public Hearing to consider and act on annual temporary Victualer’s Licenses for Non-Profit Organizations; setting a Special Town Council Meeting date of June 30, 2014; setting a Public Hearing date of June 30th to consider and act on authorizing the Town Manager to execute a lease agreement with Verizon; setting a Public Hearing date of June 30th to consider and act on authorizing the Town Manager to execute a Purchase & Sale Agreement with the Maine Central Railroad Company; amending the dollar amount for the municipal property tax levy for LD1 for FY’14; setting a workshop date of July 14th re: amendments to Chapter 200 (Roads and Public Property), Section 2 (Animals at large) and Chapter 17 (Animal Control), Sections 3 (Dogs at Large) and 5 (Violations and Penalties) of the Cumberland Code; and authorizing the Town Manager to enter into an agreement with Sevee & Mahar to close the construction and demolition landfill at the Public Works facility on Drowne Road

Implementing War Torts

Under the law of armed conflict, no entity is accountable for lawful acts in war that cause harm, and accountability mechanisms for unlawful acts (like war crimes) rarely create a right to compensation for victims. Accordingly, states now regularly create bespoke institutions, like the proposed International Claims Commission for Ukraine, to resolve mass claims associated with international crises. While helpful for specific and politically popular populations, these one-off institutions have limited jurisdiction and thus limited effect. Creating an international “war torts” regime—which would establish route to compensation for civilians harmed in armed conflict—would better address this accountability gap for all wartime victims.This Article is the first attempt to map out the questions and considerations that must be navigated to construct a war torts regime. With the overarching aim of increasing the likelihood of victim compensation, it considers (1) the respective benefits of international tribunals, claims commissions, victims’ funds, domestic courts, and hybrid systems as institutional homes; (2) appropriate claimants and defendants; and (3) the elements of a war torts claim, including the necessary level and type of harm, the preferable liability and causation standards, possible substantive and procedural affirmative defenses, and potential remedies.Domestic law has long recognized that justice often requires a tort remedy as well as criminal liability; it is past time for international law to do so as well. By describing how to begin implementing a new war torts regime to complement the law of state responsibility and international criminal law, this Article provides a blueprint for building a comprehensive accountability legal regime for all civilian harms in armed conflict

Review of international flood insurance and recovery mechanisms: Implications for New Zealand and the resilience of older people

Widely available insurance within a well-functioning and solvent market has the potential to not only assist the recovery from hazard events; but also positively influence mitigation behaviour. However, the characteristics of current flood insurance models and their effectiveness vary considerably between countries. How flood insurance provision is structured, what losses are covered and excluded and how it is purchased all impact upon the effectiveness of the scheme for recovering from flood losses and ultimately how burden sharing is split between the at-risk individual and society. This study reviews international insurance provision (and compensation schemes) for adverse natural events. Each insurance model is described and its performance for aiding recovery as well as modifying risk behaviour examined. A number of criteria are used to evaluate these models including; degree of insurance penetration, coverage, insurability, equity, incentives for mitigation and impact on market solvency. The review also examines the role of insurance within a broader portfolio of flood and storm management. Recognising the balance between a focus on proactive management and recovery as well as public and private investment is critical to understanding the overall role of insurance within a country and wider lessons that can be drawn. This cultural and flood management context is fundamental to assessing the impact that flood insurance may have on community resilience. Where possible, the review draws on information about insurance trends and other data for the provision of cover for older people; although the availability of data specifically for this group is limited

Commercialization is Required for Sustainable Space Exploration and Development

The U.S. Space Exploration policy outlines an exciting new direction in space for human and robotic exploration and development beyond low Earth orbit. Pressed by this new visionary guidance, human civilization will be able to methodically build capabilities to move off Earth and into the solar system in a step-by-step manner, gradually increasing the capability for humans to stay longer in space and move further away from Earth. The new plans call for an implementation that would create an affordable and sustainable program in order to span over generations of explorers, each new generation pushing back the boundaries and building on the foundations laid by the earlier. To create a sustainable program it is important to enable and encourage the development of a selfsupporting commercial space industry leveraging both traditional and non-traditional segments of the industrial base. Governments will not be able to open the space frontier on their own because their goals change over relatively short timescales and because the large costs associated with human spaceflight cannot be sustained. A strong space development industrial sector is needed that can one day support the needs of commercial space enterprises as well as provide capabilities that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other national space agencies can buy to achieve their exploration goals. This new industrial space sector will someday provide fundamental capabilities like communications, power, logistics, and even cargo and human space transportation, just as commercial companies are able to provide these services on Earth today. To help develop and bolster this new space industrial sector, NASA and other national space agencies can enable and facilitate it in many ways, including reducing risk by developing important technologies necessary for commercialization of space, and as a paying customer, partner, or anchor tenant. This transition from all or mostly government developed and operated facilities and services to commercial supplied facilities and services should be considered from the very earliest stages of planning. This paper will first discuss the importance of space commercialization to fulfilling national goals and the associated policy and strategic objectives that will enable space exploration and development. Then the paper will offer insights into how government can provide leadership to promote the nascent commercial space industry. In addition, the paper describes programs and policies already in place at NASA and offers five important principles government can use to strengthen space industry

Intergovernmental agreement : I-5 right of way access

26 page

NO MAN’S SKY: UTILIZING MARITIME LAW TO ADDRESS THE NEED FOR SPACE DEBRIS REMOVAL TECHNOLOGY

NO MAN’S SKY: UTILIZING MARITIME LAW TO ADDRESS THE NEED FOR SPACE DEBRIS REMOVAL TECHNOLOG