With the hottest days of summer upon us, pools and beaches are more crowded than ever.  However, it is important to make sure children are properly supervised while splashing, floating and swimming.

Sadly, each year more than 800 children drown in swimming pools.  The risk of drowning increases during the summer months when children are more likely to be near the water.

Drowning is completely preventable and Safekids.org has listed 5 truths about children who drown and what can be done to keep children safe around the water this summer.

Truth 1: Weak or No Supervision

Children can drown even if there is an adult present.  Adults sometimes become distracted by talking on the phone, talking to other adults, or reading.  Be sure to actively supervise your children around water and have an an undistracted adult on watch at all times while children are in the water. Always keep a phone nearby in case there is an emergency.

Truth 2: No Barrier

Children can fall into pools that are enclosed by a pool fence.  If you own a pool, make sure it has four-sided fencing and a self-closing, self-latching gate.  Hot tubs should also be locked when not in use.

Truth 3: Weak or No CPR Skills

CPR is critical in preventing death or brain damage after a child is rescued from the water.  It is important for parents and those working with children to get certified.

Truth 4: Weak or No Swimming Ability

Children from non-swimming households are at a much higher risk of drowning than children from swimming households.  Enroll your child in swim classes at as early an age as possible. Swimming classes are available for infants and teaching at this early an age is recommended. If you are a parent and unable to swim, take a parent-child learn-to-swim class.

Truth 5: Lack of Life Jacket Use

More than 700 people drown in boating accidents each year.  Of those who drown, nine out of ten are not wearing a life vest.  It is important to ensure that your child is wearing a life jacket at all times if you are boating.

Visit the Safe Kids website for more detailed information on pool and water safety.

Remember the days when you drove your car into a “service station” and you simply expected that, in addition to gas, you would receive, well, service?

When I was a boy, I would often go to the gas station with my Dad. Back then, it was not just about gasoline. The gas would be pumped for him; his windows would be washed; and all the necessaries under the hood would be carefully examined for problems; he might even get some service work done. My Dad knew the gas station attendant by name and would “shoot the breeze” with him about everything from baseball to politics. Ah, the good ole days: when men were men and service station attendants were professionals.

Well as they say, yes, times they have changed.

Now, when you go to get gasoline there are no professionals. No one meets you at the pump and you, the consumer, have become the gas station attendant in some respects. Now, the “station attendant” is likely the poor guy or gal putting up the signs for the 29 cent hot dog, while keeping the slushy and coffee machines filled to the brim! They are the people selling lottery tickets and paying off the winners. Station attendants now are more a combination grocer, coffee shop person and numbers runner than they are anyone the least bit skilled in the very sensitive trade of dealing with flammable and explosive liquids.

I guess when it comes to one of the most dangerous flammable and combustible liquid/gas mixture in our society Big Oil and Big Business want to add a degree of difficulty to keep it exciting. Thanks, but no thanks….

Seriously, I cannot tell you how many times I have heard about or actually witnessed gasoline overflowing out the gas tank of an unattended car or on to an unsuspecting consumer.

Most often, the emergency of over flowing flammable liquids is the result of broken automatic cut off valve. This is both a serious occurrence and one that requires some amount of professional knowledge. Sadly, we can not, in all fairness, expect the grocer, coffee person, numbers runner to really have the expertise to properly identify the malfunction as a serious occurrence and have the specialized knowledge to know how to fix it. Certainly, shutting down a malfunctioning pump is not a call that a clerk in a gas station is going to want to make.

Here in Florida we have the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to inspect the gas pumps, pursuant to Florida Statute Chapter 531 – Weights and Measures. Their primary job, however, is to make sure that the amount pumped out is the proper amount received and charged.

However, I must wonder; between that division and the local fire departments is there really effective oversight on the safety aspects of these modern convenience store-gas station combos.

I think it is fair to say that the incidence of reporting of overflows, spills, and injuries is loosely regulated at best. Frankly, based on my research it is pretty much a self monitoring reporting system for the wrongdoer.

Yeah, I know, not likely to be all that effective. For additional legislative comfort, we have Florida Statute 526.141; which sets forth that the attendant at a self service station is to be “primarily” monitoring the pumps.

Do we really believe that is actually happening? What is happening is that in between the grocery sales, cigarette sales, numbers running and coffee peddling, the issue of flammable liquids and their inherent danger may be getting some fleeting thoughts. It appears the “attendants” or more like cashiers and stock persons; woefully undertrained, understaffed, and overworked. I have no doubt they are underpaid considering the seriousness of that for which they are “alleged” to be responsible.

Sorry, call me cynical but I have seen firsthand the fires and injuries.

Ok, so what to do?

Well you can look for the stains on the ground of old fuel spills, but that doesn’t really tell you how old or new they are.

Next, even though the store may be luring you in with signs of 2 for 1 burritos, don’t bite; at least until after you finished pumping the gas. Leaving the car unattended can make a bad situation worse.

Finally, if you notice an overflow problem, report it! Report it to the store and get the name of the person and a copy of the report but also notify the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the local Fire Dept. The links contained in this article and will help you see prior complaints but will also let you file a complaint “for the record”.

This extra effort will help keep people safe, save people money, and help the environment. Not a bad return on a modest effort. I am in favor of business, progress and technology, but not when it comes at the unnecessary expense of tragic injuries, loss of life and the safety of our families.

The laws labelling dogs “dangerous” have been tightened in Palm Beach County and across the nation. When a dog is declared dangerous it must be kept away from public places, on a walk it must be muzzled and on a leash and such canines cannot be left to roam freely in their yards.

No one really knows when they get a puppy or adopt a dog that it might have traits that could cause it to be labelled dangerous. This can happen to any breed of dog and is not limited to just the breeds classified as the “main offenders.”

Owning a dog is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. All dogs should be socialized when young with both other animals and with humans. Take your dog to a basic obedience class to minimize the chances of it becoming a problem to other pets or humans. Any dog, under the right circumstances, can be a destructive and dangerous force.

If you are the victim of a dog bite, report the incident to your local authorities. Although the attack may have been an isolated occurrence that will not happen again, it may also be an alert to a dangerous problem. If by chance you are the victim of a dangerous dog attack there are also civil remedies that can be sought to compensate for your injuries.

Is the phrase, a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” in the constitution? Popular belief is yes, but it is not actually in the constitution. Rather, this phrase comes from President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. It is probably a concept that should have been incorporated into the constitution and certainly Lincoln included it to remind citizens that it is their country. I think politicians, and even some of us, forget that it is OUR government and the politicians are OUR employees; they are supposed to be working in OUR best interests.

Business interests are fond of complaining about the jury system and regularly claim that it is “broken”, it needs to be “fixed”. Perhaps the best word is, in fact, “fixed”; they would like to fix the civil justice system so that it can be better influenced in their direction. Should we hold it against them because they work to achieve an unfair playing field? We should not hate Big Corporations for this, but should we allow them to achieve it? Absolutely not!

I think the jury system our founding fathers borrowed from English common law works just fine in protecting the rights of individual citizens. Frankly, I want six of my fellow citizens sitting and listening to evidence in my case. I want six regular people considering what makes sense and what does not make sense. I do not want a special panel appointed to hear my case, as has been promoted by many business “political parrots”. I do not want the government inserting itself into the civil justice system anymore than they already do. I trust an impartial panel of my fellow citizens to fairly weigh the evidence and reach a decision that makes sense.

(more…)