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| In an E-R
story this morning about CARD and
legal waivers there's one bold new piece of information. From the story... "Almost no one complains about this, according to CARD general manager Jack Visconti. He told the Enterprise-Record that in the eight years he's been with CARD, he's only heard of two people who objected to signing the waiver." First we lose City Manager Greg Jones, and now Steve Visconti is replaced by some guy named "Jack". Who is Jack Visconti? Is he Steve's recreationally challenged brother? Is it just coincidence Steve's been replaced by someone with the exact same last name? I'm deeply concerned! The story is about a waiver CARD has its "customers" sign agreeing that CARD will not be held liable for injuries due to negligence. CARD instructors are paid, but they generally are not established enough to be covered by their own insurance policy. The way CARD structures its classes is that anyone can propose one (as well as the suggest the cost). CARD takes a portion of the registration fee and provides a location and some marketing in return. If complaints occur CARD might not ask an instructor back. There are also camps and classes (like swimming) that are managed by CARD employees. Personally, I think a waiver at CARD is just fine. If someone is too afraid to take Karate because they won't be able to sue at a later date, they probably should just stay locked in their homes. As pointed out in the article anybody can still sue CARD even if they've signed a waiver. Chico's Mayor Andy Holcombe, who is an attorney, is afraid the waiver will make people think they can't sue CARD. My answer to that... good. We live in a litigious society with a whole lot of bottom feeders making money off of lawsuits. If somebody could guarantee me that only deeply injured individuals would sue, I'd be happy to see liability exemptions removed. Holcombe also states that the reason people have insurance is in case they're sued. He omits the fact that insurance costs are skyrocketing due to government regulation and excessive litigation. Insurance cost, and I'm not talking health insurance, have been increasing by leaps and bounds over the last decade. Plus insurance does not cover time lost dealing with law suits, and may not cover specific issues. Anybody that assumes the cost of a law suit is a burdon easily shouldered by insurance also misses the ongoing loss of capital that insurance costs force on business. Year after year you pay for protection against legal thugs who are assumed to be waiting in the wings to club you down. It's certainly not a bill I enjoy seeing get paid. The legal system is a nightmare of costs and undefined liability for a business. CARD should do whatever it can to protect itself from getting dragged into it. Today the only people with a lawyer going after CARD have a lawsuit to stop a cell tower from going into Hooker Oak Recreation Area. This group did include a board member of the Friends of Bidwell Park, John Merz. I think the City should take a page out of CARD's operating manual. Maybe we should have local non-profits who volunteer in the park sign a waiver not to sue the city for any reason. I think that would be a useful document to have on file. And whatever you people did with Steve Visconti, bring him back! He was doing a good job. Note: The city requires people to sign a similar liability waiver when you do volunteer projects in the park. I've signed this numerous times when working on various projects in Caper Acres. |
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 CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Mark Bohn, see comments below for the answer. |
CARD's Manager Missing? Replaced by Evil Brother?
8 Comments
Lon
About Me: Fasten your seatbelts for an exhilarating trip through Chico's public policy; I guarantee it's marginally better than public access TV.
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Hunting dog in the snow
That is a Jack Russle Terrier....
A Pointer, pointing at a white duck in the snowstorm with a polar bear sneaking up behind him?
its the back left side of a white dog with a black spot standing in snow with grass popping out of it.
All of you posted great responses.
I don't know how Gregg knew the polar bear was poised for attack, or that a duck was clearly threatened by the dog. He probably also knows that I'm typing this with one hand while balancing a baby girl on my knee. The ESP he exhibits is scary.
And I might just have Trevor post written descriptions of future challenges. Because while some pictures are worth a thousand words, he's shown that this one is worth exactly 22.
But Mark guessed it right. It's a Jack Russel Terrier.
Lon
hey, where do I sign?
I have a Jack Russell. His name is Sampson.
Trevor,
I have a cat whose name is Sampson. I wonder if they're related?
Lon
Well, he does think he's a cat, so it is quite possible that they are related. He was raised up with two cats about the same age as him, so he got used to trying to climb up on the furniture with them, and in the crawl spaces, eating their food... etc. its really cute to watch him climb up on the couch cushions and try to maintain balance.