Best Year Ever for Oil Spill Company?
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And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Safety First
The owner of the oil platform that exploded last year triggering the Gulf oil spill is giving itself a pat on the b ack for its safety record.
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Transocean paid bonuses to its top executives for what it called the best year in safety performance in company history. It acknowledged the tragic loss of life in the explosion -- 11 men died -- but said it still had an exemplary safety record because it met or exceeded certain internal safety targets. It says most senior managers were given two-thirds of their total possible safety bonus.
The head of a federal commission investigating the spill decried the bonuses, saying the company -- quote -- "just doesn't get it."
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
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Your tax dollars could be footing the bill for a $600,000 giant toad sculpture outside a new Defense Department building in Alexandria, Virginia.
The artwork is one of four finalists for the placement. It features a 10 foot high fairy riding a toad with sounds of nature emanating from the toad's throat.
Virginia Democratic Congressman Jim Moran says -- quote -- "It would seem that money could be much more appropriately used to improve transportation infrastructure around the site, rather than to depict a children's fairy tale."
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Playtime's Over
And finally, a homeowners association in Edgewater, Florida wants to ban children from playing outside.
The proposed new rule states -- quote -- "children will not be permitted to run, play tag or act boisterously on the association property."
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Kids would not be allowed to play in common areas such as parking lots, driveways and around homes. Parents of offenders would face fines of $100.
At least 50 percent of homeowners would have to approve the new regulation in a vote later this month.