Law Times

Page 16 March 11, 2013 Law Times • u The u Bizarre Briefs InsIde story By Viola James LAWMAKER TOUTS LEVY FOR POLLUTING BIKES OLYMPIA, Wash. — It's little wonder why we have so much difficulty dealing with climate change when a lawmaker justifies a levy on bikes because of the pollution they emit. According to Reuters, a Washington state lawmaker has apologized for telling a bike storeowner, in a spat over a proposed bike fee, that cyclists can cause pollution just by breathing out carbon dioxide. Ed Orcutt, a ranking Republican member of the state House of Representatives transportation committee, said in an e-mail exchange with a bike shop owner that drivers and cyclists should both share the burden of preserving the roads they use. "You claim that it is environmentally friendly to ride a bike," Orcutt wrote to Dale Carlson, the owner of three bicycle shops in the Tacoma and Olympia areas who voiced concern that a proposed $25 fee on bicycle sales of $500 or more could hurt his business. "But if I am not mistaken, a cyclist has an increased heart rate and respiration. . . . Since CO2 is deemed a greenhouse gas and a pollutant, bicyclists are actually polluting when they ride," Orcutt wrote late last month. Orcutt, who has been a member of the Washington state house since 2002, said he supports the fee for bicycles to help pay for street infrastructure. Carlson, the owner of the stores, wrote an email to lawmakers on the house transportation committee saying the government shouldn't discourage cyclists from an activity that is healthier for humans and the planet. BAN ON CALYPSO MUSIC GEORGETOWN, Guyana — There's no freedom of speech for calypso artists. According to Reuters, calypso lyrics decrying corruption have so irked Guyana's government that it has banned new songs from the popular Caribbean music genre from state airwaves. Staff at the government-run National Communications Network, or NCN, received a directive this week prohibiting the broadcast of new calypso songs. Public Works Minister Robeson Benn was so angry at one tune on NCN radio that he drove down to the station himself "to find out what the hell was going on," an official spokesman said. "It was slanderous," the minister said afterward. One of the calypsos that offended authorities blasts the government's corruption record, Reuters reported. "With all de corruption dat taking place, we is de ones fe (they) blame, while dem a thief, thief, thief," the song proclaims. YACHT OWNER SPOTS STOLEN VESSEL ON TV SAUSALITO, Calif. — TV cameras literally caught a crime in progress when a luxury sailboat owner spotted his vessel on a newscast beached and bobbing in the surf more than 30 kilometres down the Pacific coast from its Sausalito berth. According to Reuters, two men and a woman found aboard the yacht and first thought by authorities to be in need of rescue were arrested on suspicion of stealing the vessel after its owner called authorities to report that the yacht he was seeing on TV was his. Police say the accused thieves took the boat from its Sausalito anchorage north of the Golden Gate Bridge before dawn and sailed the vessel to the seaside town of Pacifica, south of San Francisco, where it washed up on a popular surfing beach. Sheriff 's deputies riding jet skies, a Coast Guard vessel, and a helicopter surrounded the boat, but the three repeatedly rebuffed their offers of assistance, he said. Authorities ultimately coaxed the three off the yacht and they were arrested after the boat's owner, John Fruth, who had watched the drama unfold on TV, called to report that the boat in question belonged to him and was stolen, police said. "He was seeing the news media coverage of a vessel that had run aground," Sausalito police Sgt. Bill Fraass said. LT "Don't mind me! It's just a routine performance evaluation." NEW GC AT SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada has named Gilles Daigle its new general counsel and head of legal services. Daigle has already been working with SOCAN for 23 years as an external legal counsel at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. He'll now continue to guide SOCAN in protecting the rights of Canada's musicians and publishers as its in-house lawyer. Gilles Daigle "Working so closely with SOCAN for so many years means that becoming an employee will be seamless," said Daigle. Daigle succeeds Paul Spurgeon, who's retiring after 35 years of representing SOCAN. SOCAN is a non-profit organization representing more than three million Canadian and international musicians and publishers. CEO Eric Baptiste said Daigle "will be a key player in SOCAN's plans to be a global trailblazer." His appointment to the position comes at a time when SOCAN is facing some high-profile legal challenges, including those posed by the new Copyright Modernization Act that came into effect last November. For example, online music services that go beyond iTunes are creating new questions about artists' compensation and royalties, particularly from streaming services like Pandora and Spotify. "There's been a lot of talk, too, about YouTube and the difficulties around the world with it and Google reaching agreements with performing rights societies," said Daigle. REAL ESTATE DECLARATION APPROVED In an attempt to deal with the high number of mortgage and real estate fraud claims, the Law Society of Upper Canada will now require lawyers in real estate transactions to sign a yearly declaration that they know how to avoid fraud. Real estate matters accounted for 20 per cent of all complaints between 2006 and 2011, according to the law society's professional regulation committee. The declaration, approved Feb. 28th, is a list of fraud-proof practices lawyers are expected to know and exercise. Lawyers involved in real estate and mortgage cases have previously said they weren't aware of their responsibilities. The declaration requires lawyers to prohibit staff from using their Teranet diskette and keep the password private. Lawyers must also confirm their duty to supervise all non-lawyers they work with. In addition, lawyers must check off a statement that they know they can't work for both a borrower and a lender in the transfer of title property with some limited exceptions. GOWLINGS LAWYERS HONOURED Five professionals at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP have received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal for outstanding contributions to their communities. The award honoured Todd Burke for his years of community service, notably his fundraising for the Ottawa Mission and the Ottawa school breakfast program along with his work on the boards of Habitat for Humanity and the Hospice at May Court. Gary Graham received his medal for building a more competitive manufacturing sector in Ontario and Canada. In addition, the award recognized Frank Lamie for his military service and dedication to local charities; E. Patrick Shea for his support of the Canadian Forces and the air cadet gliding program as well as his legal scholarship and volunteer work in law reform; and Jacques Shore for his professional and community contributions, such as his work with the Canadian Coalition Against Terror on human rights and legal issues and his contributions to the Air India inquiry. LT Recruiting? Post your position on Great rates. Great reach. Great results. Contact Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com for details. www.lawtimesnews.com JobsInLaw 1-8 pg 5X.indd 1 2/15/11 4:12:27 PM

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