| Lifeguard wins case against Hale Koa hotel
A labor arbitrator has found that the Hale Koa Hotel wrongfully fired an 11-year lifeguard after he refused to work without protective sun gear. Bill Kearsley, who filed a grievance against the hotel after being fired in November 2005, was ordered reinstated to the Army-owned Waikiki hotel with back pay and benefits by arbitrator Thomas Angelo. The 30-day appeal window on the December arbitration award ended late last month. Kearsley, a long-time union activist, also sued the hotel over free speech rights to pass out leaflets to prospective members in the area surrounding the hotel. He is the union organizer and business representative for Unite Here Local 5, which represents between 800 and 850 Hale Koa workers. Kearsley had developed skin cancer while working as a lifeguard at the hotel and refused to work in the sun without protective clothing, seeking relief under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Jones pushes for health care funding
A very important visitor was on his way to the Rest Haven Central chapel Friday morning, activities director Diane Giglio told residents as they arranged their wheelchairs in rows. The guest at the Palos Heights nursing home was Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, who in fact is more important now than at any point in his 33-year career in Springfield. During the visit, Jones repeated his intention to wield his new veto-proof Democratic majority to generate money for health care and schools. "We've got to raise revenue, no question about it, so all options are on the table," Jones said. "We in the Senate are going to push it through. We're going to make the House deal with it, make them stand up and be responsible." He delivered brief remarks to the assembled seniors and then chatting informally with nursing home staff and visitors from Life Services Network of Illinois, an industry group that invited him there to give him an award.
Wild Sky Wilderness area back in Congress' sights
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen introduced legislation Wednesday to create the Wild Sky Wilderness, convinced that Democratic majorities in Congress will finally clear a path for the popular but star-crossed initiative. "This time we're going to make it happen," said Murray, who appeared with fellow Democrat Larsen to jointly announce legislation that would give 106,577 acres in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest northeast of Seattle the highest level of protection afforded to federal property. Murray's and Larsen's confidence stems from history and electoral politics. The Senate has passed Wild Sky legislation three times, all by wide margins, only to see the effort die in the House. And the major barrier in the House, former Rep.
Paso Robles Restaurant Claims Victory Over Jarek Molski
Molski is the Southern California man who became infamous after filing more than a hundred lawsuits against local businesses for not being accessible to people with wheelchairs.Several of those businesses were forced to close their doors.Fed-up restaurant owners are now fighting back ... and winning.Restaurant owners say they were tired of being bullied by Molski and decided to beat him at his own game.Ruthie Clark can breathe a little easier today, knowing she'll have a place to work tomorrow. It's a comfort that's eluded her since Jarek Molski filed suit against the restaurant's owners back in 2003."You know," says Clark, "I thought, well, am I going to lose my job? And he goes, 'Well, we're going to fight this as much as we can, as long as we can."Molski claimed the bathroom is not ADA compliant.
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