Bankruptcy Clearwater What To Do When Filing For Bankruptcy In Clearwater

By William Perry

If you are applying for bankruptcy in Clearwater, there are certainly many different ways to go. There are three main forms of bankruptcy are chapter 7, 11, and 13, although 11 only applies to businesses.

Hopefully this article will provide you the info you need to make a well informed decision about not only which chapter to file for, but how to find the best lawyer to guide you through this process, and anything you need to know about the bankruptcy process. If you make the wrong decision, you could end up sending a lot of money on court and legal fees, and still not get the settlement you need.

The first thing you need to do is take stock of before applying for bankruptcy in Clearwater is your current income levels, as well as debt, and of course, your assets and liabilities. The reason this is important is that you need to determine if you are going to file for chapter 7, which required you to use your non exempt assets to pay off your creditors.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX35gKtVQ6g[/youtube]

Obviously, for many people this would not be a wise choice, as they very likely would have to give up their house, car, and other very important items. However, if you have many exempt items (items that can’t be taken away during bankruptcy) this might be an option to go, assuming your assets will cover the expenses needed to pay off your creditors.

The best part about chapter 7 is that all your debts are competed discharged upon sale of your assets. The worst part, of course, is that you usually have to give up some very valuable assets to achieve this. However, once this painful process is over, you can essentially receive a clean slate, and the bankruptcy is not listed on your credit report for very long.

Again, this can be a very complex process, and the best method to find out whether chapter 7 is right for you is to hire the right bankruptcy attorney in Clearwater to help you take stock of your current situation, and therefore determine which chapter is best for you to file for. Get this part wrong by trying to do it yourself, and you will be in far deeper trouble than simply filing.

The next area of bankruptcy in Clearwater to look at is chapter 11. As I alluded to earlier, this only applies to business and not individuals, so if you are applying on an individual level, you can skip this part. Chapter 11 mandates that you need a steady amount of income and reasonable debt levels, and is somewhat similar to chapter 13.

Where it defers, however, is that you need to come up with a plan yourself to show the court how you will pay off your creditors.

If you are unable to provide a detailed plan thoroughly outlining how you plan to eliminate your debt over the next several years to the bankruptcy court in Clearwater, or are unable to proof you currently have enough income to do so, you will probably have to resort to either chapter 7 or 13, again depending on your situation.

About the Author: For more info on bankruptcy in Clearwater, check out http://www.onlinebankruptcytips.com. This is a popular site where you can learn about anything related to bankruptcy, and get all your bankruptcy questions answered.

Source: isnare.com

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Times Square bomb suspects arrested in Pakistan

Saturday, May 22, 2010

At least six suspects, wanted in connection with a failed car bomb attempt in Times Square, New York City on May 1, have been arrested by authorities in Pakistan. The arrests follow a visit to Pakistan by two high-ranking American security officials—US National Security Adviser Gen James Jones and Leon Panetta, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), both of whom praised Pakistan for its efforts in tracking down suspects in the bomb attack.

Amongst those arrested are the co-owner of a large company which provides catering to several embassies in Pakistan and a major in the Pakistani Army, though the Army released a statement denying any involvment. Some are believed to have been educated in the United States. A notice on the website of the US embassy in Islamabad reported that the catering company co-owned by one of the suspects had links to terrorism and has since advised US citizens against using the firm.

Those arrested are believed to have had links with Faisal Shahzad, the primary suspect in the bombing, who was arrested on May 3 on board an aircraft at New York’s JFK Airport.

One source told Reuters: “We are investigating whether Ashraf has provided any financial support to Faisal because Ashraf and his father are rich people and they run a very big catering business” though another stated that “[t]hey may be innocent because being friends does not mean you are involved in the activities of your friends”.

The suspects are currently being detained by the Pakistani security services, who are known to have close links with the CIA, to the extent of allowing CIA officials access to prisoners.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Times_Square_bomb_suspects_arrested_in_Pakistan&oldid=4508030”

‘Fascinating’ and ‘provocative’ research examines genetic elements of bipolar, schizophrenia

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Last week, Nature Genetics carried twin studies into the genetics of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This special report examines the month’s research into the illnesses in detail, with Wikinews obtaining comment from experts based in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom ahead of the U.S. Mental Illness Awareness Week, which starts tomorrow.

Eleven genetic regions were identified; seven of these were for schizophrenia and five of those were hitherto undiscovered. The parallel studies, conducted separately, examined more than 50,000 people worldwide and identified two genetic loci associated with both diseases.

Little is known about the two illnesses, each of which affects around 1% of people and is treated with strong medication. Bipolar sufferers experience extremes of mood – depression and mania, hence the previous name “manic depression” for the illness. Schizophrenia is associated with hearing voices, chaotic thoughts, and paranoia. There is no known cure.

The latest research examined both the healthy and the afflicted, using computers to scan genomes. Inheritance was thought to be a factor from prior knowledge of the diseases as a familial trait, but the original desire had been to isolate a single faulty gene. Instead it has become apparent that the genetic factors are many; in the case of schizophrenia, at most around 30% of the genetic components are thought to have been identified.

If any single centre tried to undertake such a study, it would require millions of pounds.

The University of Chicago’s Pablo Gejman, a lead researcher on the schizophrenia study, explained to Wikinews in a telephone interview from Buenos Aires, Argentina that “One of the goals of genetic research is to find druggable targets” – to “find treatments at the root of the problem”.

Whilst noting that there is no guarantee the genetic code identified is druggable, Gejman named calcium-activated neurochemical channels in the brain as candidates for new drugs. The channels were linked to schizophrenia in the study.

Gejman explained that a genetic locus called mir137 “suggests an abnormality of gene regulation.” The diseases are so poorly understood that it is uncertain if they are in fact two components of a single spectrum, or even each comprised of multiple illnesses.

The new and “provocative data” gathered showed the significant loci identified were “not part of the pre-existent hypothesis.” Calling this “interesting”, Gejman added that the team found no evidence that dopamine receptors are involved; current drug treatments target dopamine receptors. The findings are “not related to anything we thought we knew [about schizophrenia],” he told our correspondent.

Quizzed about the possibility variations in the genetic factors involved in expressing the diseases explained the variation seen in symptoms, Gejman was uncertain. “We will have the answer, probably, only when we sequence the whole [human] genome.” He notes that the relationship between genotype and phenotype is unclear, and that “We know very little of the genetic architecture of schizophrenia and” other disorders.At the time the results were published, participating scientist Professor Rodney Scott from the University of Newcastle in Australia said “The strength of this research is in the numbers. The findings are robust and give us a lot of statistical power to identify the genetic determinants of schizophrenia.” Scott told Wikinews that “If any single centre tried to undertake such a study, it would require millions of pounds. Since it was a collection of data from across the world the costs were spread. In this era of financial difficulty it will become increasingly difficult to secure funding for this type of project even though the pay-offs will be significant.”

Gejman expressed similar sentiment. “The research budget is not growing, which makes [funding] difficult,” he said, though he felt the cost “is not prohibitive because of the benefits.” “I think that it was money well invested” and “very well spent for the future,” he said, adding that organisations in Europe and the US were aware of the importance of such research.

Gejman also agreed on reliability – the study is “Very reliable because of the sample size; that should provide robust results… [we] have worked with a much larger sample than before.” Scott told us it was “a highly reliable study” that has the potential to lead to new treatments “in the long run”.

Another point was the two genetic loci identified as common to both – how much support do they lend to the notion the diseases are linked? “Until more information is available it is really only suggestive,” says Scott. “Strong enough to say there may be potentially a common pathway that bifurcates to give rise to two diseases.”

The provision of specialist services for bipolar is very limited in the UK and the demand for our services is unprecedented.

“It is an excellent demonstration,” said Gejman “because you have the same chains that are common to both disorders, in fact not just the same chains but also the same alleles.” He stressed uncertainty in how strong the relationship was, however.

Scott said examining how the variation of genetic factors may translate into varied symptoms being expressed “certainly is a good target for future research”; “It is not known how many genetic factors contribute to either of these diseases but it is likely that not all are necessary to trigger disease.” “New questions will always arise from any major study,” he told our reporter. “Certainly, new questions about bipolar and schizophrenia are now able to be formulated on the basis of the results presented in the two reports.”

These weren’t the only studies to look at the two diseases together in September. The British Medical Journal carried research by a team from the University of Oxford and King’s College London that examined mortality rates in England for schizophrenia and bipolar sufferers. They found both groups continued to suffer higher mortality rates than the general population – whilst these included suicides, three quarters of deaths were down to ailments such a s heart conditions. General death rates dropped from 1999 to 2006, but sufferers below 65 saw their death rate remain stable – and the over-65 saw theirs increase.

“By 2006, the excess risk in these groups had risk to twice the rate of the general population, whereas prior to that it had only been 1.6 times the risk, so it increased by almost 40%,” said Dr Uy Hoang of Oxford. The study looked at every discharged inpatient with a diagnosis of either condition in England in the relevant time.

Hoang said at the time of the research’s release that doctors should devote attention to predicting and preventing physical illness associated with mental disorders. His study comes at a time when the UK has launched a “no health without mental health” strategy which does attempt to screen for physical illnesses coinciding with mental illnesses. The government aims to reduce the death rate of those with mental disorders.

Rodney Scott described this research result to Wikinews as “Possibly” connected to genetic association with other hereditary ailments, such as cardiovascular disease; he told us another possibility is that “The continued raised mortality rates may be associated with the diseases themselves.”

“We believe the NHS [National Health Service] and Department of Health need to do more to support research and service development for people with bipolar disorder,” Wikinews was told by Suzanne Hudson, Chief Executive of London-based British charity MDF The Bipolar Organisation. “The provision of specialist services for bipolar is very limited in the UK and the demand for our services is unprecedented.”

“A genetic test for bipolar would be a useful tool but the science and ethics are very complex,” Hudson told us, referring to the Nature Genetics genetic study. “Just because someone has ‘bipolar genes’ does not mean they might go on to develop it. Family studies of bipolar show that this is a likely outcome of genetics research in this area. Even if it were possible to accurately predict bipolar in this way, questions about how you treat that person are difficult. For example do you start medication that is not necessary at that point in time?”

“Current treatment is not satisfactory” because it does not always work and has “side effects,” Gejman told us. Robert Whitaker, a US medical journalist and book author, told an audience in New Zealand at the end of August that evidence suggests antidepressant drugs may make children and teenagers worse – “You see many become worse and end up with a more severe diagnosis, like bipolar illness,” and the suicide risk may increase.

Whitaker blames commercial interests. “The adult market appeared saturated, and so they began eying children and teenagers. Prior to this, few children and youth were seen as suffering from major depression, and so few were prescribed anti-depressants.”

One possible alternative, raised by a connection between depressive illness and inflammation, is aspirin and similar compounds. “The link between inflammation and mood disorders has been known for sometime and the use of aspirin and other drugs in depression is now becoming more common in the literature,” Hudson says. “Any new treatments for bipolar, which is a very complex and co-morbid illness, has to be a good thing.”

Professor Dr. Michael Berk, chairman of psychiatry at Australia’s Deakin University, recently gave a talk to just this effect. Speaking at this year’s Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, held this past month, he also highlighted statins as a treatment. Recognising the link to physical ailments, he told an interviewer “The brain does not exist in isolation, and we need to understand that pathways similar to those that underpin risks for cardiovascular disorders, stroke, and osteoporosis might also underpin the risk for psychiatric disorders, and that other treatments might be helpful.”

Berk also touched upon speed of diagnosis and treatment; “Early interventions can potentially improve the outcome” of bipolar sufferers, he told his audience. MDF The Bipolar Organisation claim an average of ten years is possible before a person is diagnosed. “This clearly is an issue, if we believe that earlier diagnosis and treatment facilitate better outcomes,” Berk told Wikinews. Though he questions the effectiveness of currently-used drugs on advanced bipolar cases, he does not go so far as to say drugs are actively harmful. He told us “it appears that our best treatments work best earlier in the illness course; and that seems to apply to psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.”

Berk has already performed research using statins which suggests they can form a treatment. He now seeks funding for research involving aspirin. On funding, he tells Wikinews “psychiatric disorders comprise between 16% and 22% of the burden of disability (depending on who measures it), attracts[sic] just over 6% of the clinical budget at least in Australia and 3% of the research budget. Research as a discretionary spending item is at great risk.”

Berk’s research, in the past, has been funded by companies including GlaxoSmithKline. Hudson told Wikinews this did not concern her charity; in fact, they welcomed it. “We believe it is important pharmaceutical companies continue to invest in the development of new medications for bipolar. This is how it works in all other health specialities and mental health should be no different.”

“There is a need for greater education for mental health professionals and GPs [general practitioners] about bipolar [in the UK],” she told us. “As the national bipolar charity we receive many, many calls and requests from GPs and other health professionals for our leaflets and information sheets which is fantastic. We very much welcome opportunities to work together for the benefit of individuals affected by bipolar.”

Wikinews contacted the UK’s National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to discuss issues raised in this article, including future treatments, genetic screening, and mortality rates. NICE did not respond.

Might statins and/or aspirin improve treatment – might they be cheaper, perhaps, or safer? “This is an area of research promise,” says Berk, “however it is too early to make any clinical treatment claims; [all] we can say is that this needs to be studied in properly designed trials capable of giving a more definitive answer.” And what of possible explanations for the increased mortality rate observed in England? Should researchers look at whether bipolar influences more than just the brain, or if it is linked to other genetic conditions?

“For sure,” he told us. “There is new evidence that similar pathways contribute to the risk for both medical and psychiatric illness, both in terms of lifestyle factors, and biomarkers of risk.”

MDF The Bipolar Organisation provide support to those with bipolar and their friends and family: 020 7931 6480
Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=%27Fascinating%27_and_%27provocative%27_research_examines_genetic_elements_of_bipolar,_schizophrenia&oldid=4627112”

Brazil’s Minas state stops sales of Toyota Corolla

Friday, April 23, 2010

Minas, one of the largest states of Brazil, has stopped the sale of the Toyota Corolla over safety concerns.

The move was made after nine Corolla customers reported that their cars automatically accelerated. The state public prosecutor’s office said in an online statement on Tuesday that the problem is blamed on accelerator pedals sticking underneath floor mats. Local government said the issue was “putting in danger the lives of occupants”.

According to the prosecutor’s office, sales of Corollas may resume when Toyota alters the floormats in its current models. Toyota has recalled over eight million vehicles worldwide due to acceleration problems.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Brazil%27s_Minas_state_stops_sales_of_Toyota_Corolla&oldid=4607420”

Lic Housing Finance Is An Admirable Lender

LIC Housing Finance is an Admirable Lender

by

Gaurav Singh Khurana

Home Loans acts as a big advantage especially to those people who are planning to own a habitat. In this modern world getting a home loan is not at all like a complex mathematical puzzle but yes, it is not as simple as a cup of tea. It requires a wise handling of an intelligent individual because it is not a small amount that he/she would be borrowing from a bank or other lending company to build the home.

Life Insurance corporation home finance has emerged as the one of the biggest home loan lender in the country.

LIC Housing Finance

has an enormous number of products which its clients can go through and choose the best options suitable to them. These home loans are offered for different purposes to the clients for example, for home construction, for buying an apartment, for home extension and for repair or renovation of the existing house. An applicant may apply according to his housing needs. A home loan is a long term loan with low interest rates available from LIC housing finance. Various schemes which are offered by LIC are as follows:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKzQeL9Nmk0[/youtube]

Griha Lakshmi: This is another one of the best home loan plans offered by LIC, which is only applicable to Indian people. It is offered at luring rates of interests and its loan tenure is ranging from 15-20 years.

Griha Prakash: In this scheme the minimum amount that can be approved is Rs. 1 lacs. The loan amount can range up to 85% of the complete cost of the property including registration and stamp duty charges. Tenure of loan can maximize reach up to 20 years.

Griha Sudhar: This loan is specially designed for the purpose of renovation and repair of housing property. Under this scheme, a client can have access to a maximum loan of Rs.10 lacs.

Griha Shobha: Griha Shobha is another loan scheme designed for NRIs. The minimum loan amount can be approved is not less than Rs. 5 lacs and loan is from minimum 10 years to maximum 15 years.

To avail a home loan from LIC housing finance, one has to fulfill the

Home Loan Eligibility

which is as follows:

1. The minimum annual income of an applicant should be Rs 1.5 lakhs.

2. If the applicant is self-employed. His/her age should be between 21 to 70 years but for salaried individuals the age range is 25 to 58 years. It also gives many benefits to NRI applicants but the only condition is that they should have valid Indian passports.

The profession of an individual is the key factor in deciding which type of loan is he/she eligible for.

Gaurav Singh Khurana is the founder of India\’s first financial helpline called Dialabank available across 18 cities for a local number 600 11 600 helping people to take right financial decisions in terms of loans, insurance etc.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

Man auctions his life on eBay, is disappointed at sale price

Monday, June 30, 2008

After auctioning off his entire life on eBay for A$399,300 (244 912.148) Ian Usher says he is “a little bit disappointed” at the final selling price.

The 44-year-old British immigrant living in Perth, Australia, put all of his worldly belongings up for sale on the popular auction website, including his three-bedroom house and all its contents, his car, motorcycle, jetski, skydiving gear, and his job at a rug store, for which he offered a two week trial period. He even offered introductions to his friends living in Perth.

Usher made the decision to sell his life after his five-year marriage suddenly ended. On his website, alife4sale.com, he explains that “despite my life being busy and fulfilled, I still miss my wife so much. Everything in my home is a reminder of the wonderful past we shared. So, after a year in this house I decided that it is time to sell it and move on.”

It was as much about moving on as it was about selling it for as much as I could get.

During the 7 day auction, which ended on Sunday, there were several bogus bids which brought the sale price as high as A$2.2 million, but the final price ended up at A$399,300, which was around A$100,000 less than Usher had hoped for. “I’m a little bit disappointed, but I’m still excited. It’s still enough to move forward and do what I said I was going to do, which is move on to the next part of my life,” Usher said. “It was as much about moving on as it was about selling it for as much as I could get.”

According to Reuters, the winning bidder, whose username is “mslmcc”, also lives in Australia, and has a 100 percent feedback rating. Usher says he hasn’t yet been able to figure out who the buyer is, because of the TV crews lined up in front of his home. “I’m trying to find some time to get on the computer and check it out … I haven’t looked (up) anything about them yet,” he said.

Usher now plans to go off in search of a new life. His initial plan, as he describes on his website, was to just walk out his front door with just his wallet and a passport and board a train, with no idea of where to go. He has since launched 100goals100weeks.com, which will document his attempt to complete 100 of his life goals in a span of 100 weeks. Some of these goals include getting a pilot’s license, climbing the Eiffel Tower, learning to play the didgeridoo, and shaking hands with billionaire Richard Branson.

“I was pretty aimless when I started this, and I had a vague notion of adventure, but I’ve come up with a much more solid plan, which is still very adventurous,” Usher says. He invites anyone who is interested to join him on his adventures.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Man_auctions_his_life_on_eBay,_is_disappointed_at_sale_price&oldid=2606849”

Existing US home sales fall 9.6% in February

Monday, March 21, 2011

Sales of existing homes in the U.S. fell 9.6% in February, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said today, in a sign that the U.S. housing market is still depressed. The figure was worse than the 3.9% decline anticipated by the economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and questions whether the U.S. housing market is beginning to recover or will continue to fall.

We have an uneven, choppy recovery. Hopefully it is a recovery …

A combination of foreclosures and short sales, where the mortgage holder sells the house for less than owed on the mortgage, accounted for almost 40% of the sales.

Millions of foreclosures have forced down home prices and the number of foreclosures are predicted to rise this year. The inventory of existing homes listed for sale rose 3.5% at the end of February, a 8.6-month supply at the current sales rate. As more homes are listed in the spring, the inventory of houses for sale will probably increase. A five or six month inventory is usually considered a healthy balance between supply and demand.

According to Moody’s Analytics, another 3.6 million bank-owned homes and possible foreclosures will be added to the inventory by 2013, adding to the 6.7 million home foreclosures since 2006. Thus housing inventories will probably continue to remain high, delaying the point when prices stabilize. The median sales price in February fell 5.2%, down to a price level not seen since April 2002.

“We have an uneven, choppy recovery,” said NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Hopefully it is a recovery that is taking place.”

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Border Collie Schooling And Canine Separation Nervousness Cures

Submitted by: Darwintx Doyle

This can assist assure that the dog it well exercised and they will extra than most likely fall asleep when you depart rather of getting anxious and eating your brand name-new peep-toe sandals.

Some men and women, especially none dog lovers could think that border collie coaching is quite a lot the similar to schooling other breeds. Indeed, there are occasions in which a training strategy that performs ideal to a specific breed can also operate to a diverse breed. But bear in brain that every last dog breed is exceptional from the other. The labrador retriever is identified as challenging-functioning breed whilst the good dane is referred to as the gentle large simply because of its massive and imposing physical appearance but friendly individuality. Simply place, penalty based mostly training technique may possibly not work to a friendly good dane even if your neighbor locate it helpful in coaching his pet… a pit bull.

For helpful border collie training, it can help to comprehend the breed previously something else… even before determining to settle with the breed. Border collies are tiny dogs with oozing vitality suitable for working or playing. They are pleased when they are functioning or at minimum presented with actions that appears like work to them. So for the activities, you may well want to play Frisbee, chasing or retrieving a ball with your 4-legged. Even so, if you are currently training your pet to get rid his habit of chasing cars and other passersby, it would be better to set apart the chasing game for the instant.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orv_F2HV4gk[/youtube]

This breed has the natural instinct to herd so it is not uncommon if you see your new pet herding your two-12 months aged daughter. That explains why you should not left your border collie and your young small children on their personal.

Terrible behaviors produce overtime. Even if it is adorable to appear at your younger pup herding your kid, this behavior should be curtailed early on to reduce it from turning into a behavior until adulthood. A grown dog herding a younger kid is not adorable to search at, appropriate? Even so, this is not an assurance that your puppy will not herd during his living because the conduct is innate. As a remedy, realize that border collie training is not for your pet alone. Your small children and other members of the family members ought to also get concerned with the instruction. Train them how to respect the pet – when the pet is resting or sleeping inside of the crate and for the duration of mealtimes.

Lots of individuals dream of possessing a collie. There is no doubt that this canine breed is wonderful. They have an abundance of power, are pretty wise and have a sensitivity that would make them lovable. Collies are excellent canines, but when it arrives to collie training the problem starts. Collie instruction is not as straightforward as it may possibly appear, but with some helpful advice you should be ready to prepare for the problem and make it via instruction effectively.

To Train a Collie

Prior to you embark on collie coaching it is a fantastic notion to know just what you will want to train a collie. 1 of the most significant points you will require is persistence.

About the Author: For more information go

tocollie-training13.wetpaint.com/goarticles.com/article/4716971

Source:

isnare.com

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2008 Leisure Taiwan launched in Taipei World Trade Center

Saturday, July 19, 2008

This year’s Leisure Taiwan trade show (a.k.a Taiwan Sport Recreation and Leisure Show) started yesterday, with 131 companies participating including sports media companies such as ESPN and VideoLand Television, businesses selling sports equipment and fitness clubs.

There were also a variety of sports being played in the arena built for the trade show. The events included a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, free style shooting, and bicycle test-riding. In addition, conferences discussed issues related to sports and physical education.

A major topic in the trade show was energy-efficiency and, as a result, bicycles and similar sports equipment were being heavily promoted.

Next Tuesday, companies from the electronics industry plan to promote their industry at “2008 Digital E-Park.” In previous years, organizations from the electronics industry have showcased their products at Leisure Taiwan instead of at the Digital E-Park, so this move has reduced the number of markets covered by Leisure Taiwan.

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Tanker truck fire causes collapse on Oakland Freeway

Sunday, April 29, 2007

A tanker truck carrying approximately 8,600 gallons of unleaded gasoline caught on fire on the Interstate 80/880 interchange in Oakland, California early Sunday morning around 3:40 AM. The fire resulted in the collapse of at least two sections of bridges at the interchange, including one carrying I-580. The multi-level freeway interchange known as the MacArthur Maze connects the Bay Bridge (Interstate 80) to Interstates 580, 880, and 980 and California State Highway 24, and as such it connects several major cities in California, including San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley.

The driver, James Mosqueda, 51, of Woodland, California, escaped from his truck before the fire. He was the only person reported to be hurt, suffering second-degree burns. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The driver was believed to be speeding, resulting in a loss of control of the truck, causing it to flip over and subsequently burst into flames. As the truck was traveling on the interchange of I-80 eastbound to I-880 southbound near the San Francisco Bay Bridge, it is speculated to have hit a guard rail or column during a turn. Shortly thereafter, it exploded into a fire that lasted several hours.

Caltrans officials have announced that repairs will be fast-tracked, but will still take several weeks. Public transit has responded with plans to increase service and re-route buses that used the destroyed interchange.

Gov. Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency that in addition to expediting repairs will suspend restrictions on truck traffic hours and provide free use of area public transportation on Monday, April 30.

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