Law And More

Conspiracy Theory: Did competitors for Olympics set off Chicago violence?

The loss of the Olympics merits conspiracy theory.  It seems obvious that Chicago was eliminated because of the history of violence and more particularly the recent incidents which made global news.  The Olympics is big business.  The possibility of crime, especially the violent kind, is too significant a risk to locate the event in Chicago.

Could competitors have triggered the bloodshed in Chicago?  The timing is too perfect to be coincidence and the media coverage was heavy and enduring.

It's the crime, stupid - Law's job 1 in US is stop violent crime

Shock? What shock that the Olympics isn't going to happen in Chicago.  The global news has been drenched in tales of blood from the mean streets of Chicago.  The Olympics is big business.  Chicago carries too many risks to that business.

Law's job 1 in the U.S. is to stop violent crime.  Lawyers can participate in that mission, by sharing their experience and expertise.  An unintended consequence of that will be to generate new kinds of roles - therefore jobs - for lawyers.

Pittsburgh - Santonio Holmes Day

In a nail-biter, the Steelers took home their sixth consecutive SuperBowl victory.

Surely, there will be a MVP Santonio Holmes parade in Pittsburgh.  It's only right that the Pittsburgh office of Jones Day should be able to take off and dance in the streets downtown, where the office is located.

Soccer & Synthetic Turf - Saving the economy, one square foot at a time

Think sports.  Better yet, think sports for children.  And visions of economic salvation arise, even in the recession-hammered Midwest.

In ATHLETIC BUSINESS, Nicholas Brown reports that the city leaders in Oakland Park, Kansas plan to go forward with plans for a $36 bond-funded million soccer facility. The economic downturn doesn't seem to matter, not at least when it comes to having fields for the local children to play on. Part of the rationale has been, of course, the revenue produced by renting out the complex for sporting events.  Sports, especially local and regional ones, is big business. 

When the complex opens next September, it will have 1.2 million square feet of synthetic turf.  That could represent the largest covering of soccer fields with synthetic turf in the nation.  The decision to go with synthetic turf vs. grass was influenced by the short growing season in Kansas.  Also, synthetic turf usually requires less maintenance and water, making it durable, cost-effective and "green."

Excellent information about synthetic turf issues, including the lead question, is a click away at the Association of Synthetic Grass Installers.  Last month I participated in a conference call with ASGI's legal consultants about what we can expect from the new Congress in terms of regulation and from plaintiff attorneys in fresh approaches to class-action suits.