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Address questions to Real Estate Q&A, The New York Times, 229 West 43rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10036, or by e-mail to: realestateqa@nytimes.com. Answers can be given only through the column.
Using what seems to be a favored tactic in ''toxic tort'' cases, W.R. Grace & Company last week settled a suit brought by eight families in Woburn, Mass., who charged that Grace had contaminated two local wells with chemicals that caused leukemia, killing five children and one adult.
Both sides called the settlement ''substantial,'' but the importance of the agreement was legal and medical, not financial.
As in the $180 million Agent Orange settlement in l984, a major company paid a large sum, apparently to avoid the risk that it would be found responsible for the health effects of its pollution.
Grace settled after losing the first of three trial stages; it was found to have polluted the wells. The next two stages were to determine if the chemicals caused the leukemia and to set damages.
Sunday, Late City Final Edition An article about a lawsuit against W.R. Grace & Company in The Week in Review last Sunday described incompletely the disposition of the case. In July, a jury found that Grace had contributed to the pollution of two wells in Woburn, Mass., but last month the court ordered a retrial of that issue. The families of eight leukemia victims later agreed to an out-of-court settlement of their suit against the company.
A man and a girl were shot in a drive-by shooting in the West Englewood neighborhood Saturday night.
The two were outside of a party about 9:45 p.m. in the 6000 block of South Paulina when a Jeep drove by and someone inside fire shots, police News Affairs Officer Ron Gaines said.
The girl, 16, was shot in the leg and taken to Stroger Hospital where her condition had stabilized, Gaines said. The man, 19, was shot in the back and was also taken to Stroger Hospital where his condition was stable.
KALAPANA, BIG ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) - Roy Hall was holding his wife Edy's hand when he died Saturday.
The combat-wounded Vietnam veteran, 68, passed away exactly one month after he was diagnosed with lung cancer at a Hilo emergency room.
Hall was a long-time U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs patient who claims his VA doctor missed the diagnosis -- and by the time someone else caught it, it was terminal. He was also one of more than 4,300 veterans receiving VA care on the Big Island, where there are only four VA doctors.
It was Hall's dying wish to share his story with others in hopes that it could lead to improved health care for all service members.
His wife, a veteran herself who served in the Air Force and beat both breast and colon cancer, calls it her husband's final mission.
During an interview at their Kalapana home last week, Hall grimaced in pain while his wife stroked his back and helped him find the words he was looking for.
"It's OK, babe," Edy Hall said.
"I'm trying not to hate anyone," Roy Hall said, tears in his eyes.
"I wish I would've gotten killed in Vietnam," he added. "Then I wouldn't have to go through this. I f***ing hate it."
His wife continued to soothe him, "That's why, just make it my mission. It's my mission.
"You know me, smarter not harder. I'll write letters. I'll do everything I can so it doesn't happen to another veteran. Somebody else's husband, somebody else's father. Somebody else's grandfather. Everybody. Nobody deserves this."
In the final days of his life, it was physical pain that brought Roy Hall to his knees — as the tumors from metastatic lung cancer pushed through walls of his chest leaving masses on his back.
Hall suspects Agent Orange, which he came into contact with in Vietnam, is to blame.
"They would spray it and walk us right through it," he said.
"He thought he'd be OK because he did what they said, 'Don't breathe deep. Put your sleeves down. Your hats on,'" his wife said. "They didn't even have gas masks back then."
Decades after his service as a Marine in Vietnam, the horrors of war still tormented him.
"I f***ing killed so many people," Roy Hall said, crying.
"I know, honey. War is horrible," his wife said, comforting him. "It still haunts you, 50 years later."
"Unnecessary. It's terrible," he said.
"It's OK, buddy. It's OK," Edy Hall returned.
The problems started in August 2014. That month, Hall went to the Hilo VA primary care clinic seeking treatment for debilitating back pain.
Over the next two and a half years, Roy and Edy Hall say his physician repeatedly prescribed him pain pills and referred him to his VA psychiatrist for management of his PTSD.
Then, eight months ago, Hall's health took a turn.
"He started slowing down," Edy Hall said. "The pain was getting worse and worse. He didn't want to go back to the doctor because he kept telling him it was his PTSD or he was surfing too much, instead of even doing just an X-ray. Then he started losing weight like crazy. And then he even said, 'I think I have cancer.'"
On March 17, Roy Hall landed in the ER. He had jumped over a fence to save a neighbor's puppy and threw his back out.
"Their dog was stuck in the fence halfway through," he said, struggling for a breath. "And not thinking I ..."
"You were 20 when you jumped," his wife finished, "and 70 when you landed."
Roy Hall was told to follow-up with his primary care physician at the VA, who saw him on April 8.
The VA says there's no record of a chest X-ray taken during Hall's March 17 visit to the ER; such a test, officials said, would not routinely be done to evaluate lower back pain. But the Halls say his VA doctor ordered no additional tests or scans, and again referred him for mental health treatment along with physical therapy.
In the weeks and months that followed, Edy Hall watched her husband rapidly disintegrate from the pain.
"Excruciating. He wants to shoot himself. He wants to run in front of a car. He wants to do anything he can to end the pain, because he thinks he's just going crazy," she said.
Roy Hall wound up back in the ER three more times between April 8 and August 10. And it was on that last visit that an ER doctor told Hall he likely had lung cancer.
"Some GQ-looking doctor actually listens to his chest and says, 'I'm going to get an X-ray. I don't hear any air moving in your right lung,'" Edy Hall said.
"The X-ray shows tumors inside and outside. The largest one was two centimeters that day. Three days later, it had turned into a mass — which means that it was more than three centimeters. Three days. That's how aggressive this stuff was at that time."
A week later, a specialist confirmed Roy Hall's condition was terminal.
"It was such a relief to him to have cancer. How screwed up is that? Because than he knows it's not just PTSD," his wife said.
In a statement to Hawaii News Now, the VA said it believes its doctors cared for Hall appropriately.
VA officials said that during Roy Hall's April 8 visit, he did not complain about shortness of breath or any other symptoms of lung problems to his provider.
"We take all allegations seriously. However, after a thorough review of Mr. Hall's medical records, the VA-Pacific Islands Health Care System can confidently say that all was done appropriately to provide the highest quality of care for him," the VA said in a statement.
But Hall blames his VA doctor for the missed diagnosis.
"If I had the right doctor. I could have got this taken care of five months ago," he said.
"Right? And we could be surfing another 10 years," said his wife, squeezing his hand.
Roy and Edy Hall fell in love in the water — surfing at San Onofre, where they later got married. Less than a year ago, Edy Hall said her husband was dominating the line-up at Pohoiki, his favorite spot on Hawaii Island.
The couple found the water so healing, they started a stand-up paddleboard group for veterans in Hilo.
"I don't care how bad our enemies are. I don't want them to go through this ever again. Ever," Roy Hall said.
Hall's PTSD had gotten so bad, he and Edy couldn't even share a bed for the last 10 years. But Edy Hall never left her husband's side.
"Our frustration with the VA is now — it's embarrassing. It really is. How hard do you have to fight to see a doctor? How hard do you have to fight to stay alive? How hard do you have to fight just to love your husband and be able to take care of him?" Edy Hall said, struggling to remain composed.
Because of his PTSD, crowds overwhelmed Roy Hall.
And so, the couple worked out a system. When he would start to get anxious, his wife would shout out, "I love you." But she was saying it so often, he would start to get embarrassed. So instead, she started calling out, "I love cake."
In their final days together, the two repeated the phrase often.
"I love you, Roy," Edy Hall said, to which her husband shot her a scolding look. She laughed.
"I love cake, Roy," she corrected.
"I love cake, Edy," her husband replied.
Starting their relegation showdown against Kilmarnock a point behind will give Hibernian the advantage at Easter Road, according to Hibs' Liam Craig.
The Hibs captain thinks they will have the more positive attitude as they must win in order to avoid a play-off while the visitors need only draw.
"If we are drawing going into the last half hour, I can guarantee they will get deeper and deeper," he said.
"They won't be going all out for a goal, that's for sure."
Kilmarnock manager Allan Johnston, whose side ended their run of four defeats with a 1-0 win over St Mirren on Wednesday, has insisted they will not play for a draw.
But Craig thinks a big home support will also give the Edinburgh side, who slipped to second-bottom spot after a run of 12 games without a win, an advantage against the Ayrshire side.
"With the fans at Easter Road, who have been excellent all season and especially over the last few weeks, behind us, we really believe we can do it," said the midfielder.
Hibs reached safety from relegation two years ago after beating relegation rivals Dunfermline Athletic 4-0 in their penultimate game of the season.
Matt Doherty, Eoin Doyle and Garry O'Connor all netted inside the first quarter of an hour at Easter Road as Pat Fenlon's team got off to the perfect start against the shell-shocked Pars, with Paul Hanlon then adding a fourth late on.
Three players remain at Easter Road from that side and Craig revealed that they have been recounting their memories to psyche up the rest of the squad ahead of Kilmarnock's visit.
"We've spoken about that game already this week," said Craig. "Lewis Stevenson, Paul Hanlon and James McPake all played that night and said the crowd that night was amazing - one of the best atmospheres they have played in.
"It would be nice if we were 3-0 up after 15 minutes like they were that night.
"But the fans did make a difference that night and I know that you do react to the fans and the noise they make.
"So hopefully we can get a full house tomorrow and get the result they are looking for."
Question: Collectively what should we be doing?
Jimmy Wales: What do I think we should be doing that we’re not? Gosh. I don’t know. I think a lot of things work themselves out over time through the actions of millions of people in concert in ways that are difficult to influence. You can influence them or you can think about them, but they sort of play out on their own schedule.
To my mind, it’s almost useless to think about things we should be doing but we’re not. I think it’s really hard to think about that. If we’re concerned about, for example, the issue of carbon in the atmosphere, if that’s a big problem, it’s very easy to say, “Well we should be emitting less carbon,” right? Well that’s not a practical thing to even think about.
Instead we have to say, “Gee look. Here’s some trends. Here are some things that are going to happen.” We can start innovating and start thinking about how to deal with that. How do we reduce carbon emissions? Or how do we deal with carbon in a different way in the long run? But there are people working on that, and I feel they’ll come up with something.
I think we should individually be thinking. I think that’s something that I think is really, really important. The more people we have who are living a reflective life where they’re really thinking about their own life, and their own happiness in the context of a global society; in the context of modern technology and things like this, it’s really important. And I think it’s unfortunate sometimes that people seem to not be thinking about things as much as they should.
As many as 50 Indian peacekeepers stationed in South Sudan have been awarded the UN Medal for their professionalism and service in protecting civilians and building durable peace in the conflict-ridden country.
As many as 50 Indian peacekeepers stationed in South Sudan have been awarded the UN Medal for their professionalism and service in protecting civilians and building durable peace in the conflict-ridden country. The Indian peacekeepers are part of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The are deployed with the Indian Battalion stationed at Bor in the Jonglei region of South Sudan. They were presented with the award recently by UNMISS Force Commander General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi.
Presenting the award, General Kamanzi acknowledged their contribution in carrying out patrols across the region as well as providing a safe and secure environment for the 2,500 civilians who have sought sanctuary at the UN Protection of Civilians site at Bor, a media release said. “I would like to thank the Indian Battalion for their courage and professionalism in executing their mandate in Jonglei,” said General Kamanzi. The local government in Jonglei also paid tribute to the Indian troops.
The Indian Battalion had played an important role in keeping the community safe as well as encouraging local peace efforts said Jonglei, Acting Governor, Agot Alier. They had also provided much-needed services to the community outside of their core mandate, such as medical care for local residents and support for local farmers with veterinary treatment for their animals, he said in a media release issued by the UN.
The battalion has been intimately associated with peacekeeping efforts and the battalion has supported the mandate of the United Nations and the overall peace process, said Alier. Indian Ambassador to South Sudan, Srikumar Menon, attended the medal ceremony and thanked the peacekeepers for their commitment and service. “India is committed to the objectives of the UN Charter and therefore is ready to support the United Nations’ peacekeeping efforts globally,” he said.
Alastair Burnet, who has died aged 84 after suffering several strokes, brought both reassuring calm and authority to presenting the news on television. Although also a print journalist, as editor of the Economist and Daily Express, Burnet seemed made for the new medium. After joining ITN as political editor (1963-64), he was soon a newscaster – an American term taken up by ITN on its launch as ITV's news provider in 1955 – and proved a master of writing scripts for broadcast.
In 1967 he became senior newscaster when the landmark News at Ten was launched – having campaigned himself for a half-hour news programme. Its impact on viewers was immediate, since it gave in-depth treatment to the issues of the day with on-the-spot reports from far-flung places, filed by its own teams of reporters, camera operators and sound recordists.
The programme was presented by two newscasters, with Andrew Gardner and the flamboyant Reginald Bosanquet completing the team in the early days. It also put a humorous slant on the news in its "and finally…" item.
Burnet's encyclopedic knowledge of politics and ability to speak directly to the viewer meant that he was the obvious choice to present ITV's general election-night programmes, beginning in 1964. In a low-tech age, with information coming into the studio from many sources, Burnet was able to impart it clearly and unflappably, as well as identifying the most junior of MPs as they appeared for the count.
Although politically Conservative himself, Burnet never commented on the assertion once made that he drank a lot of champagne off camera on election night in 1970 when it became apparent that the Tories would win. He listed whisky as one of his three great passions, alongside racing and cricket, but referred to reports of drinking a bottle a day as "rather too flattering".
The big occasions he covered for ITV included budget days, American space missions, such as the 12-hour marathon for the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing, and royal weddings – most notably as commentator for Prince Charles's marriage to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 – as well as writing four bestselling ITN books on the royal family.
Private Eye lampooned him as "Arslicker Burnet", and he was portrayed in the satirical television puppet show Spitting Image as a fawning royalist, muttering: "Lick, lick, smarm, smarm." However, he seemed big enough to rise above the critics.
Burnet's father was a cricket-mad Scottish engineer who sent his wife from Edinburgh to Sheffield for their son's birth in the hope that he would one day play for Yorkshire. Burnet attended the Leys school, Cambridge, and Worcester College, Oxford, refusing to accept his second-class history degree because he believed he deserved a first.
In 1951 he joined the Glasgow Herald as a subeditor. After rising to become a leader writer, Burnet took the same job on the Economist (1958-62), which he later edited (1965-74) alongside his work at ITN and a short spell at the BBC (1972-74), when he presented Panorama and anchored both 1974 election-night programmes.
On becoming editor of the Daily Express (1974-76), he gave up his television work, but this was the least successful phase of his career, some saying that he was unwilling to trivialise politics.
He returned to ITN, initially presenting the newly launched News at 5.45, and then back at News at Ten from 1978, becoming its associate editor four years later. This was a period when ITN enjoyed its greatest plaudits, following Lord Annan's 1977 report on the future of broadcasting, which declared: "We subscribe to the generally held view that ITN has the edge over BBC news."
Burnet – who also presented the ITV current affairs series This Week (1965-70) and TV Eye (1983-86) – became a director of ITN in 1982. With the editor, David Nicholas, he backed the government's idea that it should no longer be owned by the ITV companies, but by external investors, to expand its services and turn it into a profit-making organisation – which split the board down the middle.
Although, by lobbying Margaret Thatcher himself, he ensured that ITV would continue to screen "news programmes of highest quality" – something not originally in the 1990 broadcasting bill – he was forced to resign as a director of ITN that year for failing to back the board's pleas to the government to let the ITV companies retain two-thirds ownership. The following year, he took early retirement as a newscaster. With less protection, News at Ten was later axed, but eventually reinstated.
Burnet was knighted in 1984. In 1958 he married Maureen Sinclair.