Latest news with #PFDs
RTÉ News
15-05-2025
- RTÉ News
MCIB calls for review of effectiveness of life jacket rules
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has recommended that the Minister for Transport reviews the effectiveness of rules relating to the mandatory wearing of life jackets. The Board said regulations in relation to the use of personal flotation devices (PFDs) are being routinely flouted. The call is contained in a report into the death of a fisherman in Galway Bay, in August 2023, which has been published today. The MCIB said the casualty went overboard from the Lady Pexia, while he was returning from a fishing trip on 25 August. He was reported missing by the vessel's skipper, who noticed he was no longer on board, as the boat returned to shore. The investigation said that the deceased was not wearing a personal flotation device when he was recovered from the water by a Coast Guard rescue helicopter. The man was taken to University Hospital Galway where he was pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination found that he drowned. The report concludes that the consumption of alcohol was a "significant contributing factor to the incident" and that it "likely impaired judgement, leading to risky decisions, such as [the casualty] removing his PFD and engaging in unsupervised activities". Inspectors said that despite clear legislative provisions and repeated warnings, instances of non-compliance with PFDs persist. They question the impact of existing laws and suggest there may be a need to improve enforcement by means of prosecutions, in the manner that applies to breaches of road traffic laws. The report also found that while the deceased had worn his PFD at times during the fishing excursion, it was not functioning properly and was ineffective as a flotation aid. The MCIB said that apart from the PFD worn by the Skipper, there were no other functioning life jackets on the boat. The report said this "appears to be a breach of Applicable safety regulations" but goes on to say this is a matter for the prosecuting authorities.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Two women rescued from flooded road in Bedford
BEDFORD, Va. (WFXR) – The Bedford Fire Department assisted with the rescue of two people who became trapped after attempting to drive through a flooded roadway in Bedford on May 13. Bedford fire officials said just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, crews with Company 1 responded to Rocky Ford Road. At the scene, a vehicle was found stuck in flooded water with two women trapped inside. Local agencies share flood safety tips ahead of possible heavy rainfall (Photo Credit: Bedford Fire Department) Flooding in Campbell County closes Simons Run Members of Rescue 1's swift water rescue team began rescue operations. The driver and a passenger were placed in Personal Flotation Devices or PFDs and then safely removed from the flooded road, according to Bedford FD. 'Please remember not to drive through flooded roadways. Turn around, Don't drown.' – BFD No injuries have currently been reported. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Permanent Fund endowment is needed to protect Alaska's fiscal future
A sign directs voters to a polling place near the offices of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Endowments have been around for a long time. Many universities have had them for decades and are major revenue generators. Have you ever heard a threat to overdraw an endowment fund? Probably not, because they are set up precisely to prevent that from happening. Unfortunately, our current Permanent Fund structure has a gaping hole in it that allows for all sorts of overdraw shenanigans to take place. Many would like to keep this topic as confusing as possible, but really it is quite simple and comes down to this: Would you rather have a portion of our largest savings account continually exposed to ill-advised ideas or would you rather have it all locked up and only allow a known amount to be drawn each year? I realize there are several iterations of how folks want to address this issue but if we are attempting to change the constitution, there is only one responsible way to do it: Move the entire fund under the constitutionally protected corpus. Let's start by discussing how the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. views all the unwise ideas the Legislature has proposed to overdraw the fund. The APFC's only concern is how much cash they need to keep available in case an imprudent idea passes. Legislation that causes uncertainty and thereby impairs the APFC's ability to invest that cash has a profoundly deleterious impact on overall returns for the fund. There are two past examples which expose the need to protect the Permanent Fund from bad ideas. First, a few years ago the House was once again tied up in knots trying to balance their budget. To break the logjam, an amendment was introduced by a member to fund the entire budget, federal funds and all, from the earnings reserve account. I recall this would have amounted to a $12 billion draw. Fortunately, it failed. Another example occurred when an overdraw of over $5 billion to back-fund PFDs actually passed due to a member being absent. The APFC had to take defensive measures and be prepared to have this additional $5 billion available for distribution. What the funds were to be used for in either example is not relevant to this discussion even though the PFD continues to be a third-rail item. What is critical to understand is that the APFC had to keep cash available in case either idea passed. This prevents the APFC from keeping that money invested at a much higher rate than holding cash. Let's go over the Permanent Fund's setup once more so we are all clear why the endowment plan is critical to the long term health of the fund. A noble goal espoused by many is to grow the fund to $100 billion, although we seem to have been stuck at about $80 billion for the past few years. We currently have a constitutionally protected portion — known as the corpus — which as of the end of February was about $60 billion of the $80 billion total. This cannot be touched without a constitutional amendment. The other $20 billion, or 25%, is in the earnings reserve account in various forms and is only statutorily protected. As an example, the PFD is also statutorily protected, and we have witnessed how closely that statute is followed. These past, real attempts to raid the fund demonstrate the exact reason an endowment is needed to protect the entire fund moving forward, so that future generations can enjoy the same benefits we have all enjoyed for the past four decades. Currently, it is too easy for individual legislators to introduce massive overdraw amendments. All that cash available with a mere majority vote is too tempting. The temptation will only worsen as oil prices drop. If a constitutionally protected endowment is in place, the APFC would have the comfort and knowledge that a certain percentage of the fund — let's use the current 5% — and only up to that amount would be required each July 1. Without getting into the more complex draw equation to minimize the annual changes to the draw, the draw of 5% would equate to about $4 billion. Some might argue that goal is far too aggressive based on historical returns. History demonstrates that mistaken argument is based on the APFC having to sit on far too much cash in case the Legislature or executive branch takes action to overdraw the earnings reserve account. If this option is removed, the APFC would be able to be more aggressive in their investments. Loosening this restraint, even just a bit, could result in a percentage point or two increase in their annualized returns, leading to a real path toward $100 billion and beyond. I've heard so-called experts over the past few months misleading folks into believing the endowment plan is meant to expose the corpus to spending. Those same folks even suggest the fund will be drained. As a former APFC trustee, I know the endowment concept is to protect the fund for future generations. The concept is simple: Move the statutorily protected — in reality unprotected — earnings reserve account into the constitutionally protected corpus and allow for a known draw for years to come, thereby eliminating the opportunity for decision-makers to even introduce amendments to overdraw the fund. Anything other than moving the entire fund into a constitutionally protected status is not acceptable. The flexibility of always having the earnings reserve account there to overdraw as a 'backup plan' has allowed decision-makers to kick the can down the road and not make the tough decisions that will benefit future generations. The Legislature once again is wrapped around the budgetary axle as they engage in their annual battle on how to fund an ever-expanding government. There are too many variables at their disposal to distract them, such as the earnings reserve account, oil prices and PFDs. As legislators continue to view the PFD as the main variable, this trainwreck will only get worse. I'm like many others who wish the PFD issue had been addressed when the percentage-based draw took effect several years ago. But it wasn't, so here we are. Currently the debate is over how much money should be disbured through the PFD and how much new money should be directed to education. A constitutionally protected endowment fund producing a fixed, known amount at the beginning of each session coupled with a fairly known, but dwindling, oil revenue projection would take the PFD variable off the table. I'm not proposing anything when it comes to the future of the PFD. This is all about stabilizing the revenue streams we currently enjoy. Introducing income or sales taxes to fund our ever-expanding wish list is for another column. We will not be able to have an honest, educated discussion on future revenues and expenditures or the future of this great state until this issue is resolved and the ability to overdraw one of the last few accounts is removed as an option. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
