Free Republic

(07-29) 16:28 PDT Los Angeles, CA (AP) -- A construction worker has died after being buried under 11 feet of dirt at a Pacific Palisades home. Los Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Terry Manning says the man was buried in a trench during an excavation shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday morning. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/07/29/state/n143938D50.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0v8Fv9KJ4

The American Civil Liberties Union and the United Farm Workers Union filed a lawsuit this morning against Cal-OSHA, accusing it of not being capable of protecting the state's 650,000 farm laborers from heat injury and death. The suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court credits occupational safety officials with stepping up enforcement in the wake of fatalities last year. But it says employers remain out of compliance with regulations. It cites as evidence six farmworker deaths last year -- three more than Cal-OSHA recognizes -- injuries of farmworkers this year and widespread violations of laws that Cal-OSHA inspectors have found...

LOS ANGELES -- Hacking and gasping, Irma Ortiz could cart her groceries only so far before she'd catch other shoppers glaring at her. Mortified, she'd abandon her cart on the spot and bolt for the door. Frank Herrera could gun his dirt bike only so far before choking on the rush of air. Go. Stop. Go. Stop. Exasperated, he gave up riding. Ortiz, 44, and Herrera, 34, are odd candidates for lung transplants, being nonsmokers and having considerable youth on their side. How they lost 70 to 80 percent of their breathing capacity is no less astonishing. They acquired the...

The new Bay Bridge is riddled with defective welds, 15 welders told the Oakland Tribune in a nine-month investigation - allegations that could lead to criminal fraud charges. The welders' claims have prompted an FBI investigation. In the worst case, the federal probe could lead to tearing apart the bridge to see if it is structurally sound or needs to be rebuilt. The FBI began investigating allegations in February that welders were "encouraged or instructed to save time by producing substandard welds," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Mershon of the bureau's San Francisco division. The bureau is investigating...