Blog

Recently, Brandi Richards wrote a quasi-compelling blog regarding her love of the snow. As I sit in my office with my space heater on, the temperature outside sitting at a balmy -10, I would like to offer up this alternative. I'm over it. Over the snow. Over the cold. Over the winter. Bring on the spring and better yet, let's daydream about pop-up thunderstorms and watering our lawns. While waiting for snowbird to show up on the screen is indeed exciting, knowing that you are off every day in the summer is much more appealing to me. I'll take floating on my pontoon every day of the week over sled riding, and sun-kissed cheeks over wind-burned lips any time. Goodbye to dry skin and hello to a nice tan! Is there really an argument here? Snow is pretty for about five minutes. Then it turns to an ugly grey slush. It gets in your shoes and it freezes your windshield and your pipes. I'll take even the worst day in the summer over the best day in the winter. I love it when the days get long and when heat lighting lights up the sky. I enjoy fireflies and backyard bonfires. Floating on the river and grilling on the back deck. Fireworks. Picnics. Jamboree in the Hills. Late nights at Kennywood. For heaven's sake...flip flops. My fair complexion might indicate otherwise, but my soul was made for summer. Snowbird can stick it. Like this post if you agree that winter can take a flying leap!

I lived in the heart of the Kanawha Valley a/k/a "The Chemical Valley" for twelve years before leaving in 2009. Having a degree in chemistry, it amazed and perplexed me that chemical plants and storage tanks were permitted to operate in the midst of such a populated area, directly on the banks of rivers which provided drinking water to hundreds of thousands. I would see these facilities and wonder what chemicals were stored there and if anyone was really paying attention to what chemicals were where. Was anyone paying attention to how the chemicals interacted with one another if there was a system failure or accident and the chemicals came in contact with one another? Was anyone paying attention to whether the storage tanks were sufficient to withstand potential interactions with and among chemicals they were holding? Did anyone know what would happen in the event of a leak? Did anyone know the effects of human exposure to these chemicals? Were there mechanisms in place to protect the drinking water? When I would voice these concerns, my friend and colleagues would act like I was crazy. They, of course, assumed the answer to all of these questions was a resounding "yes". They trusted the "good corporate citizens" and the governmental regulators. Many thought these companies were overregulated. The events which began at Freedom Industries on January 9, 2014 proved their trust was misplaced and have forever changed the lives of the hundreds of thousands of West Virginians who have been exposed to both known and unknown chemicals and chemical combinations. Much has already been said about Freedom Industries' blatant disregard for the citizens of West Virginia when it failed to even report that the toxic chemical, Crude MCHM, had leaked into the Elk River just above the main water system intake station. It took hours for a "do not use" order to be issued and countless men, women and children ingested water contaminated with this toxic chemical in the interim. But what else were they exposed to? We just don't know and we may never fully know. Twelve days after the spill, Freedom Industries disclosed that a second chemical, identified as " PPH, stripped " also leaked from the storage tanks. Like Crude MCHM, little is known about PPH, stripped, or its effect on humans. Unlike Crude MCHM, which avoided many chemical industry disclosure requirements through a regulatory "grandfathering" loophole, information regarding PPH, stripped, has been withheld from public disclosure as "proprietary" information. After learning that Freedom Industries had not immediately disclosed the involvement of PPH, stripped, in the spill, the West Virginia DEP ordered Freedom Industries to disclose all materials spilled. Freedom Industries claims only Crude MCHM and PPH, stripped, were involved. Given Freedom Industries' recent history, it would be reasonable to question the veracity of this statement. The failure of Freedom Industries to immediately disclose all involved chemicals and the failure of governmental authorities to demand full and immediate disclosure has further jeopardized the health and safety of West Virginians because it has hindered the ability to effectively attempt to remediate the spill and minimize its consequences. It is basic science. Chemicals can interact with one another. Consider this hypothetical. Chemical A and Chemical B leak from an aging storage tank. A is non-toxic and does not have adverse human health effects upon exposure in its native state. B causes flu-like symptoms if ingested by humans in quantities of 10 ppm. A & B are friendly compounds that do not interact with one another. Chemical C interacts with B to transform it to chemical D which has no adverse health or safety effects. However, chemical C reacts with chemical A to form the highly toxic, colorless and odorless chemical E - a substance that when ingested by humans is known to cause cancer in quantities as low as 0.0001 ppm. Unaware that chemical A is present, those responding to the spill utilize C to neutralize B and unknowingly create E which goes undetected until it is disclosed that A was present all along. The failure to immediately disclose the presence of A resulted in humans being exposed to an even worse substance at toxic levels. This completely hypothetical scenario is utilized to make a point. I do not know enough about Crude MCHM or PPH, stripped, to even begin to consider how they interact with other substances. One question that needs to be answered, and should have been answered immediately upon learning that the spill had entered the drinking water supply, is does Crude MCHM or PPH, stripped, interact or oxidize with chlorine - the main substance used to sanitize drinking waters supplies? If so, what chemicals are formed and what effect do they have on humans? Although the Material Data Sheet for Crude MCHM, indicates that it is harmful if swallowed and causes skin and eye irritation, it tells us little else about the chemical. In fact, it uses the phrase " no data available " 152 times, including when providing information regarding repeated dose toxicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity and specific organ toxicity. While government officials have declared that 1 ppm is an " acceptable " level of MCHM in drinking water,pregnant women are advised not to consume it at all and find alternative sources of water. Pediatricians have advised not to allow children to consume the substance. How did the government officials come up with these numbers? Through extrapolation and speculation, as no data or studies exist regarding the effects of these chemicals or safe levels of consumption. Unfortunately, the citizens of the Kanawha Valley have become test subjects who will live with the consequences of this spill for the remainder of their lives as a result of the negligence and arrogance of Freedom Industries and the failure of government officials to confirm the integrity of the storage tanks (the tanks at issue had not been inspected since 1991 and photos reveal extensive exterior deterioration!). People who were exposed to the MCMH and PPH, stripped, will need to disclose that fact to health providers for the rest of their lives and should be keeping a record of any unusual symptoms or conditions they experience. There is apparently no information regarding disease latency periods arising from exposure to the chemicals spilled. Add in the fact that we have no information regarding how these substances are interacting with other substances present in the air and water or being used to treat the spill, and the result is that the citizens of the Kanawha Valley may be living in a giant toxic soup. A condition arising 30 years from now may ultimately be traced back to this event and resulting exposure. Epidemiologists will be studying the health effects of this spill for decades. Scientists will be studying the chemical interactions and effect on the environment for years to come. Oh yes, the environment. No one is talking yet about the consequences of this spill on the fish, wildlife and vegetation. The arrogance and greed of the chemical and coal industry coupled with the government's lack of regulation in the hopes of increasing tax dollars has resulted in a giant toxicity experiment with the citizens of West Virginia as the test subjects. The twelve years I spent in Charleston were spent defending corporations or working in government. Although I had and still have many wonderful friends and colleagues there, I was never comfortable in Charleston not only because of my real fear of the chemical plants but also because I felt I should be doing something else with my life. My chemistry background actually led me to the legal field. I did not want to work with these toxic substances on a daily basis but I knew the effects these substances could have on people and the environment and knew someone had to keep the corporations in check. I initially intended to practice environmental law but life events led me on a different path. Joining Bordas & Bordas in 2009 has enabled me to stand up to the bad corporate citizens on behalf of those who have been harmed as a result of corporate greed and arrogance. I only wish my friends and former colleagues were not now dealing with the effects of Freedom Industries' arrogance and the lack of appropriate governmental regulation of the chemical industry in the Kanawha Valley.

Three workers have been killed and others have been hurt in the collapse of a cell tower near Clarksburg, West Virginia. As the State continues to struggle with the aftermath of the water contamination disaster in the Kanawha region, this additional disaster is another blow. For older West Virginians, the collapse of a structure like this brings the Willow Island catastrophe to mind, where over fifty workers were killed in a collapse of a power plant cooling tower in 1978. More recently, disasters like Upper Big Branch and Sago, have claimed lives for workers on the job in West Virginia in mass incidents. At a time like this, we can only pray for the families affected by this tragedy and for our leaders and first responders -- a firefighter responding to the scene is among the victims. It is clearer and clearer every day that we have to do better in protecting our workers and our citizens from preventable and unncessary deaths and injuries. Let's hope we find the strength to do just that. The Charleston Gazette reported the details of the tower collapse as follows: CLARKSBURG, W.Va. -- Three men died, including a volunteer firefighter, and another two were injured when two cell phone towers collapsed Saturday in Clarksburg, emergency officials said. Four contractors were working on one of the towers, making structural repairs, when it collapsed Saturday morning, said Lawrence Messina, spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. A second tower was weakened by the collapse of the first tower and subsequently collapsed as well. Two men were pronounced dead at the scene. The other two were being treated when a second tower collapsed, Messina said. A local firefighter responding to the collapse was killed when the second tower fell. The two contractors who were killed were Kyle Kirkpatrick, 32, of Hulbert, Okla., and Terry Lee Richard Jr., 27, of Bokoshe, Okla. The firefighter who was killed was Michael Dale Garrett, 28, of Clarksburg and the Nutter Fort Volunteer Fire Department. State Police Cpl. Mark Waggamon said the contractors were tethered to the larger tower when it collapsed. Waggamon said the two injured contractors were taken to West Virginia University's Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. He said they had serious but non-life threatening injuries. He added the weight of the collapsed tower put stress on guide wires to the smaller tower. The incident happened at about 11:40 a.m. along Murphy's Run Road, in the Summit Park neighborhood of Clarksburg, a Harrison County 911 dispatcher said. Messina said the towers are owned by SBA Communications Corp., a company based in Boca Raton, Fla. SBA Communication independently operates and maintains wireless communications infrastructures across North, Central and South America, according to its website. The company leases antenna space on its towers to wireless-service providers under long-term contracts. The company has dozens of towers across West Virginia, according to its website. SBA did not return phone messages Saturday. A spokeswoman for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the agency is responding to the incident. Waggamon said the crew was performing maintenance to strengthen the tower's support when the accident occurred. A 2012 investigation by ProPublica and PBS's "Frontline" found that tower climbing has a death rate roughly 10 times higher than construction work. The investigation found 93 deaths of tower climbers between 2003 and 2011.

Happy Super Bowl weekend! As many prepare for the biggest sports weekend in America, we'll be taking it all in with our families and friends. Spring will soon be here - with competition and excitement in the air, it's a great time to sign your children up for sports and activities. The National Center for Education Statistics says that youth involvement in athletics correlates with higher attendance rates, higher grade point averages, improved social engagement, and improved college opportunities. Supporting your children's sports teams is also a great way to show them how much you care. Bonds of camaraderie forged on and off the field change the lives of those on the teams and in the stands. At Bordas & Bordas, our staff and attorneys support youth sports by spending our time out of the office as coaches, players, officials, and fans. But we were kids once too! Just for fun, here are some sports photos from our younger days! Can you tell who's who? Comment below if you can!

Why is the Super Bowl the most watched television event almost every year? Is it the matchup between two great football teams? Perhaps. Is it the halftime entertainment that provides memorable moments by famous musical acts like Janet Jackson's well-documented wardrobe malfunction? Possibly. But, I think the thing that may bring all ages, backgrounds, and sports fans and non-sports fans alike together is the commercials. Even if you don't know if a football is blown up or stuffed, even if you don't know the difference between Richard Sherman and Richard Simmons, everyone loves watching the commercials. We talk about and analyze them. They make us laugh. Heck, sometimes they even make us cry. There are the perennial favorites like the Budweiser Clydesdales. There are spots that stay with viewers for years like Mean Joe Greene's Coca-Cola ad. There are all types of funny animals such as monkeys, dogs, and frogs used to get our attention. Last year, Bordas & Bordas even got into the Super Bowl TV frenzy with a commercial of our own. I can't help but laugh as I recall one of my college roommates who didn't like football (a trait almost unheard of at Notre Dame) who did his homework during game action but stopped to watch the commercials. Why are we so drawn into  these advertising gems? In short, because the Super Bowl commercials remind us of who we are as Americans. We are hard-working, beer-drinking, animal-loving people. The trick for these companies and their ad agencies who drop $4 million a pop on a 30 second spot is to find a way to connect with people. In order to do this, they have to be incredibly talented storytellers. I have a tremendous amount of respect for them because the interesting twist for me is that it is a lot like being a trial lawyer. You see, our job is to get our message across to a jury by connecting with them in a way that moves them to act in a certain manner that benefits our clients. At our very core, we are storytellers. The more emotion that we can bring about and  draw out when telling our stories, the better we do. Of course, we get hours, days, or sometimes weeks to tell our story to a jury. These companies get 30 seconds to do the same. But, they do it masterfully. In fact, they do it so well that for many Americans, the commercials are the Super Bowl. So, as you watch this Sunday and take it all in, remember that behind every great story is a great storyteller. And, by the way, in case you want to watch the game too, a football is blown up, not stuffed.

Who's your favorite collegiate mascot? Naming your selection could land you 4 tickets to WVU's matchup against Oklahoma on Wednesday, February 5th. Like our page, share this post with your friends, and comment with your favorite mascot for a chance to win. The winner will be announced on Monday, February 3rd. Good luck - we can't wait to hear your selections!

Several weeks ago, I began to notice a problem in my right hand. For no apparent reason, two of my fingers were intermittently going numb. I did nothing at first, hoping the problem would resolve itself with time. As with most medical issues that I ignore, the problem did not go away; it got worse. When pain added itself to the mix two weeks ago, I grudgingly called my doctor. A late-night MRI and a visit to a neurosurgeon followed, and in two days I will undergo surgery. It turns out that I have three herniated discs in my neck, one of which is lodged firmly against a nerve near my spinal cord. The doctor has to go into my neck and cut away part of the vertebrae in order to relieve the pressure on the nerve. I have been an active/athletic person my entire life. At the age of 57, I am certainly no stranger to surgery. I have had both of my knees "scoped"; I had a screw surgically inserted into my right thumb; and I have an artificial hip. None of those surgeries caused me the least bit of anxiety. This one is different. This time, the doctor is going to be messing with my spinal cord. He is going to be using scalpels and drills and clamps and who-knows-what in an area where one tiny slip could produce a really bad result. Knowing all of that, my wife asks me if I'm worried. "Nope." My daughter asks me the same thing. "Not a bit. This is routine." My mother is so nervous she can't even talk about it. "Don't worry, Mom. No big deal. They do this every day." The truth is I lied (sorry, Mom). I'm scared. I suppose that under these circumstances, it's natural for a person to reflect on his life up to this point. We often hear folks talk about events that "put things in perspective." For me, this surgery is such an event. As ridiculous as it might sound, I have spent more than a few minutes over the past several days considering the possibility, however remote, that something might go wrong in that operating room. As I have done so, I have come to appreciate, more than ever, the things that really matter. It's enlightening to mention first what I did NOT think about in all of my reflecting. I didn't think about money. I haven't spent a second thinking about how much I used to have, how much I have now or how much more I need before I can retire. In fact, I haven't thought about anything that has anything to do with money. I didn't ponder the big house I thought I always wanted, or the fancy cars, or the vacation home, or the nice "stuff". Not a single time. Instead, my thoughts have turned to my family and my friends. I have read that one true measure of a person's life is the quality of his friendships. If that is the case, I'm better off than Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined. I have three friends with whom I would trust my life. They have been there through the good times, the not-so-good times, and the downright awful times, and I am so very lucky to have them in my life. As I told one of them on his 40 th birthday, most folks think I'm an only child. The truth is, I have three brothers. We just don't have the same mother. Rich, Ed, and Jeff, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don't know what I would have done without you guys. I have also thought a lot about my children. I have two of my own, and one who makes me feel as if she is mine as well. When I was a young boy, my mother used to tell me that I would never understand how much I would love my children until I became a father myself. She was certainly right about that. Brittany, John, and Caitlin, I love you all more than you can comprehend. Each of you has always made me proud. Remember the two things I have constantly preached to you: 1. You can be anything in this world you want to be. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. 2. Kindness matters. Never underestimate the power of a random act of kindness. Finally, I have thought about my best friend in the world: my beautiful wife, Denise. The moment I typed her name in that previous sentence, I smiled. I guess that pretty well sums it up; she makes me smile. Before I married Denise, it sometimes seemed as if I was doing everything I could to screw up my life. I had done some pretty awful, selfish, hurtful things that caused a lot of pain and heartache for a lot of people. Denise helped me to understand that my future does not have to be defined by my past. She showed me that I was still worthy of being loved, and she inspired me to be the best husband, father, and man that I can be. I have a tattoo on my left shoulder that is the image of a phoenix rising up, clutching two wedding bands in its talons. Under the tattoo appears "8-20-2003", the date Denise and I were married. The image was my way of saying that for me, life began again on that day. I love you, Sweetheart. You truly saved my life. "Thank you" falls woefully short of expressing what I feel, but it's all I can come up with at the moment. I'm sure that everything is going to go as expected for me on Wednesday, and within a week or so I'll be back to handling my cases and writing the occasional blog entry. Nevertheless, I'm strangely thankful for the worry that I'm dealing with now, because it has made me think. I've had to think about what really matters in life, and having done so, I've taken the time to express some thoughts and feelings that needed to be expressed. I've also had to take stock of my own life thus far. I've come to appreciate, more than ever, the fact that nothing is as important or as valuable as family and friends. With that in mind, it's pretty clear that I'm the wealthiest man in the world. So step aside, Bill Gates. You're in my spot.

This week's edition of the Bordas & Bordas Legal Review tackles the two topics dominating headlines: The Charleston Chemical Spill and Richard Sherman's post-game interview. What are the potential legal ramifications of each? Who is being or may be sued? Who is talking about Richard Sherman and is there a racial dimension to the controversy? Learn all these answers and more as Chris Regan and Jamie Bordas discuss the pressing issues of the day on WLTV's Bordas & Bordas Legal Review. Click here to view the program on vimeo, or watch the embedded version if your browser supports it. Be sure to check out the WLUTV schedule to watch a live-stream of WLUTV and for a schedule of when the program airs.

I opened my newspaper one Saturday morning in early January to read an article about the new healthcare law and was startled to learn that one of its problems is \the fact that people with chronic illnesses, the ones in the most need of medical care and testing, would be the ones falling through the "cracks" of the new healthcare law and would find it more expensive. Even Ron Pollack, founding Executive Director of Families USA, a national organization whose mission is to achieve high-quality, "affordable" health coverage for everyone in the U.S., was quoted as saying in a somewhat apathetic sounding way: "If the question is, will some people find that coverage and care remain unaffordable, the answer is yes. There will be some people who feel that way. The overwhelming majority will be far better off, even if what they have is not perfect." I felt a bit angry and a little confused. I guess I was under the impression that the new healthcare law was supposed to improve that situation and prevent people from being in fear that they would not be able to pay their medical bills if they needed to go the doctor or had to get diagnostic testing. Ever since March 23, 2010 when President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and it became "the law of the land" many of us have waited eagerly for the year 2014. I supported the passage of the law, not merely for the fact that I would finally be protected by our laws from insurance companies who would deny me coverage because of a pre-existing condition, but because I thought finally it would give us all some relief from the ever increasing insurance premiums and costs of healthcare. Those of us who gave it our full support and pushed for its passage waited and hoped that all of the bad publicity and negative things being expressed by its opponents were just politically motivated and not based in reality. We particularly hoped this when we realized that some of our fellow citizens insisted on calling it "universal healthcare" and continued to insist that the government was ruining one of the greatest healthcares in the world. We, the supporters of the bill, knew that it was not "universal healthcare" and we did not believe that our healthcare, in and of itself, was going to be changed in any major way but that it was actually going to make that healthcare a little less expensive, more "affordable." Before the Affordable Care Act was even considered I had always carried health insurance through my employer where they paid part of the premium and I paid part. Though the premium was higher, I chose the HMO over the PPO because it paid 100% of the bills for medical testing, hospitalizations, etc. and there was usually a very small or even no deductible. Over the past 10 years my share of the insurance premium for the HMO has increased every year from approximately 8% of my income to 20% of my income! We were also offered a choice of a PPO, and although its premiums were a lot lower, it usually came with a deductible that could be as high as $1,500-$3,000 a year. Only after that deductible was fulfilled did the insurance kick in and pay 80% of the amount due, leaving 20% the responsibility of the patient. If you are young and healthy and don't go to the doctor very much, a PPO with a lower premium, higher deductible would definitely be a good choice. However, if you are not so young or you are not so healthy (I am cancer survivor) a prudent doctor will require you to have follow-up testing for the rest of your life to make sure that your condition doesn't worsen, or in my case doesn't return. The doctor will prescribe blood tests throughout the year, various tests like a yearly CT scan and, of course, follow-up visits to his office. If I had a PPO with a $1,500 or more deductible that must be fulfilled before the insurance 80/20 even kicked in, I could end up being responsible for 20% of the remaining balance. My medical bills would quickly add up. This year when the premium for the HMO rose yet again, tipping it over 20% of my income I felt I just couldn't afford the monthly premium and finally conceded and chose to go on the POS which had quite a smaller premium--11% of my income. However, I have little time to enjoy that extra take-home pay because I now have a $1,500 deductible that must be met, after which I will pick up 20% of any tests, etc. To add insult to injury, the co-pay for a regular doctor's visits increased from $10 to $25 and specialists $20 to $50. How is this better? How is this affordable? Were we all naïve because we believed that "affordable" actually meant "affordable" and that the law would finally rein in the insurance companies and give us some relief from the ever rising hefty premiums? Since October, 2013 it has become increasingly obvious that that is not what is going to happen. As time goes on we have learned that the expensive HMO's or the "pay 100%" insurances are being totally phased out and that most health insurance policies in the market place will be mainly PPOs or POSs, or some other similar type. People will definitely be able to find an insurance plan with a low premium, but these policies will have high deductibles with the insurance only paying 60%, 70%, 80% or 90% of the medical bill! Many of us now feel that we were misled by the representatives of our government who we trusted to vote for a healthcare law that would benefit ALL of us. The main-stream media is calling it "sticker shock,"-- the meaning of which is that feeling of surprise and disappointment caused by learning that something you want to buy is very expensive. But health insurance isn't something that we "want" to buy; it is something that we "need" to buy. Without health insurance you would certainly go bankrupt and lose everything you own. Let us pray that our elected representatives will begin to pull together and instead of working to repeal the law will work on solutions to revise and fix what is wrong with the healthcare bill. If it is tossed out completely we will lose the best parts of the bill that do help everyone, i.e., no discrimination over pre-existing conditions and no lifetime caps on medical bills. Our leaders must stop using political ploys designed merely to be the "winner" in the next election and actually be representatives of a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Every citizen of the United States deserves quality affordable healthcare no matter whether each is healthy or suffering from a chronic illness. We need to begin talking about solutions and stop playing political games with people's health.

When I was told that I had cervical cancer twenty years ago, I had two small children and was scared to death. Not only did the doctors mention cervical cancer, but they expressed some fear that it had already turned into ovarian cancer. My first thought was what would happen to my family if I was not well enough to take care of them. Question after question went racing through my mind. My wonderful husband, our parents, other family and friends could only do so much. Children need their mothers! I started writing down things for my husband so just in case something happened to me, he could tell our boys about me and what type of mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt and friend I was. I wanted my sons to know about our awesome God, how to treat others and how much I loved them. The list could have gone forever. Once the shock was over, the doctor told us what I needed to have done and it needed to be done quickly. So I had all the tests done and within weeks I had to have a hysterectomy. No more children for us. We always wanted a big family, but it wasn't in God's plan for us. I still have my notebook with all my notes in it, and once a year I get it out and still write something in it. I always thank God first for my wonderful life, and ask  for his forgiveness for not being a better person because he gave me a second shot at life. Then I ask for more forgiveness, because I always feel I fell short of God's goals for me in my life. Over the years I've had other scares, like when they found lumps in my breasts, and my wonderful sister-in-law who passed away in May of 2013 from breast cancer helped me though the scare when I had to have several breast biopsies  done. Once again I worried about who was going to take care of my children. However, this time I was more worried about my four-legged children (my dogs), as my own children had grown up into wonderful young adults. I thanked my lucky stars and God that nothing came back positive. All was balanced in my world again. It is very important that every female 18 years of age or older, those who are having intercourse, or any woman who has any family history of cancer has a Pap test done to help detect dysplasia that can lead into cervical cancer (and can also lead into many other type of female problems). Knowing our own bodies is very important. We know to do a self-breast exam monthly to help detect any changes in our breasts to fight against breast cancer, but how many of us really know how to look for signs of dysplasia, cervical or ovarian cancers? These two web pages, http://www.webmd.com/cervical cancer or http://www.OCRF.org, explain some of the information on the symptoms that can occur. The web is full of information about all of these cancers, but please, please, please talk to your OBGYN if you notice any change in your body. It could save your life. Your doctors are really the only ones who can get you the proper testing and treatments you may need. Web information can be great, but no website will ever be more effective than a doctor's exam. My wish for this new year of 2014 is that researchers will come one step closer to finding a cure for all cancers. Bordas & Bordas is dedicated to help raise money for breast cancer with the Driving Fore A Cure golf outing in October. Please log on to the Bordas & Bordas web page to learn more about this event. Cancer doesn't discriminate. It doesn't care how old or young you are, where or if you go to church, or if you are male or female. It can find you, if you don't find it first.

It's like something out of a movie. Secret drug exchanges. Code words. Cover-ups. Stolen documents. Famous people. There is probably already a script in Hollywood somewhere. Welcome to the life of Alex Rodriguez. I became a fan of the New York Yankees during my last year at West Point and I have folowed them very closely since then. One of my favorite things to do on a warm summer night is to play Wiffle Ball in the back yard with my kids while the Yankees play in the background on the satellite radio. I never thought that my interest in baseball would lead me to one of the most interesting legal documents that I have ever come across. On Monday, Yankees third-baseman Alex Rodriguez filed a federal lawsuit against Major League Baseball, the Commissioner of Baseball, and the Major League Baseball Players Association seeking to have a federal judge overturn the 162-game suspension handed down by the Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel two days earlier. Attached to that lawsuit was the decision of the Arbitration Panel. Both the Complaint and the Panel Decision are available generally on the Internet. Originally, Bud Selig, the Commissioner of Baseball, suspended Rodriguez for 211 games for repeated violations of the league's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program ("JDA") and for attempts to cover up his use of banned substances. Rodriguez and the MLBPA appealed to the Arbitration Panel under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA") between MLP and MLBPA. Ultimately, the Panel reduced the Rodriguez suspension from 211 games to 162 games. Amazingly, the decision to suspend Rodriguez for an entire season is the least interesting part of the decision. In fact, the Panel Decision contains something for everyone. For the casual fan of TV legal dramas, the Panel Decision demonstrates that nothing is more dramatic than real life. According to the Panel Decision, the suspension against Rodriguez stem from his involvement with Anthony Bosch, an unlicensed doctor, who provided Rodriguez with hGh, testosterone, and other banned substances. The facts involve shady associates of Rodriguez, secret meetings in hotels using the service elevator, code names for the banned substances, an "indiscreet liaison by one MLB investigator with a former employee," stolen notebooks, and numerous allegations by MLB and Rodriguez that each side attempted to subvert the investigation. Included among the allegations was the charge that Rodriguez induced witnesses to make false statements in a cover-up attempt, that both sides attempted to wrongfully purchase the stolen notebooks, and that MLB threatened one witness with immigration problems if he didn't cooperate. For lawyers, the discussion of the use of electronic evidence is very interesting in its own right. Over the course of their relationship, Bosch and Rodriguez exchanged over 500 BlackBerry Messages ("BBMs") and 556 text messages. This electronic evidence played an important role in the Panel's decision and demonstrates once again how important electronic evidence issues are in the investigation of a case. Interestingly, Rodriguez contested the authenticity of the BlackBerry evidence and asked to have his own expert examine the BlackBerry, a request that the Arbitration Panel denied even though MLB's experts had an opportunity to examine the BlackBerry. The decision by the Panel preventing Rodriguez's experts from examining the BlackBerry forms a key piece of Rodriguez's federal court case. From a legal standpoint, Rodriguez faces an uphill battle in getting the 162-game suspension overturned. No doubt he hurt his own cause by refusing to testify at the arbitration hearing. From the standpoint of a baseball fan, it is amazing to me that a sport so focused on its history has such little recent history to be proud of. Baseball's all-time hits leader banned for life because of gambling. Baseball's all-time home-run leader completely disgraced amid allegations of his own PED use. An entire generation of Hall of Fame candidates under suspicion. Baseball takes a hit, but at least we have some legal fireworks to look forward to.

I know it's freezing out. School has been cancelled a lot. The roads are bad and it seems like winter will never end. Don't worry, though. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It won't be long before many of us are standing in the warm sunshine watching our kids play baseball or softball. It seems hard to believe with the weather the way it is, but for many organizations in the area, sign-ups for next season are as early as this weekend. There are many great opportunities to participate for boys and girls of all ages. If you are interested, I encourage you to ask around about sign-ups in your area. Although the leagues are not ordinarily run by the schools, schools will often coordinate with the leagues when it comes to sign-ups and they can be a valuable source of information. If not, ask your friends or neighbors. Baseball and softball provides a great opportunity for children of all ages and skill sets to be part of a team. My three oldest have all played at one level or another, from tee-ball down the street to some of the most prestigious youth-baseball tournaments in the country. This year, my youngest starts his own baseball journey. I know that after the kids grow up, looking back on those warm summer afternoons at the baseball field will be some of my fondest memories. Consider signing up. If nothing else, it will help remind us that it won't be long before we trade all of this snow in for ice cream after the game. See you at the field.