October 2, 2007

Maureen Martin of the Heartland Institute has a very fine op-ed in today's Providence Journall on the damages plan developed for Rhode Island's groundless lead paint public nuisance suit.

A snippet: Under the plan, windows will almost always be replaced with new, energy-efficient ones, and new drywall will cover existing lead-based paint. The plan can call for new doors, new flooring, new kitchen cabinets, and new stairways, banisters, spindles and newel posts. If these items are unique, they will be stripped and refinished rather than replaced. If the housing unit is part of the state historic-preservation program, replacements will have to be custom-made. The interiors will then be repainted. The choice of color is up to the homeowner. Surprisingly, the state doesn’t include Martha Stewart as a color consultant.