"April is a promise that May is bound to keep."  Hal Borland

"Elections should be held on April 16th- the day after we pay our income taxes. That is one of the few things that might discourage politicians from being big spenders."  Thomas Sowell

Good afternoon:

One month ago, Japan experienced its most devastating earthquake in 1200 years and the sixth largest earthquake in earth's history. To give you a few facts about the impact of this disaster, consider the following: Japan's main island was displaced, the island of Honshu moved 2.3 meters due to the quake, the earths mass shifted to the center and the effects of the quake shortened the day by 1.6 microseconds. A massive tsunami swept over cities and villages with 23-foot waves; the death toll is close to 30,000 to date.

Today, Japan raised the severity level of the nuclear plant to the maximum level seven - a level equal to the Chernobyl reactor disaster in 1986.

Level seven on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) incidents involve a major release of radiation with widespread health and environmental effects, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 

Californians feel a special kinship with those who have experienced catastrophic natural events because we've experienced our own intense tumblers, wildfires and floods. We know the sense of panic when disaster strikes; our fears for our lives and for our loved ones, followed by periods of shock and depression that continue with each jolt of an aftershock.

As we watched news coverage of Japan's quake and tsunami, how many of us felt internal aftershocks of our own, memories of that last 'big one' that sent us running for doorways or tables to crawl under for shelter?

There is no doubt that Japan's earthquakes, tsunami and nuclear disasters are taking an enormous toll on this island nation. If you feel compelled to help, look to our InternetIntel section for a list of a few of the entities involved in the relief efforts.

We're dedicating this ClientCall to the victims and survivors of the Japan's disasters, including the crises caused by these events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex.

If there is pressing news regarding employee benefits (and that seems to be the norm right now), we'll get that information to you via a BenefitBulletin, as well as post it on our newly-revamped robbinsinsurance.net.