Read more Speak Up stories from the Miami Herald

• Courts, lawmakers chip away at our right to victim’s compensation

  As a trial attorney and adjunct law professor, I could not help but notice the parallels and the contrasts in news coverage about what happened recently in Miami and in Savar, Bangladesh. In Miami, four workers lost their lives, and others were severely injured, when parking garage at Miami Dade College in Doral collapsed in October. The legal claims were settled last week. In Savar, Bangladesh, the death toll in the Rana Plaza disaster reached more than 650, as the rescuers sorted through the rubble looking for bodies. Both disasters were preventable structural collapses. 1368017958

• Federal workers keep the country running

  Government employees protect and serve our nation. To honor these workers and their service, May 5-11 has been designated as Public Service Recognition Week. 1368017958

• Learn about the lives they lived

  The obituaries are the most interesting part of The Miami Herald. You get to “meet” some wonderful people, folks who were hard-working, dedicated, charitable and caring. You’ll meet Americans, no matter where they were born, who led hard lives with tough jobs, but people who could look back and say, “My son, the doctor” or “My beautiful little girl is now a lawyer.” These are people who lived the American Dream that their kids will have a better life than they did. 1368017958