Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, December 19
Dec 19, 2008
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Condos may lose insurance perk
Officials of a self-insurance fund that has cut windstorm insurance costs for 18 condominiums in Palm Beach and Broward Counties vowed Thursday to fight a state order shutting it down.
St. Lucie gets $2.4 million FEMA reimbursement from 2004 hurricanes
St. Lucie County and Port St. Lucie are $2.4 million richer than they were two weeks ago.
State Farm kicks in half a mil to rescue highway rescue patrols
Motorists in Broward and Palm Beach counties will soon see more Road Rangers on the interstates. The trucks will be sporting a new look, too.
Alpha-Omega buys out Florida Title Insurance
Fewer real estate closings and a continuing credit squeeze has prompted Alpha-Omega Title Insurance Co. to purchase full control of Florida Title Insurance Agency LLC.
BB&T to Acquire Florida’s J. Rolfe Davis Insurance
BB&T Insurance Services, the nation’s sixth largest insurance broker, reports it plans to acquire J. Rolfe Davis Insurance of Maitland, Fla.
Medicare scam draws another stiff sentence
Thomas McKenzie, who taught doctors how to prescribe HIV therapy at Miami-Dade clinics to defraud the national healthcare system, had hoped to receive an 11-year sentence recommended by prosecutors.
EDITORIAL: Florida a sick place to live?
Lack of attention to health care issues puts Florida residents in jeopardy
With fresh fruits and vegetables readily available, an abundance of fresh seafood, clean air and warm seasons that allow for outdoor recreation throughout the year, Florida should be one of the healthiest states in the nation.
Report: Fla. should use OSHA rules
Prompted by a deadly explosion in Daytona Beach, a new report calls for requiring that cities, counties and other Florida government agencies comply with federal worker-safety standards.
Crist: Not yet standing in way of new Fla. revenue
Gov. Charlie Crist said Thursday that he’s not going to stand in the way of discussion about new revenue to help bail the state out of its financial mess – at least not right away.
Crist offers up ideas for balancing budget, sparing services
Florida lawmakers can fill a $2.3 billion budget hole by slightly trimming government spending, nearly emptying savings accounts and approving a gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, according to a draft document approved by Gov. Charlie Crist.
Powerful forces oppose Seminoles’ gambling expansion
New pressure is mounting to stop the Seminoles’ expansion of blackjack throughout Florida.
The state’s top lawyer and a local parimutuel on Thursday began pursuing a two-pronged approach to staunch the spread of the Seminole Tribe’s Las Vegas-style card games, such as blackjack, which the Florida Supreme Court nullified months ago.
U.S. attorney in Tampa is asked to fold new Seminole card games
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is asking the U.S. attorney in Tampa to close down new card games, such as blackjack, at the Seminole Tribe’s Tampa Hard Rock and Collier County casinos.
EDITORIAL: Reviving gaming compact one must-have revenue-generating option
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Facing a budgetary abyss, the Florida House of Representatives this week convened a legislative panel to resolve the stalled gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe.
Florida prison population reaches 100,000
Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Walt McNeil, who previously served as chief of the Tallahassee Police Department, is now guiding the growth of the state’s 137 corrections facilities, which have reached a combined population of more than 100,000.
Fla. high court: Smarter Growth Amendment can go on ballot
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a proposed amendment relating to growth management complies with the requirements needed to get it on the 2010 ballot.
Libraries Offer Plenty For Storms To Stew Over
The economy is a shambles. State revenue is in a free-fall. House leaders in both parties stand accused of misusing their political powers.
Port must pay $10.5M in eminent domain case
The Jacksonville Port Authority has been ordered by a judge to pay $10.5 million to lawyers who defended Keystone Coal Co. from the authority’s failed attempt to acquire the property through an eminent domain lawsuit.
County revokes bond amendment
The proposed Central Florida commuter rail system got a renewed go-ahead from the Volusia County Council on Thursday, when the council revoked a month-old protective amendment opposed by state transportation officials.
Progress Energy to close two coal-fired generators in 2020
Progress Energy Florida will close two of the state’s worst polluting coal-fired generators when its new Levy County nuclear plant is up and running in 2020, the company announced Thursday.
New rule for health providers stirs objections
The Bush administration, in its final days, issued a federal rule Thursday reinforcing protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions and other procedures because of religious or moral objections.
Insurers Critical of New Jersey Senate Bill
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) said it strongly opposes a bill recently passed by New Jersey Senate that allows physicians to make self-referrals to their ambulatory surgical centers.
La. Antitrust Lawsuit Against Insurers Dismissed
A federal judge in New Orleans has dismissed a lawsuit filed after plaintiff’s lawyers in Louisiana complained in 2007 that insurers facing lawsuits filed in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were behaving like a “cartel,” working together to underpay legitimate claims.
North Carolina Agrees to 4% Home Insurance Rate Hike
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long today signed a settlement agreement with homeowners insurance companies allowing an overall statewide average increase of 4.05 percent in rates beginning May 1.
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