Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, June 22

Click on a headline to read the complete story:

 

Crist signs tax bill, and questions start flying

The law is part of a plan to lower property taxes.

Invoking the sanctity of homeownership, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday signed a bill forcing local governments to make immediate budget cuts. He then flew around the state to pitch a second round of property tax cuts that require voter approval.

 

Fla. Dems hope to save primary, delegates from DNC chopping block

Florida’s congressional Democrats expressed measured optimism over their meeting Thursday with national party chairman Howard Dean. But they were reticent on whether an agreement could be reached on making the state’s new Jan. 29 presidential primary actually count.

 

White House Says Nix To Long-Term TRIA

WASHINGTON —The Bush administration today threw cold water on legislation introduced earlier in the week providing a long-term extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

 

Marsh, Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers Support 10-Year Extension of TRIA

Marsh Inc., the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor, presented testimony before a Congressional Subcommittee in support of the 10-year extension of the Terrorism Risk and Insurance Act (TRIA), as well as a number of refinements to the Act that would serve to benefit businesses in the U.S. seeking protection from the financial consequences of acts of terrorism on U.S. soil.

 

Fla. Carriers In Reinsurance Bind, Says Lawmaker

A Florida lawmaker, who has opposed the state’s expanded role as a reinsurer, said regulators will probably not allow insurers to pass through the cost of additional reinsurance coverage beyond the state-subsidized catastrophe limits.

 

Ritchie Capital files Chapter 11 for two units

NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) – Troubled hedge fund group Ritchie Capital Management said it filed for bankruptcy protection for two life insurance units, according to a letter sent to investors on Thursday that was obtained by Reuters.

 

Congress hears Miami’s housing woes

A Miami housing activist provided a cautionary tale Thursday to members of Congress looking to extend a popular but troubled federal housing program.

 

County backs off ballot revolt as elections chief chops cost

Cancel the revolution. Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson said Thursday he can make the transition from electronic to paper-based voting with $3.9 million in county money – not the $5.9 million figure he quoted two days earlier that sparked talk among county commissioners of rebelling against Florida’s new ballot “paper trail” law.

 

Raising the stakes

State’s new betting law expected to raise interest in local poker rooms

It’s not the sunglasses or iPods the players wear. It’s not the eyes gazing for another player’s “tell,” nor the horses racing on every television.

 

Retroactive tax fix alarms financial-services lobby 

A retroactive tax change that the Senate Finance Committee passed Tuesday as part of an energy tax package has provoked a backlash from financial-services lobbyists, who warn it could have a chilling effect on investment.

 

Senator Flips Drilling Vote

WASHINGTON – A flip-flop by Sen. Mel Martinez in his vote last week to relax a quarter-century-old ban on new offshore drilling has left some environmentalists puzzled.

 

Harper appointed to Board of Governors’ staff

Derry Harper, an experienced corporate and government attorney, has been named inspector general and director of compliance for the Florida Board of Governors.

 

Florida Office Of Insurance Regulation Announces Staff Changes

TALLAHASSEE (6/22/2007) – Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty today announced new staff changes for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. 

 

U.S. Judge Levies Damages In Drug Pricing Case

A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Thursday that pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering-Plough Corp. subsidiary Warrick Pharmaceuticals falsely marked up U.S. drug prices at various times through 2003.

 

Bear Stearns Staves Off Collapse of 2 Hedge Funds

The high-stakes game of brinksmanship began early yesterday on Wall Street, and continued throughout the day. Bankers traded telephone calls, frenetically negotiating the fate of two hedge funds.

 

S.C. Approves Bill To Drop 2nd Injury Comp Fund

South Carolina legislation overhauling the state workers’ compensation system, which was given final approval yesterday, will get Gov. Mark Sanford’s signature, his staff said today.

 

Governor Crist Reappoints One And Appoints Two To The Charter School Review Panel

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today announced the following reappointment and appointments to the Charter School Review Panel:

 

AMA Council Seeks To Declare Video Game Addiction A Disorder

CHICAGO – The telltale signs are ominous: teens holing up in their rooms, ignoring friends, family, even food and a shower, while grades plummet and belligerence soars.

 

Political Hiring in Justice Division Probed

Karen Stevens, Tovah Calderon and Teresa Kwong had a lot in common. They had good performance ratings as career lawyers in the Justice Department’s civil rights division. And they were minority women transferred out of their jobs two years ago — over the objections of their immediate supervisors — by Bradley Schlozman, then the acting assistant attorney general for civil rights.

 

Open Wide and Say ‘Shame’

It has become a journalistic cliché and therefore an inevitable part of the prerelease discussion of “Sicko” to refer to Michael Moore as a controversial, polarizing figure. While that description is not necessarily wrong, it strikes me as self-fulfilling (since the controversy usually originates in media reports on how controversial Mr. Moore is) and trivial. Any filmmaker, politically outspoken or not, whose work is worth discussing will be argued about. But in Mr. Moore’s case the arguments are more often about him than about the subjects of his movies.

 

Despite lawsuit, lawyers lobby together for terrorism victims 

Despite being locked in a million-dollar lawsuit against each other, two attorneys have begun a lobbying campaign to ensure better compensation for victims of terrorist attacks and their families.

 

Georgia mayor YouTube’s lobbying pitch 

YouTube is a hot venue for aspirants everywhere, from Chinese lip-synchers to American presidential candidates. One small-town mayor from Georgia used the video-sharing site in a new way: to make a lobbying pitch.