Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, June 27
Jun 27, 2008
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New firms bring lower insurance rates
Nearly 20 Florida-based property and casualty insurers have started covering homeowners and businesses in Jacksonville, creating the one thing residents may not see elsewhere this year — lower rates.
Insurers Beef With Fla. Over Exam Rule Change
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s proposal to eliminate insurers’ ability to critique and challenge their state conduct exams, before results are made public, has drawn criticism from the insurance industry.
How to: Choose commercial or business insurance
Finding the right insurance means knowing your needs
Whether you are hoping to protect your own business from a disaster or a lawsuit or are a subcontractor complying with another company’s insurance requirements, business insurance is a matter of necessity.
‘Hurricane Freddy’ drilled water management employees during exercise
South Florida Water Management District employees participated in a hurricane drill at the emergency operations center Thursday morning.
American Keystone Insurance receives approval for Citizens depopulation
American Keystone Insurance Company has received approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to assume as many as 718 policies from the Commercial Residential Account.
State Web site adds key measure of hospital quality
Florida’s consumer health site, Florida HealthFinder.gov, has added a new, key measure of hospital quality: readmission rates for dozens of procedures and conditions.
Schwarzenegger splits from Crist on gulf drilling
For a second year, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in for a climate change summit, heaping praise on Gov. Charlie Crist’s work in Florida.
Coastal drilling key in GOP’s energy bill
Just in time to face irate voters back home during their Independence Day recess, Senate Republicans on Thursday introduced a wide-ranging bill designed to open most of the U.S. coast to oil and natural gas drilling.
Water district confident it can handle debt of U.S. Sugar deal
Less than a year ago, South Florida water managers were forced to delay one of their most pressing environmental projects because they feared they might not have the money to pay for it.
Quince taking gavel as Fla. chief justice
Peggy Quince is set to take the gavel as the Florida Supreme Court’s 53rd chief justice.
Florida residents raise concerns about driver’s-license data
The high-tech company that makes Florida’s 16 million driver’s licenses is up for sale and critics are raising concerns about one of the suitors, a multi-national conglomerate that is 30 percent owned by the French government.
Florida Economy Report – Mid 2008
The good news, according to the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness: The U.S. will begin recovering from its “mild†recession right about now. The bad news, the institute predicts in its “Florida & Metro Forecast: 2008-2010â€: A severe housing slump statewide will delay Florida’s recovery.
Governor vetoes construction extension bill
Gov. Charlie Crist has vetoed a bill that would give developers an extra three years to build large-scale commercial and residential projects hindered by the sluggish economy.
How Supreme Court ruling affects Florida gun owners
The Supreme Court ruling will not affect Florida beyond upholding the fundamental right under the Second Amendment to own guns. Here’s a look at the state’s gun laws:
Report: Gulf is ‘Florida’s Toilet’
What Floridians are already doing to the Gulf of Mexico is 100 times worse than the risk of pollution from offshore drilling, the leader of an environmental group said Thursday.
At his global warming summit in Miami last year, Gov. Charlie Crist held out ethanol as a major tool in reducing greenhouse gases. No state, he said, can match Florida’s capacity to produce ethanol. Since virtually all the ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn, Crist was anticipating a time when Florida entrepreneurs could take various forms of cellulose that are plentiful in the state — citrus waste, sugar cane waste, plants and trees — and distill ethanol from them.
Crist announces ‘green’ aviation effort at climate conference
Governor Charlie Crist ended his second Climate Change Summit on Thursday afternoon with the announcement of a green aviation partnership but he provided no details of how the group planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut fuel use.
Wastewater Plant Will Power Itself
A small wastewater treatment plant in Sanford will become the first in North America to use a new “gasifier†to convert biosolids into clean energy that will help power the facility.
Miami ranks 14th in ‘green’ drivers
Miami drivers are going green, a new Men’s Health magazine survey has found.
U. S. Sen. Schumer: Medicare cards open seniors to ID theft
By printing Social Security numbers on Medicare cards, the federal government is leaving seniors and disabled Americans vulnerable to identity theft, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.
Typical Couple Needs $85K to Pay for Long Term Care Insurance
A 65-year-old couple needs $85,000 on average to cover insurance costs for long-term care such as nursing home stays in retirement, according to a study by Fidelity Investments.