Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, June 29

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Transcript of the Third Democratic Primary Presidential Debate

The following is a transcript of the Democratic primary presidential debate on PBS.

 

5 Florida homeowner insurance companies seek rate increases

Higher home rates still needed, five providers say
 
Five homeowner insurance companies are trying to raise rates, only weeks after the state ordered providers to lower premiums.

 

Rates may be on way up

Florida homeowners’ insurance rates, promised by Gov. Charlie Crist to drop by nearly 25 percent, could actually be heading higher.

 

Kurt Kelly sworn in as state representative

OCALA — Surrounded by friends, family and staff, former Marion County School Board member Kurt Kelly took the oath of office Thursday as state representative for House District 24.

 

GOP attacks rivals on property tax vote

Republican House leaders unleashed their harshest round of political attacks in the property tax wars Thursday, sending fliers to voters in a handful of districts accusing Democratic incumbents of voting against tax relief.

 

Crist signs off on 47 measures, expands gambling in Broward

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist let 47 bills become law during the past two days, including two that expand gambling in the state and another that has owners of lions and tigers in a panic because it may force them to take out millions of dollars in insurance.

 

Attack mailer targets Pinellas House Democrat

Rep. Heller says claims he voted no on the latest tax cut are misleading.

You know all that talk of bipartisan good feeling in Tallahassee? That was so last month.

 

More F’s, fewer A’s for S. Florida schools

Fears about school grades under a tougher grading formula came true Friday morning when the state finally released ratings for public schools.

 

Pair charged in cellphone fraud

Two people were charged with stealing hundreds of cellular telephones through an insurance scam.

Davie police arrested two people Wednesday on charges they stole more than 200 cellphones using false insurance claims.

 

GOP faces tension with Hispanic vote

The Republican-led defeat of immigration reform in the Senate Thursday is sounding political alarms as the Hispanic community gears up for the 2008 presidential election.

 

Crist vetoes bills on nursing home inspections, teacher standards

Bills that would have reduced state nursing home inspections and lowered training standards for some teachers of students who speak English as a second language were vetoed Thursday by Gov. Charlie Crist.

 

Dems court black America, blast Supreme Court ruling

Democratic presidential candidates won applause from a predominantly black audience Thursday by accusing the Supreme Court of retreating earlier in the day from the goal of eliminating school segregation.

 

Crist to ask for places to trim budget

Spurred by fears that Florida’s economy is slowing down, Gov. Charlie Crist and the GOP-controlled Legislature will ask today that each state agency draw up plans to cut their budgets by as much as 10 percent.

 

Loss of PIP Won’t Hurt Health Care; Hospitals Can Afford Change

In a recent letter to the editor [“Loss of PIP Insurance Creates Crisis for Doctors, Hospitals,” June 21] , Bartow personal-injury attorney Christopher Russo of Moody Law, P.A., lamented the upcoming loss of personal-injury protection (no-fault) auto insurance, and incorrectly claimed that doctors and hospitals will be in crisis once no-fault goes away because “there will be no way to pay doctors” if someone is hurt in a car crash.

 

Insurers: Fla.Consumers Will Benefit at Demise of No-Fault Insurance

Consumers in Florida will soon see significant cost savings and a more consumer-friendly automobile insurance system when the state’s fraud ridden no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) law sunsets October 1, 2007, according to insurer members of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

 

Don’t end system you might need later

If Doug McAlarney’s column, “The sky won’t fall if lawmakers let PIP sunset,” left you with a sense that all will be well if PIP sunsets, please take a minute to reconsider.

 

Coffee Growers Get Storm Payout

KINGSTON — The government has started distributing payments to thousands of coffee growers to help them recover from Hurricane Ivan, which devastated their fields in 2004.

 

FPL endorses fee on greenhouse gases

FPL Group CEO Lewis Hay, in testimony to a U.S. Senate committee Thursday, endorsed a fee on the emission of greenhouse gases.

 

Don’t get shut out; take advantage of slow hurricane shutter sales

Business is slower at hurricane shutter companies throughout South Florida, and that’s good news for consumers as the wait for delivery and installation has been shorter than usual.

 

Bank regulators agree on subprime rules: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Bank regulators have agreed on new standards for subprime mortgage loans and are prepared to release it Friday, several sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.

 

Businesses Help Workers to Get in Shape

CHICAGO — A burgeoning industry of wellness advisers, counselors and consultants is booming as corporate America tries to increase productivity and control insurance costs by helping its employees get healthy and shed pounds.

 

Jobless Claims Drop by 13,000

WASHINGTON — The number of new people signing up for unemployment insurance declined last week, a sign that the nation’s job market remains in good shape.

 

Flood-weary Texas gets soaked again

More rain fell Thursday in flood-weary parts of Texas, where evacuations were under way and residents were bracing for even more of the constant downpours that have killed 11 people in recent days.

 

Siegelman, Scrushy to appeal sentences

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Attorneys for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth (HLS) CEO Richard Scrushy said they would appeal their sentences in a bribery and corruption case the judge said damaged public trust in state government.