Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, Nov. 5

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Noel has gone, but insurance storm hasn’t

What Florida needed from the Legislature this year, Florida didn’t get. What Florida didn’t need, Florida got.

 

Beach loses more ground

Lots of insurance sand, and proximity to the Bahamas, helped spare southern Palm Beach County beaches from the erosion that went to the edges of buildings in central and northern parts of the county, officials said Friday.

 

Governor Crist Leads Team Florida Trade Mission To Brazil

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Governor Charlie Crist today welcomed more than 200 Florida business, state and local leaders to São Paulo, Brazil, for a five-day trade and economic development mission.

 

History suggests Feb. 15 water deal unlikely

A longtime adviser on the nearly two-decade-long water war among Georgia, Florida and Alabama had one question when he heard that governors of the three states vowed to settle their differences by Feb. 15.

 

Officials say South Florida drought will worsen next year

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Top water and agriculture officials Monday said they are expecting South Florida’s drought to worsen next year due to the drying effect from a cooling of Pacific Ocean waters known as a La Nina.

 

Waiting to be judged, Rep. Bob Allen watches slow selection

VIERA, Fla. (AP) — A Brevard County judge found it difficult Monday to find impartial jurors to try state Rep. Bob Allen on charges that he offered to perform oral sex on an undercover officer in a public bathroom for $20.

 

HBO stirs memories of the 2000 recount during Tallahassee filming

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Actress Laura Dern wore a cowboy hat, boots, a super-tight blue T-shirt, equally tight jeans, brunette wig and plenty of makeup as she rode a horse through downtown Monday afternoon. The character she was portraying was immediately recognizable: Katherine Harris.

 

Brown & Brown buys 2 more agencies

DAYTONA BEACH — Brown & Brown announced it will boost revenues by about $7 million a year through the purchases of commercial insurance agencies in New Orleans and the Atlanta area.

 

NY Ex-Regulators Blast Federal Regulation Concept

NEW YORK —State regulation of the insurance business provides a more diverse, nimbler, less inept and less remote system of control than any federal system that could be developed, five former New York regulators, said at an industry conference last week.

 

Dinallo Proposes Insurance Regulation Principles

New York State’s Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo put forward a draft proposal today to establish principles-based regulation. 

 

Decreased demand prompts closing of Hi-Stat

MANATEE COUNTY — Hi-Stat Manufacturing announced plans Friday to close its Manatee County plant on U.S. 301, laying off 300 workers as the company’s parent moves the operations to China and other cheaper locales.

 

Report: Global Warming to Worsen Coastal Insurance Woes

Homeowners and businesses are finding it harder to afford, or even obtain, insurance in coastal states after catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina, and global warming is going to make the situation worse, according to a report released by a nonprofit environmental advocacy group.

 

After inquiry and stock plunge, can WellCare rebound?

When the sun came up Oct. 24, WellCare Health Plans Inc. was a fast-growing, $5-billion managed-care company with the momentum to become Tampa Bay’s top publicly traded company. By sundown, it was shattered.

 

Get going to hurricane-harden your home

If I told you ‘mitigation is the gleaming crown jewel that substantial homeowners insurance discounts are built upon,’ you would probably have no clue what I am talking about.

 

‘Coverage does not mean access’

Medicaid and other government programs have been rendered almost useless. Many are covered but few have access, because primary care providers cannot accommodate more financial deficits in their practices and stay in business.

 

Miss. governor. talks Katrina on reelection bid

Haley Barbour, Mississippi’s governor impressed many with his quick response, now hopes to ride his popularity to a second term.

 

Long-term insurance: Worth its weight?
 
Tom Binder wanted to prepare for the future — including the possibility that he or his wife could be stricken by a long, debilitating illness in their sunset years.

 

Goldman Sachs-backed insurer enters Lloyd’s

Mr. Blankfein has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., since June 2006, and a director since April 2003.

 

Larry Sues Insurance Broker

Talk-show host Larry King claims a greedy broker unethically pushed him to sell $15 million in insurance policies on his own life.