Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Tuesday, January 5
Jan 5, 2010
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Under fire, Florida emergency management director resigns
The man in charge of disaster preparedness for the state abruptly resigned Monday amid allegations from his own employees that he discriminated against female staffers, overstated department travel savings and made improper purchases with his state taxpayer-funded credit card.
St. Petersburg‘s Edison Insurance is sold
St. Petersburg homeowners insurer Edison Insurance Co. is being bought by the larger Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., the companies said Monday.
Hurricane center to provide more lead time for storm watches
Beginning this hurricane season, Floridians will get more warning from weather scientists about dangerous storms.
Bradenton builder on Chinese drywall list
Another locally based home builder can now be added to the list of those that used tainted Chinese drywall in the region.
Jacksonville-based Main Street America Group sees growth
Jacksonville-based property-casualty insurance carrier The Main Street America Group continues to grow with the acquisition of the surety division of CAIC Holding Co. Inc., on Monday.
Florida lawmakers consider bill to make DUI arrest easier
Officers could charge if there’s “probable cause”
As the time of the year when motorists have a reputation for being more likely to drive drunk passes, a pair of Northeast Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it easier for police to make a DUI arrest without a warrant.
Patriot Risk Management, Inc., announced today that its subsidiary Patriot Underwriters, Inc. has entered into an agreement with Advantage Workers Compensation Insurance Company to market and service workers’ compensation insurance in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
2009 Workers Comp Report Reflects 2003 Changes
Florida’s workers’ compensation market remained competitive and increasingly less expensive for employers in 2009 following sweeping changes made earlier in the decade and clarified in May following a judicial challenge, state insurance regulators said Thursday.
Florida Lawmakers Aggressively Tackle Healthcare Fraud
When George LeMieux, Florida’s new senator, was setting up house in Washington, D.C., recently, he went to Best Buy to pick up a television.
Blog: Tally health care summit looks at D.C. changes’ impact on Florida
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty will kick off a health care summit Monday aimed at examining the impact of federal health insurance reform on Florida, where Medicaid costs already are rising and projected to get higher.
Blog: Greer quits, Thrasher expected to head GOP
Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer resigned his post Tuesday, effective Feb. 20.
South Florida bankruptcies rose 28 percent last year
U.S. consumers and businesses are filing for bankruptcy at a pace that made 2009 the seventh-worst year on record, with more than 1.4 million petitions submitted, an Associated Press tally showed Monday.
U.S. Sugar employees settle for $16 million in shareholder suit
If there was any doubt that U.S. Sugar Corp. was worth what its brass claimed, those doubts dissolved in June 2008, when Gov. Charlie Crist unveiled his extraordinary, $1.75 billion bid to buy the company and its land to restore the Everglades.
Hometown Democracy showdown set for 2010
Voters will decide who changes growth guidelines
After years of behind-the-scenes battles, Amendment 4, also known as the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment, will be on the Florida ballot in November 2010.
Florida Bank of Commerce merges operations
FBC Bancorp Inc. announced it would merge operations of its Orlando-based Florida Bank of Commerce with Prime Bank, its Brevard County subsidiary.
State House candidate runs on former name
Is she Janet Cruz or Janet Rifkin? Or maybe Janet Gonzalez?
GOP leaders ready to endorse Evers in Senate race
Florida’s Senate leaders, Niceville’s Don Gaetz among them, are poised to endorse state Rep. Greg Evers as their choice to succeed Durell Peaden.
Blog: State Rep. Kurt Kelly to file formal run against Grayson Tuesday
As he predicted in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel last month, state Rep. Kurt Kelly is mounting a primary challenge to take on U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando.
Mortgage mediation plan offers a way out
The Florida Supreme Court has adopted one of the best ideas out there to reduce home foreclosures and the court system’s workload.
Just weeks after launching a probe into Miami’s troubled finances, federal investigators are demanding the city turn over records of a $65 million November bond deal that came two days after Miami leaders were blasted for shoddy and misleading budget practices.
State report wants deposits on bottles, business recycling
Dime deposits on reusable bottles and extra fees on tires, light bulbs and landfill dumping should all be on the table to meet Florida lawmakers goal of recycling more trash, a state agency report released Monday says.
Tests find antibiotic, other contaminants in Tampa’s drinking water
The tap water that Tampa residents consume is contaminated with low levels of antibiotics, nicotine byproducts and a chemical used to produce fire fighting foams.
Guy Carpenter: Most Property Reinsurance Rates Down at January Renewal As Capital Rebounds
Reinsurance rates across most lines of property catastrophe business declined at the Jan. 1, 2010 renewal, according to a briefing by Guy Carpenter & Co., LLC.
California Court upholds arbitration ruling in reinsurance dispute
Five liquidated Superior National Insurance Co. units that contracted with U.S. Life Insurance Co. for workers compensation reinsurance coverage are entitled to a reinsurance arbitration award, a federal appeals court panel ruled Monday.
Securities Fraud Lawsuits Slide As Credit Crisis Eases
U.S. securities fraud lawsuits slid in 2009 as stocks rose and the credit crisis eased.
Narcotics Rx Are A Big Share Of Comp Med Cost, NCCI Study Finds
Narcotics, used primarily to alleviate back pain, account for nearly one quarter of all workers’ compensation prescription drug costs, according to a recent study.
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