Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, Dec. 5

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OIR orders companies to stop selling insurance

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation issued an order requiring four unlicensed companies stop selling health insurance in Florida.

 

Troubled state investment fund will resume business

A troubled state-run investment fund will reopen for withdrawals Thursday under new management and with restrictions that could force local governments to wait a year or more to reclaim all of their money.

 

Investor pool’s troubles run deep

As Florida leaders took steps Tuesday to settle a troubled investment fund run by the state, they acknowledged potentially larger problems coming from the subprime mortgage crisis.

 

Fund pool freed up but limits put on govt. withdrawals

A Florida-run investment pool for local governments will reopen this week to give the investors critical access to their cash, but the head of the agency that manages the fund resigned Tuesday amid questions about the pool’s troubles.

 

State fund executive resigns

A crisis of confidence cost Coleman Stipanovich his job as executive director of the state board that invests $190-billion in public funds, including the nation’s fifth-largest pension fund.

 

Five Carriers To Insure In La. Coastal Zone

Louisiana ’s new matching grant program for insurers willing to take on coastal homeowners as customers has attracted five carriers, an official said today. Program details are online at www.ldi.state.la.us. 

 

Bilirakis Vies For Better Student Visa Screening

A Tampa Bay area congressman is introducing legislation to beef up security measures for the U.S. student visa program, despite the raft of reforms enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks.

 

Bush post raises eyebrows

When an Orlando bank appointed former Gov. Jeb Bush to its board last month, it heralded his eight years in the governor’s mansion.

 

Attorney general cracks down on ‘free’ services that aren’t

She’s not fanatical about astrology, but JoAnn Carrin thought it might be fun to have a daily horoscope text-messaged to her cell phone.

 

Florida Chamber report: State economy is hardly over and out

Two months ago, the Wall Street Journal asked, “Is Florida Over?” On Tuesday, the Florida Chamber Foundation, the voice for business in the state, gave its answer in a new report that finds Florida’s economy is in transition.

 

Brown & Brown buys New Jersey agency

Brown & Brown Inc. bought the assets of Dalton Insurance Agency. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

 

Hurricane aid scams near $500M, FEMA admits

The government’s newest estimate of improper aid represents $494 million FEMA paid to 134,000 people who were ineligible for the aid they received.

 

Lawyer pleads not guilty in Scruggs case

A Mississippi attorney pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he conspired with high-profile tort lawyer Richard ‘Dickie’ Scruggs and three others to bribe a state judge.

 

State Farm appeals $1M punitive award in Katrina case

State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to throw out a $1 million punitive damage award to a Mississippi couple who sued the insurer for refusing to cover Hurricane Katrina damage to their home.

 

FPL’s plan to bring wind power to Hutchinson Island attracts controversy

In a field off the parking lot of John Brooks park sits a tract of land that is at the heart of a growing public debate. 

 

Bright Futures cut hits students

University of Florida student Julie Neal is always busy. Her mornings start early and her days end late. Her friends joke and say she’s an overachiever.

 

Report probes New Orleans hospital deaths· 

A state law enforcement investigators’ report — obtained by CNN from a confidential source close to the investigation — into the deaths of patients at a New Orleans hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina provides new details about the events that occurred at Memorial Medical Center.