Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Thursday, April 8

 

 

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Florida regulators: Miami insurance company insolvent

State regulators have declared Miami-based Northern Capital Insurance Co. to be insolvent and they’ve urged its 74,000 customers to seek new coverage.

 

Crist to veto anything that raises insurance rates

Gov. Charlie Crist reinforced his message Wednesday to lawmakers considering legislation that would allow insurance companies to boost property insurance premiums on home and business owners.  His advice: Don’t do it.

 

Florida insurers giving second look to windstorm mitigation discounts

Homeowners whose insurance premiums have a windstorm mitigation discount could be getting a reinspection notice from their insurance provider.

 

Editorial: Hurricane risk

To avoid a political hurricane over property insurance premiums, Florida elected officials have opted to keep insurance rates artificially low while piling more and more of the risk on the state-owned Citizens Property Insurance and the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

 

Company’s drywall report in Vero Beach differs vastly from government’s take

Call it the Tale of Two Reports. Last week, an international company doing Chinese drywall remediation work in Vero Beach reported it had found “pervasive bacterial contamination” in the wallboard that has been causing so much misery to so many Floridians.

 

Florida Supreme Court Issues Opinion in Uninsured Motorist Anti-Stacking Case

The Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion today in regard to whether, under Florida law, an automobile insurance policy that was executed, issued and delivered in Florida to the named insureds residing in the State for a car that is registered and garaged in Delaware may validly provide that uninsured motorist coverage under that policy may not be combined with the same coverage provided by a separate automobile policy.

 

State bills ban red-light cameras in Florida

Bills making their way through the state Legislature could put the brakes on cities’ efforts to catch red light runners with cameras.

 

Florida Medicaid changes are meant to save

The current program takes up about 25 percent of the budget

As Florida’s unemployment rate has soared, so have costs for providing medical care for the state’s poor. Some call it the biggest fiscal challenge facing state government.

 

South Florida brothers charged in $14 million Medicare scam

Authorities have charged two South Florida brothers with submitting about $14 million in bogus Medicare bills for HIV medical services never provided to patients.

 

Blog:  Special anti-corruption session likely, Crist says

As Gov. Charlie Crist tries to salvage his U.S. Senate bid by increasingly running away from the Legislature, it looks like he’ll call lawmakers into special session, possibly in May or June, to consider anti-corruption recommendations expected from a statewide grand jury.

 

Florida crime rates recede by 6.4 percent in 2009

Despite a slumping economy and more than 1.1 million residents out of work, crime is decreasing in Florida.

Gov. Charlie Crist and state law enforcement authorities reported Wednesday that crime declined 6.4 percent in 2009 and that violent crime was down 10 percent compared to 2008.

 

Seminoles OK gambling compact; Crist hopes to sign bill next week 

An agreement with the Florida Seminole Indian Tribe that would provide the state at least $1 billion over the next five years could be signed by early next week, Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday.

• A long-sought casino compact between state government and the Seminole Tribe of Florida started moving quickly today at the Capitol.
• South Floridians indicted on charges of running $178 million sports gambling ring

 

Education, gambling bills take center stage in Tallahassee

Slots and tots will be on the minds of lawmakers Thursday as both chambers handle bills that will shape the future of the education system and gambling in the state.

 

Governor Charlie Crist urges legislators to soften teacher bill

A controversial proposal to link teacher pay to student performance hit a snag as Gov. Charlie Crist called for the bill to be amended.

Using his strongest language yet, Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday that the Legislature should soften a controversial bill that would link teacher pay to student performance and criticized Republican leaders for trying to block any floor amendments.

 

Broward’s multi-millionaire Senator Jeremy Ring votes his mind, rankles critics

Jeremy Ring is the Democrat every Republican can love.

 

Herald: Court hears arguments in $536 million Everglades land restoration deal

The state Supreme Court heard arguments over the governor’s proposed Everglades restoration land deal, which the South Florida Water Management District would fund with borrowed money.

 

Greer’s attorneys want McCollum to bow out of GOP criminal investigation

Lawyers for former Republican Party chairman Jim Greer say Attorney General Bill McCollum and the statewide grand jury he oversees should bow out of a criminal investigation into GOP expenditures and leave it up to federal authorities.

 

Catholic Church lobbying to retain the current time restrictions on lawsuits against institutions

A decades-old scandal in which a Wisconsin priest is accused of molesting more than 200 deaf boys could be the saving grace for a proposed change to Florida law that the Catholic Church has fought for six years and is still fighting.

 

Florida High Court: Dempsey case a warning to judicial candidates

The Florida Supreme Court put the legal profession on notice Wednesday that ethical rules apply to what judicial candidates post online.

 

Florida’s sunshine law used as weapon

Groups seeking to overturn votes have taken their fights to court

A new strategy has emerged for civic groups on the losing end of government votes: Use the state’s open records laws to sue the agency and try to block or overturn the decisions.

 

CFO Sink’s Unclaimed Property Bureau Sets New State Record, Wins National Award

Florida CFO Alex Sink’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property today announced that last month over $22.4 million in unclaimed property was returned to owners – the biggest return in state history.

 

Editorial:  Florida should take lead in investigating charity

State regulators in Florida and New Mexico are smartly turning their attention to the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, a Tampa-born charity of questionable background.

 

Judge awards $2.6 Million in Chinese drywall case

A New Orleans federal judge has awarded seven Virginia families $2.6 million in damages to pay for the removal of sulfur-emitting drywall made in China that has been linked to corrosion and possible health effects.

 

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