Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Tuesday, Dec. 4

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State House committee advances PIP insurance revival for drivers

Florida’s no-fault insurance law survived its first vote during a special legislative session Wednesday, with two more panels to weigh in today on whether to revive mandatory personal-injury protection automobile coverage for the state’s drivers.

 

State reopens local investment pool, investment agency head quits

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.

 

Trustees to decide what to do with investments

Gov. Charlie Crist remains reluctant to put the state of Florida behind $14 billion in frozen city, county and school funds.

 

Florida’s state fund freeze leaves local governments out in the cold

It is like 1929 again in Tallahassee with an old-fashioned run on the bank. More disturbing, the bank is run by the state of Florida.

 

RMS:  Miami A $3.5 Trillion Storm Surge Risk By 2070

Miami is projected to have the world’s highest coastal flood risk by the 2070s, with property and infrastructure exposed assets increasing from $400 billion today to more than $3.5 trillion, according to a new study.

 

Florida, Google make records easier to find

Florida government records will be more easily found using common Web search engines, under a partnership announced Monday with Internet giant Google.

 

State GOP boss rallies area

BRADENTON –The leader of the Republican Party of Florida came to town Monday to rally the local party faithful.

 

State House candidate criticized for ‘white activism’

A state House candidate in the Tampa area is drawing criticism for his affiliation with a group that promotes the creation of “white-only living spaces” and has distributed fliers criticizing the war in Iraq as only benefiting Israel.

 

Congressman Hastings quits intelligence committee

South Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings announced his resignation from the House intelligence committee Tuesday but said he may seek reappointment to the panel in a future session of Congress.

 

Four teams win right to bid on major I-595 project

$1.5 billion undertaking is on track to begin in 2009

Four teams will compete for one of the most lucrative construction projects in Broward County history — rebuilding a major stretch of Interstate 595 with reversible express lanes.

 

Regulators OK electric upgrade plans

Four of Florida’s largest public electric utilities got approval Tuesday from state regulators to make their infrastructure more resilient in the face of hurricanes.

 

Leon County garages checked for vehicle-repair pricing accuracy

Officials from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services swept through nearly 123 Leon County garages Monday to gauge whether consumers are being accurately charged for vehicle repairs.

 

Judge demands FEMA’s plans for testing Katrina trailers

A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to submit a ‘detailed plan’ for testing the air quality in government-issued trailers that are sheltering thousands of Gulf Coast hurricane victims.

 

RIMS Gives McGannon Foundation $30,000

The Risk and Insurance Management Society said today that it will be contributing $30,000 to a Canadian program funding risk management career development.

 

‘Horizontal immunty’ a hit to injured workers

Concrete worker Gregory Aikens was just thankful to be alive as he hung suspended by a safety harness from the side of Jacksonville’s half-built downtown library, knocked from his lift by another worker’s negligence.

 

Court tackles age-discrimination claim in workers’ comp

An elderly state worker with osteoporosis who broke her back in 2003 may get a larger disability check under a court ruling Monday that raised questions about whether there is age discrimination in the state’s workers’ compensation reforms.

 

Swiss Life shrugs off credit crisis, raises targets

Insurer Swiss Life said on Tuesday the credit crisis will not hit its results and raised its targets, aiming to boost earnings per share by at least 12 percent annually.

 

EU approves Generali, PPF joint insurance venture

Italian insurer Generali won permission from the European Commission on Tuesday for a joint insurance venture with the PPF Group, aimed at becoming the sector leader in central and eastern Europe.