Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Tuesday, July 6
Jul 6, 2010
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Citizens Property Insurance didn’t get its mail, warns of fraud
Someone filled out a change-of-address form for Citizens Property Insurance. But it wasn’t Citizens.
Florida’s Brown & Brown Acquires Meridian Group of New York
Florida-based insurance agency Brown & Brown has acquired Meridian Group of New York, Inc.
Florida’s Brown & Brown Acquires Eberhart & Co. of Georgia
Florida-based agency Brown & Brown has acquired Eberhart & Company Insurors, Inc.of Roswell, Georgia.
FEMA helps raise homes of flood-ravaged Ormond Beach owners
Gordon Whitley has nothing against fish. He just never wants to see them swimming in his living room again.
Column: Insurance laws likely will limit hurricane discounts
If you’ve gotten used to saving $1,000 or more per year on homeowner’s insurance due to storm-mitigation discounts, be warned. Your next home inspection will make it much tougher to qualify, and your costs could go up again.
Column: Hypothetical Brevard County reconstruction vs. new construction costs
Dear Help!: Spurred on by past columns about homeowners’ insurance, I gathered figures on the replacement cost of a purely hypothetical single-family home in Brevard County. Because cost estimates were higher than expected, I called Marshall & Swift/Boeckh for clarification.
Editorial: Medicaid reforms a boon to state
Critics of health care reform such as Attorney General Bill McCollum need to quit claiming that it will overburden state finances by opening Medicaid to a flood of new poor and low-income recipients.
South Daytona bans new pain clinics
Early reports from South Florida reveal Florida is fertile territory for clinics that distribute strong, painkilling medications — and this city is determined to keep them from increasing further.
Crist, legislators maneuver over oil spill special session
As the BP oil blowout saturates Northwest Florida’s already fragile economy with despair, a special legislative session in the coming weeks is becoming increasingly likely.
Blog: State senate committee to investigate oil blow-out economic fall-out
A state select committee on the economy will look into the financial fall-out from the Deepwater Horizon on the Panhandle.
State ends food safety inspections at hospitals, nursing homes, day cares
The state of Florida has eliminated food safety inspections at hospitals, day care centers and nursing homes because of budget cuts, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said Friday.
FAU institute target of federal customs investigation
Florida Atlantic University is the target of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation, university correspondence with the agency confirms.
Jax Beach execs charged in $425M fraud
Federal authorities have charged three Jacksonville Beach business operators with a $425 million mail fraud and money laundering scheme.
Scandals spark Florida peer review of receivers
Stung by the scandals of attorney Scott Rothstein and forensic accountant and attorney Lewis Freeman, South Florida lawyers and accountants who specialize in the receivership of failed companies are launching a new effort to restore trust in the legal system.
Florida pension agency head blurs line between state, personal business
The man who oversees $134 billion of public money has recommended investing some of it in companies run by friends or business associates, and he doesn’t see any conflict in doing that.
Greer’s defense will call on Crist
A criminal defense attorney for ousted Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer on Monday promised to make defense witnesses of some of the most powerful men in Florida politics — Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and state Republican chief John Thrasher.
No sign of filling Lee County commissioner opening
Governor stays silent; county votes stay split
Inaction from the governor’s office threatens to hobble the Lee County commission as it tries to fill an $84 million budget gap.
Gov. Crist against Escambia County Judge Ackerman’s return
Ackerman vacated post, brief argues
Gov. Charlie Crist wants to appoint a replacement for Escambia County Judge David Ackerman, a brief recently filed with the Florida Supreme Court says.
Will new rules shape Florida lawmakers’ districts?
Shifting population spurs a redistricting battle in Florida
It’s a fight over party control of the levers of government that’s as old as American democracy.
Democrats quietly line up in Crist’s corner
You may never have heard of Peggy Land, unless you’re a Tampa Democratic political insider.
Health law stays on the radar in Florida gubernatorial race
If you thought the debate over health care ended when the federal government approved a major overhaul to the system earlier this year, think again.
McCollum wins support of social conservative
Attorney General Bill McCollum has won the support of a social conservative who once blasted him as pandering to the gay community.
As unemployment benefits ends, the jobless in Florida are left with no options
Two months ago, nearly two years after he was laid off, Kevin Johnson exhausted his unemployment benefits.
Column: Take the PSC away from the Florida Legislature
The purge is complete. Four of the five members of our state Public Service Commission who voted against raising electric rates in January have now been canned by the Legislature.
Editorial: Solar rebates reveal a dim energy future
THE ISSUE: Florida not serious about solar energy
For a state with the Sunshine State nickname, Florida has a lot of nerve. The state has enough sunshine to be a national leader in developing solar as a renewable energy source. Unfortunately, there’s little political will among short-sighted state leaders to make that happen.
Louisiana Citizens chief says he’ll retire
John Wortman, the head of Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort, has announced plans to retire when Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon finds a replacement.
Judge says AIG can proceed with workers’ compensation suit
American International Group Inc. can proceed with certain allegations in a lawsuit alleging several of its competitors underreported workers compensation premiums, a federal judge in Chicago ruled Thursday.
States resist Health and Human Services premium control
Some state insurance commissioners are pushing back against a renewed effort on the Hill to centralize the authority of health insurance premium rate reviews under the secretary of Health and Human Services.
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced on July 2, 2010 nearly $30 million in grants to local district attorneys to be used to find and prosecute workers’ compensation insurance fraud.
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