Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, December 30
Dec 30, 2009
To view a complete story, click on a headline below:
Florida overtakes Texas in highest homeowners insurance rates
Texas has slipped to No. 2 in average homeowners’ insurance premiums, a new national study has found.
McCollum may sue over health-care bill
Floridas attorney general said Tuesday that he is looking at possibly suing the federal government over concerns about proposed health care legislation moving through Congress.
Coconut Grove based Fla. property insurer put under state supervision; president resigns
Florida insurance regulators have taken over supervision of a struggling South Florida based property insurer.
Florida fuel tank-upgrade deadline hits gas stations
The holidays should be one of the busiest times of the year for the Shell gas station and convenience store at 899 W. Highway 50, “but nobody knows we’re here,” said store clerk D.K. Soni.
EDITORIAL: Modest step on Florida insurance
When State Farm announced in January that it would leave the Florida property insurance market, Gov. Charlie Crist’s response amounted to “good riddance.”
New year brings change for Florida drivers
The New Year will bring some important changes for Florida motorists.
South Florida pain-clinic doctors also treat drug addicts
Dozens of doctors in South Florida are allowed to hand out addictive painkillers while also treating drug addicts with special medications — a mix of services that troubles experts on drug addiction.
State regulators stripped Dr. Michael I. Rose’s power to write prescriptions two months ago, after health officials found that the pain-clinic doctor had prescribed enough painkillers to put one patient “at risk of death from overdose.”
Obama has NASA’s future on short-term agenda
President Barack Obama will chart a course for NASA within weeks, based on the advice of a handful of key advisers in the administration and Congress.
Fla. child abuse deaths rise in bad economy
About 200 children were fatally abused in Florida in 2008, a roughly 20 percent increase from 2007. Unemployment rates and drug use also increased in the state – a factor in many of the deaths, according to a preliminary report.
SEC Charges Houston-Based Broker With Defrauding Florida Municipalities
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Houston-based broker with engaging in unauthorized and unsuitable trading on behalf of two Florida municipalities, putting them at risk of losing millions of dollars while he reaped commissions of more than $14 million for himself.
Treasure Coast’s 2010 political races already well underway
The general election is more than 300 days away, but the races for national and state seats representing the Treasure Coast that are up for a vote in 2010 are well under way.
Pressure mounting on Jim Greer to step down as Florida GOP chairman
Pressure mounted on Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer today as a dozen major GOP donors from all over the state signed a letter urging him to resolve “a crisis in confidence” by resigning.
EDITORIAL: Tackling Florida political corruption
A year ago, Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom was stubbornly defending his new high-paid position at Northwest Florida State College, his reward for quietly steering millions in public money to the school.
Strange? Odd? Weird? Bizarre? That’s Florida!
You know you’re living in a weird state when the governor promotes a pay-per-minute sex chat line.
Former NM Insurance Regulator’s Convictions Upheld
Federal Court Affirms Corruption Convictions Of Former New Mexico Insurance Regulator
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld former state insurance regulator Joe Ruiz’s corruption convictions
Deadline for SBA Disaster Loan Applications is January 25
The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations located in Virginia of the deadline to submit disaster loan applications for damage caused by the Nor’easter coupled with remnants of Hurricane Ida on November 12 – 15, 2009.
A storm of Republican protest is erupting over the Environmental Protection Agency’s finding that greenhouse gases pose a public danger, with the latest wave coming from a state among those most at risk from the effects of climate change.
California plan to sell piece of State Compensation Insurance Fund collapses
Reporting from Sacramento – A plan to fill last summer’s $20-billion budget hole in part by selling a chunk of the state-run workers’ compensation company is now so bollixed up in court that it’s hampering Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s effort to devise new ways for reducing a similar deficit this winter.
More Cuts Proposed For Crop Insurance
Proposed cuts in the crop insurance program are sending alarms through the insurance industry for both underwriters and agents.
Louisiana Secretary of State Named Chief Deputy Insurance Commissioner
Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon has named Secretary of State Al Ater to serve as chief deputy commissioner of insurance, effective Jan. 11, 2010.
Final Insurer Response to NAIC Climate Risk Survey Due Jan. 8
The deadline for comments on the climate risk disclosure survey from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Climate Change and Global Warming Task Force is fast approaching.
Insured Cat Losses Pegged At Over $20B Globally
Global natural catastrophe losses for 2009 are estimated to have cost insurers more than $20 billion, according to assessments from two insurance industry participants.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to ccochran@cftlaw.com.