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Florida House approves some
Florida House approves some sales tax holidays (INO News)
(AP:TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) The Florida House has voted to bring back sales tax holidays for back-to-school and hurricane preparation purchases. They are part of a broader bill that passed unanimously Monday.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 06:20 AM
Florida House approves some
Florida House approves some sales tax holidays (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
The Florida House has voted to bring back sales tax holidays for back-to-school and hurricane preparation purchases. They are part of a broader bill that passed unanimously Monday. It also would repeal sales tax exemptions for newspaper and magazines delivered by mail and most charter fishing trips.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 08:55 AM
Florida State-Created Insurer to
Florida State-Created Insurer to Lead $6 Billion in Muni Sales (Bloomberg)
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Florida s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. leads borrowers planning to sell about $6 billion of municipal bonds this week, after benchmark yields rose from five-year lows.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 09:50 AM
Hurricane girls make all-conference
Hurricane girls make all-conference lacrosse team (Florida Keys Keynoter)
Four lacrosse players for Coral Shores' Lady Hurricanes were named to the all-league team of the Florida Interscholastic Association.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 10:50 AM
4,000 Florida National Guardsmen
4,000 Florida National Guardsmen to be called up for active duty (Miami Herald)
More than 4,000 Florida National Guard soldiers, including some 600 from South Florida, are to be called to active duty in the next few months in what is the largest mobilization in state history.
Early decisions felt in Florida (The Tampa Tribune)
Florida schools can forestall budget cuts. Cuban immigrants can visit relatives back home. Construction can start on a long-delayed Interstate 4 connector road. Some homeowners may avoid foreclosure.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 12:15 PM
Florida's Craig Fugate, picked
Florida's Craig Fugate, picked to lead FEMA, impresses senators (Miami Herald)
Craig Fugate, who led Florida's disaster response during back-to-back hurricanes, told senators at his confirmation hearing Wednesday for the top post at the Federal Emergency Management Agency that he'll hold the troubled agency to a ''much higher standard of success'' than its Hurricane Katrina performance.
Florida National Guard readying for huge deployment (The Tampa Tribune)
Florida is preparing for one of its largest National Guard mobilizations in history.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 01:25 PM
Bill seeks federal guarantee
Bill seeks federal guarantee for hurricane catastrophe funds (Miami Herald)
A new bill to be introduced in the U.S. Senate seeks to provide a Federal Reserve guarantee for the Florida hurricane catastrophe fund.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 05:35 PM
Bill seeks federal guarantee
Bill seeks federal guarantee for hurricane catastrophe funds (Miami Herald)
A new bill to be introduced in the U.S. Senate seeks to provide a Federal Reserve guarantee for the Florida hurricane catastrophe fund.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 06:45 PM
Fla. finds state allies
Fla. finds state allies in renewed push for federal hurricane insurance help (New York Times)
Officials from four states vulnerable to rising climatic trauma hope to finalize legislation this week that would vastly expa...
Our view on paying for disasters: In bailout nation, Florida takes its place in line (USA Today)
Our view on paying for disasters: In bailout nation, Florida takes its place in line State s undercapitalized hurricane fund threatens taxpayers everywhere. The bank bailout, though unpopular, was necessary to stave off economic collapse. But its downside has been the...
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 08:20 PM
Bill would tax mailed
Bill would tax mailed Florida newspapers, magazines (CBS 47 Jacksonville)
A Florida House committee has agreed to file a bill that would tax newspaper and magazine subscriptions and most charter fishing trips.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 10:55 PM
South Florida TV Family
South Florida TV Family Says Goodbye To Colleague (CBS4 Miami)
Hundreds of people, including staff from virtually every television station in South Florida, came together at a Hialeah funeral home Saturday evening to say farewell to Ernest Lester, a CBS4 satellite truck operator who died last Saturday in a motorcycle accident. So many friends and colleagues attended, some flying in for the service, that many had to stand at the door to hear tribute paid to ...
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 02:00 AM
Florida State Falls In
Florida State Falls In Semifinals Of ACC Tournament To Miami, 4-0 (Florida State Seminoles)
After upsetting their fifth opponent of the season yesterday and making just its third semifinal appearance in program history, the No. 17 Florida State women's tennis team hit the end of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament road today as it fell to No. 6 Miami, 4-0.
Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund In Good Shape (CBS4 Miami)
Florida governor Charlie Crist and his cabinet finally received some good news about the state's hurricane catastrophe fund. The agency investing the fund indicated on Tuesday that the loosening of credit provides the state an additional $5 billion if needed.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 05:10 AM
Land deal an old
Land deal an old story in Florida (Miami Herald)
Myriam Marquez mmarquez@MiamiHerald.com T he old Florida bait and switch -- come, buy cheap land! -- turned out to be overpriced swampland barely good enough to pitch a tent.
Florida House to consider reviving hurricane, back-to-school sales tax holidays (Sun-Sentinel)
The House Finance and Tax Council this afternoon will consider legislation that would revive Florida s back-to-school sales tax holiday from Aug. 8-10. A three-day tax holiday on hurricane supplies would run from June 5-7.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 09:20 AM
Lake Weir's Brittany Baker
Lake Weir's Brittany Baker signs with Florida Gulf Coast (The Ocala Star-Banner)
CANDLER - Brittany Baker has come a long way in 10 years.Her mother tells the story."The first time Brittany ever hit the ball everybody yelled 'run'," Becky Baker told the crowd of her daughter's supporters who gathered in the Lake Weir High School cafeteria. "So she took off running and picked up the ball. She had no idea what...
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 12:05 PM
Opinion: Florida legislature looking
Opinion: Florida legislature looking at creating new insurance (TCPalm.com)
Let s say there was a new kind of insurance you could buy for your house in Florida. Let s say it would be the exact opposite of the consumer experience we ve had in recent years.
Florida Weighs Options After Buffett Wins Storm Bet (Update2) (Bloomberg)
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which paid Warren Buffett s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. $224 million in 2008 to protect against storms that never came, needs to look for other options this year, an advisory group said.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 01:05 PM
Florida House to consider
Florida House to consider reviving hurricane, back-to-school sales tax holidays (Sun-Sentinel)
The House Finance and Tax Council this afternoon will consider legislation that would revive Florida s back-to-school sales tax holiday from Aug. 8-10. A three-day tax holiday on hurricane supplies would run from June 5-7.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 01:55 PM
Florida Weighs Options After
Florida Weighs Options After Buffett Wins Storm Bet (Update2) (Bloomberg)
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which paid Warren Buffett s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. $224 million in 2008 to protect against storms that never came, needs to look for other options this year, an advisory group said.
Florida Weighs Options After Buffett Wins Storm Bet (Update1) (Bloomberg)
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which paid Warren Buffett s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. $224 million in 2008 to protect against storms that never came, should look for other options this year, an advisory group said.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 03:05 PM
Not again: Hurricane Katrina
Not again: Hurricane Katrina homes containing tainted Chinese drywall may have to be rebuilt (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)
CHALMETTE, La. - Thomas Stone and his wife rebuilt after their home was flooded by six feet of water during Hurricane Katrina, never dreaming they would face the agony of tearing it apart all over again.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 05:30 PM
Are Florida's home insurers
Are Florida's home insurers in good hands at Capitol? (Sun-Sentinel)
The main property-insurance legislation gaining momentum this year in Tallahassee is a departure from laws passed in 2007 and 2008 that aimed to lower homeowner-insurance premiums and beef up the state's authority to hold insurers accountable.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 07:00 PM
Tainted Chinese drywall shows
Tainted Chinese drywall shows up in Katrina homes (KATC 3 Lafayette)
CHALMETTE, La. -- Thomas Stone and his wife rebuilt after their home was flooded by six feet of water during Hurricane Katrina, never dreaming they would face the agony of tearing it...
Hispaniola Was A Tropical Cyclone 'Target' Five Times In 2008 (Science Daily)
In 2008, residents of Hispaniola experienced one of their worst hurricane seasons in recent memory. Hispaniola, the Caribbean island containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is located directly within the hurricane belt, and was pummeled by five tropical cyclones last year: Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike, and low over the Dominican Republic on Sept. 24 what would become Kyle after moving north. ...
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 10:40 PM
Florida home insurance legislation
Florida home insurance legislation mainly favors the insurers (The Palm Beach Post)
The main property insurance legislation gaining momentum this year in Tallahassee is a departure from laws passed in 2007 and 2008 that aimed to lower homeowner insurance premiums and beef up the state's authority to hold insurers accountable.
Baseball Hurricanes pick up a win in Central Florida (Florida Keys Keynoter)
Coral Shores' Hurricanes picked up an opening win in this week's Orlando National Baseball Classic.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 03:35 AM
Treasury won't aid Cat
Treasury won't aid Cat Fund (The Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
Do not look for the federal government to bail out Florida's over-leveraged insurance fund. An aide to Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson confirmed that U.S. Treasury officials have said they will not issue a line of credit for the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, the financial backstop for insurance companies in case of a major storm.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 04:25 AM
Florida Lawmaker Chides Lobbyist
Florida Lawmaker Chides Lobbyist during Committee (Insurance Journal)
A hurricane insurance bill that would help Florida reduce its multibillion-dollar exposure in the state's tenuous insurance market moved through a Senate committee Monday -- with sparks ...
Will we get hit by a hurricane this year? (The Daily Comet)
HOUMA - Hurricane researchers predict an average hurricane season this year, with a dozen named storms, including six hurricanes. Of those, two hurricanes are expected to be major, at Category 3 strength or higher, according to a report issued Tuesday by science professors William Gray and Phil Klotzbach of Colorado State University.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 04:45 AM
Hurricane Outlook Cut by
Hurricane Outlook Cut by Colorado State to 12 Storms (Update2) (Bloomberg)
April 7 (Bloomberg) -- Colorado State University s Atlantic hurricane forecast, the most-watched annual prediction, was lowered today to 12 named storms for the 2009 season, with six developing into hurricanes.
No End to Florida Property Insurance Crisis (First Coast News)
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The issue of Property Insurance in Florida is very complex and insurance experts say the crisis is deeper than it seems.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 09:32 AM
Legislators seek to cushion
Legislators seek to cushion monetary hurricane risk (Bradenton Herald)
MANATEE Legislators are trying to scale back the multibillion property insurance risk that Florida consumers and taxpayers face if a catastrophic hurricane were to hit the state this year.
Colorado State forecasters predict average hurricane season (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Expect a near-average Atlantic hurricane season this year, with 12 named storms, including six hurricanes, of which two will be intense, with winds reaching Category 3 or greater strength, according to the latest forecast by Colorado State University meteorologists Philip Klotzbach and Bill Gray.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 10:20 AM
Florida Lawmaker Yells at
Florida Lawmaker Yells at Lobbyist During Meeting (First Coast News)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A hurricane insurance bill that would help Florida reduce its multibillion-dollar exposure in the state's tenuous insurance market moved through a Senate committee -- with sparks flying.
Bogus contractor sent to prison for Hurricane Charley scam (Naples Daily News)
When Hurricane Charley hit Florida in the summer of 2004, John Melley s carport collapsed and the roof of his Punta Gorda home was ripped off. So he was happy when Gregory Lee Saunders of East Naples , who said he was a state licensed contractor for Dr. Good Roof, showed up and agreed to do the work for $57,000.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 12:35 PM
UM Uses Long Ball
UM Uses Long Ball To Take Down Florida State (CBS4 Miami)
Harold Martinez and Yasmani Grandal each hit grand slam homers No. 7 Miami beat No. 23 Florida State, 14-8, Sunday afternoon in Coral Gables.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 05:25 PM
Florida House to consider
Florida House to consider insurance bill Friday (Orlando Sentinel)
The Florida House Committee on Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs will consider a bill related to property insurance and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund at a Friday meeting.
Fla. House panel approves hurricane insurance bill (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
With less than four full weeks left in the 2009 session, lawmakers started moving legislation Friday aimed at reducing a multibillion-dollar property insurance risk politicians have laid on Florida consumers and taxpayers.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 10:10 PM
Chinese Drywall Gets Florida
Chinese Drywall Gets Florida Lawmakers' Attention (WPBF Palm Beach)
South Florida homeowners who believe Chinese drywall is damaging their homes are applauding legislative efforts to tackle the problem.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 12:10 AM
Home insurance prices rising
Home insurance prices rising under new Florida legislation (Sun-Sentinel)
the House bill would increase Citizens Property Insurance Corp. rates by a statewide average of 10 percent, or by up to 20 percent for individual policyholders. A measure that would increase Floridians' homeowner insurance premiums, while reducing the state's financial risk if a major hurricane struck, cleared its first legislative hurdle Friday.
Chinese Drywall Gets Florida Lawmakers' Attention (WPBF Palm Beach)
South Florida homeowners who believe Chinese drywall is damaging their homes are applauding legislative efforts to tackle the problem.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 04:35 AM
Bonita Bay to host
Bonita Bay to host hurricane seminar (The News-Press)
Bonita Bay will host a hurricane seminar for its residents at 2 p.m., Wednesday, April 15 in its main clubhouse.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 08:50 AM
Florida hurricane catastrophe fund
Florida hurricane catastrophe fund under scrutiny (Miami Herald)
The two rating agencies that track Florida-based insurers are closely monitoring the state's hurricane catastrophe fund over the next few weeks.
Fla. Senate delays vote on wind insurance measure (Bradenton Herald)
A Senate committee searching Wednesday for ways to improve Florida's shaky property insurance situation and lower the state's risk recommended borrowing money from the state retirement system to obtain some short-term relief.
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 11:15 AM
State retreats over insurance
State retreats over insurance (The Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
The 2007 rate-lowering move put Florida in too much peril
Property Insurance Rates May Increase (The Lakeland Ledger)
TALLAHASSEE | In a stark admission that its efforts to reduce property insurance rates put Florida in an untenable financial risk, the Legislature is poised to retreat from some of the major cost controls it instituted just two years ago. House and Senate leaders are moving toward agreement on legislation that would:
Posted by PCA Public Adjusters at 04:05 PM
