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Original post: Consumer advocates are scratching their heads over a Florida judge’s ruling that would let State Farm — and potentially every other property insurer in the state — hide information that has been public for years. Read the ruling here.
If Leon County Circuit Judge James C. Hankinson grappled with implications for consumers or the public in overturning a long-established system, advocates had a tough time finding any indication of that in the written order.
Speaking of secrecy, State Farm announced it will no longer talk to The Palm Beach Post because of its coverage of the issue.
State Farm failed to get a ruling it wanted on the issue nearly a decade ago, but in one stroke, the order could wipe out public access to information about insurance companies statewide — if it stands and competitors follow suit.
The state’s Office of Insurance Regulation said it will decide within 30 days whether to appeal.
The judge indicated he was ruling in favor of the company in March, but his written order was not filed until May, records show.
If the ruling stands, there may be little to stop other property insurers from turning off public access to information submitted to the state’s Quarterly and Supplemental Reporting System (QUASR). The system shows, quarter by quarter, how many policies a company has statewide and in individual counties, and how many policies it has canceled or not renewed.
“To cut off access to critically important information — information that has been publicly available for years — about the insurance industry leaves the public in the dark about an issue that is of critical concern to property owners across the state,” Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, said in March.
In court filings, the company argued it should be allowed to declare that information a trade secret to avoid tipping off competitors to its marketing strategy.
As The Post reported, State Farm said it was “re-entering” the Florida homeowner market but dropped more than 40,000 customers, or more than 10 percent, in the year following that, leaving it with about 348,000 at the start of 2015. That was still enough to rank among the state’s top three property insurers.
State Farm was once Florida’s largest property insurer but has shed about half a million homeowner policies in the past half dozen years in a major insurance crisis for the state. Insurer advertising often emphasizes themes of trust, such as being a good neighbor or leaving a consumer in good hands, though public access to data can show another picture — such as when a company is canceling or not renewing policies in a particular market.
By the end of 2013, State Farm had less than 13,000 home insurance customers left in Palm Beach County compared to more than 50,000 four years earlier, state records showed. State Farm went off the grid in public records after that, heading to court to defend the trade-secret status it declared for itself.
Customer perception can matter, not just for home insurance but auto and other business. James Savage of West Palm Beach, for example, said he was a State Farm customer for nearly four decades, made recommended property upgrades and never filed a storm-related claim, yet the company dropped him.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans derailed a Democratic bill on Monday aimed at pressuring employers to pay women the same as men, a vote Democrats knew they would lose but scheduled in hopes of attracting support from female voters in November's elections.
GOP senators blockaded the legislation in April and with the support of business groups like the Chamber of Commerce opposed it again Monday. They say that by making it easier for workers to successfully win legal damages in court, the bill would make it harder for employers to defend themselves against pay disparities that are justified — such as when a worker accepts lower pay in exchange for more flexible hours.
Monday's vote was 52-40 to end GOP stalling tactics designed to sink the bill — eight short of the 60 votes needed for passage. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who normally backs Democrats, voted with Republicans and was the only lawmaker to break party ranks.
Democrats had promised to revisit the issue in the heat of this fall's campaigns.
Census bureau figures show that on average, women made 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Experts and politicians debate how much that reflects actual gender discrimination.
Figures show that men tend to out-earn women in comparable jobs and with equal amounts of education. But on average, women tend to accept shorter hours than men and are likelier to take lower-paying jobs.
MIDDLETOWN -- The first thing one notices when they enter DeLovlies Bakery is the sweet smell that can only come from home-baked goodies. The second thing you notice is the infectious laughter and light mood by the two women working there.
Cousins Phyllis Lombardo and Phyllis Sissy McGehee are living the dream of owning their own business and having a blast doing it.
"We laugh all the time," Lombardo said.
"We decided to redefine retirement and we really are having the time of our lives," McGehee added.
Lombardo, who has been a pastry chef for 35 years, was asked by longtime friend John Carta to provide her homemade cookies for his catering business.
"Sissy and I laughed about it and then sold 13,000 hand-wrapped, decorated cookies," Lombardo beamed.
The pair also provided 110 miniature gingerbread houses for the children at Farm Hill School to decorate at Christmas. And when they were told by thrilled parents that they should have a bakery, they thought maybe they should.
What really started out as the two fun-loving cousins daring each other to take the next step -- getting permits, shopping for supplies and fixtures -- has become a dream come true.
"We dared each other every step of the way. Opening this business was like when you're a kid and you just hold your nose and jump off the dock. Of course we had to convince each other to put on the bathing suits," McGehee joked.
Partnering with Carta's business upstairs, they like to call the bakery DeLovelies "Underground" Bakery. They fill two cases each morning with muffins, brownies and specialty cakes, and then make custom orders for events.
DeLovelies opened March 22, and orders starting coming in quickly through word of mouth, the owners said. The bakery hadn't even been open for two weeks when the pair was already working long days to fill orders for Easter cookies, cakes and breads.
Despite the long hours and hard work, Lombardo had a hard time turning down orders for their signature Italian Cassata Cake -- Vanilla and Chocolate with strawberries and laced with rum.
The pair compliment each other perfectly, with Lombardo's skills as a pastry chef and attention to detail, while McGehee enjoys coming in early in the morning to bake the muffins and brownies, as well as her famous carrot cake.
The bakery has really become a family affair for the cousins, who were raised in Middletown. The women have used their Aunt Mary's gingerbread recipe and created "Mary Margarets," which are named after McGehee's mother. The name DeLovlies is an homage to their "lovely moms." Even the grandchildren are helping out with chores around the bakery.
As well as the daily selections, the pair does special-occasion cakes and all the traditional Italian ricotta desserts, such as cannoli.
They hope to soon add "Cookie Grams" to their repertoire, taking a suggestion from their landlord, Rich Baptiste.
"It's going so well, it's like we've been graced, so we decided not to question it," McGehee said.
DeLovelie's Bakery is located downstairs at 110 Coe Ave. The pair is planning a grand-opening celebration on Sunday, May 2.
We liked the ASRock 870 Extreme3. It is fast, clean, easy to use and only $89.99 from NewEgg.com. At this price you can probably grab more RAM, a better GPU, or even pay for the full versions of the trail software included.
Our gaming experience was also great, but our overclocking experience was not that great. We are pretty sure that ASRock will correct this with a future BIOS; after all, they did put a ton of overclocking tools into the current one. We did not get a chance to try out the Core Unlocker function, as that is for another article, but it can also lower your overall cost if you can pick up a tri or dual core CPU and kick it up to a quad.
We think that this board could be one of the best AMD based motherboards in terms of bang for the buck that we have tested.
Comedy Central has signed up Jamie Tarses and David Alan Grier as part of an ambitious development slate. Tarses' show "Held Up," is about bank robbers who dress up as pop-culture characters, such as Spider-Man while "David Allen Grier's Chocolate News" is described by the net as "a fake magazine show that covers inherently urban pop-culture topics."
Further, "Saturday Night Live" writer T. Sean Shannon has cut a deal with the net for "Night Writer," a show that blends live-action and animation while Comedy also has a presentation deal for "The Watch List," a showcase of young Middle Eastern-American comedians.
While the channel continues to pull good numbers with programs like "South Park" and "Reno 911," it has been looking for newer fare as those age. The net has hopes for Sarah Silverman's eponymous sitcom, renewing it for a second run.
Sowards stressed the new program does not mean someone has to have completed the program before they can offer a fishing clinic.
Sowards said the 8 a.m.-noon program will help teach the best ways to hold fishing clinics that are educational and productive. Topics covered will include fish identification, aquatic nuisance species identification, fishing techniques, fishing tackle, fishing regulations, angling safety and ethics. Instructors will also be given a detailed guide they can refer to in the future.
In the future, he said the agency hopes to have enough certified fishing instructors in its data base that they could be called upon to assist with fishing clinics. That could include a clinic presented by Wildlife and Parks or another certified instructor. It would also give groups interested in a fishing clinic, like scout troops or school classes, a way to schedule a quality fishing event.
Pre-registration is required to attend the workshop on Aug. 10. Go to www.fishingsfuture.org, and click on the link to the Wichita program. For more information call Kevin Reich, 785-577-6921.
The Arkansas River Coalition will host a float on the Little Arkansas and Arkansas Rivers on Thursday. The public is invited, kayaks and gear can be provided with proper notification.
The float begins on the Little Arkansas at 6:30 p.m., near the Bitting Street bridge. A portage of about a block will eventually get floaters on the Arkansas River. The float will end at the Lincoln Street dam. Those with helmets and skirting can float the whitewater portion of the fish/boat passage at the dam.
The float is free, though a donation of $15 is appreciated for those who use coalition equipment. Liability waiver forms are needed to begin the float, and can be downloaded at www.arkriver.org. For information call 316-680-9669.
WATCH ABOVE: A WestJet plane ended up sliding off a taxiway at Edmonton International Airport on Friday night. A woman in the plane took this video after of snow being cleared near the plane.
A WestJet plane that was to depart for Victoria ended up sliding off a taxiway at Edmonton International Airport on Friday night.
A spokesperson for the airline said nobody was injured but the flight was cancelled as a result.
“While taxiing to the runway, Flight 173 slid off the taxiway in the icy conditions,” Lauren Stewart said.
After several people took to social media posting photos of a plane that they said had gone off a runway at Edmonton International Airport, Global News spoke to a passenger who said the plane went into a snow bank while taxiing.
“Everyone is OK,” Becky Johnson said.
Johnson said the plane turned and it suddenly became a bit bumpy but there was not much more that happened.
“You wouldn’t have even noticed but I’m a nervous flyer,” she said.
A spokesperson with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said the incident occurred as the aircraft was headed to the de-ice pad and that the agency will not be investigating.
Stewart said there were 75 passengers and six crew on board. Fifty-three passengers will head to Victoria on Friday night via Calgary.
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. -- A baby just hours old is now safe after she was found abandoned in the middle of a road early Monday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.
Newspaper carrier Aurelio Fuentes discovered the infant lying in the middle of a Madera County road just after 4 a.m.
The temperature at the time was below 30 degrees and the baby was wearing only a soiled onesie, the CHP said.
Fuentes brought the baby into his vehicle and called 911.
"You can see the umbilical cord attach to it, so this baby was barely born and I can't tell for how long but it had feces leaking from it's onesie," Fuentes told KGPE.
A CHP officer responded to the scene and wrapped the baby in a blanket to keep her warm. The infant was then hospitalized and is OK, the CHP said.
Authorities are trying to identify the person who abandoned the infant. Her physical description is not known, but she left the scene in a small white SUV, the Madera County Sheriff's Office said.
If you like spooky courtroom dramas about the occult, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" will be the perfect movie for you. If you're looking for a typical teen slasher flick, steer clear of this recent release and see something else or head to Knott's Scary Farm. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is based on the true story of a teenage girl who is either possessed by the devil or suffering a severe mental illness. That's the main question of the film and the audience has to draw their own conclusion.
Oscar bound Charlie Bauman of Glendale works as a janitor at a Glendale printing business. "The Insider" is an incredibly powerful film. The writing, direction, editing, cinematography and acting are all excellent. As it is based on a true story, there is an added realism that makes it more intense and suspenseful than most thrillers. Because the issues that it deals with are so important, and so much is at stake, the major scenes of conflict are possibly the most powerful I've seen on film.
The film “Philomena” is based on the remarkable true story of Philomena Lee (played by Judi Dench), who gave birth to a son out of wedlock decades earlier in a conservative Irish Catholic community in the early 1950s. With no family willing to help and no financial means, she was forced to stay at a strict convent, and later gave up her son, against her will, for adoption to a wealthy American family. After keeping this secret for 50 years, she met renowned BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith.
Do you flinch? What do I mean by flinch? Do you recoil at others’ bad news, offenses that have been done against them, or their sins? Are you appalled, confused, disgusted, judgmental or disappointed when you hear a surprising story about another person? Do you feel these things without ever even going to them to get the whole, or true story? The point of today’s column is that we are not to be judgmental of others’ sins, nor the gossip we hear about them. We are to get the full story and have grace, even if they did sin. And we are to find out the truth, because sometimes gossip is a lie and it can hurt someone else.
Foothill Summer Theatre's production of the Stephen Sondheim masterpiece "Sweeney Todd" opens July 29 at 8 p.m. in La Cañada High School's auditorium. Students, orchestra members, teachers, designers and community volunteers have spent six weeks preparing for the production. "Sweeney Todd" is rarely performed because of the difficulty of the score, challenging even the most seasoned professionals. And for the students of Foothill Summer Theatre, "Sweeney Todd" is the most challenging test of their talents to date.
Actress/producer Rita Wilson is bringing the one-woman show “Jamaica, Farewell” to the Falcon Theatre in Burbank with hopes that it will lead to a film project ala “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Wilson had seen “Greek Wedding” as a play and was so enthusiastic about it, she and her husband, actor Tom Hanks, brought it to the big screen via his production company. Her current project, “Jamaica, Farewell,” stars Debra Ehrhardt and is based on a true story about her journey to the United States from Jamaica and her dream to build a new life.
Chuck Benedict I could hardly believe it myself, but this is a true story. A few days ago, I received a legitimate telephone call advising me that a political group in Glendale had decided to ask me to run for public office in a future election. From the bottom of the barrel, I looked up and saw nothing but a gorgeous blue sky. There was no other light at the end of this vertical tunnel to explain why somebody had thought that age before beauty would get more votes than young and ambitious.
When British social worker Margaret Humphreys (played by Emily Watson) informs a woman working in a pub that the daughter she gave up for adoption as an unwed mother in the 1950s was later sent to a children's home in Australia, she is stunned: “They told me that she had been adopted by a good family. What was she doing in a children's home on the other side of the world?” It's just one of the incredible true stories portrayed in “Oranges and Sunshine,” based on the book “Empty Cradles,” written by Humphreys in 1994.
?American Gangster,? starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington, is based on a true story. Frankly I am tired of hearing ?based on a true story.? The factual story of Frank Lucas, American gangster, would have been seedy and grimy. The spot-on story of his nemesis, cop and eventually lawyer, Richie Roberts, would have been only a notch above that and hardly the stuff that great movies are made of. Instead ?American Gangster? explores two amazingly similar lives. Richie and Frankie are both living Horatio Alger stories.
Leave it to No Square Theatre to take "The Sound of Music" to a different, Laguna-esque level with its production of the classic favorite, which comes to life today, Saturday and Sunday at the Forum Theater. Though the cast will perform a more authentic version -- closer to the real story of the Von Trapp family than the film depicts -- audience participation will add a zany twist. Director Saif Eddin said it will be a sing-along, similar to a recent craze involving the film's screenings, but enhanced.
Ever wonder what all those different types of license plates you see on ZAZ-968s and '58 Buicks down on the Cuban street?
¡Abajo En La Calle De Cuba!
It turns out that the Cuban government uses a system that indicates the nationality, employer, and often the job ranking of the car's owner. The AP breaks it down for us.
A fan jumped the fence and ran onto the field before the bottom of the ninth inning of Mets-Phillies Wednesday night at Citi Field.
He sprinted from the right-field corner through the outfield, evading several maroon-shirted security guards with a stutter step in left field. He then turned and burst onto the infield, where Phillies shortstop Scott Kingery attempted to trip him up. The fan evaded Kingery’s foot, though, and headed toward third base.
Guards eventually grabbed him and body-slammed him to the infield dirt.
The Mets then went down in order, sending the scoreless game into extra innings.
LONDON — Talks on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, known as “Brexit,” are finally underway and will ultimately determine the country’s international future for decades to come. But the government’s negotiating strategy and objectives have become less certain, and the outcome of the talks is less predictable than ever.
The Conservative Party’s loss of its parliamentary majority in the recent elections has shuffled the deck of possibilities once again and left Prime Minister Theresa May scrambling to hold on to her position. Not only did the prime minister lose a lot of her authority, but she also failed to win popular endorsement for her planned clean break with the European Union. On Thursday, she won Parliament’s approval for her legislative program, with the support of 10 lawmakers from Northern Ireland.
Both Mrs. May’s Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party remain committed to last year’s referendum decision to leave the European Union. But they disagree on what sort of deal to negotiate. Tensions over Europe are resurfacing among Mrs. May’s senior colleagues, and she will face grueling battles in the British Parliament (and possibly in the Scottish one, too) to get withdrawal legislation passed.
Just as tough is the task facing Mrs. May’s government in the negotiations with Brussels, in which the remaining 27 European Union nations have — so far — kept a unified front.
How might it all end? No one knows for sure, but here are four possibilities.
Mrs. May has long insisted that no deal is better than a bad deal, though she has been saying that less emphatically since her election debacle. Business leaders say that a bad deal would have to be very punitive indeed to be worse than a breakdown of talks. That would lead to a “cliff edge” for British companies, which would lose their current arrangements for access to European markets in 2019.
While significantly less likely since the election, the “no deal” possibility should not be dismissed out of hand. The European Union requires progress on Britain’s “divorce terms” before the future trading relationship can be discussed. The divorce includes sensitive issues like Britain’s outstanding financial commitments to the bloc — which could result in a bill of as much as $75 billion. Mrs. May (or a successor if she falls) might reject such a hefty price tag, walk out of talks and try to rally support among voters in Britain by claiming that Europeans were trying to punish them for leaving. For a fragile government, that would be a high-risk strategy indeed — but so would agreeing to an expensive and economically damaging exit.
Mrs. May says she wants Britain to leave the bloc’s Customs Union, which eliminates tariffs, so that Britain can make global trade deals independently. She also wants to quit the European single market, which smooths trade in services, because leaving would end the free movement of European workers, in that way restoring national control of immigration. According to her plan, those arrangements would be replaced by a comprehensive trade agreement with the European Union.
While this remains a likely outcome, with the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reportedly telling people that he expects to be prime minister within six months, there is obviously a long way to go. Mrs. May could lose a vote of confidence, leading to a disruptive Conservative leadership contest and the possibility of the Labour Party profiting from the division to win back control of the government. That could further dilute support for a clean break.
Even barring a seismic event like that, there is widespread and growing acceptance that negotiating a new trade deal with the European Union cannot be done before March 2019, when Britain is scheduled to leave. That might lead to a “clean break plus,” a transition period of several years to give the British economy breathing space, a strategy being championed by the chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond.
Such an approach would most likely involve accepting, during the transition, current rules on the freedom of movement of European workers (and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice). It would probably also mean that Britain would have to agree to a divorce payment, effectively buying its economy time to adjust to new circumstances. All in all, that could prove expensive and would involve compromises. But when staring over a cliff edge, an economic parachute starts to look attractive, even if it comes with a big price tag.
After the grave election setback for Mrs. May, the idea of a “soft Brexit” that gives priority to economic considerations over control of immigration has gained traction. The politics are complicated. Eight out of 10 voters in the general election opted for parties that accepted the outcome of the referendum, including the opposition Labour Party. But Labour wants to keep closer economic ties to the bloc, as do the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and the Greens. Together, those parties garnered more than half the vote.
For now, Mrs. May rejects the softer withdrawal. However, some analysts say they suspect that the government’s position will shift later in the negotiations and that London may seek a type of membership of the Customs Union. If not, the government might struggle to get withdrawal legislation through Parliament.
Resistance might come from the House of Lords, the unelected, upper chamber of Parliament that revises legislation. But the House of Lords will probably — eventually — take its lead from the elected House of Commons.
That makes the position of the Labour Party crucial. By opposing the Conservative Party’s detailed plan for withdrawal (rather than the principle of withdrawal), and pressing for some sort of membership of the Customs Union, Labour might force ministers to change course — and, if it’s lucky, bring down the government in the process.
“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,” the European Council’s president, Donald Tusk, quoting John Lennon, said when asked about the prospect of Britain’s remaining inside the European Union. With both the Conservative and Labour parties committed to leaving, that remains unlikely. It would require a significant further shift in public opinion in favor of remaining, more so even than in the recent election, before lawmakers would start to feel the heat. Even then, it would tear apart the Conservative Party and invite a white-heat campaign against the government by Britain’s tabloid newspapers.