Regulators grill State Farm officials over 47 percent hike request
August 12, 2008 by Administrator · Leave a Comment
State regulators Tuesday aggressively grilled State Farm officials asking them to justify their request for a 47 percent increase to homeowners insurance rates.
Four Office of Insurance Regulation officials squared off in a Capitol hearing room at tables a dozen feet from four State Farm executives — put under oath to tell the truth — and argued about reasonable profits, discounts for protecting against wind damage, expected hurricane losses, state law and complex computer models.
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Early primary voting fires up
August 11, 2008 by Administrator · Leave a Comment
Early voting got off to a smooth start today, with thousands of Floridians casting ballots for Florida’s primaries.
“This really takes the pressure off for Election Day,” said Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson. “Early voting is so new, the archival information is just not large enough to make an extrapolation about what it means for voter turnout, but it’s extremely popular.”
Johnson said the process was moving smoothly at 13 early voting locations across Hillsborough.
In Brevard County, assistant Elections Supervisor Duwayne Lundgren said there was one minor problem when a key to a ballot-scanning machine was missing, but the delay was only about three minutes. He said things were running smoothly at five locations in the county.
A spot-check of elections offices across the state also showed heavy demand for mailed ballots this year. Voter interest is usually higher in presidential years, and voter registration figures released Sunday night showed a gain of 415,000 voters statewide over the past seven months.
Some candidates used the occasion to grab a little free publicity, by showing up with their families and crowds of supporters to vote on the first day of pre-primary balloting. Campaign strategists also like the method because it allows party volunteers to vote early and be free on Election Day to work for their candidates.
Operating hours and days vary from county to county, but early voting is generally available at county courthouses and satellite locations during normal business hours and for eight hours next weekend. Leon County Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho said weekend operations can be either Saturday or Sunday, or four hours on each day, depending on a county’s staffing demands.
Early voting ends on Sunday, Aug. 24, so elections offices can use the Monday before the primary date to distribute machinery and get ready for the big day.
The Right to Sell and Use "Medical" Marijuana
May 2, 2008 by Administrator · Leave a Comment
The Right to Sell and Use “Medical” Marijuana By David Holcberg ( Ottawa Citizen , April 25, 2008; Oregonian , June 15, 2008; Seattle Post-Intelligencer , July 23, 2008) Just as the government has no right to dictate what foods we ingest or what books we read, it should have no right to dictate what drugs anyone takes, even if the user is acting irrationally, so long as he does not violate the rights of others. And in the case of people with terminal diseases, where the use is eminently rational, forcefully preventing them from using drugs that might alleviate their pain and improve their well-being is unconscionably immoral.
