State Questions State Farm Insurance Rate Hike Request
July 29, 2012
State insurance officials and consumer advocates are pressing State Farm Florida Insurance Co. over a proposed 57.3 percent increase in rental property premiums when the company is still not writing any new business.
In addition, Florida’s insurance consumer advocate questioned the rationale behind the company’s request to ask policyholders to foot the bill for paying off a $750 million loan made to the Florida subsidiary by its parent company, State Farm Mutual.
The repayment will add an additional 8.5 percent to the parent company’s bottom line and comes in addition to a 16-percent profit margin.
State Farm representatives were before the Office of Insurance Regulation to request the rate hike on roughly 33,000 policies for the owners of rental property, including apartment buildings, or single homes that landlords rent out.
The company has about 470,000 total policies in the state, the bulk of which are residential homeowners’ policies. With few exceptions, State Farm has not written new policies in several years and has seen its exposure shrink. At one time in had more than 1 million policies and was the state’s largest property insurer.
“In addition to the general concerns of a nearly 58 percent rate increase, is the concern that State Farm has not given any indication that this rate increase will result in them writing any new policies,” said Brian Deffenbaugh, senior counsel for the Office of Insurance Consumer Advocate.
Despite the proposed increase, State Farm actuary Sara Frankowiak said she “was not aware of any plans” for the company to resume writing policies in the state, but is instead shoring up its financial position.
“We certainly have concerns for the impact that this kind of rate change has on our customers,” Frankowiak said. “But at the same time, we owe an obligation to all of our customers to make sure we are financially strong and able to pay when the storms come.”
In 2010, State Farm announced it would not renew 125,000 policies. The action came after Florida insurance officials denied a request for a 47 percent increase in homeowners premiums and the company threatened to exit the state altogether.
State Farm is also requesting a 14.9 percent increase in homeowner rates and nearly 28 percent increase in condominium insurance. Those rates are subject to separate rate filings.
Given the company’s presence in Florida, Florida Justice Association representative Reggie Garcia questioned why multiple rate hearings weren’t being conducted around the state, noting the lack of public participation.
“Why aren’t we having public hearings at least in three or four major urban areas on this issue? No one is here,” Garcia said. “That is your prerogative, but what you obligated to do is different from what you should do.”
In response, OIR General Counsel Belinda Miller said the agency used to travel around the state seeking comment but policyholders often didn’t show up. In addition, most of the legal issues between the state and State Farm have been settled in court so both parties are pretty sure where they stand on the issue.
The statewide 57.3 percent rate hike for rental property owners varies greatly depending on the territory. Rates in Duval County would increase from $695 to $1,065, an increase of 53.3 percent. Orange County rates would jump 60.7 percent, or $720. Miami-Dade County policies would increase 110 percent to $6,008. In Monroe County, where State Farm insures just four properties, the rates would rise from $4,857 to $14,411.
By The News Service of Florida
Photos: King Of The Jungle In Molino
July 29, 2012
Children at Highland Baptist Church presented “King of the Jungle” Sunday evening The children attended a daily music camp last week — Camp Quarternote — to prepare for the presentation.
Pictured: Scenes from “King of the Jungle” at Highland Baptist Church. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Kids Invited To 4-H ‘Bites, Bites And Bytes’ Program
July 29, 2012
Escambia County 4-H is inviting kids to participate in the “Bites, Bites and Bytes” day program next month.
The “Bites, Bites and Bytes” program is open to kids ages 9-14. Youth will learn about a variety of animals that bite, they will build their own nutritious snack bites and experience a variety of technology bytes.
The cost of this program is $5, which can be paid the day of or prior to the program. Participating youth will need to bring an iPod, iPhone, iPad or Android device – or bring a friend that has one and share.
Attendees wear clothes that are appropriate for both indoor and outdoor activities. A variety of healthy snacks will be provided during the snack bites portion.Participants must be registered by Friday, August 3.
The program will take place on Tuesday, August 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Escambia County Extension office at 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
For more information or to pre-register, contact Angela Hinkle at ahinkle@ufl.edu or (850) 475-5230.
Drug Related: One Killed In Escambia County Robbery
July 29, 2012
A robbery resulted in the shooting death of a 19-year old Escambia County man late Friday night, and investigators say the crime was drug related.
The incident happened in the 4400 block of Deauville Way off Massachusetts Avenue about 11:48 p.m. with deputies responding to a reported robbery of an individual and a possible gunshot victim.
When they arrived, they learned that Matthew Cox and 20-year old Charles D. Boutwell were outside of a house of Deauville Way when when an unidentified black male approached them demanding money. During the robbery, Cox was shot and later pronounced dead at Baptist Hospital.
Boutwell was unharmed.
There have been no arrests reported, and no suspect has been named.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Former House Speaker Samson Says State Should Pay Legal Bills
July 29, 2012
Former House Speaker Ray Sansom is suing the state, saying he should be reimbursed for the costs of defending himself against corruption charges that were eventually dropped.
Sansom is asking for $817,518.73, plus interest, for his defense in the case that ultimately drove him from office. Sansom faced charges including grand theft and conspiracy in the case, which stemmed from a 2007 appropriation that was supposed to be for an emergency operations center in Sansom’s district.
Prosecutor Willie Meggs argued at trial that it was really a thinly-disguised effort to build a taxpayer-funded airplane hangar for Jay Odom, a political contributor to Sansom.
Meggs gave up on the case after Circuit Judge Terry Lewis said he didn’t believe prosecutors had made any progress in their attempt to prove a conspiracy by Sansom and Odom to steal taxpayer money, which Meggs said made it difficult to move forward with the case procedurally.
Now, the former speaker is asking taxpayers to foot the bill for Sansom’s hiring of Dobson, Davis & Smith, which billed Sansom anywhere from $275 to $400 an hour for the services of five lawyers as well as $75 an hour for work done by paralegals. Sansom also agreed to pay expenses for the legal team.
In the suit, filed Tuesday, attorneys with another law firm, Broad and Cassel, argue that Sansom has a right to the funds under a common law principle that any public official who successfully defends himself or herself from charges related to his public duties is entitled to have legal costs covered.
The charges against Sansom were “directly related to Plaintiff’s performance of his public duties and arose out of the context of passing an appropriation act that served a public purpose,” the attorneys argue.
“The public official’s entitlement to reimbursement is an obligation which arises independent of statute or contract and is not subject to discretion,” the suit says.
The bills aren’t broken down by Sansom beyond the $50,000 retainer and another $767,518.73 in costs the law firm rang up from April 29, 2009 until the case was dropped in late March 2011.
Meggs’ decision to drop the case ended what was then a four-year saga that toppled Sansom, R-Destin, who had only briefly served as speaker when he decided to take a leave of absence from the job. Amid a growing Republican clamor to resolve the caucus’ leadership situation, Sansom resigned.
Sansom, Odom and former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg agreed to pay restitution for the $310,000 spent on the facility before the college returned the $6 million appropriated for the project.
A spokesman for current House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, said the speaker was out of the state and couldn’t be reached for comment.
In addition to the expenses for the criminal case and interest, Sansom is asking that the state be forced to pay his legal fees for the new lawsuit itself.
By The News Service of Florida
Pensacola Runs Past Huntsville In Front Of Sellout Crowd
July 29, 2012
The Blue Wahoos stole a season-high five bases, including two from Billy Hamilton to increase his season total to 115 as part of a two-hit game, as Pensacola defeated the Huntsville Stars 6-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 on Saturday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
With the victory, the Fish improved to 20-15 in the second half to remain one game behind the Montgomery Biscuits in the South Division, while the Stars fell to 16-19 since the league’s All-Star Break. The capacity crowd was the 34th of the season for the club in their inaugural season of play at the bayfront stadium.
Four of Pensacola’s five stolen bases came in the opening frame, when the Blue Wahoos plated three early tallies. Hamilton got the rally started with a single, before promptly stealing second and third, before coming across on LF Bryson Smith’s sacrifice fly to center. The swiped bags moved the speedster’s total to 115 this year, bringing him to within 30 of Vince Coleman’s record of 145, which was set in 1983.
CF Ryan LaMarre and 1B Donald Lutz each drew free passes later in the inning before they came home on 2B Brodie Greene’s two-run single to left, which gave Pensacola a 3-0 advantage.
Following a single score from the Blue Wahoos in the third, Huntsville got on the board in the fourth thanks to the longball. LF Khris Davis reached on a base hit, before 1B Hunter Morris mashed his 19th homer of the year to left. It was also the fourth roundtripper of the series for Morris, and the Stars’ ninth of the series.
Hamilton would later drive home a run with his second hit of the game in the fourth, bringing in 3B David Vidal after he doubled to left to extend the margin to 5-2, though the Stars mounted a comeback attempt in the late innings. CF Josh Prince singled before 2B Scooter Gennett reached on a fielder’s choice being both came plateward on Kris Davis’ two-run single to center, cutting their deficit to one. The Blue Wahoos however, tacked on an insurance run in their half of the inning thanks to consecutive triples from Lutz and Smith.
Hamilton (2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI) was the lone Blue Wahoos batter to record two hits in the win, while Khris Davis (3-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB) collected three base knocks for Huntsville in the defeat. The Pensacola shortstop has now reached base in all 16 of his games for the Fish.
Fish starter Wirfin Obispo (5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO) earned the victory after giving up two earned runs on just two hits while fanning seven, while Stars RHP Jimmy Nelson (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year. Four Blue Wahoos relievers, including Drew Hayes (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO), Mark Serrano (1.0 IP), Brian Pearl (0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER) and Wilkin De La Rosa (1.2 IP, 1 H) fired the last four innings in support of Obispo. Hayes, Serrano and Pearl all earned holds, while De La Rosa notched his first save of the year.
Pensacola will travel on their offday Sunday to Tennessee to begin a ten-game road trip, with five-game series versus the Tennessee Smokies and at Huntsville. The Blue Wahoos will begin their five-game set with the Smokies on Monday, July 30 for a scheduled double header, with the first contest slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.
The next homestand at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium begins on Wednesday, August 8th with a five-game series against the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
By Andrew Green
Pictured top: Pensacola’s Billy Hamilton stole two bases to extend his total to 115 on Saturday night. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Flag Football Tournament Benefits Youth Football Program
July 29, 2012
An adult flag football tournament was held Saturday in Walnut Hill, with proceeds benefiting the Northwest Escambia youth football program.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
USA Gets First Gold; Phelps Fails to Medal in Olympics Swimming Opener
July 29, 2012
There was a shocking result in the very first swimming race at the London Olympics.
American swimmer Ryan Lochte won the men’s 400-meter individual medley (4:05.18) by an impressive margin of more than three and a half seconds, capturing the gold medal.
Brazil’s Thiago Pereira took the silver (4:08.86) and Japan’s Kosuke Hagino got the bronze (4:08.94).
While Lochte himself is a star and was one of the favorites, it was the placement of his superstar teammate Michael Phelps that came as a big surprise. The record-setting eight-time Olympic gold medalist in Beijing had narrowly qualified for the final out of the morning heats and ended up fourth.
Phelps did not hide his disappointment.
“It’s frustrating. It’s all I can say,” he admitted. “You know, it’s pretty upsetting. But I think the biggest thing now is just to try to get past this and move forward. I mean I have a bunch of other races and hopefully we can finish a lot better than how we started.”
Lochte said he was surprised Phelps was not next to him on the podium.
“I mean whenever Michael swims he’s always on the medal stand, no matter what,” Lochte noted. “But he did 110%. He gave it everything he had.”
But it was not enough this time, and Lochte won the difficult race that features all four strokes: butterfly, back, breast and freestyle.
“Feels amazing that knowing the last four years I’ve put in that hard work that it finally paid off,” Lochte said during post-race press conference, “and to not only swim for my country but to have my whole entire family there in the stands cheering for me definitely gave me a little bit more of a boost.”
Lochte was asked if Phelps had anything to say to him after the race.
“He came up to me and he congratulated me and he said ‘Way to go’ and ‘we haven’t lost the 400 IM for the USA in a long time, so way to keep it going,” Lochte said.
The first swimming world record of these Games came on the opening night in the women’s 400-meter individual medley. China’s Ye Shiwen clocked 4:28.43 seconds to break the four-year-old mark (4:29.45) by about one second set at the last Olympics by Australian Stephanie Rice, who placed sixth Saturday. American Elizabeth Beisel won the silver (4:31.27) and China’s Lu Xuanxu got the bronze (4:32.91).
China’s Sun Yang took the gold medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, and Australia earned gold in the women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay, with the Netherlands getting silver and the USA bronze.
Earlier Saturday evening, the U.S. men’s archery team upset three-time defending champion South Korea in the semifinals (224-219). But in a dramatic battle for the gold medal, Italy’s last archer scored a 10 when his arrow landed on the ring to give his nation a one-point victory, 219-218.
South Korea won the bronze in a shoot-off against Mexico.
Ryan Bateman Rawlinson
July 28, 2012
Mr. Ryan Bateman Rawlinson, age 24 of Saraland, passed away on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, at his home after a lengthy illness.
Mr. Rawlinson was a native of Opelika and a resident of Saraland for 10 years, coming from Atmore. He was affiliated with Century United Methodist Church in Century and is preceded in death by his grandparents, James and Patsy Rawlinson and Rosie Overstreet.
Mr. Rawlinson is survived by his father, Steven B. Rawlinson of Mobile; his mother, Sandra Diane Rawlinson (Steven Board) of Saraland; brothers, William Rawlinson of Kings Bay, GA, Sean Rawlinson and Steven Rawlinson of Saraland.
Visitation will be held Saturday, July 28, 2012, at Flomaton Funeral Home Chapel from 6 -l 8 p.m.
Graveside services will be held on Sunday, July 29, 2012 at 3 p.m. at Excel City Cemetery with Rev. Janet Lee officiating.
Boil Water Advisory For Some Central Water Works Customers
July 28, 2012
Central Water Works has issued a precautionary boil water notice for customers of Century and McDavid living in the areas of Bratt Road, Commalander Road, Cox Road, Holland Road and Roach Road due to a loss of pressure due to a water main break on Bratt Road at Canoe Creek.
This boil water notice has been rescinded. Read more…
(For an earlier story about the water problems, click here.)
Central Water Works released the following information:
What should I do?
As a precaution, we advise that all water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes be boiled. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient. As an alternative, bottled water may be used. Residents are also advised to take precautions when bathing, especially immunocompromised individuals, infants or the elderly.
What happened? What is being done?
A loss in system pressure could cause back-siphonage of contaminants, such as E. coli bacteria, into the water system. Water containing E. coli bacteria can be considered safe for drinking and cooking after vigorously boiling the water. Disease symptoms caused by these bacteria may include diarrhea, cramps, nausea, and possibly jaundice, and any associated headache and fatigue. The EPA has set an enforceable drinking water standard for E. coli to reduce the risk of these adverse health effects. Under this standard all drinking water must be free of these bacteria.
The water main break has been repaired. The water system is currently collecting samples to determine if the presence of E. coli bacteria exists within the water system. This precautionary boil water notice will remain in effect until a bacteriological survey shows that the water is safe to drink. The anticipated date for rescinding this notice is Monday, July 30, 2012
If you have any questions you may contact: Lisa Fuller at Central Water Works, Inc., 1101 Byrneville Road, Century, FL 32535. Phone number (850) 256-3849, email: centralwaterworks@gmail.com.