| New Miami fiscal officer presents bond
NEW MIAMI — New Miami may never know if the Butler County auditor's threat was a bluff because the village's fiscal officer appears to have obtained an insurance bond — just as she demanded. New Miami Fiscal Officer Joseph Ebbing presented village council a $20,000 bond on Thursday to protect village funds if lost or misappropriated, Village Solicitor Gary Sheets said .
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing - Grand Prix Of Miami Review
VICTORIOUS! Round two of the 2007 Grand Am Series, the Mexico City 400k will be remembered as the most important race in the teams history. Gurney and Fogarty scored the teams long-awaited maiden victory, bringing home the win in one of the most thrilling finishes in Grand-Am history. OFF TO A STRONG START: Bob Stallings and his GAINSCO team have one goal in mind: they are committed to winning the 2007 Grand Am Championship. Theyre off to a strong start, since Alex Gurney shattered the Daytona track record, scoring the pole position for the 2007 Rolex 24 and he and his teammate followed that up with their first victory at Mexico City. The team jumped from 22nd to sixth in the championship point standings. HOME RUN FOR GAINSCO: GAINSCO Auto Insurance is one of the fastest growing auto insurers in the country, and Miami is a leading market for the Dallas, Texas-based company.
Florida drivers face changes as PIP could expired
If current no-fault insurance law isn't replaced or extended, Florida drivers may need to buy extra coverage to be sure medical payments are covered in case of accidents. BY BEATRICE E. GARCIA bgarcia@MiamiHerald.com TALLAHASSEE - Come October, the way Floridians buy auto insurance could change dramatically. That's when the state's current no-fault insurance law is set to expire. Along with it would go the required $10,000 personal injury protection drivers now buy to cover medical expenses and lost wages when there's an accident, regardless of who is at fault. Several major insurers including State Farm Insurance of Florida and Allstate Florida are lobbying hard to let the no-fault law sunset because it breeds massive fraud and runs up charges for often unnecessary and expensive medical procedures to exhaust the $10,000 that's provided in every accident.
FRESH OFF ITS MAIDEN VICTORY, GAINSCO TEAM
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The GAINSCO Auto Insurance team rolls into Homestead/Miami Speedway today on an emotional high, after Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty combined to score the team's first-ever Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series win less than three weeks ago at Mexico City. But the team knows that a tough race is ahead for the drivers and crew of the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac-powered Riley — Saturday afternoon's 109-lap, 250-mile Linder Industrial Grand Prix of Miami. The race, Round Three of the 2007 Rolex Sports Car Series, poses an entirely different challenge for Gurney and Fogarty — the tight confines of the 2.3-mile speedway road course allow little margin for error, and up on the high banks, horsepower is everything. Last year, the speedy Porsche-powered prototypes quickly drew away from the Pontiac-powered 99 — but after a successful test at the course earlier in December, both drivers are confident they'll have the speed to run up front this weekend.
House approves measure intended to insure more children
More children of the working poor in Texas would have access to the state's low-cost health insurance program under a measure tentatively approved in the House on Tuesday. The proposal would dismantle several changes that the Legislature made in 2003, when the state faced a $10 billion budget shortfall and cut spending on state services like the Children's Health Insurance Program. The House approved the measure by a 126-16 vote. The proposal is expected to get final approval in the House Wednesday. It next moves to the Senate, where observers believe it will have a tougher time emerging intact. The proposal by Rep. Sylvester Turner, R-Houston, would let parents re-enroll in the program every year instead of every six months. The measure also would eliminate the 90-day waiting period unless the child had recently been covered in another insurance plan.
Insurers Envision Hurricane Catastrophe for Florida
As far as the insurance industry is concerned, Florida -- and particularly its Gold Coast -- is another hurricane disaster waiting to happen, with more than $2 trillion worth of real estate at risk. The reason: seemingly unabated coastal construction, an economist said Friday at the closing session of the National Hurricane Conference. In south Miami Beach alone, 15 new condominiums are to be completed by next year, adding 2,111 units with an average price of $3.7 million each, said Robert P. Hartwig, president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute. That amounts to at least an additional $6 billion worth of exposure that insurance companies would have to cover should a hurricane hit, he said. Meanwhile, other metropolitan areas of the state, such as Tampa, also continue to grow rapidly, he said.
Mercury Insurance ad campaign continues to follow UFO Theorist Dr ...
In his follow-up to theMercury Insurance Television campaign of last year, director Ed Schumacher of Boy Genius follows UFO Theorist Dr. D.B. Selwick on his quest to prove that the low rates of Mercury Insurance are attributable to their extra-terrestrial origins. Since the original spots rolled out, awareness levels have skyrocketed, up to over 60% in Los Angeles and as high as 83% in Miami. Schumacher worked alongside copywriters Scott Corbett and Mark Cohen to develop the Mercury campaign. The doctor first welcomed people into his office last year, presenting the evidence that is the "Basis" for his theory: a UFO sighting and the establishment of Mercury Insurance are one day apart.
This time around, a mysterious "Crop Circle" in the form of the Mercury logo provides further proof of his theory - or does it? Going "Undercover" at the company's headquarters, Selwick looks for something conclusive, something irrefutable...
Business leads
Three South Florida public relations firms are among the top 100 in the 2007 O'Dwyer's Ranking of Independent PR Firms. The Jeffrey Group, Miami, tops the region at No. 72, with 2006 net fees of $3.7 million (up 16 percent from 2005). Wragg & Casas, Miami, is No. 73 ($3.6 million, up 38 percent), and Boardroom Communications, Plantation, is No. 96 ($2.1 million, up 12 percent). Others on the list: Thorp & Co., Miami (No. 102), Pierson Grant, Fort Lauderdale (No. 103), O'Connell & Goldberg, Hollywood (No. 106) and Transmedia, Boca Raton (No. 125).
Insurance
The Insurance Information Institute recently launched a new Web site to help small business owners understand their insurance coverage and save on their premiums.
The site, www.iii.org/smallbusiness includes information for specific types of business ranging from nonprofit organizations to retail businesses to farms.
BU golfers stand 2-3 at Bulls Bay
AWENDAW, S.C. — Jeremy Frye and Jeremy Alcorn posted their second straight sub-par rounds to move into second and third place individually Monday at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate golf tournament. Frye shot a 2-under 69 to move from sixth place to second at 5-under through 36 holes, four behind Central Florida’s Greg Forest. Alcorn posted a 68 and jumped from 11th to third, a shot behind his teammate. Baylor’s team total of 4-under 280 leaves the Bears tied for third with Florida State at 5-under 563. The Bears gained eight strokes on team leader Central Florida and trail the Golden Knights by five shots entering today’s final round. .
A Shadow in the field
It dwindles around the December holidays, as errant spouses retreat to the comforts of hearth and family. Among other things, that means a dip in business for private investigators, who are often called on to track the movements of illicit lovers.
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