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BREVARD WATCHLIST

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Follow the paper trail behind the latest news and hold local leaders and businesses accountable.


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07/22/2008 11:32 AM | Click to Comment

Jilted State Farm customer returns the favor


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By Matt Reed 

Sunday\'s column said it would be OK with me if State Farm hiked rates another 47 percent.

We\'ve slammed State Farm\'s price increases in the past. But the market has improved, customers have options and insurers should be able to position their products differently. If State Farm wants to sock it to loyal customers, those customers can go elsewhere or stay for the perceived safety and pay double or triple their neighbors’ premiums. Just like some people pay more to drive safe Chevy Suburbans.

Several readers confirmed our observation -- unique, apparently, among Florida media -- of an improving market.

Mark Byrnes of Rockledge had his home policy dropped by State Farm. He picked up another policy and forwarded us a copy of a letter to his State Farm agent canceling his remaining policies on his boat and 1999 Suburban. It\'s good reading. Exerpt:

\"I refuse to do any further business with a company that has enjoyed obscene profits over these 30 years and now is turning it’s back on long-time, loyal policyholders when we need them the most. The practice of eliminating HO exposure in \"coastal\" areas and \"cherry picking\" dwelling risks while collecting huge profits from the same policyholders’ auto and other insurance products should be illegal. Add this to State Farm’s outrageous rate increase requests over the last few years and it’s just a matter of time before people wake up and fight back with their wallets. Some day State Farm may come crawling back for our business with reasonable underwriting practices and more competitive rates.\"

Or, maybe it won\'t. Stay tuned.

To be fair to State Farm, we have received 3-4 calls and e-mails in the past week from State Farm customers who were not dropped, who received wind-mitigation discounts and pay very reasonable prices -- in the ballpark $700-$800 per year -- to State Farm. All live in relatively new houses on the mainland, in Melbourne or Palm Bay.

Bravo for them.

At the same time, we\'ve received a few dozen messages from State Farm clients who likewise were not dropped, but pay $5,000-$6,000 per year on middle-class homes, most of them 15-30 years old, on Merritt Island or the barrier island. To get a more localized sense of costs in your zip code, check out the \"Insurance Prices\" database under the Data Center column to the right. 

What do you make of the situation? Let us know.



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07/22/2008 11:32 AM Jilted State Farm customer returns the favor
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07/18/2008 11:29 AM | Click to Comment

Race for campaign cash heats up

By Eun Kim 

WASHINGTON - Democrat Suzanne Kosmas continued to raise more campaign cash than Rep. Tom Feeney, the Republican incumbent she hopes to defeat this fall, according to the latest financial reports.

Kosmas raised $479,227 during the quarter that ended June 30. The former state legislator from New Smyrna Beach closed the period with $936,026 cash on hand, according to documents she filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Feeney, an Oviedo Republican seeking his fourth term, raised $421,167 during the same quarter. He began the current reporting period with $795,052 in the bank.

Slightly more than half of Kosmas\' donations came from individuals. She received the rest from political action committees, including $37,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, $16,000 from Emily\'s List, $24,616 from ActBlue, and money from others affiliated with the party.

\"Suzanne Kosmas has seen overwhelming support because she connects with her community and she\'s a leader that they can trust,\" said her spokesman, Paul Dunn. \"It\'s clear Floridians are ready for a change.\"

Pepper Pennington, press secretary for Feeney, took note of the source of Kosmas\' donations.

\"Left-wing special-interest money can\'t buy votes from common-sense Central Floridians,\" she said. \"You can\'t buy a proven and principled record like Rep. Feeney\'s on issues like illegal immigration, irresponsible pork spending, and NASA advocacy.\"

Since entering the race last fall, Kosmas has outraised Feeney each financial quarter. She has received about $1.1 million overall. Feeney has raised a total $1.38 million.

Kosmas\' bid has drawn considerable help from the national Democratic party, which continually raises Feeney\'s ties to imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Feeney took a 2003 golf junket to Scotland with Abramoff. He repaid the government $5,643 to cover his expenses, although court documents later suggested his portion of the trip might have cost four times that amount.

The Justice Department has since opened a probe into the trip.

In his current financial report, Feeney lists $45,000 in legal fees paid to two Washington-based law firms. His campaign has paid more than $75,000 in such expenses during the current election cycle. That does not include more than $11,000 Feeney spent from a legal defense fund he created last year.

Before facing off against Feeney, Kosmas must first defeat primary opponent Clint Curtis, who raised $29,906 in the last quarter and closed with $13,567 in the bank.

Republican Jason Paul Davis and independent Gaurav Bhola also have filed to run, although their campaign reports were not immediately available Wednesday.

In the neighboring 15th Congressional District, a seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Dave Weldon at the end of the year, state Sen. Bill Posey holds the fundraising edge among his opponents.

The Melbourne Republican, who has been endorsed by Weldon, raised $220,275 this quarter and began the new fiscal period with $309,989 on hand.

Democrat Stephen Blythe of Melbourne reported taking in $12,022 and closed the quarter with $8,789 cash on hand. His primary election challenger, Paul Rancatore of Vero Beach, raised $6,290 in contributions, which includes a $5,800 loan he made to himself. Rancatore ended the quarter with $5,99 in the bank.

Others in the race include Republicans Alan Bergman of Indialantic and Kevin Lehoullier of Fellsmere. Running without a party affiliation are Trevor Lowing of Satellite Beach and Frank Zilaitis of Indian Harbour Beach. FEC reports were not available for their campaigns.



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07/18/2008 11:29 AM Race for campaign cash heats up
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07/16/2008 05:17 PM | Click to Comment

Listen to Watchdog live on your drive

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Tune in Thursday from 7-8 a.m. as Watchdog columnist Matt Reed tackles local issues on \"Bill Mick Live\" on NewsTalk 1240, WMMB-AM (1350 in Titusville and northern Brevard).



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07/16/2008 05:17 PM Listen to Watchdog live on your drive
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07/16/2008 01:14 PM | Click to Comment

Feds spending $1.5 billion to help the poor, cheap watch TV


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By Matt Reed

Nearly 90 percent of all Florida consumers now know about the nation\'s switch in February to digital television signals (requiring households that rely on antennae to buy converter boxes, purchase digital TVs or subscribe to cable or satellite service, like the rest of us), a National Association of Broadcasters survey found.

The downside: Uncle Sam is all the more likely to burn through $1.5 billion Congress earmarked -- in an age of breathtaking budget deficits and debt -- to hand out $40 converter-box spending cards to any American who requests one.

For any liberals or conservatives out there who are keeping score on which side is dumber when it comes to spending:

  • The digital-television act that created the coupons was passed under Republican control of the House and Senate and was signed by President Bush.
  • Democrats were just as dumb. They passed an emergency measure that would let consumers with unused coupons apply for new ones.

 



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07/16/2008 01:14 PM Feds spending $1.5 billion to help the poor, cheap watch TV
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07/16/2008 01:06 PM | Click to Comment

Road worthy? Cost of driver\'s ed goes up

 

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Driving instructor Trent Minch talks about jump starting a vehicle with Merritt Island High students. (file)

By Matt Reed 

Fees for driver education at Brevard County high schools will rise from $40 to $100 over the next two years, and officials point to the $300-$400 charged by private courses as partial justification.

But there\'s a big difference: At public high schools, students don\'t leave the parking lot, as I learned while observing Merritt Island High\'s class this past school year.

Luckily for them (not so much for us), the state bends its rules requiring 50 hours of road experience, 10 of them at night. Even some students question the wisdom of that: Several from Merritt Island told me they were nervous about not getting enough experience in real traffic.

\"Unfortunately, some parents leave it up to the school for all of their child\'s training,\" Merritt Island instructor Trent Minch told me in a follow-up e-mail. \"In Brevard County, the only driving experience some students get is on our driving range, and then they\'re eligible to receive a waiver for a driver\'s license.\"

What do you make of this? Should student drivers receive waivers like that?

FYI, the driver\'s education fees will increase by $100 for the next three years. The increase will be in yearly $20 increments. Currently, there is a $40 lab fee for driver\'s ed courses in Brevard County. The fee will increase to $60 next year. In school year 2010-11, the fee will increase to $100.



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07/16/2008 01:06 PM Road worthy? Cost of driver\'s ed goes up
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07/15/2008 03:36 PM | Click to Comment

State OKs new nuke plants

This just in, from Jim Ash, Florida Capital Bureau Chief:

TALLAHASSEE -- Progress Energy got a green light today from a unanimous Public Service Commission for a $17 billion nuclear energy project in Levy County that the regulators deemed necessary and cost effective.

The approval means the utility can begin charging its customers up front for the development costs as early as January, but the question of how much won\'t be decided until a meeting in September.

Company officials originally estimated that the typical customer will see a $9 increase in the monthly bill, but those figures are still being worked out.

The facility will be built about 10 miles north of the company\'s Crystal River Energy Facility and about eight miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Units 1 and 2 are projected to come on line in 2016 and 2017 and eventually generate 2,200 megawatts of power, or enough to supply 1.3 million average households.

“Pursuing nuclear generation helps to diversify Florida’s fuel supply and meet the state’s growing energy needs,” PSC chairman Matthew Carter said in a prepared statement. \"As directed by the Legislature, annual nuclear cost recovery proceedings will allow the Commission to monitor the project, including appropriate checks and balances, to make sure it continues to be in the customers\' best interest.\"

Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida lawmakers last year gave utility companies the power to charge customers for up-front costs to encourage nuclear development, citing the need to diversify fuel supplies and reduced green-house gas emissions.

But critics contend the move is unwise given the troubled history the industry ran into in the 1970s and 1980s when costs skyrocketed and projects were abandoned.

\"It\'s almost like these guys have amnesia from what happened 20 years ago,\" said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. \"In essence, the rate payers are going to fund the speculation that some time in the future, the utilities are going to be able to start generating a very expensive form of electricity, and this is before a single electron is produced.\"

What do you make of this move?



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07/15/2008 03:36 PM State OKs new nuke plants
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07/14/2008 09:46 AM | Click to Comment

Dems blast Crist\'s trip to Europe


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Gov. Crist and fiancee Carole Rome (AP)

By Jeff Schweers


The Florida Democratic Party has targeted Gov. Charlie Crist following news reports of his $255,000 four-nation tour of Europe. Crist has said he\'s taking the trip to promote Florida as a tourist and business expansion destination. Crist\'s itinerary includes stays in $1,115 and $1,800 a night hotel rooms.

Crist is leading a group of 94 business, academic and government officials on a trip that will take him to London, Paris, St. Petersburg, Paris and Madrid. Taxpayers will pay $254,918 for Crist and his staff. The Miami Herald reports that taxpayers are also spending $41,000 to fly the lobbyist and business leaders on the trip.

\"During a year when schools, fire and police departments, health care providers and everyday people are forced to make tough decisions about their finances because of failed Republican economic policies and record gas prices, no responsible governor would have the audacity to spend more than $225,000 of the taxpayers\' money jet setting around Europe with his fiancée,\" Florida Democratic Party Communications Director Eric Jotkoff said in a July 11 news release.

Carole Rome, Crist\'s fiancee, is going on the trip as a representative of her family business, a Halloween costume company. She\'s paying for her own air fare and room and board, the Herald reported.

The harshest criticism from state Democrats though was reserved for the $1,800 he was paying for a hotel suite in London, and $1,115 for a night in Madrid, according to a Miami Herald report. 

\"Certainly the \'People\'s Governor\' should not spend $1,800 of state money for one night in a hotel room,\" Jotkoff said.

A Floridian making minimum wage would have to work 40 hours a week for almost 7 full weeks to earn enough money to pay for Crist\'s room in London, he said.

Jotkoff was also upset that taxpayers were footing the bill for a personal photographer to come along.

\"I don\'t see how pictures of Crist and his fiancée visiting Buckingham Palace or standing in front of the Eiffel Tower are going to help sell Florida tourism,\" Jotkoff said. \"Guess we\'ll have to wait for the proofs.\"

What do you make of the trip and expenses?

 

 



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07/14/2008 09:46 AM Dems blast Crist\'s trip to Europe
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07/09/2008 08:46 AM | Click to Comment

voltz campaign flyer misses the math


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By JEFF SCHWEERS
 
Nobody disputes the bad math on Helen Voltz\'s campaign brochure for property appraiser.  But FLORIDA TODAY reporter Susanne Cervenka\'s story raises issues about how it got there.
 
The brochure states that under Jim Ford, the Property Appraiser\'s budget has gone up 70 percent in five years. Ford disputes that calculation, and the dollar figures she uses in the chart on her brochure. But even giving her the benefit of the doubt, he notes that even using her own information shows only a 42 percent increase. Giving intentionally misleading and inaccurate information on campaign literature is the basis of a complaint he filed with the state Elections Commission.
  
Instead of taking responsibility for the error, Voltz has tried to shift the blame to the county staffers who sent her the information. She sent the information to the printers without checking. \"I assumed the information was correct. Why would they send me the wrong information?\" she said. \"Somebody screwed up and we\'ll have to rectify it.\"
 
Under Florida law, candidates are ultimately responsible for what appears in their campaign literature, not the people who provided the information.
 
And that opens another ethical can of worms for Voltz. According to a public records request by Cervenka, the e-mail request from Voltz came from her campaign account. But she still is one of the five bosses of Stockton Whitten, the assistant county manager over all county finances.
 
Is it possible for anyone reading that e-mail to tell whether the request was from Voltz the candidate or Voltz the commissioner? Was there another way for Voltz to obtain the property appraiser information on her own, say by contacting the Property Appraiser\'s finance director or even the Florida Department of Revenue?
 
But it really comes down to one question voters ultimately have to ask themselves when they stand at the voting booth August 26. Do they want to elect a person who doesn\'t double-check her math to an office that is responsible for determining the taxable value of their homes and properties?


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07/09/2008 08:46 AM voltz campaign flyer misses the math
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07/01/2008 10:38 AM | Click to Comment

New law requires firing teachers with criminal pasts

 

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A new law taking effect today disqualifies people from jobs in schools if they\'ve ever been convicted of certain crimes, capitol correspondent Paul Flemming reports. 

The new law requires retroactive background checks of the criminal records of teachers and employees who come into contact with students. The \"disqualifying felonies\" almost all stem from violence, sexual abuse of children or serious drug cases -- not DUI, posession or other less-serious offenses. Among the disqualifying crimes:

  • Murder
  • Manslaughter
  • Aggravated assault or battery
  • Sexual assault or lewd behavior with a child
  • Exhibiting a gun or weapon at a school-sponsored event or on school property
  • Prostitution
  • Indecent exposure
  • Child abuse, aggravated child abuse or neglect
  • Resisting arrest with violence

Click HERE to read or download the original text.



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07/01/2008 10:38 AM New law requires firing teachers with criminal pasts
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06/30/2008 12:18 PM | Click to Comment

UPDATE: Who\'s really drilling south of Fla., as legend of Chinese deal continues


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NASA photo 

By Eun Kim

WASHINGTON -- Bogus claims China is drilling for oil off the Florida coast continue to circulate almost three weeks after they were revealed as urban legend. Drilling proponents \"are using China as a boogeyman,\" said Jorge Pinion, an energy expert at the University of Miami\'s Center for Hemispheric Policy.

So what\'s the truth?

China\'s oil company, Sinopec, has an agreement with Cuba, but its lease is for an onshore site and no actual drilling has taken place, Pinion said. The closest threat to U.S. waters is a joint venture between Norway and Spain, about 65 miles south of Key West.

But crying out \"The Norwegians are coming! The Norwegians are coming!\" doesn\'t have the same alarmist value as \"The Chinese are coming!\" Pinion said.

The erroneous claim China is drilling for oil 60 miles off the coast of Florida got new attention after Vice President Dick Cheney repeated it in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on June 11. He retracted the comments a day later, saying he had based them on a column written by George Will. Will has since issued a correction saying \"no Chinese company has been involved in Cuba\'s oil exploration that close to the United States.\"

Companies holding offshore Cuban oil leases:

  • Repsol YFP (Spain)
  • Norsk Hydro ASA (Norway)
  • ONGC Ltd. (India)
  • Sherritt International (Canada)
  • PetroVienam (Vietnam)
  • Petronas (Malaysia)
  • PDVSA - Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (Venezuela)

Companies that hold Cuban leases to drill in on-shore blocks:

  • SinoPac (China)
  • Sherritt International (Canada)
  • Pebercan Inc. (Canada)

List source: University of Miami\'s Center for Hemispheric Policy


 



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06/30/2008 12:18 PM UPDATE: Who\'s really drilling south of Fla., as legend of Chinese deal continues
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