FLORIDA DIGEST January 08, 2007

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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16394131.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp


Posted on Mon, Jan. 08, 2007


Alex Sink's take on Florida's insurance crisis
Alex Sink, Florida's new chief financial officer, discusses the state'sinsurance crisis and offers solutions to the problem.
BY BEATRICE E. GARCIA
bgarcia@MiamiHerald.com



Don't be fooled by Adelaide ''Alex'' Sink's laid-back Southern drawl.

The North Carolina native has proved her mettle as a bank executive -- sheserved as Florida president for Bank of America, overseeing more than $40billion in assets for seven years. Now, as Florida's new chief financialofficer, she's ready to take on the insurance industry to help pull thestate out of its deepening insurance crisis.

Sink took advantage of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners'winter meeting last month to meet with several major insurers.

''I told them to stop sitting in a corner complaining,'' she recalls.``We're at the point in Florida where insurance companies are very wellregarded.''




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The Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16407180.htm


Posted on Mon, Jan. 08, 2007

LEGACY
Jeb Bush left many worse off

BY HOWARD L. SIMON
hsaclu@aol.com

The Jeb Bush administration is over. How should the legacy of the last eightyears be characterized?

Anyone who has followed the state government in Tallahassee appreciates thatBush is engaging, telegenic and intelligent. But as accolades are heaped onour former governor, the last eight years also deserve a sober review.Bush's personal appeal and likability have led the press and the public tooverlook the extremism of many of his policies.

In office Bush had a Reaganesque Teflon quality -- he seemed to be immunefrom blame for the harsh consequences of his policies and the mismanagementof the reins of state government. Take the Department of Children & Families(DCF), which has been responsible for lost, brutalized and murdered childrenin foster care and which the press perennially refers to as a ''troubledagency.'' This characterization created a picture of a governor who lackedultimate responsibility for personnel decisions and the human consequencesof his budget-slashing inclinations for social services.



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The Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-cteen08jan08,0,5323812,print.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines


Boy, 13, fatally shot, becomes Broward's 7th slain this year

By Marlene Naanes
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

January 8, 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE -- A 13-year-old boy on Sunday morning became the seventhand youngest Broward resident to die violently in the first seven days of2007.

Carry Tromper and his 11-year-old cousin went over to a 15-year-oldneighbor's house to get a video game. The trip ended in Carry's death bygunfire, according to investigators who are treating the incident as an openhomicide case.

The boys' plan was to return home and enjoy the PlayStation game together asneighbors in their Sunday best headed to church just before 9:30 a.m.Moments after the boys left, the 11-year-old cousin and the 15-year-oldneighbor bolted to Carry's house, in the 1500 block of Northwest SeventhAvenue, screaming that Carry was shot, relatives said later.



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Florida Today

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070108/OPINION/701080307/1004/opinion&template=printart


January 8, 2007


Our view: Political meltdown

Crist and lawmakers must stand up to the insurance industry's threats

The special session of the Legislature on insurance starts next week, andthe insurance industry is fighting back against attempts at major reform.

Take the not so veiled threats from Barney Bishop, CEO of the powerfulAssociated Industries of Florida whose coalition includes insurers.

Bishop is warning of a "meltdown" and "financial house of cards" that couldfurther damage the state's economy if Gov. Charlie Crist and lawmakers forceinsurers to lower rates and underwrite more risk.

We've got news for Bishop.

There's going to be meltdown, all right, but it's going to come from votersif the lawmakers they sent to Tallahassee don't come through withsubstantial reform that eases the insurance crisis promptly.




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Forwarded from Rusty Gordon and Davy Whims
The Whimsy Loops
twpchwpb@BellSouth.Net

Florida
GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 07-01
January 3, 2007
Contact:
ERIN ISAAC
(850) 488-5394

STATE OF FLORIDA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 07-01

WHEREAS, the Constitutions of the United States and of Florida provide that“We, the people” establish our federal and state governments; and (sic)....

Section 1. I hereby direct the immediate adoption and implementation of aCode of Ethics by the Office of the Governor. This Code of Ethics applies toall employees within the Office of the Governor, as well as the secretaries,deputy secretaries, and chiefs of staff of all executive agencies under mypurview. This Code of Ethics imposes clear, understandable standards thatoften go beyond the statutory Code of Ethics set forth in Chapter 112, PartIII, Florida Statutes.

Each agency secretary is further directed to review and evaluate the currentpolicies adopted at his or her agency in light of this Code of Ethics, witha view to using this Code as the base standard for his or her agency andadjusted for those unique program requirements and variables for his or heragency. Agency secretaries are to implement any agency-specific adjustmentsto the Code within forty-five (45) days of the date of this Order.

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George Hester's Classic Nudes Exhibit Opens January 8

ArtsUnited will feature the original photography of pioneer artist GeorgeHester in a solo exhibit at the Stonewall Library and Archives from January8 through February 2, 2007. The show opens with a reception to meet theartist on Monday, January 8 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Admission to the exhibitand reception are free and open to the public. The Stonewall Library andArchives is located at 1717 North Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale,Florida.

George Hester's exhibit titled "Classic Nudes" is a collection of worksfrom his first three books, "The Classic Nude"(1973), "Man"(1975) and"Woman" (1975). Hester is a part of history, since those were the firstpublished books of nude photography in the U.S.

George began painting as a hobby at a very young age. After a stint inWWII, he turned his art interests into a career as an art director for majordepartment stores in new York. That experience inspired his love ofphotography. He decided to focus on male and female nudes, which wasrelatively undeveloped at that time.

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