Officials Scurry to Enact Housing Program by Deadline
On paper it’s so simple. Buy your first home and get an $8,000 tax credit from Uncle Sam. Can’t afford the down payment? The State of Florida will loan it to you. But you must act quickly. The deal ends December 1. That, in a nutshell, is the crux of a $30 million state-backed program [...]
Obama: U.S., Russia ‘Share Common Interests’
President Obama set a new tone for U.S.-Russian relations during his two days in Moscow, but it will take months to determine how successful this first summit has been. The two governments must finalize the details of new nuclear arms cuts and debate Russia’s objections to a proposed U.S. missile-defense system near its border. The [...]
Citizens Property Insurance Board Approves Rate Changes
Florida’s largest property insurer on Wednesday approved a 10 percent rate hike for many of its nearly 1 million customers, while at the same time also approving up to a 10 percent rate decrease for other eligible customers. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. had frozen its rates for three years but state lawmakers this past session [...]
ESPN Takes Flight for Home Run Derby
Anything that saves us valuable seconds – instant messaging, instant coffee – propels progress. And on Monday’s Home Run Derby – often cable TV’s highest-rated summer event – ESPN debuts this time saver: on-screen graphics projecting whether balls in flight will end up as homers. Such network projections can’t be based on exit polls. ESPN, [...]
California Hands Out More IOUs
California wrote another 12,500 IOUs on Tuesday rather than pay all its bills in cash, the latest chapter in the financial mess engulfing the nation’s most populous state. Last week’s decision by state Controller John Chiang to issue “registered warrants” instead of checks to taxpayers owed refunds, vendors and other groups was the most dramatic [...]
Final Applications for Chancellorship Filter In
The Florida Board of Governors is a few days off from seeing the final list of applicants for the top job running the state university system. So far, the Board of Govenrors has seen 10 applications for the chancellorship, a job vacated by new Florida International University President Mark Rosenberg earlier this year. University of [...]
NBA’s Hunt for Bargains is On
Free agency offers NBA have-nots the chance to instantly improve their teams, but this year the strong teams would seem to have gotten stronger. The poor economic climate was a factor as the last two NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, sought stars at bargain prices. With the signing period open as [...]
On Phone: Better to Be Seen, Not Heard
Years ago, there was an invention that never made it to the masses for good reason. It was a terrible idea. It was a video phone that not only let you talk to someone but let you see him, too. I remember my mother saying she’d never talk on the phone again – or at [...]
Jackson Memorial a Tasteful Sendoff
The memorial service for Michael Jackson, staged in a sports arena filled with 20,000 pop-music fans, had the potential to become overblown and garish. Jackson’s global stardom made his life anything but measured, and organizers of the service could have veered toward an over-the-top scenario. And with thousands of fans of all ages, many of [...]
Poll: Support for Palin Still Strong Among GOP
Sarah Palin’s bombshell that she will resign as Alaska governor actually has boosted her a bit among Republicans, a nationwide USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, though it also has dented her standing among Democrats and independents. Palin, tapped by GOP presidential nominee John McCain as his running mate last year, remains a favorite of Republicans and [...]
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