| State Farm dropping rates
Not only is the state's largest auto insurance company dropping its rates in Hamilton and surrounding areas, it's passing out free money, too. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company — State Farm's auto division — is decreasing customer rates nationwide as a result of company performance and a drop in the number and severity of claims during the past three years. .
People in Business
People in Business publishes announcements of employee promotions and workplace awards for people who work or live in Santa Cruz County. Send information to the Business Desk, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Box 638, Santa Cruz, CA 95061; fax to 429-9620; or e-mail jgumz@santacruzsentinel.com. Please put 'PEOPLE IN BUSINESS' in the subject line; high resolution photos 200 dpi run on a space-available basis. Deadline is noon Wednesday.
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Budget Motel likely to be demolished
Preston Whisenant, the new owner of the Budget Motel, is planning to demolish the structure at 1311 N. Tennessee Street in approximately 10 days to build a retail shopping center at the location -- after asbestos is removed from the property.Whisenant purchased the property last Wednesday and the 22 former tenants of the motel have found new homes. They were asked to move by Sean Wang, the former motel manager, after the city of McKinney's Code Enforcement Department deemed the property a substandard structure after a November 2006 inspection.The city gave the former motel owner approximately 60 days to repair approximately 58 items that were not up to citycode in the inspection. City code enforcement and fire department staff conducted the inspection based on a notice that originated at the McKinney Fire Department last fall, according to city staff.However, the former owner did not make the repairs because he did not have enough money to repair the building, which needs a new roof and new sewer lines, Wang said.The property was placed up for sale after the inspection and the tenants had to find other places to live.
Sports Spasms
Monty Pfleider stopped by Saturday, fresh in from a turkey hunt in which his 11-year-old son bagged his first tom. Dad got one, too, both turkeys were young, with three to four inch beards. What Monty really wanted to do was get my e-mail address so that he could send me a photo of the feral hog that he killed while bow hunting for deer. Earlier I reported that the hog was taken a short time back, but Monty informs me that it was in mid-January on the last day of doe season, and that there was two or three inches of ice on the ground at the time. Monty had a corn dispenser as a deer plant, and when he approached it to begin his hunt he saw the hog scurrying away from it. Upon closer inspection, Monty found that the hog had managed to cave in one leg of the feeder and that the corn was spilled on the ground.
Commission reviews insurance, departmental reports
Mike Reilly with Reilly and Sons Insurance met with the Leavenworth County Commission on Thursday to discuss county liability coverage. Reilly and Sons is the local insurance agent for the county's coverage with EMC Insurance.According to Reilly, the Leavenworth County Courthouse is insured for $8.2 million. The county has a total insured value of $54 million for every facility location."Our concern with the courthouse is that we need to do more appraisals with the reconstruction costs," Reilly 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.
DealerTrack Wins 2007 Dealers' Choice Award
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., April 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRAK) today announced that it has been named the recipient of the Diamond Award in the Desking Software category of the Auto Dealer Monthly 2007 Dealers' Choice Awards. The Diamond Award is the highest in the category. Desking is a process in which dealers structure the best deal and present the customer with different financing options to meet customer needs and their own profitability objectives. "We at DealerTrack are honored to receive this prestigious award from Auto Dealer Monthly," said Raj Sundaram, Senior Vice President of Dealer Solutions at DealerTrack. "We believe that SalesMaker offers the richest functionality of any desking solution on the market, integrating sales, finance, inventory and desking to help dealers structure the most profitable deals.
New Travelinsure Website - Instant, Customised Travel Insurance
Consumers often rely on the travel insurance available as part of their credit card facility, medical aid cover or insurance policies, risking being stranded in a foreign country with inadequate cover. Now, travellers can obtain customised travel insurance, delivered to their e-mail instantly, from the innovative new Travelinsure website and ensure they are never left stranded in a foreign country without the funds to receive adequate assistance or medical treatment. (PRWeb) March 22, 2007 -- Relying on the free travel insurance available as part of a credit card facility, medical aid cover or insurance policies, could leave travellers stranded in a foreign country without sufficient cover for adequate assistance or medical treatment. An innovative new website created by Travelinsure (www.travelsure.co.za) allows travellers to obtain customised travel insurance, which is delivered to their e-mail instantly.
Holding the Line on Employee Benefits Costs
If you want to get small-business owners riled up, ask them how much they're spending on employee health-care coverage. What can small employers do to hold down costs? To explore this and other questions, we spoke with Dan McCarthy, a principal in the New York life and health practice at Milliman Inc., a New York-based consulting firm whose clients include small employers. Mr. McCarthy is an actuary and a former chairman of Milliman. WSJ.com: How can small employers know if their employee benefits are cost effective? Mr. McCarthy: There really are no standard measures to judge the cost effectiveness of ... .
Paying to stand in line takes the daylight robbery biscuit
Paying bills used to be a simple affair: you handed cash over a counter or posted a cheque. Nowadays we have a choice of many different payment methods but do they offer good service? There are no fewer than nine ways to pay a Telstra bill, for example: direct debit from a cheque, savings or credit card account; by telephone from a savings or cheque account; on the internet from a savings or cheque account; using BPAY, where your financial institution pays out for you from a cheque or savings account; in person at a post office by cash, cheque or savings account; a Coles ATM with a debit card from a savings or cheque account; in person at a Telstra shop with cash, cheque or credit card; using a credit card by phone or the internet, and a cheque in the post. What seems impossible to decide is which is actually the cheapest way to pay a bill.
Martin owners want to be able to upgrade if mobile homes destroyed
PORT SALERNO -- After Bob McPherson lost his double-wide mobile home to hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004, his insurance company provided a maximum $40,000 toward the $130,000 replacement structure. The company then dropped McPherson's insurance altogether, and the 77-year-old retiree signed on with Citizens, which is considered Florida's "insurance of last resort." The $1,700 annual premium on the three-bedroom, two-bathroom mobile home's $95,000 coverage includes a $5,000 deductible, leaving him to come up with the balance if the structure is lost to a storm. .
Iowa senator to seek information about OSU life insurance plan
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - An Iowa senator wants more information about a program to use life insurance benefits to provide millions of dollars for Oklahoma State University's athletic department.Congressional Quarterly first reported Sen. Chuck Grassley's interest in a proposal being pushed by major OSU donor Boone Pickens."Senator Grassley is generally interested in how tax-exempt entities such as universities are using their tax-exempt status or being used for their tax-exempt status," spokeswoman Jill Gerber told the Tulsa World's Washington bureau.Grassley, R-Iowa, hasn't contacted OSU officials for specific information, but Gerber confirmed that he is interested in getting more details.In an article he submitted to the Iowa City Press-Citizen several weeks ago, Grassley said he launched a broad review of how tax laws were used after the Sept.
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