News & Public Affairs

Preview of Citizens sinkhole insurance rate hike hearing at Tampa Convention Center listen

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Tags: sinkholes, Citizens Property Insurance, rate increase, Citizens, insurance, Mike Fasano

Many homeowners in the Tampa Bay region could face steep rate hikes on sinkhole insurance premiums. This afternoon there is a hearing at the Tampa Convention Center on proposed rate increases by state’s government-backed insurance program. State legislators held a press conference to voice opposition to the hikes this morning.

Citizen’s Property insurance has reacted to a higher number of sinkhole claims by ...

Tampa Bay homeowners outraged over Citizens sinkhole insurance rate hikes

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Tags: Citizens Property Insurance, sinkholes, sinkhole, sb 408, insurance rates, insurance, insurance industry, mortgages, fraud, Mike Fasano

More than a hundred furious protestors shouted and waved signs outside Pasco County government offices yesterday. They rallied to protest massive rate hikes proposed for sinkhole insurance coverage.

Last year there were far more sinkhole rate claims in the Tampa Bay area than in previous years. While many say the drought is to blame, some politicians in Tallahassee think fraud is at work. So State Senate Bill 408 was written to address the fraud, but also did away with a 10% annual rate h...

SWFWMD Board Considers Impact of January Freeze listen

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Tags: SWFWMD, swiftmud, water, drought, sinkholes

During this January’s hard freeze, farmers sprayed well water onto their plants to protect them from the cold. There’s still controversy over who will pay for damaged wells and roads.

More than 50 people today attended the Southwest Florida Water Management District Board meeting at Hillsborough Community College Plant City campus. Plant City homeowner Steven Gambrells is concerned that the high volume of water pumped from the Flori...

Sinkholes cost the state over half a million dollars. listen

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Tags: sinkholes, Transportation

Sinkholes and depressions along the I-4 corridor have cost Florida taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair costs. WMNF spoke with Marian Scorza from the Department of transportation.

Marian Scorza: "The preliminary costs are approximately $675,000. That's doing the grouting, that's checking with the ground penetrating radar,and in some cases milling and resurfacing the area, so it's a variety of different things. There was an actual sinkhole on the Branch Forbes entrance ...

Are the sinkholes that are closing highways due to agricultural water use? listen

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Tags: swiftmud, sinkholes, drought

In Polk and eastern Hillsborough counties, many wells are drying up and several sinkholes have developed. Some of these sinkholes have closed major highways.

Sinkholes can form when groundwater levels drop dramatically, leading to the collapse of underground limestone caverns. According to Southwest Florida Water Management District spokesperson Robyn Felix, rates of groundwater pumping have been high during the last two weeks of freezing and near-freezin...