TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Power & Light Co. has cut its proposed rate increase by reducing the costs it wants to pass on to customers for executive bonuses and pay raises as well as corporate aircraft.

FPL spokeswoman Jackie Anderson said Thursday the utility agreed to split those expenses between customers and shareholders because it didn't want those relatively small items to be a distraction.

The Public Service Commission had questioned those expenses during hearings on the rate request this week.

»www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art···BGB0TG0

More interesting read here: »www.palmbeachpost.com/news/conte···sen.html

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer - Tue Oct 13, 2009 4:47PM EDT

NEW YORK - A small Miami-based company said the U.S. government has given it permission to lay the first optical communications fiber from the U.S.

FPL customers could see a 6.5 percent drop in their monthly electric bills starting next year – even if regulators approve its request to increase base rates by $1.3 billion, FPL announced Thursday.

FPL submitted new fuel estimates to the Public Service Commission days before the agency holds meetings to weigh the proposed base rate increase.

Josh Hafenbrack and Julie Patel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel


Tallahassee - A state regulator on Thursday called for an independent financial audit into Florida Power & Light Co.'s use of corporate jets, an emerging flash point in the lengthy, high-profile fight over the utility's request for a record rate increase.

The state's Public Service Commission, battered by conflict-of-interest allegations related to PSC staffers' ties to FPL employees, announced a two-month delay on its decision setting power rates for 4.5 million Florida customers.

By LESLIE SCISM

Burgeoning state-created insurance pools that provide hurricane coverage in coastal areas have fueled a perception that rich homeowners are getting too good a deal. A new law in North Carolina asks both coastal and inland policyholders to give ground.

BY JOSE PAGLIERY

The Florida Turnpike was closed entirely Monday morning after a fuel tanker overturned, spilling flammable liquid across the highway.

The 2:30 a.m.

By JENNIFER KAY, Associated Press Writer Jennifer Kay, Associated Press Writer – Fri Sep 11, 5:01 pm ET
MIAMI – It may be tempting the weather gods just to point this out, but this has been a dud of a hurricane season so far.

Only two hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic over the past three months, and neither hit the U.S.

Florida wildlife officials seized a dozen pythons and arrested a 19-year-old man in an undercover sting after getting a tip that the snakes were being sold on Craigslist without a proper license.

Investigators from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission met Bradley Scott Dean at a gas station in New Port Richey, Fla., on Wednesday night under the guise of wanting to buy several Burmese pythons from him, MyFOXTampaBay reported.

By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Writer - Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:05AM EDT

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Nestled near a row of sultry, silvery-green palm trees and a 205-foot-long infinity pool, room 1508 at the National Hotel on South Beach is a portrait of Art Deco luxury.

Federal stimulus money is paying for more than roads and bridges during this economic downturn. Ecological projects are part of the mix -- and that bodes well for Florida.

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Walt Disney World employee died on Sunday in a collision of monorail trains carrying tourists at the theme-park complex in central Florida, according to a theme park spokeswoman.

The futuristic elevated trains collided near the entrance to the sprawling resort's Magic Kingdom park around 2 a.m.

The Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. -- Hillsborough County authorities say an Internet posting about a woman trying to sell her 18-month-old baby is a hoax.

By CURT ANDERSON - AP Legal Affairs Writer

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- When the sharp pain shooting through Lisa Strong's back got worse, she thought it was another kidney stone and expected the discomfort to pass.

By Christine Buurma

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Florida regulators on Tuesday approved Progress Energy's request for a $6.5 million interim electric rate increase.

Progress Energy Florida, a utility owned by Progress Energy Inc.

Proving that he’s as good as his word, all-but-declared governor candidate, S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, announced today that they will move forward with a criminal investigation and potential prosecution.

The Associated Press

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Federal regulators are sitting down to answer questions about safety performance at a South Carolina nuclear plant.

By John Davis

State health officials confirmed a case of swine flu in Orange County on Sunday, bringing the total number of people with the virus statewide to three. The third case is a 14-year-old girl visiting from Mexico who has returned to her home country.

Q & A: What You Need To Know About Swine Flu

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A never-before-seen strain of swine flu has turned killer in Mexico and is causing milder illness in the United States and elsewhere. While authorities say it's not time to panic, they are taking steps to stem the spread and also urging people to pay close attention to the latest health warnings and take their own precautions.

By Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee Bureau

The Senate has passed an insurance bill-light that would allow state-run Citizens Property Insurance to raise homeowners rates on its mostly coastal customers by 5 percent annually to help make the company financially solvent.

Now the two chambers must reconcile whether to allow the state insurer of last resort a more rapid cash build-up under the House version sponsored by Rep.

»www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=24982

Tennessee pilot David Powell is among 1,400 volunteer pilots who offer to transport people in need of medical attention as part of the Airlift Hope project. The transportation is offered for free and the program is supported entirely through the volunteer pilots, who donate the costs of each flight with tax-deductible donations, and from grants.