Things To Do In SW Florida

State-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. may continue to pursue more than 400 claims through an alternative dispute system that critics say produces rulings favorable to the insurer.

A circuit judge from Leon County, Jonathan Sjostrom, signed an order on Friday saying that state law authorizes the company to send pending lawsuits to the Department of Administrative Hearings rather than the court system.

The ruling requires DOAH to move forward on pending arbitration cases that have been stalled since Aug. 1. A Citizens spokesman said Monday that he doesn’t know whether the order allows it to send new cases to the panel. Seven other cases recently approved by judges will proceed, the spokesman said.

The ruling by Sjostrom overturns a statewide injunction issued by Melissa Mary Polo, a Hillsborough County circuit judge overseeing Citizens policyholder Martin Alvarez’s challenge of Citizens’ right to divert a claim to the DOAH panel.

Alvarez and other plaintiffs have argued that Citizens’ diversion of the cases — permitted under a 2023 law and required by a policy provision that cannot be declined — violates policyholders’ constitutionally guaranteed access to the courts. read more

By KELVIN CHAN, Associated Press

Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, iPhone users can now add their passport details to their Apple digital wallets.

The company on Wednesday unveiled its new “Digital ID” system for users to add their U.S. passport information to Apple Wallet, which can be scanned at airport readers if travelers don’t have a Real ID.

Digital ID acceptance “will roll out first in beta” at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at more than 250 U.S. airports for “in-person identity verification during domestic travel.”

The company warned that Digital ID doesn’t replace a physical passport and can’t be used for international travel and crossing borders.

Apple already allowed people in 12 states and Puerto Rico to add their driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, while TSA already accepts some form of a digital ID in at least 16 states and Puerto Rico.

“You can breeze through more than 250 TSA checkpoints faster and more securely than ever before,” the agency’s website says. read more

Out on his farm in Dundee Township, Cliff McConville sees geese landing in the fields where his turkeys and chickens graze. It’s a sight that often unnerves poultry producers, as migratory waterfowl carry and spread a highly infectious strain of bird flu that has been resurging in the United States for the last three years.

So far this year, McConville’s farm and most turkey farms in Illinois — of which there are more than 400 — have not been affected by the disease. Eight farms in the state have reported cases to the federal government, and only two of those were turkey flocks.

“We raise them outdoors,” McConville said of the poultry operations at All Grass Farms in the northwest suburbs. “They’re going to mix with (wild) birds. So we just have to do our best to keep them healthy. … That’s worked for us so far. Knock on wood.”

But larger turkey-producing states have been hit hard in the past couple of months. Nearly 2 million turkeys have been affected by bird flu across the country since August, accounting for roughly 24% of all new cases in commercial and backyard flocks, even though turkeys only account for approximately 2% of the U.S. poultry inventory. read more

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — As workers face frozen salaries, inflation and fear of layoffs, some have decided to branch out from their traditional careers. They’re taking on side jobs to bring in additional income and provide a backup plan should they find themselves out of work, or adding second, third and sometimes fourth jobs — what some call “polyworking” — to the mix.

Take Katelyn Cusick, 29. She beautifies displays as a visual merchandiser for Patagonia at her full-time job. Then she works a side gig managing social media influencers for a German shoe brand for 10 to 15 hours per week. She also has an Etsy shop where she sells paintings. If that wasn’t enough, she ushers at concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area — a way to see live shows for free.

“Every day is different and every day feels like a new day,” Cusick said. “That is ultimately why I started doing all these side hustles, just because I wanted to switch it up. I don’t want to just do the same thing every day.” read more

By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The biennial Dubai Air Show opened on Monday with hometown airline Emirates ordering 65 of Boeing’s upcoming 777-9 aircraft, as the carrier looks to increase its fleets off record earnings and unending demand for flights through this East-West travel hub.

Emirates valued the deal with Boeing and GE Engines at $38 billion at list prices, although airlines often negotiate lower prices in major orders.

Emirates is betting big on Boeing’s next plane

The announcement brings the total of Boeing 777-9s on order for Emirates to 270, making it Boeing’s largest customer for the aircraft, even as the plane has suffered repeated delays in entering service. Emirates relies heavily on the double-decker Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777, and has also started flying the Airbus A350.

“It’s a long-term commitment that supports hundreds of thousands of high-value factory jobs, and it reinforces our 40-year partnership with Boeing and GE,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates. read more