Monthly Archives: <span>April 2008</span>

New Storm Monitoring Technique Adopted by Hurricane Forecasters

The National Hurricane Center will implement a new technique this summer, developed by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), to continually monitor landfalling storms in the United States. The system, which …

West Virginia Cracks Down on Young Boaters Who Skip Safety Training

Young West Virginia boaters who avoid mandatory safety training are being targeted by the Division of Natural Resources. A 2001 state law requires anyone born after Dec. 31, 1986, to have at least seven hours of training and carry a …

Missoula Veteran Wins Malpractice Suit Against VA Hospital

A Missoula Navy veteran has been awarded $622,739 after winning a medical malpractice lawsuit against a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City, where a series of failed operations left him permanently disabled. James L. Lamb, 69, filed the lawsuit …

Malpractice Insurer to Give Back $11 Million to Illinois Doctors

Illinois doctors will get a refund collectively worth $11 million from the state’s largest medical malpractice insurer. The Illinois State Medical Insurance Exchange says claims are down. That means doctors will get credits when they renew their policies. Individual doctors …

Scientists Baffled by Unusual Swarm of Earthquakes off Oregon Coast

Scientists listening to underwater microphones have detected an unusual swarm of earthquakes off central Oregon, something that often happens before a volcanic eruption — except there are no volcanoes in the area. Scientists don’t know exactly what the earthquakes mean, …

Rains Continue to Swell Mississippi River, Force Evacuations

With a quarter million acres of farmland already under water and scores of residents forced from their homes, predictions now call for the Mississippi River to crest late this week at levels not seen since the 1973 flood. Continuing heavy …

Iowa Woman Jailed for Allegedly Using Stolen Credit Card to Pay Court Costs

A Clinton, Iowa woman is in custody after allegedly using a credit card number stolen from a past employer to pay for court costs. Courtney Gay, 26, was arrested earlier this week and charged with credit card fraud, identity theft …

Police: Trucker Tied to Beaver County Arson Through GPS Device

Police in New Brighton, Pa. say a Beaver County trucker’s global positioning device led them to charge him with setting his own home on fire. Forty-eight-year-old Thomas Reinhardt, of New Brighton, is jailed on $150,000 bond on arson and other …

Ratings Recap: PMI Australia, Feuersozietaet, Avalon Re, Ste. General de RĂ©assurance

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its insurer financial strength rating on the Australian mortgage insurer PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd. (PMI Australia) by one notch to ‘AA-‘ from ‘AA’. The rating remains on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they …

S&P Rates Berkshire Hathaway Assurance ‘AAA’; Outlook Stable

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘AAA’ financial strength and financial enhancement ratings to Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp. (BHAC). S&P also assigned its ‘AAA’ financial enhancement rating to Columbia Insurance Co. The outlook on both these entities is …