| Personal bankruptcies jump 96% in Metro Orlando
Amid the growing mortgage-debt crisis, personal bankruptcies nearly doubled in Metro Orlando last year, although they remained far lower than the record levels earlier this decade, according to court figures released this week.
Nearly 7,060 debtors declared insolvency in Orlando's federal bankruptcy court in 2007, up 96 percent from 2006, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida reported.
Fueled by the mortgage crisis, personal bankruptcy is reaching all levels of the income spectrum -- from affluent professionals to lower-income subprime borrowers, bankruptcy lawyers said.
.
Former Mitt PAC worker jailed
Elliott, 26, is a registered sex offender who was convicted in Iowa in October 2006 of exploiting a minor, according to public records. His rap sheet in Iowa also includes charges of escaping from authorities and violating the state’s sex offender registry, records show. He is being held in Polk County jail on three probation violations. A law enforcement source said the escape charge stems from an incident in July 2007 when Elliott allegedly cut off an electronic monitoring bracelet he was under court order to wear. He has also been charged with violating a probation condition that barred him from living within 2,000 feet of a school or day care. An Iowa Republican Party operative and Drake University graduate, Elliott joined Romney’s Commonwealth PAC in early 2006 but left after only a few weeks, reportedly to run for the Iowa state Legislature.
City Council Reviews Water Dept. Shutoff Procedures
Councilman-at-large Bill Greenlee doesn't fault the Water Department for shutting off service to owners who aren't paying their water bills. But he says it’s not fair to do this on a Saturday, and the customers then can't settle up on the bills until Monday: "The previous (Street) administration believed that it was an effective way of collecting money. But we found that a lot of people were shut off and then had no alternative to get water service until Monday." So Greenlee is pushing a bill that would prohibit water service shut off on any Friday, Saturday, Sunday or holiday or on a day before a holiday. He says sometimes these shutoffs are done to small apartment buildings and affect dozens of families. The Water Department says it’s reviewing the bill and cannot yet comment.
Fresh Pain for the Uninsured
In a lucrative new form of fiscal alchemy, a growing number of hospitals, working with a range of financial companies, are squeezing revenue from patients with little or no health insurance. April Dial's dealings with Hot Spring County Medical Center in Malvern, Ark., illustrate how the transformation of medical bills into consumer debt means quicker cash for medical providers but tougher times for many patients of modest means. Dial, a 23-year-old truck-stop waitress who earns $17,000 a year plus tips, suffers from Type 1 diabetes. Sudden drops in her blood sugar level have sent her to the emergency room four times in the past three years. In September she spent three days at Hot Spring, including two in intensive care, fighting complications from her ailment. The bills came to more than $14,000.
|
