Monthly Archives: <span>November 2020</span>

Indiana Retailer Says Limited-Edition Guitars Worth $95K Stolen at Truck Stop

An Indiana retailer of musical instruments is seeking the public’s help after a pallet of limited-edition guitars worth tens of thousands of dollars were stolen from a suburban Indianapolis truck stop. Sweetwater Sound, which sells music instruments and audio equipment, …

New Mexico Agency Settles Gas Plant Air Pollution Case for $950K

The New Mexico Environment Department said it has reached a settlement with the operator of a gas plant in northwestern New Mexico over permit and regulatory violations that resulted in excess emissions. The agency said CCI San Juan LLC has …

Wisconsin Officials Draft Water Quality Standards for PFAS

Wisconsin health officials have finished drafting new groundwater standards for more than 20 substances, including a dozen types of PFAS chemicals. The Department of Natural Resources asked the Department of Health Services in April 2019 to begin researching the health …

Baton Rouge Council Nixes $5M Settlement in Police Killing of Alton Sterling

The governing council in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has again rejected a proposed $5 million settlement in a lawsuit over the death of Alton Sterling, a Black man fatally shot by a white police officer in 2016. Baton Rouge news outlets …

Kansas AG Accuses Man Who Did Illegal Autopsies of Duping 82 Consumers

A Kansas man accused of performing illegal autopsies duped at least 82 consumers, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. The state now has control of more than 1,600 biological samples collected by Shawn Parcells of Leawood, Kansas, Schmidt’s office said …

Data Privacy Law Expansion Approved by California Voters

In the state that is home to Silicon Valley and serves as the headquarters for Google, Facebook and other tech titans, voters strengthened data privacy protections by approving a ballot measure that supporters tout as a model for other states. …

UPI News Photographer Sued by Gun-Waving St. Louis Couple

A St. Louis, Mo., couple facing felony charges for waving guns at racial injustice protesters who marched near their home allege in a lawsuit that a news photographer trespassed to capture an image of the confrontation. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, …

BRP Group’s BKS Partners to Acquire Houston’s Insgroup

BRP Group Inc. subsidiary, Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners LLC (BKS Partners), has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of Insgroup Inc. a Houston, Texas-based provider of commercial property/casualty insurance, employee benefits, private risk services …

Iowa Insurance Claims from August Derecho Top $1.6B

As of Nov. 2, 2020, more than 200,000 claims arising from the Aug. 10 derecho windstorm have been reported in Iowa, insurance regulators say. Of those, nearly 160,000 claims totaling more than $1.6 billion have been paid already. Insurance companies …

Hit to Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance from 2020 Storms Limited to $35M

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens), the state’s insurer of last resort, will take only a $35 million financial hit from the 2020 hurricane season because of its reinsurance program, according to the Louisiana Department of Insurance. The LDI reported …