#avoid florida

[ausetkmt]

Numerous police officers lured to new jobs in Florida with cash from Governor Ron DeSantis’s flagship law enforcement relocation program have histories of excessive violence or have been arrested for crimes including kidnapping and murder since signing up, a study of state documents has found.

DeSantis, who is expected to launch his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination this week, has spent more than $13.5m to date on the recruitment bonus program, which he touted in 2021 as an incentive to officers in other states frustrated by Covid-19 vaccination mandates.

“This will go a long way to ensuring we can have the best and the brightest filling our law enforcement ranks,” Florida’s Republican attorney general, Ashley Moody, said in April last year as DeSantis announced one-time $5,000 bonuses for new recruits.

However, among the almost 600 officers who moved to Florida and received the bonus – or were recruited in state – are a sizable number who either arrived with a range of complaints against them, or have since accrued criminal charges, the online media outlet Daily Dot has discovered.

They include a former trainee deputy with the Escambia county sheriff’s office charged with murdering her husband; an officer with the Miramar police department fired for domestic battery and kidnapping; and a former member of the New York police department (NYPD) who was hired by the Palm Beach police department having once been accused of an improper sexual proposition.

That officer, named by the Daily Dot as Daniel Meblin, was also part of a $160,000 settlement by the NYPD for violence at a 2020 protest against the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in which officers were accused of beating Black males without provocation.

A Palm Beach police spokesperson told the Daily Dot that Meblin – who had complaints against him including abuse of authority and sexually propositioning a teenager – had disclosed his background during the hiring process, according to the NYPD watchdog 50-a.org.

He has been an “exemplary” officer since he was hired in October 2022, the same month he left the NYPD, the spokesperson said, while denying a request to allow Meblin to be interviewed.

The Daily Dot compiled its report from state records it obtained from the Florida department of economic opportunity through a Freedom of Information Act request. The undated document lists payments of more than $8.8m split between 1,310 newly hired officers, with most receiving $6,693.44 from the signing-on and additional bonuses.

In a press release earlier this month, DeSantis announced the program had since grown to more than 2,000 officers, with a parallel rise in cost to more than $13.5m.

“To date, 595 law enforcement recruits from 49 states and US territories have relocated to Florida, including more than 215 recruits from California, Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania,” the statement said.

For its report, the Daily Dot matched information from the 50-a and NYPD databases, as well as published media reports, to officers’ names listed by the state.

It says it uncovered “an exodus” of officers to Florida law enforcement agencies from the NYPD in the wake of a backlash against the department for its brutal handling of racial justice protests in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

Among them were at least two dozen officers whose names matched those on the NYPD’s civilian complaint review board database, including some who, according to those complaints, “unlawfully pepper sprayed, assaulted, and pointed their firearms at suspects, as well as used chokeholds and offensive language regarding race and ethnicity”.

A civil rights lawsuit filed in 2018 against former NYPD sergeant Haitham Hussameldin alleged the officer used physical violence against a teenager on her way to school. Hussameldin, now employed by Florida’s Manapalan police department, accrued six formal complaints, including “multiple allegations of abuse of authority and overuse of physical force” in New York, the Daily Dot said. All the complaints were withdrawn or unsubstantiated.

Another former New York officer now employed in Florida was involved in two deaths, one of which led to a $100,000 civil settlement, the Daily Dot reported. And in October 2022, the Apopka police department hired as an officer Justin Burgos, 19, the son of a retired NYPD deputy inspector, who a year earlier was charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving and obstruction of governmental administration for driving his car into protesters in Manhattan calling for the firing of an officer accused of beating a Black suspect.

None of the police agencies contacted for comment responded, other than the Palm Beach department, the Daily Dot reported. DeSantis’s office did not return a request for comment from the Guardian.

[ruleofool]

Hey all!!

I'm a Transmasc artist trying to pay the bills and get the hell out of Florida, so i'm going to be taking a few of these token commissions to work on when im not at work!!

I'll be taking three at a time, and reopening when each batch is done!

These are not limited to TTRPG / Humanoid characters!

Look to my ToS to see what kind of characters i am able to work on!

> TOS <

Also! If commissioning isn't your speed but you'd still like to help out, i do have a Ko-fi if you''d like to toss something my way!

> Ko-Fi <

Thank you for your time!

[ratatatastic]

pregame welcome package of mustamakkara!!! thats what i call spoiling the boys!!!

2024 nhl global series finland game 1 | 11.1.24 (x)(x)

[lookitthefuckup]

Hurricane Milton & Florida

I am seeing a lot of "if you're in the path of Hurricane Milton, EVAC NOW" messages on this hellsite, but the highways are about to get wild and evacuating can be expensive.

Instead of taking emergency advice from Tumbrinas, please look at this:

If you're in an evacuation zone and your county has called for that zone to evacuate, get the hell out now. Waiting will only make evacuating more hectic, dangerous, and expensive.

If you're sheltering in place, prepare for a historically unusual angle of wind. The last time a hurricane took this path over Florida was 1888 [source].

It's not too late to do some of this stuff:

Remember, though: NO GRILLING INDOORS.

Also, your online source for current, accurate maps and warnings is NOAA:

[bright-and-burning]

🐑💗 #summer vacation #strangers to lovers #insomnia #bittersweet ending

🐑 send me a fake set of fic tags, and i’ll try to come up with a summary for it!

There’s music playing down the beach. Oscar doesn’t usually make it this far, has always turned back earlier in the desperate hope of falling asleep before the glaring red lines of his clock display 4:00. He’s kind of annoyed, honestly. Can’t even have a crisis in peace, he thinks, immediately irritated at his own dramatics. Oscar keeps walking. It’s not often his walks are interrupted by anything other than drunk teenagers, though that’s probably still the case here. Hey kids, got any career advice? Oscar snorts, shaking himself out of his thoughts, and stops.

The source of the music is clear. A beachside bar, full of flashing lights and not much else. There’s a man wiping down tables, warbling along enthusiastically to a song Oscar doesn’t recognize. Something too sad for the tiki bar themed plastic surrounding him.

Oscar raps his knuckles on the railing marking the edge of the bar. “Still open, or?”

The man startles, turning to look at Oscar. He runs a hand through his hair, somehow getting glitter in his wilting curls.

Oscar stifles a laugh.

“Can’t serve alcohol at this hour, but you can sit for a bit,” he says, clearly eyeing the bags under Oscar’s eyes. He goes back to his table, scrubbing at a sticky spot. “Not really the usual crowd, are you?”

[3416]

when leafs fix their dcore it's over for this league flkjsdklfjdsklf

[spunkyspy]

If you are sexy, butch, and live in Canada, or hell even just a blue state at this point, and want a wife pls DM me

[thebreakfastgenie]

I can think of someone who'd be elected mayor of New York

[milo-is-rambling]

I think I’m always going to be running and trying to find the next thing that will make me happy and it will always be something I have to find within myself. So that’s cool.

[ohhhhmercy]

That should have been a Florida penalty, not Boston

[sheldricklawfirm]

Understanding Bad Faith Insurance Practices in Florida, New Jersey, and New York

What is Bad Faith Insurance?

Bad faith insurance practices involve an insurer's intentional refusal to honor its contractual obligations to the policyholder. This occurs when an insurance company fails to act in good faith and fair dealing, which it is legally required to do. Bad faith can be both first-party (directly against the policyholder) and third-party (against a party making a claim against the policyholder).

How Does Bad Faith Occur?

Bad faith can occur through various deliberate actions by the insurer, including:

Misrepresentation of Policy Terms: Insurers may intentionally misrepresent the terms of the policy to deny coverage.

Improper Investigation: Conducting a biased or incomplete investigation to justify denying a claim.

Unreasonable Denial or Delay: Denying or delaying payment without a reasonable basis.

Lowball Offers: Offering settlements far below the claim's actual value.

Florida Law

Under Florida Statutes §624.155, an insurer can be held liable for bad faith if it fails to settle claims when it could and should have done so, had it acted fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due regard for their interests.

New Jersey Law

In New Jersey, the "fairly debatable" standard applies, meaning the insurer must demonstrate a reasonable basis for denying a claim. The case of Pickett v. Lloyd’s, 131 N.J. 457 (1993), is a pivotal ruling that requires insurers to justify their actions reasonably.

New York Law

In New York, proving bad faith requires showing that the insurer engaged in egregious conduct or a pattern of unfair practices, as established in Pavia v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 82 N.Y.2d 445 (1993). This case demonstrates the high burden of proof required to establish bad faith.

What to Do If You Suspect Bad Faith

If you believe your insurance company is acting in bad faith, take the following steps:

Understand Your Policy: Review your insurance policy to understand your coverage and rights.

Document Everything: Keep detailed records of all communications with your insurer, including emails, letters, and phone calls.

File a Complaint: You can file a complaint with your state's insurance regulatory agency. In Florida, this is the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation; in New Jersey, it's the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance; and in New York, it's the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Seek Legal Advice: Consult with an experienced attorney who specializes in insurance bad faith claims. They can help you understand your rights and take appropriate legal action.

State-Specific Tips

Handling bad faith insurance claims varies significantly depending on the state.

Each jurisdiction has its own laws, procedures, and standards that affect how these cases are approached. Below, we provide specific tips for Florida, New Jersey, and New York to help you effectively address bad faith practices in your state. These tailored insights will help you take appropriate action and protect your rights based on your location.

Florida Tip

In Florida, policyholders have the right to file a Civil Remedy Notice (CRN) with the Department of Financial Services. This notice gives the insurer 60 days to resolve the issue before a lawsuit can be filed (Fla. Stat. §624.155).

New Jersey Tip

In New Jersey, keeping meticulous records of all interactions with the insurer is crucial for building a strong case under the "fairly debatable" standard. Refer to the case Pickett v. Lloyd’s, 131 N.J. 457 (1993), for guidance on how courts assess these claims.

New York Tip

In New York, due to the high burden of proof required to establish bad faith, it is essential to gather substantial evidence of the insurer's egregious conduct or pattern of unfair practices. Refer to Pavia v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 82 N.Y.2d 445 (1993) for more details on the legal standards applied in these cases.

Continue reading our Bad Faith article by clicking here.

Have a question about a bad faith claim?

Call The Sheldrick Law Firm at (561) 440-7775 and ask to speak with attorney Kayla Sheldrick.

Proudly Serving Florida, New Jersey, & New York

[kimberlyannharts]

Still on vacation but enjoy these silly pics of Tommy and Kim visiting Didney Werl

[archivlibrarianist]

When your book banning attempts are so over-the-top, even dollar store fascists like Greg DeSantis are tired of them.

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday putting new restrictions on the number of challenges that residents without kids could lodge against books in public schools."

[ratatatastic]

The Hockey News | 7.15.24 (x)

[omg-snakes]

There's been so much recent debate about what a corn snake's humidity should be kept at that it's making me rethink my own levels. I'm hearing ranges as low as 20% and as high as 70% (which seems absurd... but some people are absolutely swearing by it).

I'm currently keeping mine at 30%. I'd like to raise it somewhat but I'm scared of my baby getting a respiratory illness.

As someone who keeps a lot of corn snakes, what do you think? What do you keep your snakes at, and do you mist your tanks at all? Thanks.

Hey friend!

An important factor in successfully keeping an animal in captivity is knowing what their natural habitat is like so that we can effectively mimic it.

Corn snakes are a highly adaptable snake that is found in the southeastern US from the Florida Keys to as far north as New Jersey and as far west as Kentucky. As you can imagine, there is a massive variety of climates and habitats within that range. From grasslands to wetlands, forests to farms, there are corn snakes. They're built to adapt and survive. It's part of what makes them such a hardy and easy to keep species in captivity!

I keep my snakes at ambient humidity for Northern California, which is admittedly on the drier end of the spectrum, and they do just fine. I'll sometimes mist a little bit in summer, but it's not frequent. I absolutely provide a humid hide on the warm side of the enclosure year-round, though. I find that my snakes will use their humid hides more often around a shed or in the cooler months. Ultimately as long as your humidity levels are similar to those found in the southeast, or you're at least providing humid zones within the enclosure, it's not so critical a data point as like temperature or photoperiod.

Ready for some absurdity?

The average humidity in Florida is about 60-70%.

[baradragon]

okay so as much as i hate disney as a conglomeration from hell i have to admit that disney world slaps from the perspective of accessibility, like my sister is gluten free and the allergy options are so plentiful its a little insane, one time we asked a kiosk worker at epcot if something was gluten free and she stepped away to call the head chef of epcot to let us know the specifics of the dish etc, also not to mention ride accessibility cause when my sister was in a wheelchair there are specific rides with mobility-impaired boarding areas so that you dont slow down operations its literally incredible