• Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum yesterday announced the state filed lawsuits against two Duval County debt negotiation companies and their owners. The lawsuits allege Future Financial Direct Inc. and Provident Financial Services Inc. deceptively marketed debt management services and charged illegal fees for debt negotiation services never provided. Nearly 100 complaints were reportedly received. The lawsuit seeks full restitution for the affected consumers and asks for an injunction against company owners Ryan Boyd and Curtis Wood to prevent them from engaging in credit counseling services. Civil penalties of $10,000 per violation are also being sought. Consumers who believe they may have been victimized by either company can contact the Attorney General’s Office at 1-866-966-7226 or online at http://.myfloridalegal.com to file a complaint.
• Speaking of the Attorney General, his office is seeking applications for appointees to the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, which resolves warranty disputes arising under Florida’s Lemon Law. Since 1989, the Lemon Law program has produced more than $350 million in refunds or replacement vehicles for more than 13,300 consumers who bought defective new vehicles. These disputes are resolved by holding arbitration hearings between consumers and car manufacturers throughout the state. The Arbitration Board must determine whether the consumer’s vehicle meets the legal requirements to be declared a “lemon.” Application forms and more information are available at http://myfloridalegal.com or by calling (850) 414-3500.
• The Jacksonville Children’s Chorus will perform with the African Children’s Choir Saturday night at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. The show begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are $25 for adult general admission and $15 for students with discounts available for groups of 15 or more. To purchase advance tickets or for more information, call 346-1636 or visit www.jaxchildrenschorus.com.
• Seminole County is postponing today’s meeting to engage local leaders in discussion over the County’s application to withdraw 5.5 million gallons of water a day from the St. Johns River. The St. Johns River Water Management District’s governing board was scheduled to vote on the permit at its Tuesday meeting. However, Seminole County Board of County Commissioners Chair Brenda Carey wrote in a letter yesterday, “We are now advised that the City of Jacksonville, the Riverkeeper, Inc., and the Public Trust Environmental Law Institute of Florida, Inc., have initiated legal challenges that have the immediate effect of delaying District action on our application until those legal challenges are resolved. Inasmuch as it would not be possible to collectively resolve the concerns of opponents to our permit, and upon recommendation of legal counsel, I have decided to postpone the March 6 meeting until further notice.”
“The most fitting monuments this nation can build are schoolhouses and homes for those who do the work of the world. It is no answer to say that they are accustomed to rags and hunger. In this world of plenty every human being has a right to food, clothes, decent shelter, and the rudiments of education.”
– Elizabeth Cady Stanton, U.S. suffragist, author and social reformer