| Aguirre worked for year to require insurance coverage for autism
Steven Ugol turned 5 on Saturday. As his mother, Char, prepared for his birthday festivities, she had other reasons to celebrate. Thanks to a bill she set in motion almost a year ago, beginning in June of next year insurance companies in Arizona will be forced to cover the costs of treatment for children like her son, who've been diagnosed with autism. Gov. Janet Napolitano signed the bill, known as "Steven's Law," on Friday. Ugol's effort began last July with e-mails to legislators. One those e-mails went to Sen. Amanda Aguirre, D-Yuma. "She wasn't a constituent," Aguirre told The Sun. But Ugol's appeal tugged at Aguirre's heart strings and the senator set to work a year ago to craft a bill requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of treatment for autistic children. As a health care professional, she had worked with a child with autism in the early 1980s. "At the time, we knew little about it," Aguirre said.
Home Insurance Takes Large Jump
Mobile (AP) - Alabamians are paying a lot more for homeowners insurance, according to a new study. Rates in the state jumped by 69.1 percent between 2001 and 2005 - the second-largest rise nationally, behind only Minnesota. That's despite the fact that Alabamians have lower incomes and are typically insuring less expensive home than in most other states. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports the rate increase pushes the state's average premium for the most common kind of homeowners insurance well above the national norm. State Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell said the pain for homeowners in Alabama's two coastal counties, Mobile and Baldwin, has continued to worsen since 2005, although there have been signs of improvement in the state's other 65 counties.
Timeshares an Attractive Alternative to Second Home Ownership
As an affordable alternative to second home ownership, timeshare ownership has increased in popularity among 'would-be' second home investors. Lake Tahoe, NV (PRWEB) March 24, 2008 -- Karen Phelan, Broker/Owner of Preferred Timeshare Resales based out of Lake Tahoe, has observed a new breed of timeshare buyers enter the market over recent months. Phelan said, "The buyers we're starting to see more of are those who never considered timeshare ownership until now. Even in signs of today's uncertain residential real estate market, many still dream of owning a vacation home in their favorite vacation destination. With timeshares, people are discovering their dream is still well within reach." Why? Many 'would-be' vacation home buyers are discovering timeshares are an attractive alternative to owning a second home, based on economics and common sense: Affordability: Would-be second home investors are instead purchasing timeshares at a fraction of what it would have cost to own a vacation home.
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