PWOF News - The Professional Wrecker Operators of Florida

April/May 2011
INSURING FLORIDA’S
TOWING, RECOVERY
AND REPOSSESSION
INDUSTRIES
www.pwof.org
www.floridatowshow.com
Florida’s Choice for Towing Insurance
THE LEVY REPORT
The Outcome of Governor Rick Scott’s First Session
LET US OVERHAUL
YOUR COVERAGE
By: Bob Levy
Robert M. Levy & Associates
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SEE THE LEVY REPORT, PAGE 3
First, it has been a
long year for towing businesses across the country.
The good news is things
are looking up. One indicator of the improving economy was the
crowd at the 2011 Florida Tow Show®. It was
huge. Vendors did a brisk business all weekend. The hotels were sold out and packed
with towers from around the world there to
meet new friends and share stories. With
three nights of free food and entertainment,
there was something for all ages most times
of the day or night, including kids events and
photo ops.
The motor clubs were announcing new
programs and even offered free training and
instructions at the show on how to safely tow
and service vehicles.
On June 1, 2011, the minimum wage will
increase from $7.25 to $7.31 per hour so be
sure to check any payroll entry that may need
to be changed.
Towers now need to report all salvage vehicles that are sold. Look for the additional information and instructions in this issue.
This year’s legislation session in Tallahassee did not produce any new laws to change
the normal operation of towing services.
Changes were enacted that will affect all business in Florida but not our lien laws. Read
Bob Levy’s update for more information.
Make your plans now to attend the
PWOF annual retreat and board meeting in
Key West on July 8-10, 2011. Everyone has
fun when we meet in the Keys.
PWOF need everyone’s email address.
We use these to supply notices to members
so please email your company name to
[email protected].
Courage is the resistance to fear - not its absence.
RAFFLE TRUCK WINNER
The entire family
enjoyed Scott’s Day.
From left, winner
Scott Summey is pictured
with PWOF President
Drew Zuccala and
Executive Director
Mike Seamon.
for more information
• GCU represents many insurance companies therefore we provide several competitive quotes
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We offer several ways to save you time and money:
July 8-10, 2011
PWOF Annual
Retreat and
Board Meeting
The Legislature at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 7, 2011, ended a session of
potentially historic measures – dominated by the biggest need to cut spending in a generation, but marked too by the most far-reaching overhaul in
decades in how government provides health care to the poor and a fundamental change in how teachers are paid.
The 2011 legislative session, the first for new Republican Gov. Rick Scott, was also notable
as a session when unions were under the microscope – many would say under attack – in a
way they haven’t been in years.
And it was notable for what it didn’t do: crack down on illegal immigration in a year when
Tea Party voters around the country were demanding that states do that.
For Scott, who went into the legislative season imploring lawmakers to focus laser-like
on creating jobs, it was a session of partial successes, with legislators pulling a corporate income tax cut out of the hat at the end of the session – though nowhere near the size cut the
new governor sought. The Legislature also reduced regulations, particularly on the environmental and growth management front, and set the stage for loosening the state’s grip on businesses that say they want to expand but have been stymied by red tape.
But in failing to pass an Arizona-style immigration law on which the governor campaigned, lawmakers gave Scott a reminder that changing the laws may not be as easy as his
ubiquitous campaign TV commercials implied it would be.
There were other major themes that ran though a session that weren’t surprising in a year
in which Republicans enjoyed their largest House majority in modern times, an 81-39 advantage and a super majority in the Senate as well. The GOP pressed its new super majority – delivered in 2010 as part of the national Republican and Tea Party tide – by passing contentious
bills tightening restrictions on abortions and trying to strengthen gun rights, red meat for the
GOP base.
Republican domination of the Legislature also made it easy for lawmakers to send a strong
message on the federal health care law – anger over which many observers say got Republicans
their new majority. The Legislature passed what may turn out to be a largely symbolic protest
to refuse to participate in the nation’s law.
Coupled with Senate President Mike Haridopolos’ eye on the GOP primary for a U.S. seat,
that sense that much of the session was a fight against Washington Democrats and a play to
national Tea Party talking points – on immigration, on union issues, on cutting spending –
made the 2011 session the most politically tinged and openly partisan in at least a decade.
The session ultimately got bogged down in an intra-GOP fight over how much control
the leadership of either chamber should have over issues and how much should be available
to the entire membership to decide in the open. Leaders in both chambers stuck desired items,
many at the behest of the “special interests” decried by the new brand of populist Republicans
elected last year, into budget conforming bills and agreed to pass them, without many members who weren’t part of the leadership knowing what the measures would do – or in many
cases that they were even in the bills.
That top-down effort unraveled dramatically in the late hours of Friday as members of
the Senate first, then the House, staged mini-revolts for the rank and file, refusing to pass measures that leaders of the two chambers had agreed to pass. With leaders in the Senate unable
or unwilling to control their nominal super majority and get a vote on an agreed-to deregulation bill, other agreements fell apart and ended the session in acrimony.
But before Friday, the Republicans dominated the session as expected – though as they
often do when one party gets so big and so dominant – huge factions emerged.
This was most evident on the immigration bill – with those in the GOP allied with big
business coalescing with Hispanic Republicans to ultimately prevail over the populist wing
of the party.
Lawmakers passed a number of bills sought by the business community. Those included
a measure sought by the insurance industry that will make it harder for people to collect on
sinkhole and wind damage claims and a bill designed to insulate businesses from a heavier
unemployment insurance burden, a measure that will, assuming it’s signed by Scott, result in
reducing jobless benefits to the out-of-work. The nursing home industry won big – with lawsuit reforms and a reduction on the required number of hours they must provide in handson care to residents.
By: Mike Seamon,
Executive Director
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407-296-3316
www.pwof.org
April/May 2011
PROFESSIONAL WRECKER OPERATORS OF FLORIDA
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2
April/May 2011
PWOFNEWS
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
By: Drew Zuccala
This year’s tow show
starts my second term as
PWOF president. I would
like to thank all PWOF
members for getting involved in the election process. Some individuals were reelected to their positions while some
members are new to the executive board
and board. Understand that all of these
positions are voluntary. I would like to
thank two of my previous executive board
members for their outstanding contributions. Lynda Wood, secretary/treasurer,
did a great job in her position for multiple
years. She is also in charge of selling raffle
truck tickets at our Florida Tow Show. She
and her crew did an outstanding job this
year! I would also like to thank Joe Saladino for his years of service as third vice
president. He remains on the board as a
regional director in his area. I’d like to welcome new executive board members Ray
Crego from Miami as third vice president,
and Greg Gaylord from Jacksonville as secretary/treasurer.
This year, I arrived in Orlando on
Tuesday afternoon and it seemed like the
show had already started. There were people, exhibitors, volunteers and tow trucks
everywhere! Mike Seamon and Joe Driscoll
looked like their heads were on swivels.
They were never actually standing next to
each other; they were on opposite ends of
the show which meant one was at the Holiday Inn because we needed more room
than last year. Those two were always in
motion even early in the morning letting
late vendors into the tow show.
What a great show. We had almost 30
show trucks in the Beauty Contest, which
was a nice surprise. From the number of
visitors at the Presidential Suite every
night, it seemed like everybody had a great
time. I know Sam Brewer and Jim Stewart
had a nice crowd of people come by to
their show hospitality room.
I would especially like to thank all of
the workers and volunteers involved in
putting together the “Greatest Tow Show
on Earth!” This would include Mike Seamon, Joe and Cheryl Driscoll, Stevie and
Lisa in the office, Jim Stewart, Sam Brewer,
Frank and Lisa Ennis, Rick Moquin, Lee
and Carlos Figueroa, Joe Bolton, Heather
Cullaton, Ruth and Glenn Landau, Lynda
Wood and crew, Ray Crego, Marson and
Stephanie Johnson, show truck crew Lindsey, Lacey, George, Dale and Sue, and
Richard. I would also like to thank all vendors and exhibitors who participated in
this year’s show.
We are already setting up for next
year’s show. The dates are April 19-22,
2012. Remember it is never too soon to
make your reservations. At next year’s
show, we will be holding our board meeting on Thursday from 4-7 p.m. at the show.
More information about the show will be
up and coming.
It’s time to plan for our next board
meeting/retreat in Key West at the Casa
Marina Hotel on July 8-10, 2011. You need
to make your reservations now. Call the
PWOF office for more information.
P.S. The rumor is true, Joe Driscoll and
Greg Gaylord threw me off the golf cart!
Your President,
Drew Zuccala
CLUB MEMBERS
PWOF recently introduced our 365 Club. This club
provides members a means of offering additional support to our industry throughout the year by paying $1
a day for their dues in lieu of the regular $250 annual
dues. The following members have already joined our
new club. To add your company name to this list, call
Stevie at the PWOF office, 407-296-3316.
A SUPERIOR TOWING COMPANY
ADVANTAGE TRANSPORT
ARC TOWING SERVICE
ARNOLD’S TOWING
AVON TOWING
BABBSCO TOWING
BEACH TOWING SERVICE
BOLTON’S TOWING SERVICE
C & L TOWING & TRANSPORT
CORTES TOWING SERVICE
COX CAR CARE
DIRECT TOWING
DRISCOLL’S TOWING SERVICE
ELVIS TOWING SERVICE
ELVIS TRANSPORT
EMERALD TOWING SERVICE
EXCALIBUR TOWING SERVICE
FRYER’S TOWING SERVICE
HERB DANIEL TRUCK & AUTO
DAVE JONES - PAST PRESIDENT
KOTAKIS AUTO & TOWING
MAGIC TOWS
MIDWAY AUTO SALVAGE & WRECKER SERVICE
HAROLD MURPHY - PAST PRESIDENT
SAM’S WRECKER SERVICE
SCALLY’S LUBE & GO
SHELBY’S TOWING
THE TRUCK SHOP, INC.
TOP GUN TOWING
UNIVERSITY TOWING & TRANSPORT
UPMAN’S TOWING SERVICE
ZUCCALA’S WRECKER SERVICE
2011-2013
EXECUTIVE BOARD
PRESIDENT
DREW ZUCCALA
ZUCCALA’S WRECKER SERVICE
633 E. INDUSTRIAL AVENUE
BOYNTON BEACH, FL 33426
PHONE: 561-737-1212 • FAX: 561-737-6379
3RD VICE PRESIDENT
RAY CREGO, JR.
EXCALIBUR TOWING SERVICE
14294 SW 142ND AVENUE
MIAMI, FL 33186
PHONE: 305-235-3055 • FAX: 305-378-4527
SECRETARY/TREASURER
GREG GAYLORD
SOUTHERN WRECKER & RECOVERY
5169A W. 12TH STREET
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32254
PHONE: 904-378-8000 • FAX: 904-781-9669
PAST PRESIDENT
JOE DRISCOLL
DRISCOLL’S TOWING SERVICE
1701 N. DIXIE HWY.
POMPANO BEACH, FL 33060
PHONE: 954-946-4747 • FAX: 954-946-3616
1ST VICE PRESIDENT
GLENN LANDAU
FRYER’S TOWING SERVICE
722 N. SEGRAVE STREET
DAYTONA BEACH, FL 32114
PHONE: 386-255-0481 • FAX: 386-238-0971
PAST PRESIDENT
JIM STEWART
TOP GUN TOWING & RECOVERY
624 17TH AVE. WEST
BRADENTON, FL 34205
PHONE: 941-747-7809 • FAX: 941-747-6828
2ND VICE PRESIDENT
RICK MOORE
UNIVERSITY TOWING & TRANSPORT
2546 NW 74 PLACE
GAINESVILLE, FL 32653
PHONE: 352-373-4671• FAX: 352-377-2435
4718 Edgewater Dr., Orlando, FL 32804
PHONE: (407) 296-3316 • FAX: (407) 296-6335 • E-MAIL: [email protected] • WEB SITE: www.pwof.org
THE PWOF NEWS IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE PROFESSIONAL WRECKER OPERATORS OF FLORIDA INC.
Copyright© 2011 Professional Wrecker Operators of Florida
April/May 2011
THE LEVY REPORT
PWOFNEWS
FROM PAGE 1
The bills reducing unemployment compensation by at least three weeks, passed Friday, and
various measures making it harder for people to sue were among the bills disliked by many.
But one of the biggest losses for labor was also one of the potentially most far-reaching things
the Legislature did – dramatically changing the way teachers are paid. This change wasn’t new –
lawmakers passed a bill tying teacher pay to student performance instead of tenure last year, too.
But this year the bill was sent to Scott, instead of former Gov. Charlie Crist, who vetoed it last year.
Scott signed the bill.
That was another theme of the 2011 legislative session – erasing the Crist roadblocks of the
last couple years. No industry was happier to see Crist go than the insurance industry – which Crist
opposed at nearly every turn. The property insurance bill passed this year included several provisions that were passed in 2010 in a bill that Crist vetoed. He also vetoed one of the abortion bills
lawmakers sent again this year to Scott, one that will require more women seeking abortions to
first have an ultrasound. Earlier this session, lawmakers overrode another Crist veto, one allowing
the creation of new fundraising tools for the legislative leaders of both parties.
Unions, particularly the teachers union, and trial lawyers have been in the cross hairs of Republicans for more than a decade in Florida, but with the new super majorities both were more
heavily on the defensive this year.
The unions got one victory, albeit one on defense. The Legislature was unable to pass a bill
that would bar unions from collecting dues from their government workers through paycheck deduction.
In keeping with the theme of a giant party not being cohesive, some moderate members of
the GOP quietly said they didn’t think it was necessarily a priority to go so directly after unionized
government workers in what appeared to be a naked political attack in a year when the governor
was pleading with lawmakers to create jobs and the Legislature started out needing to fix a budget
nearly $4 billion in the red.
That need to cut government spending drastically, despite all the other major reaches by an
ambitious new Republican juggernaut, still dominated everything. Even the other major far-reaching change made by lawmakers, shifting nearly all Florida Medicaid patients except the developmentally disabled into private managed care, was related to the budget.
Simply put, Republican leaders have argued since the early days of Jeb Bush that the state
couldn’t afford the growing costs of providing health care for the poor, even with Washington picking up much of the cost, in good times. When times get bad, as they have the last three years, forget
about it.
And so lawmakers, in addition to managing to cut $3.75 billion in spending from government
programs, including many entrenched ones, and in addition to revamping the way teachers are
paid, also completely altered the way Florida society will provide health care to poor women and
children and elderly people needing long-term care. Lawmakers basically said, we can’t do this
anymore so let’s give the money and the patients to the private sector and see if they can.
It was a bold move, the enormity of which was understated during much of the session. At
the final passage on Friday of the bill overhauling the $22 billion system, House Speaker Dean Cannon alluded to it, remarking that it was the biggest change in the way government in Florida provides health care since the entitlement programs were created by Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society
in the mid-1960s. There’s still a big hurdle – Washington has to approve the changes and that’s not
a given, but that doesn’t diminish the enormity of what lawmakers did.
There was another major health care issue worth noting, rare in that it was one on which there
came to develop near consensus, though it started out heavily contentious. The consensus was
on the problem – that pain clinics that have popped up in Florida in the last decade have been
shoveling addictive prescription drugs at just about anyone who wants them, feeding addicts so
much that other states have complained to Congress about Florida’s “pill mills.”
Exactly what to do about it wasn’t universally agreed-on. But on Friday night, after months of
debating the details, including whether to keep a controversial database of which pain clinics are
handing out what to whom, the House came together in unanimity. With Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi watching in a rare live appearance on the House floor, the House unanimously
passed a bill aimed at cracking down on the pain clinics. Scott will sign the bill. The database remains in the law.
For Scott, the session, starting just two months after he took office, was a baptism into a governing structure he was admittedly unfamiliar with. In his first elected office, Scott often this session
seemed bemused by the weird slowness and caution of a check and balance system foreign to the
way businesses run. He fought with his Republican colleagues in the Legislature almost immediately, selling state planes that lawmakers said he wasn’t legally allowed to sell and canceling a high
speed rail project that he said was a boondoggle, but many in central Florida were enamored with.
He got more engaged with lawmakers as the session went on, and by the end was pushing
hard for a corporate tax cut that he campaigned on but legislative leaders – again Republican colleagues – balked at all session because of the shortfall. In the end, they reached a compromise,
agreeing to increase the exemption and drop about half of businesses from the corporate tax rolls.
Scott claimed victory, though almost immediately the Tea Partiers who got him elected began complaining of a sellout. Scott also was a winner in getting lawmakers to require that welfare recipients
be drug tested.
“This was my first legislative session, and it has been a memorable one,” Scott said in a statement released just before the session’s end. “Among the highlights are $210 million in property
tax relief, a complete re-organization of state agencies with an eye toward economic development,
a sensible drug testing program for welfare recipients, a reformed state retirement system that is
beginning to mirror the private sector, expanded education options for parents, including virtual
and charter schools, opportunity scholarships, teacher merit pay and the elimination of teacher
tenure so that school principals can get rid of bad teachers and reward the good ones.”
Another group that played a prominent role in this year’s legislative session was government
workers. They have been a target before: Gov. Bob Martinez maligned them, though he said he
didn’t mean to. Gov. Jeb Bush said he wanted to empty out their workplaces – though he also said
the context of his remarks were lost on those who reported them. And Bush downsized and privatized fairly dramatically.
This year’s Legislature, encouraged by Scott, may have gone even farther, and certainly was
more openly hostile to government workers. The difference this time – though it didn’t make much
of a difference – was the broader nature of the attack.
Past hits at state workers have mostly been broadsides at the government bureaucrats in Tallahassee, who have always had a public perception problem in the general statewide populace
outside the capital city.
But this time others who work for “government” but generally aren’t thought of as government
workers, joined them in the crosshairs. Teachers, who everyone typically thinks of fondly, and police and firefighters, who have near hero status in the post-9-11 world, faced the full wrath of the
Legislature – though Scott and legislative Republicans said generally they weren’t asking them to
take on any pain the private sector hasn’t already accepted.
Lawmakers passed a bill that Scott will sign bringing those government workers more in line
with many private sector workers, paying 3 percent toward their own pensions. Many may also
face pay cuts if their jobs are privatized – many of the prisons around the state are open to possible
privatization under the Legislature’s budget, for example. And some state workers will be just plain
downsized.
There was one final noteworthy group for whom the session will be memorable, also a subset
of government employees: judges and the people who work in the judicial system.
Emboldened by their large majority, Republican lawmakers tried to do what many of them
have wanted to do for more than a decade, rein in a judiciary they believe oversteps its bounds.
Cannon, who was angered last year when the Supreme Court threw out some legislatively proposed constitutional amendments, went on the offensive with a plan to completely overhaul the
SEE THE LEVY REPORT, PAGE 6
3
4
April/May 2011
PWOFNEWS
Are You Reporting Junk
or Salvage Vehicles?
There is a little-known federal law that may require your towing
company to file monthly reports with the National Motor Vehicle
Title Information System (NMVTIS).
Who Reports:
Automotive towing companies that
determine the disposition of five or more
junk or salvage vehicles per year.
Why Must We Report:
The goal of the NMVTIS is to prevent
junk or salvage vehicles from later being resold and to prevent thieves from using
VINs from destroyed vehicles on stolen vehicles.
What vehicles do NOT have to be
reported?
Any vehicle that is merely transported
or stored, or for which you do not determine what happens to the vehicle. Any vehicle that does not meet the definition of a
junk or salvage vehicle should not be reported. Vehicles over 10,000 lbs. GVW are
not required to be reported.
How Do We Report:
Beacon’s Towlien.com offers totally
FREE NMVTIS Reporting. No hidden costs
such as Setup or Inactivity fees. Simply
input the vehicle information and hit the
button. Optionally perform a search to retrieve owner, lien holder and insurance company information. Notification letters may also be sent from the system for a small fee.
Go to www.towlien.com to get started today.
Need More Information?
Visit www.vehiclehistory.org.
April/May 2011
PWOFNEWS
Please Support Your
Associate Members
AAG ENVIRONMENTAL, INC. ................................................................. 800-472-9251
ACCESS TOOLS & EQUIPMENT .............................................................. 800-323-8324
ALLSTATE ROADSIDE SERVICES ............................................................. 508-867-2400
AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE GROUP, INC. ................................ 877-933-2550
AMSOIL INDEPENDENT DEALER ............................................................. 407-421-5584
ASHFORD RECOVERY (ENGLAND) ..................................................... 011441233 655999
AUTO DATA DIRECT, INC. .................................................................... 850-877-8804
AW DIRECT, INC. .............................................................................. 800-270-3975
B & B PROTECTOR PLANS, INC. ............................................................. 800-338-1935
BEACON SOFTWARE, LLC .................................................................... 866-437-6653
BLACKADAR INSURANCE AGENCY, INC. ................................................... 407-831-3832
CBIP MANAGEMENT, INC. ................................................................... 800-691-0053
CHASE INSURANCE AGENCY INC. ........................................................... 954-792-4300
CROUCH’S WRECKER & EQUIPMENT SALES .............................................. 800-628-5212
CUSTER PRODUCTS LTD ...................................................................... 800-490-3158
DIVERSIFIED LEASING SOLUTIONS, INC. ................................................... 813-282-0357
DUAL-TECH, INC. .............................................................................. 800-852-0345
FLEETMATICS USA, INC. ..................................................................... 866-844-2235
FLORIDA UTILITY TRAILERS, INC. .......................................................... 800-404-6021
FLORIDA WIRE & RIGGING SUPPLY, INC. .................................................. 800-432-2269
FLORIDA WRECKER SALES, INC. ............................................................ 813-626-2144
FOX EVERETT INSURANCE ................................................................... 228-897-6758
G.V.S. ENTERPRISES, INC. .................................................................. 800-541-0460
GREENLEAF AUTO RECYCLERS .............................................................. 888-849-7887
GULF COAST UNDERWRITERS ............................................................... 813-864-4428
HAMRICK INSURANCE ASSOCIATES ........................................................ 850-877-3108
HOOKS TOWING & RECOVERY SUPPLY ..................................................... 800-876-8963
INDIANAPOLIS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS, INC. ............................................. 800-827-3755
INSURANCE AUTO AUCTIONS ................................................................ 407-438-7191
INTEK TRUCK & EQUIPMENT LEASING ..................................................... 973-403-7788
INTERGIS, LLC ................................................................................. 877-483-7426
JERR-DAN CORPORATION .................................................................... 800-926-9666
KAUFF'S KUSTOM LETTERING & SIGNS .................................................... 561-775-3278
LIFT AND TOW, LLC. .......................................................................... 866-494-6500
M & S SIGNS ................................................................................... 407-855-9162
MATRIX EMPLOYER SERVICES .............................................................. 866-453-2722
MGA INSURANCE GROUP ..................................................................... 941-907-3828
MILLER INDUSTRIES TOWING EQUIPMENT ................................................ 800-292-0330
NATION SAFE DRIVERS MOTOR CLUB ...................................................... 800-338-2680
NOBEL SYSTEMS, INC. ....................................................................... 888-950-9550
PEO EXPERTS, INC. ........................................................................... 727-421-8250
PEOADVICE.COM .............................................................................. 561-392-5500
PHOENIX USA, INC. ........................................................................... 800-786-8785
RADIO ONE, INC. .............................................................................. 407-296-9488
RUSH TRUCK CENTERS OF FLORIDA ........................................................ 813-361-1199
S & S ELITE, LLC .............................................................................. 888-769-9905
SOUTHEAST PERSONNEL LEASING, INC. ................................................... 727-919-0199
SOVEREIGN BANK ............................................................................. 631-531-0627
STOVER SALES, INC. .......................................................................... 904-696-3496
TECHNOGRAPHICS ............................................................................ 352-989-4377
THE INSURANCE PROFESSIONALS .......................................................... 800-266-4446
TIM HALPIN EQUIPMENT CORPORATION .................................................. 305-591-3164
TLC TRUCK & EQUIPMENT ................................................................... 866-690-4902
TOWPARTNERS ................................................................................ 877-401-2345
TRAIL-EZE TRAILERS ......................................................................... 800-232-5682
TRAVIS BARLOW COMPANY ................................................................. 800-537-7152
TRUCKMAX INC. .............................................................................. 305-592-3800
UNITED STATES AUTO CLUB - MOTOR DIV. ................................................ 888-300-8722
U-PULL-AND-PAY - WEST PALM BEACH .................................................... 561-846-1597
WHITE FORD COMPANY, INC. ............................................................... 352-225-1466
WRECKERS LTD ................................................................................ 305-888-0111
NEW MEMBERS
Enter Tow Times 2011
Sponsored by
Contest,
ASSOCIATE
NOBEL SYSTEMS, INC.
LORRAINE FRIEL
55 NORTH GILBERT STREET
TINTON FALLS, NJ 07724
888-950-9550 EXT 22 • FAX: 732-772-1997
REGION 5
The Contest is free to enter and is open to towing companies
in the U.S. and Canada.
There are three easy ways to enter:
1. Mail a photo of your truck with a completed entry form from Tow Times
magazine to: Shine ‘n Star Contest • 203 West SR 434 • Winter Springs FL 32708
2. Enter online at www.towtimes.com. Select the Shine ‘n Star banner on top of
the home page, download a form, complete it and mail it with a photo to the
above address.
3. Enter electronically on www.towtimes.com. Just select the Shine ‘n Star
banner on the top of the home page and follow the directions. Please attach highresolution photos.
There’s no entry fee, so enter as many of your tow trucks as you like, but each truck can
only be entered into one category and each photo must have an entry form with it. Entry
forms are available in the April, May and June 2011 issues of Tow Times, online at
www.towtimes.com, or we can fax one to you. Entries must be received by the Tow Times
office no later than June 30, 2011.
Winners receive cash prizes, a plaque with the picture of your
winning truck and a chance to appear on a Tow Times cover.
K & W RECOVERY, INC.
TONY WNEK
P.O. BOX 621763
ORLANDO, FL 32862
407-859-6900
FAX: 407-859-6090
UNIVERSAL TOWING, INC.
FRED CAMPAGNULO
542 LPGA BLVD.
HOLLY HILL, FL 32117
386-255-0203 • FAX: 386-255-4045
REGION 6
DEALER TRANSPORT SERVICES, LLC
BARRET ROBBINS
2209 COLLIER PARKWAY - SUITE 296
LAND O’LAKES, FL 34639
813-376-1632 • FAX: 813-749-0949
KNAPPY’S AUTO CENTER, INC.
CHRISTOPHER KNAPP
1112 U.S. HIGHWAY 19
HOLIDAY, FL 34691
727-430-7234 • FAX: 727-388-2706
REGION 7
A & B TOWING SERVICE
ROY BAZIN
2313 SW 59 AVENUE
WEST PARK, FL 33023
954-963-3225 • FAX: 954-967-9739
EMS TOWING, INC.
SCOTT STRINGHAM
977 NW 19TH AVENUE
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33311
954-524-7465 • FAX: 954-763-2805
REGION 7 (CONTINUED)
DRISCOLL’S TOWING SERVICE OF THE
TREASURE COAST, LLC
CHERYL DRISCOLL
2740 SW MARTIN DOWNS BLVD. - #105
PALM CITY, FL 34990
772-283-4748 • FAX: 772-283-4727
IMPERIAL TOWING, LLC
LAMARRIS COOPER
P.O. BOX 5607
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33310
954-735-1010 • FAX: 954-735-1042
VELOCITY TOWING, INC.
JESSICA MacTAGGART
359 INDUSTRIAL AVENUE
BOYNTON BEACH, FL 33426
561-737-5591 • FAX: 561-737-5841
WHITT’S TOW AWAY, INC.
MARIO RUZ
14701 SW 137TH STREET - SUITE A
MIAMI, FL 33186
305-226-9333 • FAX: 305-232-8764
REGION 8
10-EIGHT TRANSPORT
NICHOLAS FAVAZZO
9601 CYPRESS LAKE DRIVE
FT. MYERS, FL 33919
239-440-5656 • FAX: 239-454-8400
ANDY’S TOWING & RECOVERY, INC.
ANDY CATALANO
12741 METRO PARKWAY - SUITE 2
FT. MYERS, FL 33966
239-561-8697 • FAX: 239-768-1203
5
6
April/May 2011
PWOFNEWS
THE LEVY REPORT
FROM PAGE 3
April/May 2011
PWOFNEWS
7
BUSINESS
top of the judiciary. In addition to Senate confirmation for judges, Cannon wanted to split the
Supreme Court into two separate panels, isolating those justices hearing civil cases and allowing
the Republican governor to put three new justices on that panel. The plan failed, though the Legislature ordered a study at a cost to us of $400,000, so it may be back next year.
The Republican majority has at least another year in its current super powerful state
with next year’s session coming before lawmakers will answer for their actions in the 2012
election. But next year is a special one that could alter that super majority anyway, with lawmakers doing the once-a-decade redrawing of the districts, starting with public hearings
this summer. History says Republicans could use that to solidify, or even expand their power
because they’ll control the process. Democrats see at least a glimmer of hope that the whole
thing will be undone because of new constitutional requirements that the GOP not draw
lines with an eye toward consolidating their power.
Ballot Issues – Seven for Twelve Florida lawmakers, who carried out an aggressive, conservative agenda during the 2011 session, did not stop with just passing hundreds of bills. They also put on the 2012 ballot seven measures that could significantly change Florida’s constitution.
Voters next year will be asked to vote on constitutional amendments that could place limits
on abortion funding and government spending while opening the door for increased money to
religious organizations.
Democrats who have opposed most of the proposed amendments said the real goal of the
measures is to pump up Republican voters in a year when President Barack Obama would likely
be on the ballot.
But Senate President Mike Haridopolos has defended the amendments, especially his socalled “Smart Cap” amendment that would limit the growth of state revenues to a new formula
based on changes in population and inflation. He noted that he has been trying unsuccessfully
to get the measure on the ballot for several years now. This year Haridopolos defused some of the
opposition by exempting local governments from the cap.
Haridopolos also sponsored the “health care freedom” amendment aimed at trying to blunt
the impact of federal health care reform. Lawmakers passed a similar amendment last year but
the state Supreme Court removed it from the ballot after ruling the wording was misleading. This
year’s version was reworded.
House Speaker Dean Cannon helped push his own amendment on the ballot. It would ask
voters to change the state’s courts to give the Legislature control over court rules and make state
Supreme Court justices subject to Senate confirmation.
Another amendment would constitutionally ban public funding of abortions. And on Friday,
lawmakers approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would remove a long-standing
prohibition on state money going to religious institutions. Supporters say the current prohibition,
adopted in the 19th century, is rooted in bias toward Catholics. They said the change is needed to
shield hospitals, private colleges and pre-kindergarten programs tied to religious groups from
losing their state funding because of a lawsuit. Opponents say the real intent behind the amendment is to help expand the use of private-school vouchers.
Not all the amendments deal with political hot-button issues. There are also two measures
that deal with property taxes, including one that would authorize a property tax break for firsttime home buyers. If approved by voters, the measure would limit the tax assessment cap to five
percent on non-homestead property and commercial property, which is currently at 10 percent.
The proposal would also give lawmakers the ability to limit increases on homestead property if
the market value on the home in the previous year decreased.
First-time home buyers would also be eligible for a homestead exemption worth up to
$200,000 that would be phased out over a five-year period.
4718 Edgewater Dr., Orlando, FL 32804
PHONE: (407) 296-3316 • FAX: (407) 296-6335
E-MAIL: [email protected] • WEB SITE: www.pwof.org