The Ridgway Record – The Daily Press, – The Kane Republican, Friday, July 24, 2015 -1C
Cost of insurance forcing many in Detroit to 'drive dirty'
DETROIT (AP) — Like
most Americans, the driv- ers of Detroit are required to carry auto insurance whenever they get behind the wheel, but many law- abiding residents can't afford the Motor City's highest-in-the-nation auto
premiums, which top $5,000 a year in some neighborhoods.
So fully half of Detroit drivers do what's known locally as "driving dirty" — taking to the streets with- out any coverage. It's prac- tically a tradition here. Now Mayor Mike Dug- gan is trying to do some- thing about the high in- surance costs based on concerns that they are de- terring new residents and investment from coming to Detroit as it rebuilds after emerging from bankruptcy last year.
The chief reason for the high rates: Michigan is the only state that requires auto
insurance policies to come with unlimited lifetime personal-injury protection, meaning that people who are hurt in car crashes get 100 percent of their medical expenses covered, sometimes
for
years or even decades. The protection applies regard- less of who was at fault. The law also allows care providers to charge much more for treatment of auto injuries.
"Every doctor in every hospital in this state un- derstands ... that if you schedule an MRI for a re- hab case for somebody who fell off a ladder and has Blue Cross, you get paid a certain amount," Duggan said. "If that person got hurt in a car accident, you get reimbursed triple." The mayor wants to bring down insurance pre- miums by capping medical expenses tied to motorists' policies.
When the Michigan in- surance law was adopted in 1972, the intent was to save money by reducing lawsuits resulting from crashes. But rising medi- cal costs have steadily pushed costs up.
Medical expenses now make up about 30 percent of total insurance premi- ums, said Nicole Brad- shaw, a research associate at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan and author of a 2013 report on medical costs associated with so-called no-fault auto insurance.
Detroit's insurance rates are higher than those in the suburbs or in rural Michigan because urban areas tend to have more claims, and those claims are often more expensive. All of the nation's 25 priciest insurance zip
SEE DETROIT ON PAGE 4C Woodsmenshow at Cherry Springs State Park
GALETON – The top lumberjacks in the coun- try come to Cherry Springs State Park in Galeton from July 31 to Aug. 2 to compete in events like cross cut saw, springboard, axe throwing and tree felling - the same events featured in the pop- ular outdoor games on TV. Witness ordinary people test their own skills while rubbing elbows with the pros. Discover exhibits, vendors and historical re- enactments all commemo- rating our great forest and the life of the woodhick. Af- ter soaking in all the activi- ties, sit down with a hearty meal and enjoy traditional music.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have identified a "close cousin" to Earth that's or- biting a sun-like star and might harbor life.
Photo submitted The 63rd Annual Woodsmenshow is set for July 31-Aug. 2 at Cherry Springs State Park in Galeton.
Scientists find closest thing yet to Earth-sun twin system While scientists are un-
"It is the closest thing that we have to another place that somebody else might call home," said Jon Jenkins from NASA's Ames Research Center in California.
The researchers an- nounced their
discovery
Thursday based on obser- vations from NASA's Ke- pler space telescope. This older, bigger cousin to Earth is called Kepler- 452b. What makes this planet remarkable is that it orbits its star at about the same distance that Earth orbits the sun. What's more, its home star looks to be similar to
our sun. Based on what scientists know today, Jenkins noted it's the nearest thing to another Earth-sun twin system. "Today the Earth is a little less lonely because there's a new kid on the block," Jenkins said dur- ing a news conference. He led the team that discov- ered Kepler-452b.
The last Kepler discov- ery that had scientists gushing was just over a year ago. That close-to- Earth-size planet, Kepler- 186f, also was in the hab- itable zone of its star. But that faint dwarf star was unlike our sun.
John Grunsfeld, NA- SA's science mission chief, emphasized that the exo- planet system identified Thursday — "a pretty good close cousin to the
Earth and our sun" — is the closet so far. "And I re- ally emphasize the 'so far.' "
The planet-hunting Kepler will keep churn- ing out new discoveries, Grunsfeld
noted, and
possibly find even better matches for "Earth 2.0." Kepler
was launched
in 2009 and has nearly 5,000 potential exoplanets to its credit — worlds be- yond our solar system. It is helping to address such fundamental questions as where do we come from and where are we headed, and arguably the biggest question of all: Are we alone in the universe? Grunsfeld said thanks to Kepler's latest finding, we're taking "one small step in answering that question today."
certain whether Planet
452b is rocky like Earth, they believe there's a bet- ter than even chance it is. As for the age and size, it is about 6 billion years old, 1.5 billion years older than Earth, and 60 per- cent larger in diameter than our home planet. Its star, Kepler 452, is also older and bigger, as well as brighter than our sun. If the planet is indeed
rocky, geologists believe its mass would be five times that of Earth and its gravity would be twice Earth's. (That's
right,
you would weigh twice as much there.) Its atmo- sphere would be thicker and have more clouds, and any volcanoes would likely
SEE SYSTEM ON PAGE 4C
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