Articles by Barbara Liston

Widow of El Faro Crew Member Calls for More Oversight of Shipping in Bad Weather

The widow of one of the 33 crew members killed when the El Faro sank in a hurricane last fall called on Friday for stricter oversight of decisions by shipping companies and their captains to sail in adverse weather. Rochelle …

Coast Guard Panel Questions If Captain Responsible for El Faro’s Sinking

The captain of the U.S. cargo ship that sank off the Bahamas in a hurricane last fall, killing all 33 people on board, was responsible for decisions that put the vessel in the path of the storm, the company that …

Coast Guard Probe Into Sinking of El Faro Cargo Ship Gets Underway

The U.S. Coast Guard begins hearings on Tuesday to investigate whether misconduct or negligence were factors in the sinking of the cargo ship El Faro during a hurricane last fall, an accident that left the vessel’s 33 crew members dead. …

El Faro Owner Seeks U.S. Maritime Liability Limit on Death Claims

The owner of the U.S. cargo ship El Faro that sank in a powerful hurricane off the Bahamas nearly a month ago has filed for protection in Florida federal court from claims it is liable for the deaths of its …

Court Fight over Dow Chemical Herbicide Widens to 15 States

A court fight over use of a new Dow Chemical herbicide on genetically engineered U.S. corn and soybean crops is growing to encompass 15 Midwestern states after the company recently won federal approval for more widespread application. Conservationists, food safety …

How Strong Is Florida’s ‘Revived’ Homeowners Market?

As Florida seeks to revive its private home insurance market after almost a decade without a hurricane, homeowners are pouring $6 billion a year in premiums into a new generation of small, in-state insurance companies with an unproven record of …

Judge Denies Class Action for Employees Suing Florida’s Darden Restaurant

A U.S. judge has ruled that food servers and bartenders employed by Darden Restaurants Inc., which owns chains including Olive Garden, the Capital Grille and LongHorn Steakhouse, cannot sue the company as a group for alleged wage violations. U.S. District …

More Than 300K Homes Are Foreclosed ‘Zombies’

A national survey found 301,874 “zombie” properties dotting the U.S. landscape in which homeowners in foreclosure have moved out, leaving vacant property susceptible to vandalism and degradation. Florida tops the list of zombie properties with 90,556 vacant homes in foreclosure, …