September 1, 2008

20-17

The losing score for the Atlanta Falcons in the team’s Aug. 9 preseason opener against Jacksonville, a game that was started by quarterback Chris Redman, who used to sell property casualty insurance. Redman worked as an insurance agent at Garrett Stotz Co., of Louisville, Ky., for several months. Third round draft pick Matt Ryan of Boston College has been named the Falcons’ starting quarterback for the regular season.

The number of horses in the annual Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Typically, other races are limited to just more than a dozen. A Jockey Club panel wants a study into whether the number of horses allowed into the Kentucky Derby poses a safety risk. The panel was created after the death of Eight Belles in this year’s Derby.

The number of mine rescue teams from four states that gathered in Morgantown, West Virginia to test their safety skills. The mine rescue competition took place Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 and included simulated underground mine emergencies, tests of air packs and fixes of any problems found. The teams represented coal companies in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Competition organizers said the simulated emergencies could include missing miners, underground explosions and fires, a roof collapse or a mine being flooded.

10,000

The number of Mississippi households below poverty level that will receive free smoke alarms provided through a federal grant. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants Fire Prevention and Safety Program awarded the $497,025 grant to the Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s Office.

100,000

The number of new homeowners’ insurance policies Allstate must write over the next three years under an agreement reached between the insurer and Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. Other terms of the agreement require Allstate to lower its homeowners insurance rates in all territories of the state by 5.6 percent.