Latest news with #SafeHome
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
More SC homeowners can get state aid to protect roofs from hurricane damage
Aerial view in worker hands installing bitumen roof shingles with air hammer and nail. (File photo by Getty Images) COLUMBIA — The state is pumping millions into a program that allows coastal South Carolinians to strengthen their roofs against hurricanes and other high wind events. The SC Safe Home grant program aims to protect homes against natural disasters, in turn lowering their insurance costs. The state Department of Insurance normally awards about $3.5 million annually to homeowners, spokesperson Diane Cooper told the SC Daily Gazette. But the Legislature provided a big boost in the budget that takes effect July 1: An additional $5.5 million will more than double the grants to $8.9 million in the upcoming fiscal year. The boost comes as federal forecasters predict above-normal activity this hurricane season, which started June 1 and extends through Nov. 30. 'One of the major complaints I hear from my constituents is the rise in insurance premiums for wind and hail, or hurricane floods,' Sen. Tom Davis told the Gazette. 'I'm always looking for ways that we can try to control the site and insurance premiums.' The Beaufort Republican is one of the program's original backers, pushing for its creation during his tenure as Gov. Mark Sanford's chief of staff. Since its 2007 inception, the Safe Homes program has doled out more than 8,000 state-funded grants worth a total of $40.7 million to homeowners looking to reinforce their homes. Homeowners can get SC grants to strengthen roofs, windows against hurricane damage This fiscal year, 598 grants worth up to $7,500 were awarded. The vast majority of homeowners use the money to retrofit their roof. Homeowners can also get up to $3,000 to install hurricane shutters. In all, they report saving 24% on their insurance premiums, according to the state Department of Insurance's 2024 annual report. With the Legislature providing more money for the program, more houses can be retrofitted. Of the additional $5.5 million, only $2.5 million is recurring, meaning it will continue in future budgets indefinitely. That's enough for roughly 250 grants annually. The $3 million in one-time aid will boost the total additional grants to an estimated 650 in 2025-26, Cooper said. The actual number of grants may be higher, depending on whether the agency needs to hire people — and if so, how many — to handle the additional workload, she said. Regardless of the exact number of grants, it should be enough to prove the program lowers costs, Davis said. He hopes legislators then turn the full $5.5 million into a recurring item in the budget. 'If our assumptions are correct and that retrofitting leads to a decrease in people's premiums, that one-time money could be made recurring,' said Davis, chairman of the Senate Finance subcommittee for natural resources and economic development. According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, the nation saves $6 in future 'disaster costs' for every $1 spent on mitigation. The program, started in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, awards grants based on the homeowner's income. Following Katrina and other hurricanes that hit the Gulf in Texas, insurers started refusing to cover hurricane-related wind and hail damage along the coast. The 2007 Coastal Property Insurance Reform Act was legislators' response. Since 2012, the number of companies writing property insurance policies has increased by more than 100, according to the Department of Insurance's annual report. In addition to the roof retrofits, the state also provides income tax credits to homeowners who fortify their property, worth a combined $2,500. Since the grants don't cover the entire retrofitting costs, the tax credits further help make the projects affordable, Davis said. The head of the insurance agency credits Davis for the budget boost. He's 'been a tireless advocate for strengthening coastal resilience and protecting South Carolina families,' Michael Wise, the agency's director, said in a news release. 'His leadership was critical in making this additional funding a reality, and we are grateful for his commitment to mitigation and public safety.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gun sales are dropping in these states. Where does Michigan rank?
Michigan and the U.S. saw fewer gun sales in 2024 than the previous year, a new report from SafeHome, a home security company, says. The June 4 report shows declining gun sales nationwide over the past three years, following a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The data focuses on 2023 to 2024, when gun sales dropped 3.4% nationwide. While sales trended down nationwide, a few states saw increasing gun sale rates, according to the report, mainly in states with strong hunting culture and more relaxed gun laws. "America's storied relationship with firearms and the Second Amendment remains a defining part of its national identity. Each election cycle, politicians return to familiar platforms, either defending or contending the American citizen's right to bear arms," the report stated. "For many people, stringent gun control laws are imperative for ensuring their safety, while for others, expanding access to firearms enhances their personal sense of security." Michigan had one of the sharpest declines in sales in 2024, down 13.3% from the previous year. In 2023, the state expanded universal background checks to cover private sales and implemented strict safe storage laws, with felony penalties for violations involving minors. Additional legislation passed in late 2023 expanded gun-free zones to government buildings. Massachusetts had the most significant year-over-year increase in gun sales, rising 22.5% between 2023 and 2024, the report noted. The spike followed the 2024 implementation of An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws, which expanded the legal definition of firearms to include covert guns, unfinished frames, bump stocks, assault-style weapons, and more. People may have preemptively purchased guns before the law took effect, per the report. Washington state, meanwhile, saw a 45.7% decrease in gun sales between 2023 and 2024, more than triple the decline of any other state. The drop correlates with the passing of several major pieces of gun legislation in 2023, including a sweeping assault weapons ban, mandatory firearms safety training, and stricter requirements for licensed firearm dealers. Here's what to know. Michigan had a 13.3% decline in gun sales rates from 2023 to 2024, the report says. The Mitten state reported 481,870 guns sold in 2024. In the first four months of 2025, there were about 159,000 firearms sold in Michigan. The report attributes Michigan's sharp gun sales decline to the recent passage of gun control laws. In the wake of the Michigan State University mass shooting in 2023, Gov. Whitmer signed legislation to reduce gun violence. The laws expanded background checks and enacted regulations for safe firearms storage. Michigan also put into place "red flag" laws that can remove firearms from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. The U.S. gun sale rate dropped 3.4% from 2023 to 2024, per the report. In the first four months of 2025, American gun dealers and individuals sold approximately 5.2 million guns, putting the year on pace for a projected 4% drop in sales compared to 2024. In addition to Michigan, these states had the steepest declines in gun sale rates: Washington: 265,915 firearms, 45.7% drop Connecticut: 103.805, 13.5% drop Maryland: 186,085, 12.8% drop New Mexico: 143,469, 12.3% drop Declining gun sales can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the economy, gun control legislation, crime rates and public opinion, the report says. These states saw gun sale rates increase, bucking the national trend: Massachusetts: 167,103, 22.5% increase Iowa: 89,144, 7.7% increase South Carolina: 277,081, 6.9% increase New Hampshire: 145,700, 6.7% increase Arkansas: 213,165, 6.4% increase The report also noted the states with the highest gun sale rates per 100 residents age 21 or older in 2024: Wyoming: 16.1 (68,964 guns sold) Montana: 15.9 (135,000 guns sold) Alaska: 15.4 (79,000 guns sold) New Hampshire: 13.3 (145,000 guns sold) Oregon: 13.2 (429,000 guns sold) Alabama: 12.3 (460,000 guns sold) North Dakota: 11.7 (65,000 guns sold) Idaho: 11.5 (162,000 guns sold) West Virginia: 11.5 (155,000 guns sold) Tennessee: 11.1 (583,000 guns sold) Oklahoma: 11.1 322,000 guns sold) In 2024, the states with the lowest gun sale rates compared to population size were Hawaii, Washington D.C., New York, New Jersey, and Nebraska. The SafeHome rankings cited data from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System from 2010 to April 2025, the report stated. Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan, other US states seem gun sales drops. What the data show
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida No. 2 in gun sales but numbers are dropping here and in the US. Possible reasons
Floridians, and Americans in general, are buying fewer guns. People in the Sunshine State bought just over an estimated 1.2 million guns in 2024, according to the annual report from safety product review site based on data from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). That's a 7% drop from 2023. Florida still ranks No. 2 in the country in total gun sales, though, behind Texas (1.36 million). Sales were down nationally as well, where the estimated 16.1 million firearms sold in 2024 were a 3.4% decline from the previous year. The National Shooting Sports Foundation's annual report calculated a lower number, 15.2 million sold in 2024, but also said sales were declining. Sales have declined every year since 2020 after peaking during the COVID pandemic, SafeHome said. Gun sales in Washington plunged nearly 46%. "Some expected the 2024 presidential election to drive a spike in gun sales, but early data from 2025 tells a different story," said SafeHome managing editor Rob Gabriele. "In the first four months of the year, just over 5.29 million guns were sold, averaging around 1.32 million per month. "If that pace holds, 2025 will end with roughly 15.5 million gun sales, a 3.8 percent drop from 2024 totals," he said. "This mirrors the previous year's rate of decreasing sales." However, 15 states saw increases in gun sales, with Massachusetts residents buying 22.5% more of the weapons. SafeHome releases its report every year in time for National Gun Violence Awareness Day, which was June 6. Many Americans wear orange between June 6-8 in honor of Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. SafeHome estimates that 389,994 guns have been sold in Florida from January through April 2025, behind Texas with 443,224. But by this time last year, Florida gun sales hit nearly half a million. Florida saw gun sales go up 1% in 2023, the same year the state passed a law to allow permitless concealed carry. The Sunshine State was one of only four states to see an increase, with 1,316,471 estimated sales in 2023, according to the report. FBI report: Active shooter incidents decrease in 2024, list includes Florida I-10 shooter Whlie the answer remains unclear, the record sales during the pandemic may have lowered the demand for now. 'What we saw in 2020 and 2021 were not sustainable from a market standpoint,' Jonathan Metzl, director of Vanderbilt University's Center for Medicine, Health, and Society, told The Trace, a website tracking gun violence. 'But also, many more people have guns now, and so the market of potential consumers is a lot smaller than it was during the pandemic.' Another factor is a Republican president in the White House. Gun sales tend to rise when presidents from the Democratic Party are elected, due to expectations of more restrictive gun laws, weapons confiscation, or fears of violent right-wing suppression. In January 2021, the month rioters swarmed the Capitol to prevent the certification of former President Joe Biden's votes, the firearms industry set a new record of more than 2 million firearms in one month, CNN reported. That was a 75% increase over the number sold in January 2020. Firearm and ammunition sales also spiked during former President Barack Obama's terms. However, gun sales dropped 17% during the first three years of President Donald Trump's first term, The Trace said. Some gun owners may be shifting their focus on accessorizing the firearms they own instead of buying more, Guy J. Sagi wrote for the American Rifleman in February. An October 2024 NSSF press release (now deleted, archived here) reported that American ownership of suppressors is skyrocketing, with as many silencers sold between May 2021 and July 2024 as were registered in the previous 87 years. Other possible reasons for a drop in sales include more restrictive gun laws in some states and inflation pushing firearms farther down the list of immediate needs for many Americans. According to SafeHomes' analysis of NICS data, these are the states with the most firearms sales in 2024: Texas: 1,363,596 (1.2% increase) Florida: 1,224,566 (7% decrease) California: 1,019,136 (2.3% decrease) Pennsylvania: 822,286 (2.3% decrease) Tennessee: 583,750 (7.8% decrease) Ohio: 583,959 (0.1% increase) Virginia: 566,053 (2.7% decrease) North Carolina: 530,083 (6.1% increase) Missouri: 500,885 (3.8% decrease) Michigan: 481,870 (13.3% decrease) Adjusted for population, Wyoming, Montana and Alaska have the highest gun sales rates in SafeHomes' report. "These states have strong hunting traditions fostered by rural lifestyles and less rigid gun control laws," Gabriele said. "The pro-gun cultures and the need for self-defense in such remote areas, which abound in predators that could harm livestock, may also contribute to higher gun ownership and sales." Wyoming: 68,964 (16.1 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) Montana: 135,882 (15.9 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) Alaska: 79,217 (15.4 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) New Hampshire: 145,700 (13.3 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) Oregon: 429,892 (13.2 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) Alabama: 460,694 (12.3 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) North Dakota: 65,170 (11.7 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) Idaho: 162,079 (11.5 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) West Virginia: 155,421 (11.5 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) Oklahoma: 322,315 (11.1 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) Tennessee: 583,750 11.1 sold per 100 residents aged 21+) In comparison, Florida saw 7 firearms sold per 100 residents 21 and older. National Gun Violence Awareness Day, which falls on the first Friday in June every year, was established to honor the estimated 88 Americans (as of 2015) whose lives were cut short by gun violence every day, and the survivors whose lives are forever changed. The day, and the Wear Orange movement, began when some Chicago teens asked their classmates to wear orange on June 2 to commemorate the birthday of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton. Pendleton was shot and killed a week after marching in President Obama's 2nd inaugural parade. Orange was chosen because it's what responsible gun owners wear in the woods while hunting to protect themselves and others. Former First Lady Michelle Obama attended Pendleton's funeral and delivered the commencement address at what would have been her graduation ceremony. Former President Barack Obama talked about her death in his 2013 State of The Union Address. The Obamas announced they were honoring the slain student through the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium at the Obama Presidential Center. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gun sales down in Florida, America. Why the decline?
CNET
31-05-2025
- General
- CNET
4 Ways to Ditch Your Home Security Devices' Reliance on Wi-Fi
With all the security breaches and hacking going on nowadays, privacy and protection are most people's main priorities when it comes to their well-being and property. Home security systems grew over the past year, with 94 million US households adopting some form of camera, doorbell, alarms and other security devices, according to the SafeHome report. But most of these smart home security gadgets rely heavily on Wi-Fi, which can be a problem when your network goes offline and/or is compromised. If you don't want your home security system to rely solely on Wi-Fi to stay connected, you've come to the right place. Here, you'll be given a guide on the products and protocols necessary to have a security system without Wi-Fi. But first, let's break down the basics to set the right foundation. Can home security systems work without Wi-Fi? Yes. Many home security systems don't need Wi-Fi to work. However, you may be giving up certain features in return for this flexibility. In other cases, add-ons help normally router-dependent home security function even if your Wi-Fi dies, like in a power blackout. Google Are home security systems more vulnerable on Wi-Fi? Hacking home security systems is very rare and is typically only done by acquaintances who already had access to the system. But with poor security habits your wireless network can be vulnerable to hacking. Always enable the highest level of encryption your home devices can support, and create a robust password for your Wi-Fi login. You'll also have to decide whether you want your home security devices online at all. Connecting to the internet in any form can increase certain risks, like getting your info stolen in a large-scale database theft. But it also brings many benefits, including remote monitoring and cloud video storage. How do I know if my security devices can work without a wireless network? Below, we'll cover the best options for security system without Wi-Fi . But looking for cellular, PoE (power over Ethernet) and offline features is the best way to ensure your system doesn't need Wi-Fi, or can keep going if your router goes down. Do home security systems without Wi-Fi cost more? Sometimes, but they can also cost less -- it depends on the type of system you get. An offline camera system is likely to cost less. Cellular backup support will usually cost more. The best home security without Wi-Fi Quit relying on Wi-Fi for your home security management with several effective answers... Option 1: Cellular backup for security systems Arlo's new Security Tag and keypad. Arlo If you want (or already have) a traditional home security system with important features like app alerts and remote live views or controls, your best option is to equip your system with a cellular backup. These backups can replace Wi-Fi with a cell signal, and work in tandem with built-in hub batteries (another common inclusion in modern systems) to keep systems running even when the power is out. The trick is that cellular backups aren't free. In some cases, you'll need to purchase an extra device, like this cellular and battery backup from Arlo ($80). In other cases, your security hub already has the capability. But you'll always have to pay a subscription fee for the service, and cellular support isn't always cheap. Arlo, for example, requires a professional monitoring subscription to get cell and battery backup, which only kicks in at the Premium plan, currently around $20 per month. Ring Alarm starts cellular backup at its Standard plan for compatible systems, which costs $10 per month. Expect similar fees like these to enable cellular backup for essentially any security system. Option 2: PoE (power over Ethernet) devices Reolink's affordable PoE cam is a great budget pick if you have cable options. Reolink PoE systems use a single cable connection to supply both power and an internet connection to a device such as a security camera. That makes them ideal for outdoor cams that are far away from Wi-Fi or that need more reliability. It won't help solve blackout problems, but otherwise it's a hands-off cam that doesn't require battery charging and still provides all the online benefits you want. Reolink stands above most home security brands as one of the best choices for PoE cameras. It offers many options, but one of our favorites is the Reolink 4K RLC-810A outdoor camera. It's a high-res cam that's affordable; has object recognition and long-distance night vision; some smart home support; and is entirely subscription-free when you add a microSD card. Option 3: Closed network NVR system Lorex is an excellent choice for NVR systems that avoid Wi-Fi or stay offline altogether for your privacy. Lorex/CNET Homeowners also have the option to ditch the internet completely with an offline NVR or network video recorder, a favorite option for people who want to keep their home security away from the web, the cloud and any wireless signals entirely. The NVR is connected to a display where it can show multiple feeds at the same time, just like how a security guard monitors cameras in a store. Brands like Lorex or Swann sell a variety of Ethernet cables and shielding to security buyers, and security kits will often come with cables for these kinds of NVR systems. You may also be able to choose an analog setup with a BNC cable, or a wireless setup that skips the router and connects to a compatible home hub (Lorex offers both these options, as well as the ability to turn its more advanced Home Security Center offline). However, an offline NVR setup like this will put your security system back decades. You'll miss out on the most advanced features, including checking live views from a distance on your phone. We recommend staying online if possible: Consider a wired connection that still connects the NVR to the internet for the best of both worlds. Option 4: A noncellular trail cam Trail cams are a rough and ready option if you want to keep watch on a spot without relying on the internet. Founissa/CNET Does managing cables annoy you? You have a final security option that ignores Wi-Fi and can work anywhere, wire-free. These are the same trail cams that capture inquisitive wildlife out in remote areas where cell connections aren't reliable. Trail cams like this model for $80 have far-reaching night vision and lots of battery life so they can last for many months at a time even with 4K resolution and audio. The catch is that if you want to see what the camera picked up, you'll need to manually view it like a digital camera, or take out the SD card for a more lengthy inspection. Still, as a weatherproof set-and-forget option, trail cams have their place. Read more: Top Home Security Tips When You're Renting with Roommates Get a more complete look at your options with our guides to the top DIY home security systems, wireless home security, and security systems that can easily move with you if you're frequently on the go.
