Tampa Bay 28 Investigates: Holding Power Accountable in 2025

Housing Conditions at McDill Air Force Base

• 🏠 Families at McDill Air Force Base reported living in mold-ridden homes with pleas for help met with indifference.
• ⚠️ Lieutenant Eric Provau experienced severe health deterioration, including blood pressure spikes and hospitalization, due to mold growth in his home.
• 🩺 Major John Jensen's daughter suffered from consistent coughing for years, and his wife experienced debilitating migraines, both linked to mold in their Harbor Bay home.
• 📜 The Jensen's discovered their home had a history of flooding and purported remediation, with previous tenants also reporting mold and illness.
• 🦠 Technical Sergeant Juan Torres' family experienced toxic mold levels, including black mold, in their HVAC system, leading to health concerns.

FEMA Trailer Misplacement

• 🚚 A FEMA trailer was delivered to a property in Dade City registered to a deceased woman, Sharon K Higen Bothotham, who passed away in 2014.
• 🏡 Ava McLaren, a neighbor, questioned the placement of the trailer, noting the property's poor condition and the owner's death.
• ❓ FEMA stated applicants must be homeowners or renters with lease agreements, raising questions about the due diligence in this case.
• 💰 An estimated cost of $110-$129,000 for FEMA trailers was cited, with a custom ramp and waterproof decking included in this specific delivery.
• 🚫 Days after the investigation, FEMA contractors removed the trailer, and the county locked the building permit.

Insurance Denials for Life-Saving Treatments

• 💔 Breast cancer patients faced insurance companies denying coverage for life-saving treatments and recommended procedures, including reconstruction after mastectomy.
• ⚖️ A loophole in the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act allowed insurers to deny claims, prompting calls for legislative change.
• 🎗️ Rachel Roth Mcnite, a young mother diagnosed with breast cancer and a BRCA gene mutation, experienced numerous denials and delays for her treatment.
• 🌟 New legislation, potentially named Rachel's Law, aims to close these gaps and require insurers to cover all breast cancer-related reconstruction and future options.
• ✅ The legislation, spearheaded by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and supported by US Representative Cat Kamik, offers hope for patients and doctors.

Travel Insurance Claim Dispute

• ✈️ Brit Schmidt canceled a special 70th birthday cruise for his wife, Karen, due to her debilitating back pain, later diagnosed as spinal cancer.
• ⏳ Despite filing a claim with Travelinsured International in May, Schmidt experienced months of delays and repeated requests for documentation.
• 🏥 Karen's condition worsened, leading to an ER visit where she was diagnosed with aggressive cancer that had metastasized.
• 💰 After intervention, Schmidt received his $3600 refund from Travelinsured International, though the company did not comment on the delay.

School Bus Camera Violations and Appeals

• 🚌 New school bus cameras in Florida counties are intended to stop drivers from illegally passing stopped buses, but drivers report unfairly issued tickets.
• 🔊 Drivers like Karen and Lars Larson claim they were ticketed for actions they believed were safe or unintentional.
• 💸 The program has generated significant revenue, with concerns that it is a "money grab" due to the vendor's large share.
• ⚖️ Drivers in Hillsboro County are now able to contest fines via Zoom hearings, though nearly 90% of tickets have been upheld.
• ❓ Bus Patrol stated Lars's dismissal was due to the sheriff's office review, and Karen would get another appeal chance, but the process remains confusing for drivers.

New Home Plumbing Issues

• 🚽 Patty Wood, a recently widowed senior, experienced severe plumbing problems in her new Dr. Horton home, describing her bathroom as an "outhouse".
• 🚫 Repeated clogs by organic waste and foul odors persisted despite efforts by the builder's vendor, Northwest Plumbing.
• 📉 Plumbers initially blamed toilet paper usage and then suggested ranch-style home designs, but Patty stopped flushing toilet paper entirely.
• 🛠️ Master plumber Thomas Flynn suggested the issue is likely with the pipes lacking sufficient pitch, causing waste to not flow properly.
• 📈 An experiment with flushing gloves confirmed slow drainage, indicating a significant plumbing defect that Dr. Horton disputes.

Allegations of Abuse on School Buses

• 🚌 A former bus assistant in Pasco County Schools is accused of slapping a student with Down syndrome and autism, Ian Stewart.
• ⚠️ The assistant had prior accusations of putting his hands on other children, including a physical altercation documented by a child protective investigator.
• ❓ Despite an incident report detailing the slap, the deputy recommended the case be unfounded, citing no criminal intent.
• 🏫 Pasco County Schools stated they take swift action against unacceptable behavior and conduct thorough background screenings.
• ⚖️ Gretchen Stewart has filed a notice of intent to sue Pasco County Schools over the incident.

Drone Pilot Program for School Safety

• 🚁 Florida is launching a pilot program using drones in public schools to prevent school shootings from becoming deadly.
• 🎯 Drones can be deployed within seconds of an alert and can maneuver through school hallways, potentially distracting shooters.
• 🔊 The drones can deploy non-lethal distractors like strobes and sirens, and their impact can be equivalent to a baseball bat.
• 💰 Florida lawmakers allocated over $550,000 for the pilot program, which will test drones on three campuses.
• 🚀 The goal is to engage potential shooters before they can harm students, drawing lessons from past tragedies like Parkland and Uvaldi.