Florida's Boondoggle: FOX 13 investigates the Cross Florida Canal part 4 of 4
For decades, the ill-fated Cross Florida Canal wasted millions of tax dollars. While the canal failed more than 50 years ago, it caused a big controversy we're still facing today.
Florida's Boondoggle: FOX 13 investigates the Cross Florida Canal part 3 of 4
The federal government wasted millions of dollars and seriously damaged Florida’s environment by trying to dig a canal through Central Florida. Engineers said the project was impractical long before construction started in 1935, was canceled in 1936, and resumed in the 1960s.
Florida's Boondoggle: FOX 13 investigates the Cross Florida Canal Part 2 of 4
Our federal government tried to build a canal through the middle of Florida and repeatedly failed. And the damage they left behind set off a dispute that's still playing out.
Florida's Boondoggle: FOX 13 investigates the Cross Florida Canal Part 1 of 4
One of the most wasteful civil works projects in American history was canceled and abandoned years ago in Central Florida, and we are still dealing with the effects of it today due to the long-running controversy of the Kirkpatrick Dam in Palatka.
Waiting for Help: Florida's wait list for citizens with disabilities
Florida has a crisis in serving people with developmental disabilities. Thousands are waiting for home and community-based services due to a backlog in state government. And while the legislature increased funding to help some of them, most will continue to wait.
FOX 13 investigates wait list for Floridians with disabilities and $708 Million unspent
Across Florida, thousands of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are waiting for help.
Lawmakers respond to wait list for disabled Floridians
State leaders put citizens with developmental disabilities on a waiting list for home care, and thousands have been waiting for years, including JJ Holmes.
FOX 13 investigates wait list for developmentally disabled citizens
In Florida, thousands of intellectually and developmentally disabled residents qualify for community and home-based services but do not receive them. They’ve been on a wait list for years. And advocates say the longer families wait, the more it could compromise their health and cost all of us.
Glitch in Florida's Medicaid system: The toddler who wasn’t born
A glitch in Florida’s Medicaid health care insurance system left a child with no coverage for more than a year, costing her family thousands of dollars.
VA denies veteran's claim, says heart attack is not an ‘emergency’
Seven years after Congress passed a law reforming the scandal-plagued Veterans' Healthcare Administration, the VA appears to have made a great deal of progress. But there are still many veterans getting caught in a bind.
DeSantis weighs law removing no-fault car insurance coverage requirement
Around 25% of all Florida drivers already drive with no insurance. If that number goes up -- a possible result of the no-fault bill -- some experts fear that rates for people who do buy insurance will go up in the long run.
Florida's unemployment overhaul won't help those who fell victim to current system's failings
The Florida Legislature passed legislation to build a new and more efficient cloud-based unemployment benefits system. But that won’t help people who lost work during the pandemic and still can’t get benefits because of continuing issues with the existing system known as Connect.
More than money needed to fix problems at Department of Veterans Affairs
While Congress passed reforms to reduce a backlog of veterans claims, a former VA insider told FOX 13 that, based on his experience, policies intended to improve performance in some cases backfired.
Russia paying Florida businessman for right to broadcast Radio Sputnik over US airwaves
If you miss the hourly disclaimer, you may not realize you're listening to radio programs -- on American airwaves -- that are designed by the Kremlin to influence American voters.
Florida unemployment system failure continues one year into pandemic
Florida’s unemployment benefits system failed thousands of people when they needed help the most. Now claimants say it’s still holding up their benefits as state leaders consider plans to build a new system.
A year and a half later, widow's VA benefits finally come through
When we met Candi Weikert in November, she was a grieving widow who’d been unable to get her VA benefits for more than a year. The bank had already planned to auction her home, and she had given up hope of being able to keep it.
Noted 'Stand Your Ground' attorney calls for review of deadly 2016 shooting
The attorney who helped defend George Zimmerman is now on the other side of the courtroom, arguing Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' law does not apply in a deadly Lee County shooting in which the victim was armed with a garden hose.
Why the government is releasing convicted rapists from prison
Harmony Allen was 19 years old and three months into her Air Force training when she was raped and beaten unconscious. Her sergeant was later convicted, but he was released from prison not long after, thanks to an apparent military loophole.
Red flag laws: Mistaken identity leads to revocation of veteran's firearms license
In South Florida, law enforcement took more than two dozen calls warning about the Parkland shooter in the months, weeks, and days before he opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The gender pay gap in Florida government
Government reports show men make more money than women in the private workforce. But who tracks the pay gaps in our government? FOX 13 compared salaries at state and local levels, and the results may surprise you.