Latest news with #Cowart
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police union files to drop BSO lieutenants after they ask to inspect its finances
The International Union of Police Associations filed to stop representing Broward Sheriff's Office lieutenants last week, days after the lieutenants' union president asked to see its financial records, according to a letter to union members from Matt Cowart, the lieutenants' union president. IUPA's attorney said that she was on vacation when Cowart asked to inspect the records. She was also on vacation when she filed the petition to drop the union. IUPA, headquartered in Sarasota, represents law enforcement officers throughout North America, and has served as the certified bargaining agent for Broward deputies and sergeants for several years before lieutenants voted to have it represent them in January. All unions are required to allow their members to review financial records according to Florida statute, which states that any member of a labor organization 'shall be entitled at all reasonable times to inspect the books, records and accounts of such labor organization.' Not doing so is a second-degree misdemeanor. But Broward Sheriff's Lt. Cowart said IUPA did not provide those records to him when he requested them on April 18, according to a letter he penned to union members and the Florida Department Law Enforcement. Then, on April 21, the union, through its attorney, Maria Kazouris, filed the petition to drop the lieutenants entirely. Kazouris told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in an email that Cowart 'sent me a demand for copies of business records contrary to Florida Statutes which merely entitles union members the right to inspect certain union records during reasonable times (not during a week while I'm on vacation). Immediately upon sending the stated email, Cowart received a copy of my automatic out-of-office email which informed him that I would not return to the office until Monday April 28, 2025.' However, Kazouris was still on vacation when she filed the petition to drop the union on April 21. She did not respond to questions from the South Florida Sun Sentinel about why she filed the petition in the first place. By the time she returned to the office, Kazouris wrote, Cowart had resigned from the union, 'rendering him ineligible to inspect I.U.P.A. records.' Cowart declined to comment when reached by the Sun Sentinel beyond what he wrote in his letters. The split between the national and local union is the culmination of an ongoing feud that traces back to the Tamarac triple murder in February, where a man is accused of killing his estranged wife, her father and a neighbor despite the woman's efforts to protect herself. The conflict with the lieutenants began when Cowart sent a letter to the Broward Sheriff's Office about the importance of due process following Sheriff Gregory Tony's February news conference announcing the suspensions of seven deputies, in which he said 'there will be people that will lose their job over this' and that he would 'make sure they don't win a damn arbitration.' After Cowart sent the Tamarac letter, he wrote that the union attorney retaliated against him, according to the more recent letter. The lieutenants' union board voted to terminate the attorney. IUPA 'initially refused' to provide a replacement attorney, Cowart's letter states, then agreed when they were reminded that they had promised the lieutenants' union an attorney. However, after hiring the new attorney, Cowart wrote they did not pay the attorney the full amount he was owed, basing his pay on 21 members rather than 40. When Cowart confronted Kazouris about this, he said in the April 21 letter that she 'attempted to blame BSO.' 'As a result of I.U.P.A. headquarters' General Counsel Kazouris's concerning comments about 44% of member dues being unaccounted for and her apparent unwillingness to make General Counsel Gary Celetti whole, I advised her that I am requesting to inspect numerous financial records,' Cowart wrote. Three days later, Kazouris filed the petition to drop the lieutenants. In a scathing second letter on April 25, Cowart informed IUPA President Sam Cabral that the entire executive board of the lieutenants' union had resigned. 'IUPA has abandoned this union, sabotaged our ability to have contract negotiations due to the decertification process, refused to have financial transparency, refused to communicate with the Executive Board, refused to pay our General Counsel appropriately, and is now bad mouthing me to my employer,' he wrote. The lieutenants' union was supposed to have a negotiation session with BSO on Tuesday, Cowart wrote, but IUPA's petition to abandon them halted any contract negotiations. Kazouris added in an emailed statement to the Sun Sentinel that 'IUPA acknowledges its fiduciary responsibilities and is audited every year by a registered CPA firm to assure all members and directors of our compliance with policy, law, and accounting principles. The accounting firm stated there were no difficulties in performing and completing the audit. No discrepancies were found. Having said that, we have never refused to comply with any law.' Tensions were also high in recent months between the BSO deputies and sergeants union and IUPA, according to Greg LaCerra, former vice president of the deputies and sergeants' union. When the union's secretary asked headquarters for a breakdown of where union dues were being spent, IUPA was 'furious,' he said, and he never got them. Kazouris did not respond to questions about that incident. In January, LaCerra said IUPA suddenly removed him from his position as vice president after a separate dispute in which he had demanded a meeting several times and did not hear back. He retired from the Sheriff's Office in March. 'Why did they do that?' LaCerra told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, referring to the union's petition to drop BSO's lieutenants. 'Why did they cut off communication with me? I was a cop for 24 years, I was pretty good about smelling things out, and something doesn't smell right here.' IUPA has previously come under scrutiny over its finances. A 2019 joint investigation between the Center for Public Integrity and the Tampa Bay Times found that only a 'sliver' of donations to its Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund, advertised as helping families of slain police officers, actually went to the families at all; most went to telemarketers paid to solicit more donations. IUPA also has an F rating from the Better Business Bureau due to failing to respond to 97 complaints filed against it, down from a D-minus in 2019. Cabral, the union president, is paid a salary of close to $300,000. One reason both LaCerra and Cowart are now concerned about IUPA's lack of transparency is because they say they had previously discovered suspicious financial activity involving the local chapter for the deputies and sergeants' union. In 2023, the Broward Sheriff's Office investigated two retired deputies, Jeff Bell and Frank Voudy III, and a retired sergeant, Jason Zehler, over allegations that they had been using union funds to pay themselves bonuses and buy other personal items. Bell was suspected of using union money to purchase a $2,500 security system for his Palm Beach County home, according to a 2024 Broward State Attorney Office closeout memo. Prosecutors declined to file charges, saying they did not think they could secure a conviction in part due to IUPA's constitution, which allows the union's executive boards to set the policies for 'all types of direct and indirect compensation paid to any person by the IUPA.' 'There is no question that Bell, Voudy, and Zehler engaged in conduct that offends the concepts of basic morality and criminality,' prosecutors concluded. 'The flagrant misconduct and misappropriation of funds is a shameful example of blatant abuse of position and breach of trust by Bell, Voudy, and Zehler. Unfortunately, neither the IUPA International chapter nor the IUPA Local 6020 had the foresight to draft constitutions in such a way that would hold unit members criminally responsible for their actions in circumstances such as these.' The Florida Department of Law Enforcement did not respond to questions Tuesday about whether it is investigating IUPA.
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
State of Florida recruiting: Reviewing the hits, misses and hidden gems from the 2015 cycle
Lamar Jackson is arguably the best football player to come out of the state of Florida. He was definitely underrated, a former three-star recruit from Boynton Beach High School who was ranked No. 398 overall and No. 58 in the state in the 2015 recruiting cycle. Jackson went on to win the Heisman Trophy at Louisville and two NFL MVP awards with the Baltimore Ravens. Advertisement The 2015 recruiting class in the Sunshine State was one of the most decorated in recent memory, featuring nine five-star recruits and eight others who ranked in the top 100 nationally. So, how did the class — other than Jackson — turn out? Not great, to be honest. We'll dive into the hidden gems later but will start by taking a look at the top 10 players in the state according to the 247Sports Composite. Spoiler alert: Only four of the nine five-star recruits became NFL Draft picks. 1. Martez Ivey, OT, Apopka → Florida The 6-foot-6, 335-pound offensive tackle and No. 2 national prospect was named the U.S. Army Player of the Year after leading Apopka to its second state championship in three years. Ivey, though, never developed into a superstar despite starting 44 games with the Florida Gators and earning second-team All-SEC honors in 2017 and 2018. He went undrafted and ended up in the Canadian Football League. He's played in 33 games over the last two seasons with the Edmonton Elks. 2. Byron Cowart, edge, Seffner Armwood → Auburn → Maryland ESPN and Rivals ranked Cowart the No. 1 player in the class. He appeared in 26 games in three seasons at Auburn without making a start or recording a sack. Cowart transferred to Maryland for the 2018 season and started 12 games, producing 37 tackles, including five TFLs. He was selected by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 2019 draft. He started 14 games in 2020 for New England and has since played for the Colts, Chiefs, Texans, Dolphins and Bears. He signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal with the Jets in the offseason. 3. Derwin James, S, Haines City → Florida State James, ranked No. 5 nationally, earned first-team All-America honors in 2017 and spent only three seasons in Tallahassee before making the jump to the NFL, where he was drafted 17th overall in 2018 by the Chargers. He has made two All-Pro teams and four Pro Bowl squads, including last season when he had 93 tackles, 10 for loss and 5.5 sacks. James has two years left on a four-year, $76 million deal. Advertisement 4. CeCe Jefferson, edge, Baker County → Florida Tabbed the seventh-best recruit in the 2015 cycle, Jefferson was productive at Florida but never quite lived up to the hype, producing 124 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks in his four seasons with the Gators. Jefferson went undrafted in 2019 and signed with the Tampa Vipers of the XFL in 2020. He hasn't played since. 5. Kevin Toliver II, CB, Jacksonville Trinity → LSU The No. 9-ranked recruit in the class started eight games as a freshman in Baton Rouge but never really took the next step. He started 18 games total in three seasons at LSU and then skipped his senior season to enter the draft. Toliver went undrafted, played two years with the Bears (two career starts) and then appeared in two games in 2020 with the Broncos before becoming a practice squad player with the Ravens and Colts. He ended up in the XFL with the Houston Roughnecks and San Antonio Brahmas. He's been out of football for 14 months. 6. Calvin Ridley, WR, Coconut Creek Monarch → Alabama The South Florida native lived up to the five-star hype in Tuscaloosa, earning Freshman All-America honors, making three All-SEC teams, winning two national championships and catching 224 passes for 2,781 yards and 19 touchdowns in 44 games. He was the 26th pick in the 2018 draft by the Falcons and has 388 career catches for 5,375 yards and 40 touchdowns in 66 NFL starts. He signed a four-year, $92 million deal with the Titans in March 2024. 7. Tarvarus McFadden, CB, Plantation American Heritage → Florida State The five-star from South Florida became a full-time starter as a sophomore in Tallahassee and earned first-team All-America honors when he led FSU with eight interceptions in 2016. He started all 13 games in 2017 and earned second-team All-ACC honors before entering the draft with a year of eligibility remaining. After running a 4.67 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, McFadden went undrafted. He bounced around practice squads with the 49ers, Colts and Lions for two years before he caught on in the Canadian Football League in 2022 and has been a starter on two Grey Cup championship teams with the Toronto Argonauts. 8. Deon Cain, WR, Tampa Bay Tech → Clemson Cain played quarterback in high school but was recruited as a receiver by Dabo Swinney. The five-star recruit helped lead Clemson to the 2017 national championship as a junior before he skipped his senior season and was selected by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. Cain appeared in 14 NFL games with the Colts and Steelers over the next three years. He has since enjoyed success in the United Football League with the Birmingham Stallions. He caught three touchdown passes in the 2023 championship game to earn MVP honors. He re-signed with the Stallions in February after spending the 2024 season on the Buffalo Bills practice squad. Advertisement 9. George Campbell, WR, East Lake → Florida State → West Virginia The five-star target spent four seasons in Tallahassee but barely made an impact, catching 13 passes for 206 yards and no touchdowns in 19 games. He transferred to West Virginia in 2019 and caught 19 passes for 469 yards and seven touchdowns before going undrafted and being signed by the New York Jets in 2020. He's bounced around the CFL and UFL since but has not been on a pro roster since January 2024. 10. Jacques Patrick, RB, Timber Creek → Florida State The talented four-star back and top-40 recruit had the misfortune of sharing the backfield in Tallahassee with Dalvin Cook and Cam Akers. In four seasons with the Seminoles, he totaled 1,790 yards and 17 touchdowns before going undrafted in 2019. Patrick has since bounced around with the Bengals, 49ers, Panthers, Ravens, Broncos, Titans and Jets but hasn't made it off the practice squad. He was waived by the Jets in May 2024 and hasn't been on a roster since. Jackson, James and Ridley aren't the only NFL success stories from the state of Florida's 2015 recruiting cycle. Ray-Ray McCloud, a top-100 recruit from Tampa, was a standout at Clemson and a sixth-round pick by the Bills in the 2018 draft. He made 13 starts for the Atlanta Falcons in 2024 and had 62 catches for 686 yards and one touchdown. Safety Ronnie Harrison, a four-star recruit from Tallahassee who starred at Alabama, was drafted in the third round in 2018 by the Jaguars and has started 48 games with the Browns and Colts in his seven-year career. Cornerbacks Carlton Davis (Miami Norland to Auburn) and Jamel Dean (Cocoa High to Ohio State) won Super Bowl LV as teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and have been starters throughout most of their respective careers. McCloud, Harrison, Davis and Dean were among 51 blue-chip recruits in the state in the 2015 cycle. Advertisement Here's a short list of non-blue chippers who made it to the NFL: Geron Christian, OL, Ocala Trinity Catholic → Louisville The 6-5, 302-pound interior offensive lineman is an NFL free agent at the moment, but he was a third-round pick of Washington in 2018 after starting for three seasons in the ACC. He's won a Super Bowl and started 25 games in the NFL for the Commanders, Texans, Chiefs, Dolphins, Browns and Rams. Not bad for the No. 903 overall player in the cycle. Sam Franklin, OLB, Citrus → Temple Franklin, the No. 1,013 recruit in the class, spent four years at Temple after a year of prep school to improve his grades. He was signed by Carolina as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He's spent the last five seasons with the Panthers, appearing in 74 games, starting nine and producing 84 tackles. He's a free agent. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR, Lake Mary → Indiana The talented receiver spent five years in Bloomington and produced 144 catches for 2,226 yards and 16 touchdowns before entering the NFL in 2020 as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans. He started 39 games in his five-year career in Nashville, totaling 126 catches for 1,773 yards and 19 TDs. He signed a two-year, $3.2 million contract with the Dolphins in March. Fred Johnson, OT, Royal Palm Beach → Florida The former three-star recruit started 32 games for the Gators before going undrafted in 2019. He's played for the Steelers, Bengals, Buccaneers and Eagles (winning a Super Bowl in February). He signed a one-year, $1.33 million deal with the Jaguars in March. Justin Strnad, OLB, East Lake → Wake Forest Strnad, ranked No. 1,548 in the cycle, spent five years at Wake Forest and was a fifth-round pick of the Broncos in the 2020 draft. He started eight games last season and signed a one-year extension for $2.7 million in March. Tommy Townsend, P, Boone → Tennessee → Florida A two-time semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award at Florida, Townsend won two Super Bowls in Kansas City as an undrafted free agent. He signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Texans in 2024. Advertisement Azeez Al-Shaair, OLB, Hillsborough → FAU Al-Shaair, ranked No. 2,021 in the cycle, was an instant hit in Boca Raton, earning Freshman All-American honors and leading Conference USA in tackles as a junior in 2017. He went undrafted in 2019 but has been a full-time starter for the last four seasons, including last season with the Texans. He's gained a reputation for being a big hitter, most notably for a crushing blow to Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence last December that led to a three-game suspension. (Top photo of Lamar Jackson: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Breakfast Point Academy's Melinda Cowart excels in nurturing kids
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – Melinda Cowart has been teaching at Breakfast Point since the school was founded. She has always felt her calling was to work with young children, and she undoubtedly excels in her role teaching kindergarten. Her co-workers say one of the many reasons why Cowart is so successful is because of her attitude. 'She is so caring, she is just selfless, and I adore her so very much,' said Breakfast Point Academy Kindergarten Teacher Samantha Graham. 'She helps us, she helps my family. But beyond that, with the students and everything at school, she does the same thing.' Rosenwald High counselor builds student trust through openness Cowart knows what it takes to teach her students effectively. 'We really have to kind of step into that role of educator, but also very nurturing and making them feel comfortable here at school,' Cowart added. 'I love that we can do that.' 'She is always walking around, she's always helping all the children,' Graham went on to say. 'Her relationship with the kids is so sweet, it's like they're her own children.' Cowart and Graham split the teaching responsibilities in their classroom with Cowart focusing on math, science, and social studies, and Graham handling English Language Arts. They both love this new dynamic of co-teaching as it grants both teachers the opportunity to work and bond with more kids. 'Instead of having 17, 18, 19 kids, I have 33, 34, 35 children that I see throughout the day,' Cowart said. 'It's kind of special in that way that I actually touch not just my small, normal classroom, but I touch two sets of students.' That is what makes Melinda Cowart a Class Act. If there is someone out there who you believe is a Class Act, make sure you nominate them today. All school employees are eligible for this award. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
California fire victims are in limbo as they wait for insurance payouts
LOS ANGELES — Every morning for 47 years, Gaily Cowart's mother woke up in her sun-filled bedroom overlooking a lush garden and the San Gabriel Mountains beyond. That garden and much of her mother's home are now covered in ash and soot after the Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena on Jan. 7, destroying more than 9,000 residences in the foothill community north of downtown Los Angeles. At least 17 people died, and thousands more were displaced. Cowart's childhood house survived the flames but is surrounded by charred homes and razed businesses near what used to be Altadena's bustling business corridor. The neighborhood off Lake Avenue sustained some of the worst damage in one of two major fires that swept through Los Angeles County in January. The Eaton and Palisades fires displaced about 150,000 residents, and many remain in rentals and hotel rooms nearly two months later. Survivors whose homes are standing face ballooning smoke remediation and restoration costs, as well as insurance companies that are lowballing payouts even though some offer smoke damage coverage. NBC News spoke with seven homeowners whose houses survived the fires. Six of them paid for smoke damage coverage through insurance, and one did not have the option through the state's insurer of last resort. Still reeling from the destruction, they now face tens of thousands of dollars in costs or more to deep clean and remediate remaining toxins inside their homes. They anticipate being displaced for months as they begin rebuilding. 'It's really tricky being in a home that did not burn down,' Cowart said. 'There's such a gray area with insurance thinking, 'Just wipe everything down and it'll be back the way it used to be.' But it's like, 'No, I've got soot and ash that I can see with my eyes.'' The insurance industry has long been fraught in California, where wildfires are getting bigger and deadlier every year. Major insurance companies have stopped writing new policies or are refusing to renew existing ones to offset skyrocketing costs across much of the state. Residents were blindsided last year when State Farm, California's largest insurer, announced it would drop coverage for 72,000 houses and apartments. It blamed costs associated with inflation, catastrophe exposure, reinsurance and regulations for its need to protect its bottom line. On Friday afternoon, Altadena resident Andrea-Marie Stark emerged from a State Farm information tent frustrated by the lack of progress in getting her remediation estimate approved. Service was scheduled to start Monday on her three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch-style house facing Eaton Canyon, where the fire was first reported. But State Farm had not yet approved the estimate, which ranged from $80,000 to $100,000 to pull insulation from the walls, remove harmful particles from all surfaces and replace furniture, clothing and appliances exposed to excessive smoke and ash. 'I'm worried I'm going to lose my place in line,' Stark said of the approval delay. 'And then I could lose a place to live.' Stark's house is one of several that survived the inferno on her block, but its proximity to the flames meant everything inside was coated with a thick layer of soot. Christmas decorations turned gray in the ash, and her clothing has the strong odor of smoke. A charred smoky smell lingers on Stark's street. A neighboring house has been razed to its foundation, with only the chimney left standing. In the distance, green moss and leaves sprout amid the burned branches and fallen limbs of Eaton Canyon. Stark and her husband evacuated to a friend's home the night of the fire after they secured their four rabbits, five chickens, three cats, a dog and a horse in their crates. They have been jumping from friend's home to friend's home ever since. They hoped to return to Altadena by mid-March after having booked a smoke remediation company that said it could complete the work quickly. But State Farm had not responded to her claim for two weeks, and she worried she would need to pay for the remediation herself, plus rent if her appointment had to be rescheduled. In an emailed statement, State Farm said it is 'committed to paying what we owe, promptly, courteously, and efficiently.' As of Feb. 26, it has received more than 11,750 fire and auto claims related to the fires and paid nearly $2.2 billion to customers, it said. To cope with the anxiety associated with surviving a catastrophic event, Stark and her husband started a Monday night support group for residents whose homes are still standing. It is a way for people to speak openly about what few others can understand. 'Safeness is an internal feeling. Safety is external, and they're both ruptured right now,' said Stark, a trauma-trained counselor. 'I don't want to express this to someone without a home, you know, because I don't want to disrespect their experience and make them think that I'm not grateful. That's called survivor's guilt.' The smell in Marcie Habell's Altadena home nauseates her. A remediation company recommended taking it down to the studs to fully restore it. She cannot imagine returning to it right now, let alone sitting on her fabric couch or using any of her towels or linens. 'I can be in my house for less than five minutes," said Habell, whose home is one of just two standing on her block. "It's insane that it happened, and then on top of it, the way that insurance is behaving just compounds the tragedy.' She has been quoted upward of $22,000 just for toxicity testing, and she expects rent could run $4,000 to $4,500 a month. That's on top of paying her mortgage if her insurance company does not agree to cover the full cost, she said. 'We are getting zero guidance from anyone for those of us who happen to have a standing home and are surrounded by the apocalypse,' she said. Michael Sollner, California's deputy insurance commissioner, said in a statement that "smoke damage is real and insurance companies must investigate claims properly, not deny them outright or pressure homeowners into accepting less than they are owed." More than 33,710 insurance claims related to the Los Angeles-area fires have been filed, and nearly $7 billion in claims have been paid, according to state Insurance Department. Cowart is handling her mother's smoke damage claim from Dallas, where she has been living for more than a decade. She flew to Los Angeles on Jan. 8 to pick up her mother from a friend's house and took her back to Texas. Cowart's mother, Faye Howard, has early onset Alzheimer's and struggles with being in a new place. But Cowart fears her old neighborhood is too toxic to return to. Initial estimates to remediate the Spanish-style two-bedroom, two-bathroom house started at $55,000. A landscaper bid $3,000 to restore the garden and remove potentially toxic soil. Including furniture removal and buying new clothing, Cowart fears, the cost to fully restore her mother's home and everything in it could quickly top $100,000. Howard's Allstate adjuster has not finalized their payout or agreed to pay long-term rent while Howard remains displaced, Cowart said. 'My mom doesn't understand why she can't go home,' Cowart said. 'Just on a basic human level, no one has told us what we're supposed to be doing.' Allstate was not available for comment Monday. Rob Rhatt, an insurance analyst for Lending Tree, said it is 'frustrating and not surprising' that insurance companies are slow to handle smoke damage claims. Unlike damage from fires, which is structural and clearly visible, damage caused by invisible smoke does not neatly fall into most categories. It requires professional testing, cleaning and restoration with expensive outside vendors. Simply put, homes in high wildfire-risk areas are bad for business. 'These catastrophic losses have really cut into their profitability,' Rhatt said of insurance companies. 'It's not just cutting into their profitability where they're making less money, but it's actually threatening their solvency to the point where they're losing money insuring homes in California.' Pacific Palisades resident Ian Hardcastle said he never had the option to fully insure the 2,600-square foot home he shared with his wife and 14-month-old child near Temescal Gateway Park, where the Palisades Fire sparked. After they bought their house in 2021, he signed up for the California FAIR Plan, which provides coverage for those who cannot obtain insurance from private companies, and hoped any wildfires would stay tucked in the mountains and canyons, as they had historically. But on Jan. 7, a wind-driven inferno ripped through the state park behind his house and devastated the surrounding neighborhood. His home was overwhelmed with billowing smoke and toxic ash for several days. Hardcastle can stand to be inside for only a few minutes at a time. His adjuster quoted $1,826 for remediation, but a $5,000 deductible means Hardcastle will receive no payout for work that could cost much more. "This, this little plot of land was our special happy place, so we're happy it's still here," Hardcastle said Thursday as he toured his property. "We want to come back, but again, we don't know when that will be." This article was originally published on
NBC News
04-03-2025
- General
- NBC News
California fire victims are in limbo as they wait for insurance payouts
LOS ANGELES — Every morning for 47 years, Gaily Cowart's mother woke up in her sun-filled bedroom overlooking a lush garden and the San Gabriel Mountains beyond. That garden and much of her mother's home are now covered in ash and soot after the Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena on Jan. 7, destroying more than 9,000 residences in the foothill community north of downtown Los Angeles. At least 17 people died, and thousands more were displaced. Cowart's childhood house survived the flames but is surrounded by charred homes and razed businesses near what used to be Altadena's bustling business corridor. The neighborhood off Lake Avenue sustained some of the worst damage in one of two major fires that swept through Los Angeles County in January. The Eaton and Palisades fires displaced about 150,000 residents, and many remain in rentals and hotel rooms nearly two months later. Survivors whose homes are standing face ballooning smoke remediation and restoration costs, as well as insurance companies that are lowballing payouts even though some offer smoke damage coverage. NBC News spoke with seven homeowners whose houses survived the fires. Six of them paid for smoke damage coverage through insurance, and one did not have the option through the state's insurer of last resort. Still reeling from the destruction, they now face tens of thousands of dollars in costs or more to deep clean and remediate remaining toxins inside their homes. They anticipate being displaced for months as they begin rebuilding. 'It's really tricky being in a home that did not burn down,' Cowart said. 'There's such a gray area with insurance thinking, 'Just wipe everything down and it'll be back the way it used to be.' But it's like, 'No, I've got soot and ash that I can see with my eyes.'' The insurance industry has long been fraught in California, where wildfires are getting bigger and deadlier every year. Major insurance companies have stopped writing new policies or are refusing to renew existing ones to offset skyrocketing costs across much of the state. Residents were blindsided last year when State Farm, California's largest insurer, announced it would drop coverage for 72,000 houses and apartments. It blamed costs associated with inflation, catastrophe exposure, reinsurance and regulations for its need to protect its bottom line. On Friday afternoon, Altadena resident Andrea-Marie Stark emerged from a State Farm information tent frustrated by the lack of progress in getting her remediation estimate approved. Service was scheduled to start Monday on her three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch-style house facing Eaton Canyon, where the fire was first reported. But State Farm had not yet approved the estimate, which ranged from $80,000 to $100,000 pull insulation from the walls, remove harmful particles from all surfaces and replace furniture, clothing and appliances exposed to excessive smoke and ash. 'I'm worried I'm going to lose my place in line,' Stark said of the approval delay. 'And then I could lose a place to live.' Stark's house is one of several that survived the inferno on her block, but its proximity to the flames meant everything inside was coated with a thick layer of soot. Christmas decorations turned gray in the ash, and her clothing has the strong odor of smoke. A charred smoky smell lingers on Stark's street. A neighboring house has been razed to its foundation, with only the chimney left standing. In the distance, green moss and leaves sprout amid the burned branches and fallen limbs of Eaton Canyon. Stark and her husband evacuated to a friend's home the night of the fire after they secured their four rabbits, five chickens, three cats, a dog and a horse in their crates. They have been jumping from friend's home to friend's home ever since. They hoped to return to Altadena by mid-March after having booked a smoke remediation company that said it could complete the work quickly. But State Farm had not responded to her claim for two weeks, and she worried she would need to pay for the remediation herself, plus rent if her appointment had to be rescheduled. In an emailed statement, State Farm said it is 'committed to paying what we owe, promptly, courteously, and efficiently.' As of Feb. 26, it has received more than 11,750 fire and auto claims related to the fires and paid nearly $2.2 billion to customers, it said. To cope with the anxiety associated with surviving a catastrophic event, Stark and her husband started a Monday night support group for residents whose homes are still standing. It is a way for people to speak openly about what few others can understand. 'Safeness is an internal feeling. Safety is external, and they're both ruptured right now,' said Stark, a trauma-trained counselor. 'I don't want to express this to someone without a home, you know, because I don't want to disrespect their experience and make them think that I'm not grateful. That's called survivor's guilt.' The smell in Marcie Habell's Altadena home nauseates her. A remediation company recommended taking it down to the studs to fully restore it. She cannot imagine returning to it right now, let alone sitting on her fabric couch or using any of her towels or linens. 'I can be in my house for less than five minutes," said Habell, whose home is one of just two standing on her block. "It's insane that it happened, and then on top of it, the way that insurance is behaving just compounds the tragedy.' She has been quoted upward of $22,000 just for toxicity testing, and she expects rent could run $4,000 to $4,500 a month. That's on top of paying her mortgage if her insurance company does not agree to cover the full cost, she said. 'We are getting zero guidance from anyone for those of us who happen to have a standing home and are surrounded by the apocalypse,' she said. Michael Sollner, California's deputy insurance commissioner, said in a statement that "smoke damage is real and insurance companies must investigate claims properly, not deny them outright or pressure homeowners into accepting less than they are owed." More than 33,710 insurance claims related to the Los Angeles-area fires have been filed, and nearly $7 billion in claims have been paid, according to state Insurance Department. Cowart is handling her mother's smoke damage claim from Dallas, where she has been living for more than a decade. She flew to Los Angeles on Jan. 8 to pick up her mother from a friend's house and took her back to Texas. Cowart's mother, Faye Howard, has early onset Alzheimer's and struggles with being in a new place. But Cowart fears her old neighborhood is too toxic to return to. Initial estimates to remediate the Spanish-style two-bedroom, two-bathroom house started at $55,000. A landscaper bid $3,000 to restore the garden and remove potentially toxic soil. Including furniture removal and buying new clothing, Cowart fears, the cost to fully restore her mother's home and everything in it could quickly top $100,000. Howard's Allstate adjuster has not finalized their payout or agreed to pay long-term rent while Howard remains displaced, Cowart said. 'My mom doesn't understand why she can't go home,' Cowart said. 'Just on a basic human level, no one has told us what we're supposed to be doing.' Allstate was not available for comment Monday. Rob Rhatt, an insurance analyst for Lending Tree, said it is 'frustrating and not surprising' that insurance companies are slow to handle smoke damage claims. Unlike damage from fires, which is structural and clearly visible, damage caused by invisible smoke does not neatly fall into most categories. It requires professional testing, cleaning and restoration with expensive outside vendors. Simply put, homes in high wildfire-risk areas are bad for business. 'These catastrophic losses have really cut into their profitability,' Rhatt said of insurance companies. 'It's not just cutting into their profitability where they're making less money, but it's actually threatening their solvency to the point where they're losing money insuring homes in California.' Pacific Palisades resident Ian Hardcastle said he never had the option to fully insure the 2,600-square foot home he shared with his wife and 14-month-old child near Temescal State Park, where the Palisades Fire sparked. After they bought their house in 2021, he signed up for the California FAIR Plan, which provides coverage for those who cannot obtain insurance from private companies, and hoped any wildfires would stay tucked in the mountains and canyons, as they had historically. But on Jan. 7, a wind-driven inferno ripped through the state park behind his house and devastated the surrounding neighborhood. His home was overwhelmed with billowing smoke and toxic ash for several days. Hardcastle can stand to be inside for only a few minutes at a time. His adjuster quoted $1,826 for remediation, but a $5,000 deductible means Hardcastle will receive no payout for work that could cost much more. "This, this little plot of land was our special happy place, so we're happy it's still here," Hardcastle said Thursday as he toured his property. "We want to come back, but again, we don't know when that will be."
