Latest news with #Yarborough
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Help me get back into my home': Hillsborough residents give input on spending $709M in storm recovery funds
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla (WFLA) — Hillsborough County is asking residents to give input on potential spending for storm recovery funds. The county held the first of nine public meetings on Wednesday night. $709 million of federal funding is available to help with recovery and mitigation efforts related to Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene, and Milton. The money comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery. Many hurricane victims are at different stages of recovery. Barbara Yarborough is back in her West Park home after having four feet of water on the inside. 'I walked in the front door and nothing was in the same place,' said Yarborough. 'It was dirty sewer water, that's what bothered me.' Yarborough couldn't make it to the meeting on Wednesday, but said she had been encouraging her neighbors to go, as she says they've never seen flooding like what they saw last fall. Evelyn Igbinosun lives in Lake Magdalene and said three feet of water rushed into her house. 'I'm still not in my house,' said Igbinosun. 'If I didn't have a relative, I would be out on the street.' These women, and other residents, called on Hillsborough County to make some changes. The county proposes putting $35 million toward administration, $5 million for planning, $360 million for housing, $107 million for infrastructure, $180 million toward the economy, and $12 million for public services. 'We want this to be fair and accessible to all who qualify,' said the moderator of the public hearing. Residents said they felt $709 million isn't enough money to help. '$10 million for flood mitigation wouldn't even cover this area,' said one resident. 'These public dollars should prioritize long-term community resilience, not corporate profit,' said another resident. They also mentioned the backed-up canals and drainage systems they feel make storms even worse. 'Our ditches in the Town and Country area are horrible,' said one woman. 'It rained the other day and I went into a panic. I said 'Oh my gosh, I hope it's not going to rain too much,'' said Yarborough. 'I want them to redo the gutters and that canal there. Stormwater and drainage, after all, that's why we're here. Florida, we're known for that, so we need to take care of it. And I thought our taxes went to take care of things.' Igbinosun said she doesn't think the county was prepared for these storms and wants them to act now. 'Help me get back into my home. I would love that because my husband is in a nursing home. We use to go and get him and bring him home for the day. We can't even do that anymore,' said Igbinosun. 'Drainage would be the most important thing to me and then helping people like me get back into their homes and function day to day in their own surroundings.' The county has six years to use these funds. If the plan is approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the county can implement the program later this fall. If you want to send Marilyn Parker a news tip about this story or other newsworthy events, fill out the form below! Submit a form. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Out of the ashes: Contraption could turn Helene debris into useful product
May 21—The machine looks and sounds like something out of a toddler's most enthusiastic and fevered imagination. But maybe, just maybe, it holds solutions to several challenges the region faces, from job creation to storm-damaged forest cleanup and restoration of flood-stripped farm fields. Matte yellow and dull black, the shipping-container-sized contraption belches fire into the afternoon air. Waves of heat waft from its open top, and various levers and buttons adorn its sides. The behemoth sits on treads, surrounded by a sea of mud, and it is, improbably for a machine its size, driven around via remote control. A narrow conveyor belt rises from one end, terminating more than 15 feet up in the air. From the end of this conveyor, tiny chips of an ebony substance rain down into a white bucket, tattooing a rhythmic counterpoint to the ever-present rumble of whatever is going on inside the machine. Even the thing's name sounds like something a four-year-old would dream up — The Tigercat 6040 Carbonizer. In many ways, it is a dream. The dream of revived economic opportunity in Western North Carolina. The dream of flood-depleted soil suddenly refreshed with plant-friendly nutrition. The dream of turning Helene debris into something useful rather than have it take up space in Haywood's landfills. That's John Fletcher's dream. Now he's just got to find somebody to help him pay for it. Fletcher, owner of Suncrest LLC and Canton Hardwoods, used to make a living purchasing pulpwood, making chips out of it, and selling the end product to the paper mill. When the mill closed, Fletcher pivoted to the mulch industry. But there's another product Fletcher's had his eye on for a few years — biochar. It's the tiny black chips being spat out from the conveyer at the end of the Tigercat 6040 Carbonizer. And according to Fletcher, it's the answer to a lot of WNC's pressing issues. An unassuming miracle product Biochar is essentially a specialized form of charcoal. It has an array of helpful applications in the agricultural world. For one thing, it can replenish soil that's had its nutrients stripped by flood waters, explained Bill Yarborough, chairman of the board of supervisors for the Haywood County Soil and Water Conservation District. "The value of that is huge," Yarborough said, especially in flood-prone WNC. "There are other uses. When you have toxins in the soil and you need to clean them up, there's nothing better, because it will absorb those materials and hold them tightly. It's also used heavily in water treatment and filtrations." Biochar is a valuable end product. But even better, both Yarborough and Fletcher said, it's a solution to two ongoing problems. When the paper mill closed, it negatively impacted the forestry market for hundreds of miles in every direction. And when Helene rolled in, it toppled trees in roughly the same area. "You've got 800,000 acres of public and private lands in Western North Carolina that have downed timber. It's gonna be the biggest fire we've ever seen if we don't do something with it," Yarborough said. "That's not a solution, that's a problem," Fletcher said, pointing to a nearby ridge, where a convoy of trucks trundled mulched Helene debris to the privately-owned landfill at the site of the former paper mill. Fletcher is a man who cares deeply about both the forests and the people of WNC. And he's spent his career turning trees into jobs (and money). Every time one of those trucks drives by, all he sees is a colossal waste. What he'd like to do with Helene debris is turn it into biochar. After that, he sees biochar coming out of construction sites, logging operations, and more. In his mind, it's a win all around — it would refresh WNC's forestry industry, keep Helene debris from taking up valuable space in landfills, and create a product that can facilitate both agriculture and environmental cleanup operations. Tigercat says its machine can turn 100 tons of woody material into ten to 15 tons of biochar. That ratio is one of the things Fletcher's company is testing, said Daniel Vaught, sales manager at Suncrest. Vaught was squelching through the mud as he tracked circles around the 6040 Carbonizer, pulling a lever here, pressing a button there. He took a moment offer a simplified version of how it all worked. "There is a big motor and a fan that is basically churning the air and keeping the heat on the inside," Vaught said. Once the fire is going, another big machine drops in more woody material ever so often. The material burns down to a precise size before falling through a grate and being bathed in water to halt the burning process at just the right moment. Then the machine spits the resulting biochar into a bucket. Voila. Unfortunately, Fletcher hasn't had much luck getting a contract for debris handling. And he's running out of time. He's currently leasing the Tigercat essentially as a visual proof of the concept to lead public and private partners to the light. Yarborough said he's not sure how much longer Fletcher can continue footing the cost for the multi-million-dollar machine. That's why Yarborough and his state level colleague Barbara Blieweis are going all in on biochar evangelizing. "Biochar is one of the answers. But the startup cost for something like this is immense. To do production and industrial application, you need many like this all across North Carolina so that everyone can benefit," said Bliewis, the president of North Carolina Association for Soil and Water Conservation Districts. "Our vision is to come up with a pilot that works, that shows the entire business supply chain. What we are is rebuilding an economy using mobile technology. But to be an official large-scale pilot, I continue to pursue state and federal funding for that." Meanwhile the Tigercat 6040 Carbonizer sits on borrowed time in Fletcher's hands, not-so-quietly waiting for its chance to turn the byproduct of a natural disaster into black gold. Yarborough said that interested folks should contact their public officials and "say that this idea has value. It can actually benefit us." "It could create jobs, it could create lots of opportunities," he said. "But the main thing is it's just, it makes sense."
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawmakers pass wrongful death bill. Will Gov. DeSantis wield veto pen?
More people will be able to sue for and receive noneconomic damages – such as pain and suffering and mental anguish – when their relative dies because of medical malpractice under a bill passed by the Legislature May 1. The Senate voted 33-4 on HB 6017, sending the bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk. It had passed the House by an overwhelming 104-6 vote on March 26. But whether DeSantis will sign it into law or veto it is an open question. The Senate vote came a day after the bill sponsor – Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville – offered an amendment to put a $1 million cap on noneconomic damages. He said he did it as a way to assuage concerns from DeSantis the bill would lead to higher rates for medical malpractice insurance and exacerbate a health care provider shortage in the state. But the Senate rejected the amendment on a narrow 18-19 vote. 'I can't speak for him but I believe the governor is of the opinion that it would be better if it had some limitations on the damages,' Yarborough told reporters after the vote. Yarborough said after postponing a vote on the bill April 30, he moved forward with the measure without the caps - risking a veto from DeSantis – because he committed to families who lost loved ones due to medical malpractice and were unable to recover pain and suffering damages. 'At the end of the day my commitment to the families of those impacted was that we go ahead and do it anyway,' Yarborough said. Under current law, children age 25 and older who have an unmarried parent die due to medical malpractice can only recover economic damages – for funeral costs and medical expenses, for example – but not for pain and suffering, which can be much more costly. The parents of adult children who die due to medical malpractice are also barred from receiving noneconomic damages. The law was put in place in 1990 and has been decried by those affected and by the trial bar lobby. It was passed to lower medical malpractice rates and insurers, physicians' groups and hospitals argue repealing it could lead to a spike in rates that pushes physicians and other health care providers out of Florida. Florida is already projected to have significant deficits in a broad array of providers, including obstetricians, opponents of the bill argue, as the state continues to grow and Baby Boomer retirees move here. 'Without caps in this legislation we are going to have a huge increase in medical malpractice,' said Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, one of the four no votes. 'And we're going to have a huge increase in physicians leaving.' Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lawmakers pass wrongful death bill. Will Gov. DeSantis veto?
CBS News
01-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Medical malpractice bill passes Florida Senate, possibly opening door for people to pursue cases involving deaths of family members
A day after the issue appeared stalled, the Florida Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would open the door to some people pursuing medical-malpractice lawsuits over the deaths of family members. The Senate voted 33-4 to pass the bill, which would repeal a long-controversial 1990 law. The House passed the bill (HB 6017) in late March, meaning it is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The law made it impossible to seek damages for cases resulting in death Under the 1990 law, people who are 25 years old or older cannot seek what are known as "non-economic" damages in medical-malpractice cases involving deaths of their parents. Also, parents cannot seek such damages in malpractice cases involving the deaths of their children who are 25 or older. Supporters of the repeal have said the law prevents people from getting justice for deaths caused by medical malpractice. "This is a 35-year-old law that needs to be repealed," Senate bill sponsor Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, said Thursday. "It's unjust. It shouldn't be on the books." But opponents argued, in part, that a repeal would drive up medical-malpractice insurance premiums, exacerbating problems with physician shortages in the state. "We are going to create even more of a problem in the state of Florida," Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said. Along with Harrell, the bill drew opposition from Sen. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach; Sen. Stan McClain, R-Ocala, and Sen. Keith Truenow, R-Tavares. The vote came after the bill appeared to stall in the Florida Senate The vote came a day after the bill appeared to be stalled in the Senate following a fierce debate and procedural moves. That included a failed attempt to change the bill to add a $1 million cap on non-economic — often known as "pain and suffering" — damages in all medical malpractice lawsuits involving patient deaths. Damage caps have been a lightning-rod issue for decades, with health-care groups backing such limits and plaintiffs' attorneys fighting them. Yarborough said the proposed change would have brought "balance" to the bill. After senators voted 19-18 to reject the proposed addition, Yarborough tabled the bill, leaving it unclear whether it would be considered again. But the Senate on Thursday took up the bill without the change and overwhelmingly passed it. As a sign of the intensity of the issue, Harrell said a billboard had been put up in front of her neighborhood that attacked her as supporting "profits over people." "I can tell you that is very devastating to anyone in a political situation where they think Gayle Harrell puts profits over people," Harrell, whose late husband was a physician, said. "I do not. I do not." Other senators rallied to Harrell's defense. Yarborough said there's "no excuse" for the billboard. "I think it's sick," Yarborough said. "It's cowardly. It's immature."
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Wrongful death bill most likely dead for the 2025 session
(iStock /Getty Images Plus) A multi-year push to finally repeal what critics have called Florida's 'free kill' law involving negligent doctors appears to have faltered again following emotional pleas and a dramatic vote in the Senate. And it may have been done to avoid putting Gov. Ron DeSantis in an awkward spot. By a one-vote margin, the Senate on Wednesday shot down a move by organized medicine and business interests to place a $1 million cap on noneconomic damages in wrongful death cases involving medical malpractice. After dispatching the amendment to HB 6017, (which was supported by Senate President Ben Albritton) the Senate agreed to roll the bill to third reading, a procedural move prepping it for final passage. But sponsor Sen. Clay Yarborough moved to temporarily pass the bill — pausing debate — 'so we can continue to work on details related to the bill.' The move, coming with just days left in session, suggests the legislation may be dead for the year. The measure, one of several bills caught up in a tense behind-the-scenes fight involving trial attorneys, has drawn 80 lobbyist registrations, House records show. A top priority for House Speaker Daniel Perez, HB 6017 eliminates a longstanding ban blocking parents of single, childless, adult children from suing for noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering arising from alleged medical malpractice. Florida also bans adults (defined as 25 and older) from pursuing wrongful death claims for single parents who die from medical malpractice, and the bill would remove that ban, too. The Legislature adopted the ban during the 1990s as the state wrestled with rising malpractice premiums. There has been a concerted effort in recent years, though, to eliminate the ban. And that push has coincided with recent efforts by organized medicine, business, and insurance lobbyists to reinstate caps on pain and suffering in all medical malpractice lawsuits. Florida had previously passed caps but the Florida Supreme Court in 2017 ruled them unconstitutional. The makeup of the high court has changed since then, with the majority of the justices now appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The medical community is eager to put the rejuggled court to the test. DeSantis has been harshly critical of the trial bar but vetoing the bill would disappoint grieving family members. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Throughout the 2025 session, Yarborough has steadfastly opposed linking damages caps in exchange for eliminating the ban on some medical malpractice cases. So it was quite the surprise when Yarborough sponsored the caps. 'I think you're being held hostage in negotiating with terrorists right now, ' Sen. Jason Pizzo said, explaining that the quid pro quo 'does not bode well for the policy at large.' After the Senate narrowly voted down the caps, Pizzo pointed into the chamber gallery to those who had been pushing to change the law limiting medical malpractice lawsuits. He said that legislators should send DeSantis a 'clean' bill and force him to explain to family members backing the bill why he was opposed to it. One of those supporters is Cindy Jenkins from Jacksonville, who said the amendment to limit noneconomic caps on all medical malpractice cases should have been its own separate bill. 'To smack an amendment on today and kill our good bill that was literally on track to pass and go to the governor's desk is wrong,' said Jenkins, whose 25-year-old daughter died from alleged malpractice. 'There's three branches of government for a reason. If they're concerned that the governor would veto it when it hits his desk, let it get there and let him veto it. We will handle that separately.' Tallahassee resident Beth Young said her mother died at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in 2023 after falling into a coma. She blamed the death on negligence and understaffing but she was banned from filing a lawsuit because of the law. HB 6017 wouldn't help Young but she said it's not about her or her family. 'I just want all people to be able to get justice. It's about accountability, it's not even about the money.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
