The golden years. That is what 82-year-old Gustavo Medrano and his wife were looking forward to when they moved to Century Village in Pembroke Pines two years ago.

Gustavo Medrano: “I came here to relax. These are the last days of my life. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here.”

But golden is not how he would describe his life now. He’s afraid his money will run out because of increases in his monthly condo fees.

Gustavo Medrano: “They want to charge us $200 increase, supposedly because of the insurance companies.”

Like many seniors, Gustavo lives on Social Security, and the $200 monthly increase is stretching his limited budget.

Gustavo Medrano: “I’m thinking all the time, ‘What am I going to do? I am going to the end of the money that I’m getting.'”

Rising rent forced James Blair and his wife out of their Miami apartment. The challenge was finding an affordable place to go.

James Blair: “You call the government or all of these places, and they got a year to five-year waiting list. Some of them want you to pay an app fee up front, and you’re still looking at one or two years to wait. Well, hell, you could die before you got in, right?”

He finally found an apartment that is less expensive but a lot smaller.

James Blair: “We’ll be divesting ourselves of a lot of things just to have a place to live.”

Many seniors are finding their incomes are not keeping up with rising housing costs.

Max Rothman, Alliance For Aging: “The percentage of income that an older person — and they’re on fixed income — is spending on housing, is well over 30% of their income.”

Seventy-two-year-old Robert Noel Earl knows that firsthand. He was forced to live on the streets of Broward County for nearly three months.

Robert Noel Earl, formerly homeless: “I was nervous, scared. I fought the rain, the bugs.”

His Social Security benefits were enough to buy food. But a place to live was out of reach.

Robert Noel Earl: “They told me the rent is $1,000 or better. I said, ‘I’m not going to be able to stand that,’ because I wasn’t making that much.”

So he camped out on the front lawn of this soup kitchen. And he’s not alone.

Seniors make up at least 15% of Broward’s homeless population. In Miami-Dade, they are at least 20%.

Jacob Torner, TaskForce Fore Ending Homelessness: “Not only are we seeing a rise in the age of people who are experiencing homelessness, but we’re seeing more and more seniors fall into homelessness, specifically here in Broward County.”

The TaskForce Fore Ending Homelessness was able to find a place for Robert to live.

But all of the agencies across South Florida that are designed to help seniors are being burdened by the sheer number of people who are in crisis.

Max Rothman: “Housing doesn’t turn up overnight. It’s a slow process, and some people are facing eviction tomorrow.”

It is a sad and frightening reality for so many. The skyrocketing cost of housing has many thinking South Florida is no longer an affordable place to live, and that paradise truly is lost.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Chara Fitzpatrick moved to Hollywood with her young kids so she could be closer to her dad.

Chara found a one room apartment for $1,400 a month.

Chara Fitzpatrick, apartment leaks: “We were looking for somewhere for six months to a year. You know, get settled in the town, look for things, find good jobs.”

But her plans started crumbling when the summer rains caused her ceiling to fall apart.

Chara Fitzpatrick: “They said that they were going to send people to fix it. They didn’t even go on the roof. They just took the sheet rock down and replaced the sheet rock and painted over it.”

When the rains kept coming, so did the damage.

Chara Fitzpatrick: “And I woke up to them crying, and it was just dripping water on them, and there was just roof debris on them.”

Robin Er, trailer leaks: “I was sound asleep, and it started raining, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m getting wet.'”

Robin Erb has rain coming in the bedroom window of the trailer she rents in Davie.

Robin Erb: “See that right here? It’s all – the walls are ready to cave in.”

Robin asked her landlord to fix the leaks.

Robin Erb: “He came over and looked and said, ‘I’ll get somebody on it.'”

But he didn’t.

Robin Erb: “This is where there’s black mold.”

She now has mold growing on her ceiling.

Chara also believes she has mold, and it made her daughter sick.

Chara Fitzpatrick: “She started getting feverish, and then after about two days that I couldn’t break it. I took her into the ER.”

She had pneumonia, so the family moved into a hotel. Her landlord still hasn’t fixed the leaks.

Chara Fitzpatrick: “He feels like we’re desperate and have nothing else, so we’re gonna do whatever our – you know, deal with it just like the other tenants have.”

Finding an apartment to rent is very difficult in South Florida.

Miami-Dade is the most competitive rental market in the U.S. Broward County is ranked ninth, and landlord complaints are on the rise.

Alexander Johnson, tenant lawyer: “In a tight market, the landlords frequently feel that there’s no real incentive to retain tenants when they can get new ones at higher prices.”

While most Florida laws benefit landlords, Alexander Johnson says renters can still fight for their rights.

Alexander Johnson: “If there’s something that needs to get fixed, you need to fill out this seven day notice form, notice of noncompliance. Until you use this form, you don’t have any rights.”

Johnson says list everything that’s wrong with the unit and then send it by email, regular mail, or even text message to your landlord. Your landlord then has seven days to fix the problem.

Alexander Johnson: “The tenant needs to document what, if anything, happened during the seven days.”

If nothing is done, you can then legally withhold your rent. But under Florida law, your landlord can still file for an eviction, and even if you win in court, that eviction stays on your record.

Alexander Johnson: “Even though the tenant did exactly what the state of Florida told him to do, it still shows up as an eviction.”

Chara still hasn’t heard from her landlord and stopped paying rent, but lives in fear he’s going to try to evict her family.

Chara Fitzpatrick: “The housing market is very high right now, so it is harder to find a spot.”

Robin doesn’t want to move, so she taped plastic around the window to stop the leaks.

Robin Erb: “He wanted me to take that down. He fought with me about taking it down because it didn’t look right.”

If your landlord isn’t fixing things in your apartment, links to the seven day notice form, along with instructions, are at the end of this report.

Friday in our special series, “Paradise Lost,” we talk to seniors who are struggling with the rising cost of housing in South Florida.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

7-DAY NOTICE FORM:
static1.squarespace.com/static/5de2ca573d393a7e062b6144/t/63af3def8772f76aafee333e/1672429054561/7+Day+notice+to+cure+new.pdf

INSTRUCTIONS FOR 7-DAY NOTICE:
static1.squarespace.com/static/5de2ca573d393a7e062b6144/t/5e3ddfa57895e322668efd5d/1581113253162/7+DAY+NOTICE+TO+CURE+-+INSTRUCTIONS.pdf

ATTORNEY ALEXANDER JOHNSON’S WEBSITE:
browardlandlord.com

CHAPTER 83/LANDLORD TENANT LAWS:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/0083.html

The Palm Bay Yacht Club in Miami and Palm Lakes in Margate could not be any more different. One is 27 stories, the other just four. One overlooks Biscayne Bay, the other is west of the Turnpike.

But what both condominiums have in common is financial strain set in motion by the condo collapse in Surfside more than two years ago.

Robert Norris, president, Palm Bay Yacht Club: “I knew right then, you know, our lives were all changing immediately, because our building was built at the same time that the Champlain was built.”

Robert Norris is the Palm Bay Yacht Club Board president.

Robert Norris: “We’re looking at a $33 million project for our 40-year recertification. So all of the board members felt the pressure.”

That project includes everything from concrete demolition and restoration to redoing balconies.

And those repairs come at a cost. The average assessment is around $140,000 per unit owner.

Robert Norris: “I can’t even begin to explain the number of nights that I couldn’t sleep because I knew that there would be people in this building that might not be able to afford it.”

And in Margate, some owners in the Palm Lakes Condominium can’t afford it.

Bonnie Underwood, condo unit owner: “You know, I’m kind of old to be homeless.”

Bonnie Underwood and the other residents are facing nearly $2,000 a year more in maintenance fees next year.

Bonnie Underwood: “It’s absolutely killing me, and I don’t think I’m the only one here in this association who’s feeling this, because the buildings are emptying out.”

Efi Barakakos, condo unit owner: “It’s tragic. People do not know what to do. They’re trying to sell their units, but where are they going to go? It’s very difficult.”

The reason for that difficulty is a state law passed after the Surfside collapse. It requires condo associations to collect reserve money for costly future major repairs like structural work.

Efi Barakakos: “We’re on fixed incomes here, and it’s very difficult for people to afford 100% reserves. We’re a four-story building, which is considered low-rise. We’re 11 miles away from the ocean. We can’t compare it to Surfside at all.”

David Podein, attorney, Haber Law: “I think it is a dire situation on the horizon.”

Condo law attorneys David Podein and Jonathan Goldstein are sounding the alarm.

David Podein: “Between skyrocketing insurance costs, the huge capital needs for the structural repairs and the mandatory reserve funding, we felt that there is this confluence of factors that could create a ‘zombie condo.'”

“Zombie condos” are large buildings that are mostly empty because many of the owners couldn’t afford to live there anymore.

Robert Norris: “I would think a lot of buildings in South Florida, that they’re just not to be able to do it. It’s going to be an Armageddon of some sort.”

Robert feels fortunate his association found financing for their $33 million project, which would allow unit owners to pay the assessment over time.

Still, he says, their insurance situation is a challenge.

Robert Norris: “We can’t get full insurance value for this building. This building is valued at $100 million. We’re only insured up to $20 million, and our insurance went up 60%.”

According to the Insurance Information Institute, associations have seen premium increases as high as 500%. Some are calling on state lawmakers to fix these complex condo problems. “Paradise Lost” continues Thursday at 10 p.m. with a look at tenants who say landlords are taking advantage of them in a tight rental market.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

“The Condominium Special Assessment Program is designed to provide funding assistance to help condominium owners in Miami-Dade County pay for special assessment requirements that arise from rehabilitation and repairs due to applicable building integrity recertification requirements.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1689262443911730

With insurance rates skyrocketing many homeowners are making expensive repairs in hopes of lowering their bills.

Francisco Landaeta: “We have a new roof. We have hurricane windows and doors, and these are things that they look into. They didn’t matter.”

Francisco Landaeta says even after spending thousands of dollars, his rates are four times higher than they used to be.

Francisco Landaeta: “Not too long ago, we were paying $900 and right now, we went to $3,600. So it’s a huge increase.”

Ronnie Mackliff bought his home two years ago. He’s afraid he’ll have to move because he can’t afford his premium, which jumped from $3,264 to $4,589.

Ronnie Mackliff: “It’s just getting to a place we can’t control.”

And one of the biggest reasons our rates are going up? Hurricanes.

Chuck Nyce/FSU: “And it will always be a factor in pricing.”

Hurricanes like Irma, Ian and Michael caused billions of dollars in damage.

Last year, six insurance companies didn’t have the money to pay the claims from those major storms.

Several others left the state or limited the amount of policies they would write.

Chuck Nyce/FSU: “When we’ve lost these companies that have either gone insolvent, or they’ve decided they don’t want to do business in the state of Florida anymore, that’s reduced competition.”

And reduced competition creates higher prices.

Walter Wyatt: “I had some sleepless nights because I was not sure if I was going to find any or find any that I could afford.”

Walter Wyatt paid $7,000 for his policies with Citizens Insurance, which is run by the state. But after Citizens dropped him, he spent weeks trying to find a new company to insure him.

Walter Wyatt: “I had everybody working for me and got quotes between $20,000 a year and $40,000 a year, which is just totally unaffordable. The last agent that I contacted was able to find me a policy and it still hurts. It’s $15,158 a year.”

Policies written by Citizens, are typically lower, but the company is dropping hundreds of thousands of homeowners so it can lower its financial risk.

Ronnie just got his notice that Citizens won’t be renewing him. A private policy will cost him 20% more.

Ronnie Mackliff: “We have been building our dreams so many years and working so hard to earn what we have today and we would like to keep it that way but I don’t see that possible with these projections.”

Francisco is also wondering if leaving Florida is the only answer.

Francisco Landaeta: “What if we look into another state, something that is cheaper that we have more options? Yeah, that has been on our mind.”

Some say Florida residents might not be able to get insurance at all.   

Chuck Nyce/FSU: “So I am concerned about the future of insurance in the state of Florida. There will be long-term consequences to the state, if we don’t figure out a way of hardening homes, preventing damage, making sure that the private insurance market is working.”

Homeowners aren’t the only ones feeling the insurance squeeze. Tomorrow, we look at how insurance and other issues could be the beginning of the end for condo associations.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Tonight, we begin a series of reports on this issue facing so many.

7’s Karen Hensel investigates: Paradise Lost.

They look like tired travelers waiting for a flight. But take a closer look.

These people are actually homeless and they are living inside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Rebecca: “Well, since right now, I am completely broke, so I’m not going anywhere. Just going, hiding in different parts of the airport.”

Rebecca has lived here with her adult son and cat for almost a year. She says the airport is safer than the streets and overcrowded shelters.

Rebecca: “You got cameras everywhere. You’ve got police.”

She became homeless after her husband Brian died. She moved from Arizona to Florida for a fresh start.

Rebecca: “I left phoenix with $15,000. It goes quick.”

The job and apartment she had lined up, both fell through. Then she lost $3,500 in a rental scam.

Broke, she landed at the airport, homeless.

We first spoke with Rebecca in March. She agreed to keep a video diary.

Rebecca (in video diary): “I am losing hope on all of this, it’s just getting hard.”

Taking us inside the struggle and sleepless nights.

Rebecca (in video diary): “It is actually a little scary doing this because I’m literally hiding under a blanket.”

Even more terrifying, the idea she could be kicked out. It is a constant fear as more and more homeless migrate to the airport.

Rebecca (in video diary): “It’s about one and there’s just a lot of people tonight. There’s a group of like four, I think, that get themselves completely walled in. That’s usually when they get angry. When customers come out and they start seeing that many homeless people.”

Rebecca says she leaves during the day to stand in line at soup kitchens. At night she moves between terminals and the parking garage.

Rebecca (in video diary): “It’s scary out here. It’s after 10 p.m.”

Rebecca (in video diary): “Just a quick shot of us leaving one and heading over to three.”

A good night for her is when she can find a family bathroom to sleep in because the door locks.

Rebecca (in video diary): “This is us at a car rental terminal charging up the phones.”

She uses the Wi-Fi at the airport to apply for jobs.

Rebecca (in video diary): “I am sick of this. I want to go to work. I keep putting in job applications.”

At one point she did get a job, ironically here at the airport, doing what she did in Phoenix, pushing passengers in wheelchairs.

Rebecca: “I like customer service a lot. I like the exercise I got pushing chairs.”

But was fired a week later.

Rebecca (in video diary): “It’s about 4 a.m. My eyes are a little swollen this morning from crying all day yesterday.”

She believes the company found out she was homeless.

Rebecca: “It’s hard to go to interviews when you have to be here, when you don’t have a definite, permanent address. The address that I use for mailing comes back to a church for the homeless, so they pretty much put two and two together. And then everywhere I go, I’ve got to take everything with me.”

She kept some possessions in storage, but lost them when she couldn’t pay for the unit anymore.

Karen Hensel: “So how have you been doing since the last time we talked?”

Rebecca: “Up and down. I lost my storage. So I lost, I lost Brian’s ashes and everything else.”

But she hasn’t lost her faith and still goes to church every Sunday.

Rebecca: “I don’t really have anything else I can do but just keep trying.”

Karen Hensel: “How much longer can you keep this up?”

Rebecca: “I don’t know. I don’t like being here.”

Rebecca says Florida has been a living nightmare since she got here but believes she will eventually land on her feet.

The homeless are living at airports across the country. Right now, 108 are staying at the Fort Lauderdale Airport. But it’s not only the homeless who are struggling.

Tomorrow at ten in our special series called Paradise Lost, we look at the cost of home insurance forcing some to leave Florida.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Rebecca and her son have set up a GoFundMe page. If you’d like to help, click here.  

They are all Black, all women, and they are all top cops — a triple combo that puts Miami-Dade County on the map.

But who are the powerful women behind the badges? We sat down with three of them.

Karen Hensel: “I’m curious, have you guys all met?”

Interim Director Stephanie Daniels, Miami-Dade Police: “Oh, yeah, we are very good friends.”

Meet Chief Cherise Gause of the North Miami Police Department.

Karen Hensel: “So you’re the first Haitian American chief. In the country?”

Chief Cherise Gause: “Yes, so we’re told, yes.”

Chief Gause started her career as a dispatcher with the city of Miami.

Chief Harvette Smith started as a secretary in the 90’s at the North Miami Beach Police Department, where she is now the first Black chief.

Chief Harvette Smith, North Miami Beach Police: “When I originally got sworn in as a police officer, I did say that I wanted to be the first female chief of North Miami Beach Department.”

Chief Cherise Gause: “Nice.”

Stephanie Daniels is the interim director of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Interim Director Stephanie Daniels: “I did not aspire to become the chief of police for any agency, let alone Miami-Dade Police Department.”

Each of them started at the bottom … and now have hundreds of officers under their command.

But getting there was not easy.

Interim Director Stephanie Daniels: “No matter what rank I had, up until a couple of years ago, I still had to fight for my voice, even by sitting at the table.”

Chief Cherise Gause: “I think there’s always going to be, for women, proving yourself, making sure that people understand why you’re here.”

Across the country, women only make up 12% of law enforcement, and only 3% are in leadership.

Director Daniels created a mentoring group where women help women.

Interim Director Stephanie Daniels: “We text each other, ‘Hey, we’ve got this event, come out,’ you know, so we get a table, we go, we mentor.”

Daniels was thrust into her role on the heels of tragedy. She was named interim director days after former Director Freddy Ramirez attempted suicide.

Karen Hensel: “I’m sure that’s not how you wanted to become chief.”

Interim Director Stephanie Daniels: “I knew I wanted to be in a high-ranking position within the department, but I’d never thought I would be the interim director.”

Karen Hensel: “As a mom, what did you miss out on?”

Chief Harvette Smith: “For my family, Sundays are a big thing. Everyone is at my mom’s house, and I always remember my daughter saying, ‘Mom, you’re never there. Everyone else’s mom is there. You’re not there.'”

Interim Director Stephanie Daniels: “Holidays, games, graduations.”

Chief Cherise Gause: “These positions come at a cost and that sacrifice. Sometimes it’s the family.”

Karen Hensel: “How do you guys make sure, when you walk in the door, that you’re Mom and you’re not chief?”

Interim Director Stephanie Daniels: “When we walk in that door, it is definitely – it’s us.”

Chief Cherise Gause: “I head right to the kitchen, and I’ll start things, and I’ll run upstairs and change. That’s a part of balancing.”

Each of them have made painful sacrifices, but it’s all part of the change they want to make.

Chief Harvette Smith: “We’re faced with doing law enforcement differently. The culture has changed.”

Chief Cherise Gause: “I want to make sure that my son, who is a Black male, or my brother can go out comfortably into the community and not have a fear of police.”

Karen Hensel: “You’re all Black, you’re all women, you’re all chiefs. What does that mean to you personally, but also to your profession?”

Interim Director Stephanie Daniels: “No matter where you come from, what you got going on today, doesn’t have to be your reality 20 years from now.”

Chief Cherise Gause: “It’s not always easy, but I think it sends a message of hope that you, too, can achieve these levels of leadership.”

Chief Harvette Smith: “It lets the little girls, Black and brown like us, know that you can achieve anything. The sky’s the limit.”

And all three women are proof of that.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

The unthinkable June 24, 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South is now marked by somber anniversaries, but for survivor Gabe Nir, the traumatic memories are something he lives with every day.

“It still feels like yesterday,” he said.

Nir, his teen sister Chani and his mother Sara escaped with nothing, except the most important thing: their lives.

“I mean, our apartment was literally six feet below ground level. That’s what everyone told us. Like, ‘You guys, we’re very lucky,'” said Nir.

But his anxiety, guilt and sadness cast a long shadow over the 27-year-old.

“I mean, we feel fortunate to make it out, but I feel that I have that sorrow, that guilt of me making it out but not them, and I don’t want to have that feeling,” said Nir. “People say, like, ‘Yeah, your life is good.’ Oh, it’s not.”

Between rentals and hotels, Nir said, his family has moved roughly 10 times since the collapse.

“In such a short span of, like, two years, it’s from place to place to place to place for moving. Oh, it was terrible,” he said. “It just feels like we’re always in a suitcase. It’s never been a time where we actually feel like we’re actually fully settled.”

Nir said he is still not settled, because he remains on constant alert, noticing everything, even an expired elevator certificate.

“Everyone tells me that I have [post-traumatic stress disorder]. I for sure know that it’s very bad. Any movement just triggers back to the night of that happening,” he said.

The Nir family had only rented unit 111 for about six months before the collapse.

“So our apartment is right across the pool,” said Nir.

Nir shared pre-collapse pictures and videos with 7News, showing skyline shots from the roof of the doomed building, and how close they lived to the pool deck area. One picture was taken on June 23 at around 1:48 p.m., hours before the building caved in.

“Super intense thunder, like, feeling that you feel like the whole ground is shaking,” said Nir.

Unlike many others who were asleep in the building, Nir, his sister and his mother all happened to be awake.

“All of a sudden, you just hear you just see all that white smoke, like coming up into our apartment,” he said. “I remember hearing my mom screaming, ‘Earthquake, earthquake!’ I see there’s a huge gap, like a huge sinkhole, all the concrete from the first floor, of that pool deck.”

Part of the building came down minutes later. Those minutes were crucial, because it allowed them to run out of the building.

Nir made one of the first calls to 911.

“Me saying, ‘Holy expletive, and as soon as I said, ‘Holy [expletive],’ that’s when the second collapse happened, which was our building, our part of the apartment collapse,” he said.

Now, more than two years after that terrifying night, Nir is still having trouble moving forward. His plan to go to medical or dental school was put on hold.

“What if this never happened? What if this happened in the daytime? What if, like, there are just endless, endless, endless questions?” he said. “The more you ask, the more you get, more what ifs.”

So many”‘what ifs” that Nir continues to ask, even if they were unlikely to ever be answered.

He credits his mother Sara’s quick thinking that night for saving him and his sister, as his mother told them to run, and they did. He calls his mother a hero.

Pictures captured a cherished moment between Mike Noriega and his grandmother.

Mike Noriega: “My grandmother would cook dinner for us and spend time with us, and she was in so many ways like my second mom.”

Ninety–two-year-old Hilda Noriega lived on the sixth floor.

Within minutes of the tower collapsing at 1:22 a.m. on June 24, 2021, Mike got a phone call.

Mike Noriega: “My mom said to me, ‘Mike, your father just got a phone call from someone. In your grandmother’s building, she was irate, she was fanatical.'”

Mike and his dad Carlos, who is the North Bay Village Police chief, raced to Surfside.

Mike didn’t know it then, but that night would begin a two-year-long journey of hope, heartbreak and eventually healing.

Mike Noriega: “When you go through a broken heart, what ultimately determines whether or not you’re gonna become bitter or better is the meaning that you give your pain.”

Mike found his meaning in a calling to write a book, “Uncollapsable Soul.”

Through his words, he hopes to honor his grandmother’s legacy of faith, family and friendship.

And what his family and so many others lost.

Mike Noriega: “I felt sharing my journey of healing to other people that are going through crushing seasons of life, through my grandmother’s story and through many other stories of people that passed away and survived from the collapse, is something that could bring purpose to the pain.”

In the days after the collapse, the family found signs of hope in the debris that came from Hilda’s condo unit.

A certificate reading “God bless this house, The Noriega family,” pictures and this birthday card.

Mike Noriega [on June 26, 2021]: “It’s just a beautiful message in the mess of everything.”

Mike Noriega: “Unbeknownst to me at the time that six days later she was going to be the 12th person found. And when the homicide detectives, when they broke the news to us, they handed us a brown paper bag, and they addressed my father and said, ‘We want you to know that we found this on your mother when we recovered her body.'”

Inside the bag were six rosaries.

Mike Noriega: “In a scenario where we didn’t get to keep anything of hers, any of her belongings, the only three things we got to keep were symbolic in the legacy of her life.”

While the Noriega family cherishes the few mementos they have, it was his grandmother’s faith that fueled Mike to write the book.

Mike Noriega: “There was a collapse that I went through in my personal life, long before the Surfside collapse, and it’s through my own crushing seasons of life that, at the time that I called a curse that I later was able to see as a blessing, because I see now that they were actually preparation for what I was going to face in Surfside “

“Uncollapsable Soul” shares more than the stories of those who lived and died that June night.

His hope is that those who struggled with their own pain and can find strength through his words.

Mike Noriega: “This is so much bigger than my grandmother’s story and my family’s pain. And so, the book is very raw, it’s very authentic, because not only does it share the stories very vividly, but at the same time, I share the exact steps to healing that I went through, which is how I found healing.”

Mike says he knows his grandmother would be proud of his book. The question he looks to answer is, how do you endure a broken heart without crushing your spirit?

Mike is hosting a memorial on the beach in Surfside on Saturday night from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Click the link for more details about “Uncollapsable Soul”
“Light into the Night” Memorial
Saturday, June 24, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. 
8777 Collins Avenue
Surfside, Florida

Andy Polo: “I don’t want to be here today!”

This scathing confrontation in court last week…

Andy Polo: “You can’t even look at me in the face.”

…was the culmination of nearly three years of physical and emotional suffering for burn victim Andy Polo.

Andy Polo: “See, she’s not remorseful at all on this whole deal.”

“She” is Yvonne Vega, Andy’s ex-girlfriend.

And the ordeal that ended in this highly charged hearing started back on May 3, 2020.

Andy Polo’s 911 call: “I’m just burned, and my skin is falling off.”

Andy Polo first shared his survival story with us two years ago, in March 2021.

Andy Polo: “I hate that day. I’m sorry.”

He said Yvonne threw scalding tea on him while he was napping, naked.

Andy Polo, March 2021: “I woke up to her throwing boiling hot water on me from across the bed. She used some obscenities and said ‘Who the F is this for?’ and she had a Victoria’s Secret gift card and a receipt in her hand.”

He suffered second- and third-degree burns.

Andy Polo, March 2021: “The next thing I know, the whole panel of my back, all my skin came off and fell on the ground, and then I ran for my life.”

Andy spent a month in Jackson’s Ryder Trauma Burn Unit.

Yvonne was charged with felony battery.

The police report said Yvonne confronted Andy about what she called his “infidelity” and talked of “intentionally throwing the hot tea on the victim, in self-defense.”

But when questioned further, she admitted he had never harmed her.

Detectives wrote, “The investigation revealed…” the burn was done “…intentionally not accidentally…” and it appeared “…she had intentionally targeted his genitals.”

Karen Hensel, March 2021: “Why did you want to talk with us?”

Andy Polo: “Because it brings awareness that this can happen to anybody and everybody.”

Andy Polo says the scars on his body are his prison, and he has been adamant Yvonne Vega get her prison time, too.

Andy Polo, court hearing October 2022: “She’s had 892 days of freedom. I’ve had 892 days of hell.”

After Andy’s emotional plea to the judge, prosecutors withdrew a plea offer that would have required Yvonne pay restitution but not serve prison time.

Andy Polo, court hearing October 2022: “Put her in prison. That’s what I’m asking you. That’s where she needs to go. Her freedom needs to be taken just like mine has. Keep the money. I don’t need it.”

Back in court, last week, it was finally decision day for Yvonne.

The choice: take a revamped plea offer of two and a half years in prison plus 10 years probation or face up to 15 years if convicted by a jury.

She wavered.

Yvonne Vega: “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do this. I’d rather go to trial.”

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ellen Venzer: “You do?”

Vega: “Yes, this is not fair.”

Judge venzer: “Have you had an opportunity to review these pictures with your client?”

But after again looking at pictures of Andy’s injuries…

Judge Venzer: “What do you wish to do, ma’am?”

Vega: “I’m gonna take the plea.”

Last Friday, Yvonne turned herself in, and Andy got his final say.

Andy Polo: “If she would have came to that trauma unit that night and looked at me, and goes, ‘You know what? I messed up,’ she would have never went to prison. Never, never. I would have never thought that way in my life. That woman was my life.”

Yvonne was led away to begin serving her prison sentence.

Karen: “Do you feel like you got justice?”

Andy Polo: “No, not really.”

Karen: “What would have brought you justice?”

Andy Polo: “Never happening … that day never happened.”

Karen Hensel, 7News.

Belinda has rented this house for nine years.

Then life took a bad turn. She developed a neurological problem and couldn’t work.

The next blow was when her rent went from $2,150 a month to $3,000 a month.

Belinda Rapoport: “I can’t afford this. You know, it’s just – it’s out of control.”

Like so many people, Belinda fell behind on the rent, then got the notice: pay what you owe or get evicted.

Belinda Rapoport: “I owed about $8,200.”

Belinda was terrified, and then heard about Broward’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

Natalie Moffitt, Broward County Human Services: “We can provide assistance with rent, mortgage and utilities.”

The program doesn’t just help unemployed people or those about to be evicted.

Natalie Moffitt: “So a household of one, as long as their income does not exceed $49,300, and a household of four, the income requirement, as long as their income is at $73,400 or below.”

Not surprisingly, the line to get help is long.

So far, more than 11,000 people have applied in Broward.

Natalie Moffitt: “We’re getting to them in the order they come in. However, if someone, if the landlord makes a decision that they’re going to file eviction, we do prioritize those cases.”

Miami-Dade County also has help for renters, with the Office of Housing Advocacy helping 3,000 people in the last nine months.

Delores Holley, Director of the Office of Housing Advocacy: “When they come to us, they are looking for us to connect them to resources, help them navigate through this difficult time.”

That’s what Tinita was hoping to find when she walked into the office.

Tinita Wilchcombe, renter: “I don’t know what to do. I was in tears.”

Tinita and her handicapped mother were being evicted.

The housing agency helped them find a home they could afford.

Tinita Wilchcombe: “I’m so grateful for Housing Advocacy, because my mother and I would have been lost in the system.”

Some programs will pay your entire rent for three months, others even longer, but that’s just a temporary solution.

Miami-Dade County is working on a permanent one: affordable housing.

Michael Liu, Director of Public Housing and Community Development: “Now we’re well on our way to putting in the ground, ultimately, an additional 26,000 units on top of the 6,500 units that form the basis of our public housing stock.”

Back in Broward, Belinda can’t wait for affordable housing to be built. She needs a place to live now.

And Broward took care of her, paying her $8,200 in back rent and next three months’ rent, giving her time to find a cheaper place to live.

Belinda Rapoport: “It was just like an answer to my prayers. It really was.”

If you are facing a rental crisis like her, we have all the assistance programs in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties listed below.

Belinda Rapoport: “And just to tell everyone, don’t give up hope. There’s someone out there that’s going to help you.”

Hang in there, everyone.

I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Broward County Emergency Rental Assistance Program

Miami-Dade County Office of Housing Advocacy

Monroe County Community Support Services

Tonight, what are our leaders in Florida doing to alleviate the cost of living crisis, and is it enough? 7’s Kevin Ozebek tracked down local and state leaders.

Arlisa Whitby has been a Miami-Dade County employee since 1988. She gets paid just under $23 an hour.

Kevin Ozebek: “Is that enough to live here in South Florida?”

Arlisa Whitby: “No, it’s not. I’m not really living, I’m surviving.”

Arlisa lives in a government subsidized on- bedroom apartment, and she says life is tough.

Kevin Ozebek: “If you did not find this subsidized housing, where would you be living?”

Arlisa Whitby: “There’s no telling. I could be homeless right now.”

Kevin Ozebek: “If the people who make this county run are struggling to afford to live here, what does that say about the state of the county?”

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava: “Well, the state of the county is strong, and some of that strength is driving up the housing market.”

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says she’s well aware that strong market is pricing out many longtime South Floridians.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava: “This is my number one concern today. If we do not solve this problem, we will lose our workforce.”

Last year, the mayor championed an $85 million plan that offers rent relief for some and incentives for developers to build working class housing.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava: “We’ve got 32,000 units in construction of affordable and workforce housing.”

But one huge problem here in South Florida is skyrocketing rents. Some of you are getting hit with increases of hundreds, even thousands of dollars more a month.

So why no rent control in South Florida? Because state law makes it incredibly difficult.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, Democrat, District 42: “You don’t have politicians who actually prioritize this.”

Orlando-area State Rep. Anna Eskamani has for four years put forward bills to make it easier for cities and counties to enact rent control.

All four years, her proposals have been shot down.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani: “It is the responsibility of government to make sure that people can be safe and secure, and having a roof over your head is essential to being safe and secure.”

In just a few weeks, state lawmakers will be back in Tallahassee to start a new legislative session. We tracked down Gov. Ron DeSantis to get his response to the housing crisis.

Kevin Ozebek: “Is there anything you could push state lawmakers that could ease the burden that renters have here in South Florida and across the state?

Gov. Ron DeSantis: “The senate president, number one priority, is to help provide more affordable housing.”

The day after we saw the governor, Senate Bill 102 was made public.

If passed, it will provide millions in incentives to build more affordable housing, but it would also outlaw the option of local jurisdictions enacting rent control.

Kevin Ozebek: “Are you worried about the future of Miami-Dade and Broward and Monroe counties?”

Dr. Ned Murray, Florida International University: “I’m very concerned.”

FIU’s Dr. Ned Murray is a leading expert in housing market issues in South Florida.

He says, in Miami-Dade and Broward alone, there are now 482,000 people using more than half their income for rent. With little to no money left over each month, they’re likely to leave South Florida.

Kevin Ozebek: “Are we at serious risk of losing the South Florida workforce?

Dr. Ned Murray: “I believe so.”

Kevin Ozebek: “Are you thinking of leaving Miami-Dade County given how expensive it is for you to live here?”

Arlisa Whitby: “Yes, I am.”

Arlisa wonders if she’ll be better off in more affordable Georgia or South Carolina.

After three decades of serving her county, she now feels priced out of paradise.

Kevin Ozebek, 7News.

Tonight, 7’s Patrick Fraser continues our living nightmare stories with a look at how rising insurance premiums could force people out of their homes.

Julie and her husband live in Miami, but have built a house that looks like their favorite spot.

Julie Colon: “It’s our key sanctuary. My husband and I love the Keys.”

Marlis Cintra and her family bought their very first home in Hollywood a year and a half ago.

Marlis Cintra: “The first time I came here, and I was like, ‘This is my house. This is the place where I want to live.'”

Laura Newton has been a homeowner in Plantation for the last 21 years.

Laura Newton: “Remodeling inside the house. I redid the kitchen, I redid the living room, all the floors. So I’ve put a lot of money in it. It’s my, like, safe haven when I get out of work.”

Three families living what’s called the American Dream, but the dreamers didn’t plan on an insurance nightmare.

Laura Newton: “I got the bill in the mail and it was $17,400.”

Julie’s bill only increased by a thousand dollars. But she’s retired, on a very tight budget and a thousand is too much.

Julie Colon: “I can’t pay this money. I can’t afford it. My mortgage has gone up every year due to the fact that the property insurance.”

Marlis’ insurance went up another $7,200. To afford it, she had to sell her car and ask her teenage son to get a job.

Marlis Cintra: “He is 17, and I was like, ‘Hey, the mortgage raised, you need you to start working to help us.'”

The solution right now? There isn’t one.

The Florida Legislature passed a bill to try to help, but that won’t have an effect for a year or two, and homeowners need help now.

Chris Frimes/Fitch Ratings: “There are certainly challenges that the insurance market is faced in Florida.”

Fitch Ratings tracks insurance markets around the country. They say the cause of Florida’s soaring rates is clear.

Thousands of lawsuits filed against insurance companies after they refused to pay claims for storm damage.

Now add in false claims and insurance fraud.

The result of all that, many insurance companies went out of business.

And with only a few companies insuring homes in Florida, the cost of re-insurance went up. That’s the insurance that insurance companies buy to cover their losses.

Its a perfect storm of problems creating the current crisis.

Alex Ray/ John Galt Insurance: “That’s the future. You know, who can afford a couple thousand dollars a month increase in your expenses. It’s just, you know, unrealistic.”

Terrible news for homeowners who just can’t afford the insurance and might have to sell.

Marlis Cintra: “I talk to people and everybody’s kind of like, ‘This is too much with insurance. It’s just too much.'”

Its too much, leaving many people thinking like Laura.

Laura Newton: “I’ve thought many times of selling and moving to North Carolina. I definitely won’t retire here, but I’ll probably spend a couple more years here.”

The living nightmare.

She loves her house, but like so many South Floridians can’t afford the insurance for it.

Patrick Fraser, 7News.

Investigative reporter Karen Hensel has part one in a series we’re calling: “Living Nightmare.”

“‘This is insanity.”

“Every month I live in fear of being homeless.”

“How can we even feed our children?'”

Those are the words of 7News viewers sharing how hard it is to find an affordable place to live in South Florida, and they are not alone.

Karen Hensel: “How many of you have thought or are thinking of moving out of Florida? Two of the three.”

Meet Akilya Drake, Vanessa Jolibois and Anna Henry; three working women who agreed to be the voice for countless renters trying to keep a roof over their heads.

Akilya Drake/Broward assistant public defender: “I know I wanted to back out of this because it’s very vulnerable.”

Akilya is an attorney with the Broward Public Defender’s Office.

Her starting salary was $40,000 a year. She is now making around $70,000.

Still, she says between her steadily rising rent, car payment, gas, food, and other bills, she couldn’t keep up.

Akilya Drake: “It was more than half my paycheck. The raise in rent for the same apartment, and I wasn’t living on South Beach. I was living in Tamarac.”

Karen Hensel: “You’ve been a practicing attorney for a lot of years, and you have moved back home with mom and dad.”

Akilya Drake: “Yeah.”

Karen Hensel: “Back in your childhood bedroom?”

Akilya Drake: “Yes.”

Vanessa is an ICU nurse at Jackson South. But her most important job is being a mom.

Vanessa Jolibois/ICU nurse: “My children, and whatever their necessity comes first.”

Last year, Vanessa got a notice that her rent was going up, a lot.

Vanessa Jolibois: “From $1,600 to $2,700.”

Karen Hensel: “What did you do when you got that letter?”

Vanessa Jolibois: “So of course, I cried.”

Vanessa is going through a divorce and says the massive rent increase even made her rethink that decision.

Vanessa Jolibois: “Should I go back to a previous situation, whether it is toxic or not. Should you?”

Karen Hensel: “A relationship?”

Vanessa Jolibois: “Right.”

Even with the financial strain, she did not go back. She pressed forward.

Vanessa Jolibois: “It means working overtime, and it kills me because I live for my children.”

Karen Hensel: “You’re missing a lot of time with them.”

Vanessa Jolibois: “Right.”

Karen Hensel: “How do you grapple with that?”

Vanessa: “You just, umm, I am a woman of faith.”

Anna Henry/Broward Schools campus monitor: “It’s really hard. That’s all I can say on that. It’s really hard.”

Anna makes $15 an hour as a campus monitor at a Broward elementary school during the day. Then she works a second security job overnight for $12 an hour.

Karen: “You’re working two jobs.”

Anna Henry: “Yes.”

Karen: “I’m not sure how you’re awake right now.”

Anna Henry: “If I lay down and get some sleep or I try to rest at any time, everything around me will fall apart.”

Anna cares for her mother in the Fort Lauderdale home they share.

She says, last year when she only had one job, she fell behind on her rent.

What she wants is peace of mind.

Anna Henry: “You’re not having to worry about someone coming to remove you, remove your things or, you know, change your whole situation for the worse.”

Evictions, desperation and a South Florida rental nightmare with no end in sight.

Akilya Drake: “I went to high school here, middle school, elementary school. I barely know anyone living down here anymore. They’re up in Central Florida because they can afford a house. They’re moving to other cities, and it’s, we’re losing our brain trust.”

Vanessa Jolibois: “I have friends that have master’s degrees that are in the same situations that I am.”

Anna henry: “We need to change legislation.”

So what are lawmakers doing? That’s a question Kevin Ozebek is asking as our week-long series continues.

But next up, Patrick Fraser is talking with homeowners struggling with high insurance rates.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

As we enter the thick brush, biologist Matthew Morris is our guide.

Kevin Ozebek: “So do you know this area like the back of your hand?”

Matthew Morris, conservation biologist: “Yeah, yeah.”

After dodging a few branches, we see their trademark stripes behind the trees.

Kevin Ozebek: “It’s right there on the trail. That is unbelievable to see that. Oh, my gosh.”

This is the mountain bongo, a big, bold and beautiful antelope native to Kenya.

But this jungle is in Loxahatchee, just west of West Palm Beach. It’s part of Florida International University’s Tropical Conservation Institute, and these baby bongo are just as curious about us as we are of them.

Matthew Morris: “We’re in their home right now. This is their space and their area, so they have to make sure we’re not up to anything.”

Kevin Ozebek: “Never would I think there would be a safari experience like this right here in our own backyard. This is incredible.”

Matthew Morris: “It’s kind of crazy that they’re back here in West Palm Beach, and that’s our biggest goal, is to get them back home.”

Although Matthew has bonded with these bongo, he’ll eventually have to say goodbye to many of them.

Next year, 25 bongo will be making the long flight from Loxahatchee to a sanctuary on the slopes of Mount Kenya.

In Africa, only about 100 mountain bongo remain in the wild.

That’s why the 62 here at FIU’s Tropical Conservation Institute are critical to saving this species.

Matthew Morris: “These guys are truly teetering, kind of, on the brink of extinction, and so that’s why what we do here, and that’s why every animal on the property is so extremely important.”

For nearly three decades now, FIU’s Paul Reillo has been leading the effort to get South Florida born bongo to Africa.

Dr. Paul Reillo, director, FIU Tropical Conservation Institute: “Obviously, bongo in Florida aren’t helping bongo in Kenya, unless there’s a channel that connects them directly, and that’s what this program does.”

The last time Paul sent a herd from here to Kenya was in 2004.

Dr. Paul Reillo: “It is extremely terrifying to open those crates and have those animals step out and think, ‘Oh, my God, what have we done? Are they going to survive?'”

Many of them did, and they produced offspring in a protected habitat.

Besides successfully raising bongo, Paul also leads FIU’s efforts to breed highly endangered primates and parrots.

It’s critical conservation work, all happening at this FIU facility off the beaten path.

Dr. Paul Reillo: “Saving species, hands-on work. It’s difficult. It’s hard. It’s expensive.”

But worth the effort when you see baby birds, marmosets.

Kevin Ozebek: “She loves the camera!”

And bongo ensuring their species sees another generation.

Dr. Paul Reillo: “For Floridians to say we’re at the center of this, we’re at the hub of biodiversity conservation, that’s a big deal.”

Kevin Ozebek: “Is there serious risk of losing the bongo if it wasn’t for this program?”

Cristina Gomes, assistant director, FIU Tropical Conservation Institute: “Absolutely. If we don’t do these types of projects to bring back the species, then most likely humans will be less willing to protect the forests, and the few remaining there will probably disappear.”

Though the bongo may now overcome decades of poaching, disease and deforestation, and it’s all thanks to hard work here in this South Florida sanctuary.

Kevin Ozebek, 7News.

August 24, 1992, 5 a.m.

7Weather meteorologist: “We have the core of the hurricane coming in here. It’s well-formed, and it’s going to cause significant damage.

“Significant damage.” Who knew what an understatement that would turn out to be.

Ken Tolliver: “It’s really, really picking up here on Collins and about 82.”

Andrew was supposed to hit Miami Beach, but it took a dip and landed in South Dade.

Patrick Fraser: “The trucks almost tipped over. We’re coming down.”

Alice Jacobs: “At this point, guys, that’s the best we can hope for. We don’t want anybody to get hurt here.”

If you were in the path of Andrew, you probably weren’t concerned with getting hurt. You were worried you were going to die.

Man: “You can feel this whole wall moving that I’ve got my shoulder against.”

Older woman: “I started to scream, ‘God, please, don’t kill me, God, don’t kill me, please.”

Andrew’s 140 mph winds, combined with hundreds of tornadoes, destroyed everything.

As the sun came up, I will never forget the sight. No one who was there during and after Andrew ever will.

First responder: “I was a combat medic in Vietnam, and the devastation does not compare with the devastation here.”

Homes leveled, cars smashed. It sounds strange to say, but if you just lost a roof, you were considered lucky.

Arlene Rodriguez: “The roof came off, and all of us were screaming in the room.”

Many people were forced to run from room to room as their homes blew up around them.

Man: “The rumbling, the shaking.”

Woman: “He dug me out of the rubble twice and put me where I needed to go.”

Older woman: “I said, ‘The daylight’s coming, please. I wanted the daylight, I wanted the daylight.'”

But all the daylight did was shine a light on the destruction … and make it clear the nightmare had only begun.

Man: “There’s nothing. There’s nothing left. There’s no more Homestead. I don’t think there’s a building I’ve seen that hasn’t been destroyed.”

The storm of the century killed 44 people, destroyed 170,000 homes. Think about it: 170,000 houses and trailers, gone, leaving 250,000 people without a place to live.

Girl: “I wish it wouldn’t have happened.”

And it got worse. No food, no water, no help.

Man: “It’s survival of the fittest. Every man and woman for themselves.”

Finally, Kate Hale, then the head of Dade County’s Emergency Operations Center, challenged the country and spoke out in frustration.

Kate Hale, Dade County emergency manager: “Where in the hell is the calvary on this one?”

And the help started arriving.

President George Bush landed in a field near what was left of Homestead to see the National Guard go to work.

Tents gave families a place to sleep at night.

Woman: “It’s better than anywhere. We have light here; we have everything.”

Supplies poured in. Trucks, helicopters bringing water and food for more than 100,000 people.

Parents stood in line to get food for their babies and then slept in tents with hundreds of others, one eye open to make sure their children were safe.

Woman: “Can you move back in your house?”

Girl: “Nope.”

Many people gave up, got their insurance money, loaded up a truck and took off, never to return again.

But Homestead did recover, not in weeks or months; it took years. Today, the city is bigger and better, with no sign of that horrible storm.

Unless you search people’s memories.

Man: “A lot of work, a lot of dreams into this, all gone overnight, just in two hours.”

Woman: “Words can’t explain it. You have to go through it yourself.”

Patrick Fraser, 7News.

Residents were left digging through the rubble of their homes after andrew ravaged south dade. They desperately searched for any remnants of their lives.

Entire neighborhoods were destroyed. There was no shelter, no food, no water and no help on the way.

All of the suffering prompted the Emergency Management Director Kate Hale to send out a desperate national call .

Kate Hale: “Where in the hell is the calvary?”

Only then did help arrive.

People stood in line for hours for food, water, clothing and other basic necessities.

National Guard soldier: “We’ve got to get the people who need food fed.”

Andrew showed us how catastrophic hurricanes can be, and it should remind us why preparing for a storm is so important.

Pete Gomez, Miami-Dade EOC director: “Well, number one is we live in hurricane alley. There is a very good chance that we’re going to be affected by some kind of weather event, specifically hurricanes.”

Pete Gomez is the new director for Miami-Dade’s Emergency Operations Center.

He says people need to shop for supplies that can keep their family safe after a storm.

Pete Gomez: “Part of that is understanding that government or somebody is not going to be able to help you for a period of time. Right, so we ask you to be self-sufficient for a period of three to seven days.”

Your kit should include plenty of food and water, ice to keep food at a safe temperature. You should also have emergency tarps and hardware to make repairs if your home is damaged.

But, Gomez says, the government is working behind the scenes to get emergency help to you as soon as possible after a storm hits.

Pete Gomez: “We’ve made a lot of improvements in our processes, not only at the local and state level, but at the federal level, but we still want you to be taking care of in case we can’t get to you yet.”

Gomez says part of that process includes emergency supplies being readied before the hurricane hits.

Pete Gomez: “The federal government will pre-stage them in certain locations away from the storm so that soon as the storm passes, they’re able to get all those supplies in there.”

But, to be on the safe side, buy your supplies, make a plan and follow it if a storm heads our way.

A full list of critical supplies you’ll want to stock up on can be found by clicking here.

Two days before Andrew slammed into Southern Miami-Dade County, people along 443 miles of Florida’s East Coast were warned to be ready for the monster storm.

7News, 1992: “As we take a look at the hurricane watch, it does extend from the Dry Tortugas to Titusville.”

A huge area but, back then, scientists didn’t have the tools to better predict where Andrew would hit.

Dr. Jack Bevin, Senior Storm Specialist, National Hurricane Center: “In 1992, we were only making three-day forecasts.”

Check this out, back in 1992, this was the predicted three-day track for a hurricane.

It’s a large area, and scientists could only say the storm would hit somewhere in here.

If they would have used the cone of concern, it would have looked something like this.

Now, compare that to today, this little circle represents where the cone would be focused three days out from a storm making landfall.

This tighter cone is the result of new technology that gives forecasters a better understanding of how hurricanes work.

Here’s another example of how far forecasting has come.

This is the track scientists can currently study when a storm is three days away from landfall, and this is technology they had when Andrew was one day away from landfall in 1992, which means we now know days earlier where a storm is going to hit.

And that means people are now getting earlier and better warnings so they can prepare.

Dr. Jack Bevin: “Now we are issuing watches 48 hours in advance and warnings 36 hours in advance as compared to back in 1992.”

Dr. Jack Bevin is now a senior storm specialist for the NHC.

He was just an intern during Andrew.

Dr. Jack Bevin: “I was getting my Ph.D. at Florida State and doing intern work at the Hurricane Center.”

He has been on the front lines to see all of the changes, which have led to better and more accurate forecasts today.

Dr. Jack Bevin: “We got these new fancier dropsondes in, start throwing them out into the strongest part of the hurricane eyewall and made some very interesting discoveries about how the hurricane worked.”

But when Andrew hit, scientists could only measure wind speed at 10,000 feet above ground.

Now ,the dropsondes allow them to check wind speed in the actual eye of the storm.

Hurricane Hunter Pineda: “This is the transmitter right here that sends all the data back to the aircraft.”

Another big advancement: weather satellites that can take pictures above a hurricane every 30 seconds.

Dr. Jack Bevin: “You put it all together, we have improved our capabilities a lot, of monitoring the storm, tracking the storm and forecasting the storm.”

The Hurricane Center is now actively working on seven day forecasts. We don’t know yet when those will start being issued.

It was 1:22 a.m. Ring video from a hallway inside Champlain Towers South captured the thunderous roar as the building began to collapse.

Raysa Rodriguez, survivor: “That’s what woke me up and threw me out of bed.”

Raysa Rodriguez was asleep in unit 907.

Raysa Rodriguez: “And that’s when I said to myself, ‘What the hell is going on? We don’t have earthquakes in Miami.'”

She ran to her balcony door.

Raysa Rodriguez: “Once I opened the sliders, this white cloud just went ‘fwoop!'”

She tried calling her longtime friends Elaine Sabino and Dick Augustine, who lived in unit 1210.

No one answered. A call to her brother went to voicemail.

Raysa Rodriguez (recording): “Anybody over there? Hello? Who’s there? Oh, [expletive]! Oh, [expletive]!”

The recording captured 15 minutes of horror.

Raysa Rodriguez (recording): “Let me check the stairs. [Alarm goes off] Oh, my God! What the hell!”

Now, one year later, wearing the same clothes as that night, Raysa sat down with us to explain her terrifying escape.

Raysa Rodriguez: “So once I open the door to the stairwell, my brain couldn’t compute what I was seeing.”

Raysa Rodriguez (recording): “Oh, my God! Yadi! The whole entire building is gone.”

Raysa Rodriguez: “It’s like, ‘What’s going on? Where’s the building? The building is gone.’ I heard from the pile some lady scream up to me, ‘Please help me. Please don’t leave me like this.’ It was pitch dark. I just couldn’t see her at all. All I kept hearing were people crying and moaning.”

Raysa kept banging on doors, first helping her neighbor Yadi and Yadi’s 8-year-old son.

Raysa Rodriguez (recording): “Let’s leave. Hold on, let me check the stairwell. Ada, from downstairs.”

Raysa Rodriguez: “Ada is waiting for us on the eighth floor. I said, ‘Whoever we need to help, we help on the way out.'”

They together rescued 88-year-old Ada and made it down seven flights to the garage.

Raysa Rodriguez: “I heard water running, so I’m thinking, ‘Water, electricity. We’re not going to make it through there.'”

Firefighters rescued all of them from a second-floor balcony.

Raysa Rodriguez: “A lot of people don’t understand what we went through that night.”

This is now sacred ground, where 98 people died. Once dubbed “The Mayor of Champlain Towers South,” Raysa Rodriguez holds on to the memories here of her neighbors and friends.

Raysa Rodriguez: “It just breaks my heart that all these people are just gone.”

Even though Raysa lost her unit, she still has to pay the monthly mortgage, forcing the 60-year-old to move back in with her parents.

Returning to the collapse site is hard.

Raysa Rodriguez: “I get physically sick. I could just see certain people just sitting where everybody would sit, and then I looked, and just – everything’s gone.”

Her friends she tried to call that night did not survive.

Raysa Rodriguez: “Richard Augustine and Elaine, they were my friends for 18 years. Sometimes I look at the sky, and I talk to Dick, and I talk to Elaine, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”

Raysa Rodriguez called Champlain Towers South home for 18 years. She told Karen that she thinks about that nights and her friends every day since the collapse.

Susana Alvarez was in unit 1006.

Susana Alvarez: “It was like a very loud and long thunder.”

Steve Rosenthal owned unit 705.

Steve Rosenthal: “I get hit with a plume of smoke, like a sonic boom, which just knocks me against the kitchen wall.”

And Oren Cytrynbaum luckily left his unit, 905, just hours before the collapse.

Oren Cytrynbaum: “I just broke down in tears and started bawling, and I had to curl into a ball in a corner just to regain my composure.”

All three called the Champlain South Tower home until the sudden and horrifying collapse.

Oren Cytrynbaum: “Whenever I drive by that site, I have this frustration, anger, confusion and disappointment, because I really bought that home thinking I’ll be there, comfortable here, for the next 20 years.”

After the building came crashing down, Oren had just his wallet and the clothes he was wearing.

Oren Cytrynbaum: “Passport, birth certificate, green card, all that gone.”

He’s now living in a rental on Miami Beach.

Kevin Ozebek: “Does this feel like home now or no?”

Oren Cytrynbaum: “No, it still feels temporary.”

Oren wasn’t inside the building when it collapsed, but Steve was. When he tried to escape, he found himself stuck.

He snapped a picture of debris blocking his exit before firefighters saved him with a cherry picker. He shot cellphone video to document his view.

Steve is now living in a one-bedroom condo apartment in Brickell.

Steve Rosenthal: “I had to buy a bucket, a broom, a dustpan — everything you could think of, that you can’t even think of.”

But he also struggles to call this home.

Steve Rosenthal: “I’m afraid. I’m 73 years old; I’m not 35. Is the rent going to go up $200, $400, $600, $1,000? I don’t know, and that’s what really keeps me up at night.”

Susana just bought a one-bedroom condo in Miami Beach since she escaped Champlain South with nearly nothing.

For now, her condo is empty.

Susana Alvarez: “Unless you experience it, you don’t know how hard it is to lose everything. It’s like trying to get through an obstacle course. I tell people my life is like a puzzle, and every day I find a missing piece that I need to go looking for.”

And for Susana, Steve and Oren, one of the biggest puzzles they want solved is why the collapse happened.

Susana Alvarez: “Every single day, I see something that reminds me of Champlain Towers or the people that lived there. I lived, they died. Why? And could something have been done? Could something have been done for them not to die?”

Steve Rosenthal: “It’s starting to hit me now, you know, emotionally. You think about it, you know. ‘Why am I alive?’ It begins to hit you, and it’s hard.”

Oren Cytrynbaum: “We cry every day for those lost souls, and we don’t take it for granted that we did survive.”

Now, after a year of mourning their neighbors and building back their lives, these survivors say they are trying hard to look forward.

Oren Cytrynbaum: “It’s far from normal, but each month gets a little better, as you separate further and further from that night and tragedy.”

Steve Rosenthal: “I don’t want those 98 people to have died in vain. Lessons will have to be learned that will hopefully have saved hundreds, if not thousands of people down the road.”

Susana Alvarez: “As tragic as it is, and it is extremely tragic, it has given me an awakened sense to appreciate life better. And every morning I do get up and I say, ‘Wait a minute. What’s going on? Everything OK? Everybody’s alive? It’s a good day. It’s a good day. It’s a good day. I’m alive.'”

So, on a day where we remember the 98 lives tragically lost, there are also dozens of survivors who have seen their lives dramatically forever changed.

Kevin Ozebek, 7News.

Why did Champlain Towers South collapse? It is a simple question with no easy answer.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, is handling the painstaking process of determining what went wrong. Dr. Judith Mitrani-Reiser is leading the investigation.

“It is very complex, and it’s unusual. We are all, like the public, desperate to find out the most probable cause of the initiation and collapse,” she said.

NIST investigated the World Trade Center collapse, and is still studying the structural devastation Hurricane Maria caused in Puerto Rico.

In those two cases, the initiating events were clear, but in Surfside, the exact trigger that June night remains a mystery.

“Here you have a building that collapsed late in the evening hours without an obvious trigger, and it really, I know, has stumped a lot of engineers,” said Mitrani-Reiser. “There might be a number of contributors to the initiation and the progression of collapse.”

Soon after the tragedy, investigators used lasers to scan the rubble and portion of the building that remained standing. Concrete columns were later taken to a warehouse to be studied for signs of corrosion.

“You can do some sort of measurements on aggregate sizes, you can do cross-sections, you can do length measurements,” said NIST project leader Dr. Kamel Saidi.

Using that information, plus building design drawings, pictures, videos and other data, NIST created a 3-D model of Champlain Towers South.

“It’s a lot like putting puzzle pieces together. As you add more and more pieces together, the picture becomes clearer,” said NIST project leader Dr. Georgette Hlepas.

NIST has already developed about two dozen failure hypotheses about how and why the building collapsed.

“A hypothesis includes both how and where the failure started, and how it advanced through the structure,” said Glenn Bell, associate lead investigator with NIST.

Pieces of the structure will now undergo rigorous physical testing.

“We actually are shifting our investigation currently, one year later, into a more intense phase,” said Mitrani-Reiser.

Intense and invasive, as the team will be drilling and cutting into the evidence they have collected.

“The structure lived for 40 years, so all of these tests will tell us more about the material properties at the time of collapse, which is essential,” said Mitrani-Reiser.

The final federal report on why Champlain Towers South fell is not expected until 2024, but a new state law is taking effect now to try to prevent another disaster like the one in Surfside.

The new law requires condo associations to figure out how much money is needed in their reserves to fund costly structural repairs.

“There’s already fears from people in buildings that have upcoming re-certifications or upcoming assessments, where they know that they’re going to be forced to leave because they can’t afford the assessment,” said Jonathan Weislow with Amicon Management, a local consulting company.

Buildings three stories or higher will now have to undergo structural milestone inspections when they reach 30 years old, 25 if they are within three miles of the coast, and every 10 years after.

“People want to prevent the unimaginable at this juncture, and so they’re being proactive,” said Weislow.

Proactive steps to try and avoid what was seemingly unimaginable until June 24, 2021.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

NIST investigation into Champlain Towers South collapse

Watch NIST meetings

New Florida condo reform law

7News is remembering Surfside. We caught up with the brave rescuers who responded with the focus on how their specially trained canine companions aided in the search for survivors, as well as provide comfort to the grieving families of the victims, and to the search team members who toiled day and night in the rubble. Here’s 7’s Kevin Ozebek.

Officer Jihovanna Mayorga-Garcia, City of Miami Police Department: “I can still smell it. You can still see the sadness. To watch the people on the pile, to me was the worst.”

It has been a year since the horrific collapse of Champlain Towers South, but the chilling memories are always there.

Capt. Shawn Campana, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue K-9 Response: “We couldn’t keep up with the demand, both at the family reunification center and at the pile.”

Capt. Shawn Campana and the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Peer Support K-9 Response Team gave comfort to waiting families and to the men and women searching the mountain of debris. 

Captain Shawn Campana: “I’m looking at my brothers and sisters walking around like zombies, you know, with that glazed-over look in their eyes.”

Their dogs were there to ease the pain. They are trained to sense intense emotions and focus on people who are hurting.  

Officer Jihovanna Mayorga-Garcia: “They just brought joy and like a comfort, like, ‘Oh, my God, look, we have you to be here with us and just comfort us.'”

Miami-Dade Firefighter Lucianna Genova remembers how Charlie sensed she needed help.

Lucianna Genova: “I literally just like, knelt down, and I grabbed Charlie and I grabbed his face. You go from a space of being in despair into ‘it’s time to get back to work.'”

Frank Garcia: “Zoe, here.”

Miami-Dade Firefighter Frank Garcia and his golden retriever, Zoe, are on the Florida Task Force One Search and Rescue Team. They were the first K-9 team on the scene at Surfside that morning.

Frank Garcia: “We’re there, like, by 3 a.m. and, you know, it’s like chaos.”

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue shared this video of Zoe in the search. She was one of many dogs who looked for people buried in the rubble.

Frank Garcia: “There’s great moments to be taken as a team, but there’s just so many things that were just so hard to deal with. I made the mistake one time of walking by the wall, the memorial wall that they had. OK, sorry.”

Ninety-eight lives lost. Their families still grieve. For the survivors, their lives have been forever changed. A year on, the first responders say the memories of the search still haunt them.

Frank Garcia: “You’re seeing pictures of families. They’re on vacation. They’re happy. We’re collecting toys. There’s a lot of things to deal with.”

Many are still dealing with the trauma of what they saw.

Capt. Shawn Campana: “It’s still tough to think about some things, to look at some of those pictures to, you know, to talk to people without getting teary-eyed. I think it’s going to take more time, you know, for many of us.”

Even though the work is hard, emotionally and physically, these K-9 teams continue to train, so they can be at their best the next time people need them the most.

Kevin Ozebek, 7News.

In one of the darkest days South Florida has ever seen, Jonah Handler gave us all a glimmer of hope.

Nicholas Balboa, witness: “I saw an arm sticking out of the wreckage, and he was screaming, ‘Can you see me?'”

Jonah was found in the debris of the fallen Champlain Towers South and was pulled to safety.

Moments later, the then 15-year-old called his father Neil Handler, who lives a few buildings away.

Neil Handler: “He goes, ‘Where are you? Didn’t you hear what happened?’ I go, ‘Where’s Mommy?’ He goes, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ‘Don’t move. I’ll be right there.'”

While Jonah survived, unfortunately, his mother, Stacey Fang, did not.

Neil Handler: “We were sitting in the hospital, and I had to tell Jonah that his mom didn’t make it, which was probably the hardest conversation I’ve ever had in my life.”

Without his ex-wife, Neil was now parenting alone, trying to comfort his son, who was suddenly startled by loud noises and suffering from post-traumatic stress.

Neil Handler: “When a thunderstorm rolls in, his anxiety goes through the roof. Every doctor I spoke to, every psychiatrist I spoke to compared him to a combat veteran that just came back from war.”

But thanks to several forms of therapy and treatment, Neil says Jonah is beginning to overcome his PTSD.

Neil Handler: “He’s doing better in school. He’s come out of his shell a bit, but it’s going to be a long road no matter how you slice it.”

Seeing his son make progress has inspired Neil to help others. He has created the Phoenix Life Project. It’s a nonprofit dedicated to help victims of trauma.

Neil Handler: “I just want people to heal.”

Neil’s goal this summer is to raise $3 million. He says that money will help Surfside survivors and the hundreds of first responders get the mental health help they still need.

Neil Handler: “They live in a constant fight-or-flight mode. It affects their family life. It affects everything.”

Jonah has already reunited with the first responders who saved him. His dad says, as the Phoenix Life Project grows, he hopes to eventually help rescue workers and trauma victims across the country and around the world.

Neil Handler: “My hope is that we can establish a national network of trauma therapists.”

As for Jonah, he’s now 16.

Miami Marlins announcer: “Let’s hear it for Jonah Handler!”

He’s a big baseball fan and will soon be starting his senior year of high school.

Neil has also made him an honorary board member of the Phoenix Life Project.

Neil Handler: “I want him to learn that no matter how bad something is, we can turn it into something good. When we turn our attention to helping others, we heal ourselves, and that’s the goal.”

Neil will be hosting his first fundraising gala for the Phoenix Life Project later this month.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
The Phoenix Life Project
phoenixlifeproject.org

Harry Appel, sued insurance company: “I was in shock because I couldn’t believe that there was nothing left of a concrete house.”

Harry and Jennifer Appel’s home and their bed and breakfast were completely destroyed when Hurricane Irma hit Big Pine Key.

Jennifer Appel, sued insurance company: “I knew we had insurance, and I thought we had good policies.”

They had flood and windstorm, their flood carrier paid the full claim right away. Windstorm…

Jennifer Appel: “They just ghosted us.”

The Appels spent months emailing and calling trying to get their carrier to look at their claim. They had no choice but to file a lawsuit.

Jennifer Appel: “You’re desperate, right? You are just, you don’t have a place to live. You don’t — you know — your business is closed for two years, your house is gone, and they’re just jerking around.”

And they are not alone. Litigation over insurance payments is big business in Florida.

The Office of Insurance Regulation says while we account for only 8% of homeowners claims in the nation, Florida has 76% of the property insurance lawsuits.

Dr. Charles Nyce, FSU: “There is a huge cost of fraud in Florida right now in property insurance.”

Insurance expert, Dr. Charles Nyce of Florida State University says the cost of lawsuits and fraud for insurance carriers is not sustainable.

Dr. Charles Nyce: “We’ve had an extremely fragile property insurance market, and now what we’re seeing is that these companies are going bankrupt. We’ve lost four companies so far this year, in 2022. That is on top of the eight or nine companies now that have said they’re going to stop writing new policies in the state of Florida.”

And suing insurance companies is big business. State-owned citizens has spent nearly $406 million on legal fees since Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Other insurers say their numbers are about the same, which is why rates are going up.

Stacey Giulianti from Florida Peninsula: “Eighty percent of it is the cost of litigation that, in the last eight years, insurance companies in the state of Florida have paid out $12 billion to the trial lawyers. None of that money went to the consumers.”

Stacey Giulianti is the chief legal officer at Florida Peninsula Insurance Company. He says some lawsuits are warranted but many are just outright fraud.

Stacey Giulianti: “The problem is when a public adjuster, or an attorney, or someone called in a claim a year or two years, three years after the incident, and there’s all this damage, and now we have no way, or a much more difficult way, of trying to prove whether it happened or not.”

And Giulianti says, under Florida law, attorneys are guaranteed a paycheck because the insurance company has to pay their bill as long as they recover something on behalf of their clients.

Stacey Giulianti: “On one case, it may have been worth $20,000 or $30,000. The attorney’s fees could be over $1,000,000.”

Citizens fought back, it actually sued a Miami law firm for racketeering and won. The firm agreed to pay Citizens a million dollars in a settlement.

The company said the fraud scheme, if left unchecked, could have cost policyholders $16 million a year and that, for the insurance companies, is the bottom line.

Stacey Giulianti: “The amount of costs that are going out, especially in terms of this whole litigation explosion, which is really what’s causing all the problems, is the same economically: a Cat 3 hurricane hitting the state every year.”

Insurers want the legislature to throw out the law that guarantees lawyers get paid even if they lose.

Stacey Giulianti: “It’s been widely abused, and until that changes, the cost is going to continue to rise.”

But Dr. Nyce says that’s not likely to happen.

Dr. Charles Nyce: “You know, consumers have to have legal recourse, and it should not be something that’s prohibitively expensive for those consumers to kind of pursue.”

As for the Appels, it took two engineers, several adjusters and an attorney to get their insurance to pay.

Harry Appel: “So it ends up costing them more money. If they would have just paid us in the beginning for a complete disaster, we would have it, wouldn’t have gotten to that point.”

The legislature plans to tackle the insurance issues during the week, along with roofing problems. Currently, there is legislation that would say that if your roof is under 15 years old, an insurance company would not be able to deny you if the roof is in decent shape, and if your roof is over 15 years old, you are still able to get coverage if an inspector finds there are still five good years of life, then you will still be able to be insured.

The Senate has passed that along to a committee, and the House is set to gavel it into their meeting Tuesday morning.

This Dania Beach home has been a labor of love for Victor Lucas.

Victor Lucas, homeowner: “Yeah, I did a lot of renovation to almost every inch of the house.”

But when damage from hurricane Katrina in 2005 forced him to replace his roof, he wanted the next one to better withstand any future storms, so he went to work.

Victor Lucas: “Triple-nailed all the shingles down.”

His roof hasn’t had a problem in years, but it’s causing a major headache now.

Victor Lucas: “This is just pure wrong.”

Late last year, Victor decided to shop around for cheaper homeowner’s insurance. He found a different company that matched his previous coverage for a better rate.

Victor Lucas: “They asked for a four point inspection and a wind mitigation, which I did do at my expense.”

The four point inspection says the roof has five years of useful life left. Victor says the insurance company reviewed everything and approved his policy. A month later, he got a letter from his new insurance company.

Victor Lucas: “I received a notice stating that they may send out a inspector of their own to review the house.”

Victor says an inspector came up here and took pictures of the roof and other parts of the property. It all took less than a hour.

Victor Lucas: “And the results, in my opinion, were disastrous.”

Victor’s insurance company sent this letter, telling him the policy was being canceled. The insurance company says, the roof is “unacceptable due to age and/or condition.”

Victor Lucas: “The integrity of my roof is beyond what what they consider a sound roof.”

Even with offers to replace the roof, the company wrote there would be “no reconsideration, reinstatement or rewrite.”

William Hardin, Dean of FIU College of Business: “Well, I think most companies are just going to say no.”

William Hardin is the Dean of FIU’s School of Business and a real estate expert. He says insurance companies often use older roofs as a reason to cancel in order to avoid taking an expensive risk.

William Hardin: “And of course, that’s where people could argue the most risk is, which is you’re going to have to replace it anyway.”

Victor says replacing his roof is too expensive but so are the quotes he’s getting from other private insurance companies.

Victor Lucas: “I’m getting quotes: $12,000; $15,000; $16,000.”

Hardin says insurance companies are trying to make up for big losses over the past few years.

William Hardin: “They would argue you’ve been paying too little, but now you need everyone to catch up. Everyone’s seeing some type of increase.”

That is not what Victor wants to hear. 

Victor Lucas: “We’ve been staying up at nighttime searching the internet trying to find what we’re going to do. What are the best means?”

Victor, as well as most homeowners across Florida, should prepare to pay even more to protect their homes, whether it comes in the form of a new roof or a new policy.

Melissa Weeks, patient: “I just started having like intense abdominal pain.”

When Melissa Weeks started experiencing chest pains, stomach aches, bloating, even fainting, she thought it was all part of aging.

Melissa Weeks: “Like, everybody gets it, like some kind of womanly gynecological problem that, you know, getting older, going through menopause.”

The 44-year-old Palm Beach Gardens wife and mother of two called her gynecologist, who also thought her suffering was due to menopause.

Melissa Weeks: “I went through numerous doctors telling them that I had – with the pains I had and the symptoms I had, and they did nothing about it. They just kept brushing me aside.”

Until she found a doctor who listened.

Melissa Weeks: “When we went for a CT scan is when we found the tumor that was in my heart.”

The nearly 12-inch tumor in her heart prompted her gynecologist to send her to this team of surgeons at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Melissa Weeks: “They told me that I probably had a couple of weeks left, and I probably would have keeled over and either had to get rushed to the emergency room and found it then, or could have died.”

The doctors determined Melissa’s tumor started in her uterus and traveled to her heart through a vein. They scheduled her for emergency open-heart surgery.

Melissa also needed a hysterectomy to help prevent the tumor from coming back.

Melissa Weeks: “That’s when my eyes got so big, ’cause I never thought it was something that was that bad.”

Non-cancerous growths, or fibroids, are common for women, but they usually stay in the uterus.

Dr. Brian Slomovitz, gynecological oncologist: “This is the tumor that’s in the right side of the heart, sort of like acting like a punching bag on the valve. Every heartbeat is beating up the valve.”

As a team, the specialists performed surgery through an incision from her chest to her pubic bone.

Dr. Steven DeBeer, thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon: “I have to make a hole big enough somewhere in one of her veins — which happened to be, in her case, in her heart — in order to be able to pull this out.”

Dr. Micheal Ayad, vascular surgeon: “The challenge is really if we’re going to be able to remove the entire aspect of the tumor. If you leave a little bit behind, it’s all going to grow back.”

Dr. Brian Slomovitz: “The pathology teams are on standby in case — we’re not sure if it’s invasive or not. The tremendous nursing support, it’s really a hospital-wide effort.”

Months later, we were with Melissa on a Zoom call as she reconnected with her team of doctors.

Doctor on Zoom: “How are you feeling?”

Melissa Weeks: “I’m feeling really good, a lot better, a lot, lot better. I can breathe. You guys are amazing, and I can’t thank you enough for taking your time to basically save my life.”

Melissa is reminded of that every day, not only by her full body scar, but by a tattoo she got on her wrist.

Melissa Weeks: “My heart stopped for 10 minutes when they had me on the bypass machines, so what it is, is a flatlined heartbeat to a heart back beating. I am a survivor. I look at it, and it’s just amazing that I’m here.”

Melissa Weeks wants other women to learn from her story, advising us to slow down, listen to our bodies and be an advocate for our own health. She says that’s what ultimately saved her life.

Dispatcher: “911.”

Caller: “I need an ambulance. My son’s not breathing.”

It was the worst moment a mother could imagine.

Dispatcher: “He’s blue?”

Caller: “He’s white.”

The nightmare of the nation’s opioid crisis, captured in a frantic 911 call on Jan. 14, 2009.

Caller: “Oh, God, he’s dead!”

Dispatcher: “Ma’am, I need you to calm down. How old is he? Ma’am?”

Caller: “He’s 20!”

At the time, highly addictive prescription pain pills flowed like water, and South Florida was ground zero.

Because of Florida’s infamous history with “pill mills,” Kristy and Bill Nelson flew from Indiana to South Florida. They wanted to share the story of their son Bryan, who died from an overdose.

Kristy Nelson: “Straight-A student in college, loved golfing.”

Kristy is the mom on that gut-wrenching 911 call. Bill is a criminal court judge in Indianapolis.

Kristy Nelson: “I mean, people flooded Florida because they could get OxyContin, and Purdue Pharma saw an opening here years ago.”

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, is owned by the billionaire Sackler family. The company is blamed for igniting the U.S. opioid epidemic linked to more than 618,000 overdose deaths.

Bryan was one of them.

Kristy Nelson: “I tried to breathe life back into him. It didn’t work.”

Kristy and Bill wanted the Sackler family, who they blame for Bryan’s death, to hear their family’s story, and unlike thousands who will never get that chance, last week, the couple was among a group of just 26 who directly addressed the Sacklers.

When it was Kristy’s turn to talk, she started by playing that 911 call.

Caller: “Oh, my God! Bryan! Bryan!”

Kristy Nelson: “They were not prepared for it. I’m glad they got to hear it.”

As part of Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy case, victims spoke to members of the Sackler family, including former company chairman and president Richard.

Kristy Nelson: “I told Richard, ‘I hope God never has mercy on your soul, and I think you’re an SOB.'”

Kristy also turned Richard Sackler’s own words against him, citing a 2001 email where he referred to drug addicts as “scum of the earth.”

Kristy Nelson: “He called my son ‘scum of the earth,’ and I just thought, ‘Oh, here’s my opportunity. Let him know who the real scum is.'”

As part of a massive settlement, the Sackler family will pay $6 billion, with most of the money going to states but just a fraction to victims’ families.

Bill Nelson: “To say my son’s life is worth $3,500 is nothing but an insult. There isn’t a perfect settlement, because you can’t put a dollar value on a human life.”

Kristy Nelson: “It’s my only child. I miss hearing the word ‘mom.'”

Kristy still keeps a birthday card Bryan gave her, just six hours before he took his last breath. He died on her birthday.

The Sackler family said, while they acted “lawfully,” they “sincerely regret” that OxyContin became part of the opioid crisis.

SACKLER FAMILY STATEMENT:

“The Sackler families are pleased to have reached a settlement with additional states that will allow very substantial additional resources to reach people and communities in need. The families have consistently affirmed that settlement is by far the best way to help solve a serious and complex public health crisis. While the families have acted lawfully in all respects, they sincerely regret that OxyContin, a prescription medicine that continues to help people suffering from chronic pain, unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis that has brought grief and loss to far too many families and communities.”

South Florida is famous for beautiful water, fun in the sun and some of the best fishing in the world.

But, the reality is, our paradise has a secret below the surface.

Dr. Aaron Adam, Director of Science and Conservation, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust: “Yeah, it’s very much a concern.”

Researchers from Florida International University and the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust teamed up to test bonefish from Biscayne Bay to the Florida Keys.

They tested 93 fish, and every single one was tainted with pharmaceuticals, including drugs like antidepressants, heart medications and painkillers.

Dr. Aaron Adams: “We weren’t surprised that there were pharmaceuticals in the fish, but the number really blew us away: seven on average per fish. That’s a pretty massive cocktail.”

A massive cocktail with a prescription for trouble.

Dr. Aaron Adams: “To find one fish that had, I think it was 17 pharmaceuticals in a single fish, I can’t even imagine the changes to the brain chemistry and the physiology of that fish. Imagine if you went to your pharmacist. First thing that pharmacist would do is look to see about interactions between those different medications. The bonefish don’t have that option.”

While you have to release any bonefish caught in Florida, the researchers believe the problem in the water is impacting other marine life as well.

Dr. Jennifer Rehage, FIU’s Coastal Fisheries Research Lab: “We sampled little crabs, little fish, and little pink shrimp in particular, the ones we actually eat from the bay, and we sampled those as well, and those had even more pharmaceuticals.”

So how is this happening?

When we take medication, what our bodies do not metabolize is flushed down the toilet to Florida’s old and outdated wastewater treatment plants.

Dr. Jennifer Rehage: “Those plants were designed in the ’60s and ’70s to deal with nutrients and human waste. They’re not designed to deal with these high-end pharmaceuticals.”

That means the drugs are not filtered out before flowing from the wastewater treatment plants to the ocean.

Dr. Jennifer Rehage: “We can also think about the human side, that we have all of these unknowns about what it means to get exposed to the pharmaceuticals for long periods of time at low dosages. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be exposed to these medications without choice.”

The concern is not just for human health but also for Florida’s economic health.

Saltwater recreational fishing reels in $9.2 billion a year for the state.

Dr. Aaron Adams: “Many of the pharmaceuticals that are in these bonefish, they affect behavior, and that behavior will have repercussions. They probably get eaten by predators more frequently. It might affect their migrations for spawning.”

Dr. Jennifer Rehage: “Our goal was not to alarm people but to get the word out that this is another aspect of water quality.”

So what about the Florida fish we do eat?

The researchers say they are certain that when they test other fish, they will find pharmaceuticals. The question is, how many different drugs and at what level?

For more information of FIU and Bonefish & Tarpon Trust’s study, click here.

Paul Weitzenkorn is the kind of man who still tips his hat when a woman walks in the room.

Paul Weitzenkorn, escaped Nazi Germany: “Well, that’s just the manners, my parents.”

But what few see behind the hat, the kind eyes and his soft voice is a man who has lived history.

Karen Hensel: “You helped catch Nazi spies?”

Paul Weitzenkorn: “Yes.”

Karen Hensel: “Tell me about catching Nazi spies and what that meant.”

Paul Weitzenkorn: “It felt very good.”

Paul was just 16 years old when Kristallnacht, or “the night of broken glass,” shattered Jewish lives across Germany. His family owned this department store, and that night, the Nazis threw Paul’s father into the Dachau concentration camp. Paul remembers the days that followed.

Paul Weitzenkorn: “We didn’t look out the windows.”

Karen Hensel: “Why not?”

Paul Weitzenkorn: “Afraid.”

Instead of Nazis, Paul now battles dementia. The memories are not always clear, and sometimes he admittedly does not want to remember.

Karen Hensel: “What do you think that we need to know and remember about the Nazis?”

Paul Weitzenkorn: “Actually, I don’t want to remember.”

Within months of Kristallnacht, Paul’s father was released from Dachau and his family fled to America. Paul joined the U.S. Army as an interpreter for military intelligence officers.

Paul Weitzenkorn: “Interrogating the prisoners in drawing the truth out of them. It was quite satisfying, personally.”

It was a job that would eventually send him back to his hometown of Mayen, Germany, and to this building where people he once knew were being held as Nazi prisoners. As he walked through the basement…

Paul Weitzenkorn: “It was a whisper through the ranks of prisoners whispering my name, Paul Weitzenkorn. I remember some German prisoner asking me, ‘What are they going to do with us?'”

Karen Hensel: “What did you say?”

Paul Weitzenkorn: “Same thing you did with us, but I paused a little bit and said, ‘but we are not that cruel.'”

A cruelty documented in Paul’s family photo album, which includes a handwritten section of “Children Who Did Not Survive the Holocaust.” Among them are these faces of an entire family gone. Paul’s aunt, uncle and their children, his young cousins, all sent to their deaths in the gas chamber.

Paul Weitzenkorn: “I will say this. Without this country, America, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

Karen Hensel: “Why is that?”

Paul Weitzenkorn: “Because we were able to come to America and save our lives.”

A man who, after nearly a century, is grateful for his family and this country, all part of his own living history.

There are two things in life that Michelle Bucur is passionate about: rescuing homeless animals…

Michelle Bucur: “So right now, I have three fosters. One of them is Hunter. (to Hunter) You’re so sweet. I love you.”

And Teslas.

Michelle Bucur: “I have 10 Teslas.”

In her spare time, Michelle volunteers at Wonder Paws Animal Rescue in Fort Lauderdale.

She also rents out her Star Wars-themed Teslas through a rental service called Turo.

Michelle Bucur: “Which is a peer-to-peer rental platform similar to Airbnb, but instead of for homes, it’s for vehicles.”

During the Christmas holiday, Michelle rented out a Tesla Model Y to a man from Boca Raton. When the rental period ended, she picked up the car and took it straight to a car wash.

Michelle Bucur: “Long story short, a week later, the previous guest contacted me and lets me know that he’s lost some of his belongings, and if we found them. I actually hadn’t seen them.”

The car had already been rented out to a new guest, who told Michelle nothing was in the car.

She then called the car wash … and got some good news.

Michelle Bucur: “They said, ‘Oh yeah, we found some watches on the side of the door, and we shoved them in the glove box.'”

Michelle wanted to keep the watches safe until she could get her car back, so she used the Tesla app on her phone to lock the car’s glove box.

When she finally got hold of the watches, she realized she was in possession of some pretty pricey timepieces.

Michelle Bucur: “They turned out to be super high-end watches worth like over $100,000 combined.”

They definitely were. They were a Rolex and an Audemars Piguet.

The owner told Michelle that even though they are expensive, their sentimental value is much more.

Michelle Bucur: “One had been given by his mom, who was suffering with Alzheimer’s now.”

Michelle says he offered her a finder’s fee for returning the watches. She declined the money, but gave a suggestion:

Michelle Bucur: “‘I do help with the rescue, and if you’re willing to donate, it’s tax deductible. I can give you the link and whatever donation you want to give to us.'”

He made the donation to Wonder Paws Animal Rescue, but the amount was quite a surprise: $10,000!

Paulina Claure, Wonder Paws Rescue: “We were speechless! We couldn’t believe it. We were in shock when we found out.”

Paulina Claure runs Wonder Paws with her mother, Patricia Lara. They just moved into a storefront in Fort Lauderdale and say this generous donation will make a huge impact.

Paulina Claure: “We have tons of medical cases every day and medical bills that are piling up, so it’s really nice to be able to have that money to be able to put towards our bills.”

Michelle’s foster dog, Hunter, just finished a pricey round of treatment for heartworms. She is excited that more rescued animals can now get the same care.

Michelle Bucur: “What comes around, goes around. I think, if we just continue to do good deeds and always try to help without expecting anything in return, eventually somebody comes around.”

For Michelle, that “eventually” is right now. Her good deed shows that timing is everything.

Armando Hassun is a third-year law student at the University of Miami.

Armando Hassun: “A challenge that I’m facing right now is where to kind of narrow my career, how to tailor it.”

He’s looking forward to graduating in May and credits a new book called “Aspire Higher” with helping him focus on career and life goals.

Armando Hassun: “It’s basically just exploring yourself, seeing what really makes you go, what makes you passionate and what you’re going to spend your life doing.”

The book is written by Ken Lindner, founder of Positive Life Choice Psychology, which helps people find ways to live their best lives.

That’s especially important during these turbulent times.

Ken Lindner: “We do feel emotionally and psychologically stuck with all of the negative things that are going on in our country. Starting today, we can jump-start our lives. We can feel more positivity if we just start to elevate our lives first by making small positive life choices.”

Lindner says making positive life choices is the first step in creating self-confidence and self-esteem.

Ken Lindner: “It’s very much like going on a diet, losing the first five pounds. You feel great; you’re motivated to continue to make great life choices.”

He says those positive choices lead to self-love, and that makes you a better, happier person, elevating you and those around you.

Mike Gansell is a retired educator who likes to play sports and volunteer. He says giving back is a great way to jump-start those feelings.

Mike Gansell: “You go to a food bank and you volunteer. I don’t think anybody’s ever said they’ve come back feeling worse about themselves. They feel better about themselves.”

He says the book also reminded him of the importance of giving love and positive feedback to young children, like his 7-year-old twin grandsons.

Mike Gansell, Read Book: “This is such an important book for parents to give their kids every chance, to give them self-confidence, to give them self-esteem.”

When it comes to feeling sad or angry, learning to identify personal emotional triggers can help you from making spur-of-the-moment bad decisions.

Armando Hassun: “I think knowing what bothers you, and flipping that and reframing it to help you out and kind of acknowledge things, that’s something I’m already applying.”

Another tip: try to be a “solutionary.” That means not just coming up with solutions to life’s problems, but making sure those solutions always benefit others as well.

Ken Lindner: “We all want powerful and positive resets for the new year. Make every choice you can a reflection of what you most want for your life and the person you most want to be. That will get you on an amazing life-elevating track.”

And isn’t that what we all want?

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
“Aspire Higher: How to Find the Love, Positivity, and Purpose to Elevate Your Life and the World”

When baby Luna was born, it was both a joyous moment and a shocking one.

Caroline Fenner, Luna’s mother: “After 49 hours in labor, it was a huge surprise.”

Luna arrived with a rare skin condition that covered most of her face. Her birthmark, referred to as a “Batman mask,” was also potentially dangerous.

The condition is called congenital melanocytic nevus. It can increase the risk of melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.

We talked to Luna’s mom, Caroline Fenner, while she was in Brazil visiting family.

Caroline Fenner: “It is very deep, and in Luna’s case, it already gave her three cancers. That’s why we are in a rush to remove 100% of the birthmark.”

Most days, Luna is like most toddlers, laughing and playing and blowing kisses to her mom, but much of her early days were spent flying around the United States, meeting with nearly a dozen American doctors trying to find answers.

Caroline Fenner: “All these surgeries were very aggressive, and I didn’t want that for Luna.”

That’s when she found Dr. Pavel Popov, an oncologist and surgeon in Russia.

Caroline Fenner: “He said, ‘I have a less aggressive procedure here. Instead of six years, we are going to remove her nevus in two and a half years.”

With six surgeries done and just one more in a few weeks, the nevus is nearly gone.

Dr. Popov uses a photodynamic therapy system. The procedure includes injecting a drug into Luna’s skin to break down the tissue, then applying light to destroy the thick nevus, section by section.

Caroline Fenner: “They just put her to sleep with a local anesthesia, and after the surgery, even with bandages, she is active. After the first surgery, within two hours, Luna was dancing.”

But it has not been an easy road for Luna, who has battled infections and at times has had to live with full-face bandages.

It hasn’t been easy for Caroline, either.

Caroline Fenner: “The worst situation: we were in a church last July, and a little girl came and pointed at Luna and said, ‘If I was born like you, I would kill myself.’ Luna is understanding the things now, and Luna was like, ‘Mom, she doesn’t like me. Why?’ So that makes me sad. The parents need to teach the kids to be better people.”

It is a journey of both mental and physical challenges she has documented on her Instagram page, which has attracted nearly 370,000 followers.

Caroline Fenner: “We’ve been receiving a lot of messages every day for the last two years.”

Although the condition is rare, happening in just 1% of births, through the Instagram page, Luna has met other children who look just like her.

Caroline Fenner: “She plays like she is a princess. She loves the princesses. Right, Luna?”

Like a lot of little girls, Luna loves to play dress-up.

Caroline Fenner: “Oh, she has the dress of Elsa. She looks in the mirror and says, ‘Mom, the black is gone. Now I am a real princess.'”

Luna is a fighter, and at not even 3 years old, her setback has already become her comeback.

To check out Luna’s Instagram page, click here.

We all know the omicron variant symptoms tend to be milder, but doctors said it’s still a serious COVID infection, which is why it’s important to know for sure if you have it.

Omicron is the dominant strain in South Florida, and cases are rising rapidly.

Most patients report having a sore throat, headache and fever.

Many thought they just had a cold.

Robert Goldszer: “There are many, many, many people with infection. Some of those people sadly get sick enough that they have to come to the hospital.”

Chief Medical Officer at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Robert Goldszer said while hospitals are still seeing COVID patients, most cases aren’t as severe.

The omicron variant doesn’t seem to have key symptoms, like a loss of taste and smell.

Robert Goldszer: “And the key big thing is the prior variants, you know, alpha and delta that we had in 2020, and then in December, 2021, those seemed to be more attacking the lungs, seems to be a bigger difference.”

Which is why it’s easy to confuse this COVID variant with the flu or a common cold.

Dr. Goldszer said there are some key symptoms to be on the lookout for which can tell you if your infection might be COVID.

Robert Goldszer: “A couple other differences would be, I think, significant fever with COVID. People are having more fever a day or two, and obviously, if you get significant lung symptoms, if you get bad coughing for a long period of time, any kind of shortness of breath, those things are uncommon with the common cold.”

Regardless, he says if you do come down with cold symptoms, runny nose, sore throat, cough, you need to investigate if it could be COVID. 

Also, have you been around anyone who has tested positive or been anywhere you could have contracted COVID?

Robert Goldszer: “I would tell you, number one is check about your recent contacts. Have you been in a restaurant with dinner? Have you been? Your kids go to school? Do you have any potential contacts with people with COVID?”

And if you have, then you have to get tested.

Robert Goldszer: “You get tested, and you know you’re positive, and you quarantine, and you stay home. You’re not going to give it to other people, so it’s a very, very important public health thing is to have more and better home testing available to people.”

And in the meantime he says any sign of colds or flu or COVID means you need to isolate until you know for sure what you have.

Robert Goldszer: “My suggestions are if you’re sick, stay home, if you’re sick with the common cold, if you’re sick with influenza, if you’re sick with COVID. Stay home. Don’t be going to work. Don’t send your kids to schools. Don’t don’t be interacting with other people.”

The bottom line is if you have a fever that lasts for a couple of days or a bad headache, those are symptoms of omicron that are uncommon for a cold or flu.

But the only way to know for sure is to get tested.

Kevin Ozebek: “I’ve got to tell you, to see this in person, it’s amazing. Look at the structure of that leaf!”

Many people stuck inside because of COVID turned to house plants for company.

That growing demand for plants turned into a booming business for Enid Offolter and her website NSE Tropicals.

Enid grows and sells some of the rarest — and priciest — plants in the world from her Broward County backyard.

Enid Offolter: “I used to grow everything much bigger, but everyone wants stuff yesterday.”

Being stuck at home didn’t stop Dennys Gonzalez from becoming a model employee. He used his time away from his job at Miami International Airport to build a massive model airport of his own.

Dennys Gonzalez: “I think it’s a really cool way to showcase to kids how many things you could do when you grow up.”

He hopes to donate his model to an organization to teach kids about aviation.

Brady Farrar, ballet dancer: “I really love the rush of going on stage and being nervous, especially if it’s a huge stage.”

When Brady Farrar was a kid, he dreamed of being a world-class ballet dancer. In May, the 16-year-old rising star won the highest honor at an international ballet scholarship contest.

He also received scholarship offers from top ballet schools.

Dr. Richard Raid, Barn Owl Program: “They hiss like a snake at this stage.”

We learned these hissing mad baby owls are providing a crucial service to South Florida farmers.

They are part of the University of Florida’s Barn Owl Program.

The owls live in nesting boxes installed on farms across the Everglades agricultural area. The owls then hunt rodents that damage crops.

Dr. Kroum Demetrov: “Give me a good smile, big smile. Beautiful!”

It took two South Florida doctors 12 hours to give Sade Gurley something to smile about. She lost her front teeth at 22 due to chronic gum infections and a fear of the dentist.

Drs. Yenile Pinto and Kroum Demetrov heard her story and offered to help — for free. Using cutting edge technology, they gave Sade a brand-new smile.

Sade Gurley: “Being able to just smile with confidence means so much more to me now.”

A South Florida doctor teamed up with a few colleagues to help COVID relief efforts in India.

Dr. Alka Singh (on Zoom call): “I’m glad to see you better. I can’t imagine what you went through.”

When Dr. Alka Singh saw the devastation the virus caused in her home country, she knew she had to help.

She and other Indian-American doctors in South Florida formed an online COVID group. Patients in india could speak with a doctor in South Florida for free.

Dr. Sheela Shah: “It is such a phenomenal feeling to know that we can touch our people in our motherland, and help them in time of need and crisis.”

Nico Norena, founder, The Succulent Bite: “White sugar, vanilla.”

A South Florida foodie turned his passion into a succulent success.

7News went in the kitchen with Nico Norena, star of the wildly popular social media site The Succulent Bite.

Nico recently won an award for being one of the top 100 influencers in the world. Big businesses are now looking to work with him.

Nico Norena: “We create partnerships, and we create campaigns that align with these brands, marketing strategies to showcase a product or an event that revolve that specific brand.”

Nico has a lot on the menu for 2022. He’s taking The Succulent Bite from your phones to your kitchen. A book is in the works, and Nico says he has a sweet plan to bring even more Succulent Bite to homes across the country.

Richard Beall loves trains, and that makes sense, since he grew up around them.

His late father was a train engineer, and so was Richard before he retired.

Richard Beall: “I drove the freight trains, I drove the commuter trains, passenger trains. I’ve run Ringling Brothers trains, you name it.”

But Richard took on a new challenge: rebuilding the last remaining caboose from a fleet built in 1925 for the Florida East Coast Railway.

Richard Beall: “This caboose on Henry Flagler’s old railroad made many trips down the Overseas Railroad to Key West. It’s a very historic piece of equipment right here.”

But the old caboose, long since retired, fell into disrepair over the decades.

Richard raised nearly $200,000 to fully restore it.

Richard Beall: “This is it. This is the complete restoration here. Every piece of grab iron on this train is original.”

And our cameras were on board, as this piece of Florida history got back on track.

Officer Chad Smith: “I’m Officer Chad Smith. I’ve been with the Miramar Police Department for three and a half years.”

Officer Chad Smith was once camper Chad Smith.

Officer Scott Hadley: “Chad was one of our kids. He came through our camp.”

The Miramar summer camp Hangin’ with 5-0 connects police officers with children in their communities. They go on field trips, play sports and have pizza parties.

Officer Chad Smith: “It was actually going to Hangin’ With 5-0 that made me want to be a police officer. It kinda sparked that. I knew I wanted to get into this field particularly and give back.”

Speaking of giving back…

Doramise Moreau: “You don’t have a million [dollars] to give people, but if you feed them, that’s a big love you could give them.”

Doramise Moreau and her fellow church members were on a mission — in the kitchen.

Doramise Moreau: “That’s orange. That’s the way Haitian ladies make their food.”

When COVID hit, Doramise volunteered with Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church to feed those who didn’t have enough to eat.

Father Reginald Jean-Mary, Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church: “I did not have money to pay a restaurant to cook all those meals for us, and so Doramise said, ‘I’ll do it.'”

Finally, there was Marilyn Gore’s story.

Marilyn Gore: “I heard, ‘Plank da plank.'”

Last December, a car crashed onto her property, wrecking her carefully cultivated garden, where she grows much of her own food.

With the fence down, Marilyn’s beloved pet, Max, ran into the street and was hit and killed by a car.

Marilyn Gore: “That day he died, he didn’t get to eat, and I was so heartbroken.”

After our story aired, South Florida stepped up.

Dozens of calls and emails, and an offer to make the retired school teacher’s family whole again.

Marilyn Gore: “Hello. Sweetheart, I love you.”

The rain did nothing to dampen Marilyn’s instant connection with her new dog, named Kat.

Marilyn Gore: “I love her, and she loves me, too. Thank you so much!”

The 2-year old German shepherd was donated by Miami Canine Training.

An undercover officer with North Miami Beach Police dropped her off.

Last year, Marilyn spent the holidays with a hole in her fence and her heart. Now both have been fixed.

Marilyn Gore: “From the time we got dried off, the rest was history. I mean, she’s brought so much joy to my life, yes. She’s a really good dog.”

A good dog with lots of energy, running through a yard that is once again full.

Marilyn Gore: “Fresh vegetables straight from the garden. It gives me such pride and joy.”

Thanks to thousands of dollars donated by strangers.

Marilyn Gore: “The donations have been a big blessing.”

A blessing, and a reminder about the true spirit of the season.

Giancarlo Berumen, donates to C.O.O.K. program: “We have the onion and we have the turkey. Large onion, diced small.” 

It’s turkey time in the Berumen kitchen. Every month, the family gathers here to cook something special.       

Eileen Berumen, donates to C.O.O.K. program: “Be careful with your fingers.”

But they aren’t dishing up their dinner. This turkey-chili casserole will be delivered to the Camillus House in Miami, which feeds South Florida’s poor and homeless. It’s a food donation program called Casseroles Out Of Kindness, or the C.O.O.K. program. 

Eileen Berumen: “God blesses us in so many ways, and one of the ways he blesses us is for us to be able to give back.”

The Berumens are one of many South Florida families who chop, stir and season to help those in need.

Ruben Berumen, donates to C.O.O.K. program: “We’ve had members of our family who, unfortunately, were in a homeless situation, so we know it can happen to anybody.”

The family has come together to cook since 15-year-old Giancarlo was in third grade. That’s one or two casseroles a month for 10 years!

Giancarlo Berumen: “I think that when I was younger, I just did it because I thought it was just, ‘oh, I’m just cooking for fun with my family,’ but now that I know why I’m doing it, I’m able to put in a lot more effort, actually put my hardest into it because I know that it’ll help someone.”

The Berumens freeze their casseroles, then drop them off at St. Louis Catholic Church.

St. Louis and other churches and organizations around South Florida then deliver the casseroles to Camillus House.

Bob Lozada, Camillus House: “So at any one time, I can receive anywhere from 300 to 500 casseroles a month. The minimum I’ve gotten is about 300, so you’re looking at about 3,000 meals up to 5,000 meals a month.”

Chef Darrick Bradford runs the kitchen at Camillus House. He likes to spruce up some of the casseroles with extra cheese. On the menu today: Baked Ziti.

Darrick Bradford, Chef: “See how good it looks there? Here’s the spruce. You can never get enough!”

And with more than 1,000 meals served here every day, the donated casseroles are a huge help.

Darrick Bradford: “When they bring it to us this way, we can heat it and it shortens the process and gives us time to kind of concentrate on something else.”

Donating to the Camillus House is as easy as going to their website. Just pick one of three easy recipes. The directions for cooking, freezing and delivering are online.

Bob Lozada: “We’ll provide the empty pans for you if you decide so. If not, you can just pick up any pan and lids that you have in your local market.”

Even if you could only make and donate one casserole, Camillus House will gladly take it. This one tray will feed at least 10 hungry people.

Darrick Bradford: “And for a cook the most gratifying part of cooking is to see someone enjoying what you prepare.”

The casseroles are a huge hit with the Camillus House residents.

Nazim Andy Ali, Camillus House client: “Their food is excellent because it’s like restaurant style food.”

Lourdes Gonzalez, Camillus House client: “It means the world to me because there was many nights that I didn’t have a meal.”

Bettie West Lewis, Camillus House client: “It’s a blessing.”

A blessing and a kindness for people in need during the holidays and year round.

For more information about the C.O.O.K. program, click here.

Every weekday morning at 7:30 sharp, this is where you will find 95-year-old Gordon Smith.

Gordon Smith: “That’s the first thing I do.”

Task number one is always opening the gates at Farrey’s Lighting & Bath in North Miami. It is the superstore for fancy light fixtures and high-end plumbing.

Gordon has worked at the company for 63 years.

Kevin Ozebek: “Do you still look forward to coming in every day?”

Gordon Smith: “I love it. I love it.”

And his bosses love him back.

Kevin Ozebek: “Can you imagine Farrey’s without him?”

Bud Farrey, CEO, Farrey’s Lighting & Bath: “It would be a big hole in my life. There would be a big hole at Farrey’s.”

Gordon’s work ethic formed when he was just 17 years old.

Gordon Smith: “All of a sudden we got the word that Pearl Harbor was bombed.”

After Japan attacked, Gordon and his twin brother were drafted into the Navy.

Gordan Smith: “So we’d see land every eight months.”

Aboard the USS Bennington, Gordon was a gunner. His targets were Japanese planes.

Kevin Ozebek: “So you saw combat, then”

Gordon Smith: “Sure did.”

Shortly after the Allied victory, Gordon left his hometown near Boston and moved to South Florida.

He started at Farrey’s as a carpenter’s apprentice, but has since worked nearly every job here.

Bud Farrey: “He is one of the most valuable people. Number one, he’s a vet, and thank God for his service. Number two, he did anything that he was ever asked to do. Always willing, always energetic.”

Today, Gordon also makes sure the delivery trucks are in tip-top shape.

He also organizes all the purchase order forms back in his office.

Kevin Ozebek: “So, Gordon, would this place be able to run without you? Honest answer.”

Gordon Smith: “I would say yes, of course it would.”

But Farrey’s warehouse manager Harvey Carmona, who Gordon once mentored, disagrees.

Harvey Carmona: “He kept on giving me more and more, and teaching me more and more. Even though he’s a tough, tough, tough guy, he has a big heart.”

Gordon says he has only had one bad year since being on the payroll, and that was the year Farrey’s forced him to stay home because of the pandemic.

Gordon Smith: “I just can’t do nothing. I have to be active.”

In 2020, his daughters Sandra and Bonnie bore the brunt of his frustration.

Kevin Ozebek: “Did he drive you crazy during the pandemic when he wasn’t working?

Sandra: “Crazy!”

Bonnie: “That’s part of my problem. Do you see all these gray hairs?”

Gordon’s goal is to make it to the 65 year mark at Farrey’s. That is just two years away.

But after that, will he retire?

Gordon Smith: “I may not. Who knows?”

This member of the Greatest Generation truly shows great loyalty to his employer.

Gordon Smith (choking up): “It’s an honor – excuse me. It’s my life, and it’s their life, and my life is at Farrey’s.”

That loyalty goes both ways. The big brass at Farrey’s say, as long as Gordon wants to work here, he’ll have a job.

Detective Jody Weymouth, Fort Lauderdale Police: “Left their purse right on the front seat. I got a shopping bag and sneakers, a work ID, some kind of a goody bag.”

Karen Hensel: “Phone charger, sunglasses.”

We walked a mall parking lot with Fort Lauderdale Police detective Jody Weymouth. 

Even on a weekday afternoon, we immediately hit what thieves would consider a jackpot.

Jody Weymouth: “We’ve only been in this parking lot for five minutes. We’ve checked two rows of cars and found at least five potential victims, so it’s like a candy store to a would-be criminal.”

But it’s not just what you leave in plain sight in your car that can make you an easy theft victim. It’s what you do next.

Jody Weymouth: “The problem is somebody that sees you put those items in the trunk, all they have to do is gain access to the car and pull the trunk release. If you know that you’re going to be shopping for a high-dollar item, say, computer equipment or a designer purse, when you buy that item, take it straight home. Don’t put it in the back of your car and go have lunch.”

And sometimes they are just waiting for you. Detective Weymouth says not everyone in the mall is actually shopping. Some are really scoping out their next target.

Jody Weymouth: “Quite often you’ll see people in the mall that are really just pretending to shop, and they know who’s coming out of certain high-end stores, and then they can text their friends that are waiting down in the parking lot or in parking garages: ‘Keep an eye on the lady in the red dress, because she just bought a bunch of high-dollar items.'”

To avoid being a target, be aware of your surroundings. We saw people walking to their cars with their heads down, earbuds in and on their phone.

Karen Hensel: “So what is it that you think we do that makes us victims?”

Jody Weymouth: “I think the number one thing is just assuming that it won’t happen to us.”

It happened last month in Davie when a 70-year-old woman was leaving a Walmart. 

Police say two purse snatchers followed her into the parking lot, and one ripped the wallet from under her arm.

Weymouth has this advice.

Jody Weymouth: “Carry a cross body purse, something small. If you’re going shopping, you really need one credit card. We don’t go anywhere without our phone and our keys. That’s really all you need, so with a cross body bag, your hands free, it’s right in front of you. You’re not worried about holding on to it or setting it down or trying to keep an eye on that bag.”

Karen Hensel: “If you can, park close to the mall entrance, it’s well lit, and if possible, shop with a friend, and always have your keys in hand and ready so you are not distracted, fumbling for them in your purse or pockets.”

And if you’re shopping online this holiday season, you also need to watch out for thieves.

Jody Weymouth: “If you’re shopping online, make sure you’re using reputable sites.”

A few more tips:

• Check bank and credit card statements regularly.
• To avoid “phishing” scams do not give personal info if asked via unsolicited calls, texts or emails.
• Enable mobile phone alerts for purchases, and use multi-factor authentication on accounts that offer it.
• To avoid porch pirates, track when your packages are going to be delivered, so you or a neighbor can be there to pick them up.

Police say these few simple reminders can keep your holidays merry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

FL Attorney General 2021 Consumer Protection Guide (including product recalls)

FL AG holiday shoping tips

FL’s Check-A-Charisearch tool

FBI info on holiday scas

Federal Trade Commission

With the holidays around the corner, travelers are looking forward to being with family and friends.

Gene Racano was planning a trip to Rhode Island for Christmas, but when he tried to book a flight with his American Airlines AAdvantage miles, he got a nasty surprise.

Gene Racano: “I was unable to get into my account. It wouldn’t accept my email, my password.”

Gene contacted American,and was told his account was frozen because of possible fraud.

Once Gene regained access, he found out that 95,000 of his frequent flyer miles had been stolen.

Gene Racano: “From looking at the account, they took a few flights, I guess a round trip from the New York area to [Los Angeles] and back.”

In just one day, the hacker booked four flights using Gene’s miles.

Kevin Ozebek: “So LAX to JFK. Not you?”

Gene Racano: “I’ve never been to L.A.”

Kevin Ozebek: “New York to LAX?”

Gene Racano: “No.”

Gene didn’t realize his miles were missing because he stopped flying when the pandemic began and was not checking his account.

Gene Racano: “It’s crazy, frequent flier miles, who would think?”

It’s a problem that has really taken off in the past year and a half, and hackers have not just targeted American’s loyalty program. It’s an issue across the travel industry.

Zach Griff: “Frequent flyer miles, hotel points, these have a intrinsic currency to them. They can unlock free stays, free travel.”

Zach Griff is with “The Points Guy,” a website filled with information on how to get the most out of frequent flyer miles.

He says hackers are cashing in on this kind of crime.

Zach Griff: “What the hackers are really interested in is the fact that they can go and drain your points and sell travel to other people kind of on the dark web, and what we’ve seen is that it’s only increased due to the pandemic.”

When Gene reported his loss to American, the airlines’s security department opened a new frequent flyer account for him.

Gene Racano: “New password, new security questions.”

But the airline would not return his missing miles since it had been almost a year since they were stolen.

Gene Racano: “This was an actual crime. This was fraud.”

American sent us a statement saying, “When fraud occurs, customers need to notify advantage within 90 days of the incident for their miles to be reinstated.”

American says it sent Gene an email and left a voice message last year when the fraud occurred.

Gene says he didn’t see or hear the messages.

Gene Racano: “If they felt it was important enough to call me, then they should have felt that was important enough to actually make contact or send written correspondence.”

So, from now on, he says he’ll be keeping a closer eye on his accounts.

Gene Racano: “It teaches me that you need to keep up on it.”

Travel experts say you should never use the same passwords for multiple frequent flyer accounts, and you should change those passwords often so you won’t find missing miles the next time you’re ready to jet off.

Imagine stepping outside your front door and seeing a steady stream of bug-attracting, foul smelling sewage with gobs of toilet paper and solid human waste.

Kevin Ozebek: “Describe the smell out here.”

Michele Davis, resident: “The smell is horrible. It’s ridiculous.”

Michele Davis and others who live at the Lakeshore Presidential Apartments in Northwest Miami-Dade said they have had enough.

Ruby Murray, resident: “It needs to be cleaned up. They need to fix it because we’re paying a lot of money to stay here.”

Residents say sewage pooling in this parking lot has been a recurring problem for years, and county records back them up.

We found this code violation from 2018. It says, because of a broken sewer line coming from the building to the parking lot, “There is overflowing sewer water and the smell is unbearable.”

Kevin Ozebek: “It is really hot out here.”

Woman who does not want to be identified: “Yeah.”

Kevin Ozebek: “I imagine that doesn’t help with the stench coming from this.”

Woman: “It doesn’t help at all, and I am trying to figure out when they are going to come out and have someone clean it up, because it is unsanitary.”

This tenant, who does not want to be identified, said she complained, but nothing has happened.

Woman: “We’ve gone in person to the property manager. We’ve done everything.”

After we saw the sewage for ourselves, we called Miami-Dade’s Environmental Resources Management division to see if any complaints were filed with their office. None were.

But right after our call, they sent out an inspector.

He then filed this report saying he saw “feces and toilet paper” and “raw sewage pooled in the parking lot.”

Michele Davis: “This is ridiculous for our kids. We shouldn’t have to stay like this.”

But look at Lakeshore Presidential Apartments now! The county gave 24 hours for the violation to be corrected, and the sewage was cleaned up.

We even spotted the source of the leak being repaired.

Michele Davis: “They’re getting the job done now.”

But we still wanted to know why the sewage wasn’t cleaned up sooner, so we went to the office of the on-site manager.

Kevin Ozebek: “Is the property manager here?”

No luck, so we went to the offices of Kevin Faith, the registered agent of the company that owns the apartment complex.

Kevin Ozebek: “We are looking to speak to one of the partners of the company.”

No luck again.

But right after we left, his office the faith group sent us an email saying, “We have spoken to management and they have advised us and this matter has been rectified.”

Next we called “Strategic Properties” the company that manages the Lake Shore Presidential Apartments.

Their customer service director told us he could not find any complaints about the sewage in his computer system but promised the problem is being fixed.

Ademir Perea, Strategic Properties Customer Service Director: “Some of our tenants, they’ve been throwing different items through the toilet, and that’s why the situation got worse, so something we are doing is we are unplugging this. This whole situation should be back to normal.”

Kevin Ozebek: “That’s exactly what residents have been waiting to hear.”

Michele Davis: “It’s perfect. It’s a lot better.”

If the sewage and the stench ever returns, so will the 7Investigates team to demand answers.

If you have any environmental hazard in your complex or neighborhood, you can report it directly to the county.

The public can report 24/7 by email: environmentalcomplaints@miamidade.gov.
Phone: 305-372-6955
Or online: feedback.Miamidade.Gov/jfe/form/sv_233o9nkjbgzxp6K.

COVID hit Duvean hard, and she needed to refinance her house to save it.

Duvean Bouie: “I went through my mortgage company.”

That’s when a hidden secret from her childhood was finally revealed.

Duvean Bouie: “They contacted me and told me that I was denied, and I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘You have a lien,’ so now I’m thinking, ‘Where is this lien from?'”

The claim of lien document was filed in court under Duvean’s and her mother’s name in 1981, when Duvean was 13 years old.

Duvean Bouie: “This is astonishing.”

It was filed 40 years ago by the Jackson Health Public Trust after her mother didn’t pay a $353 hospital bill.

That wasn’t all Duvean discovered.

Duvean Bouie: “I came up with my brother — he was 9 years old — and they put a lien on him.”

Patrick Fraser: “At 9?”

Duvean Bouie: “At 9.”

A lien still in effect today.

Duvean Bouie: “Hey, I was 13 years old, and I’ve had a lien for 40 years.”

Then we started digging. One child after another in the ’70’s, ’80’s and ’90’s were listed on liens placed by the public trust after their parents didn’t pay a Jackson Hospital bill.

Gail Love: “Absurd, really absurd.”

Liens that their parents were in the dark about.

Gail Love: “Really, I’m confused ’cause this is just all mind-blowing to me. I didn’t know anything about this.”

Gail’s son Antwon was one one year old when the public trust put his name on the lien document.

Gail Love: “But you’re talking about a minor, 1-year-old? How can he pay a bill? He can’t even hold a bottle or walk.”

Is it legal to do this to a child?

Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “No, it is not legal to place a lien on a child, but it is legal for a hospital to file a lien like this to try to collect for unpaid bills. In these cases, even though it appears the child has a lien, they are in reality only listed as an interested party, but you have to actually look at the court documents to realize this, and credit agencies don’t often do this and think it’s a lien against the child.”

Duvean and Antwon say it’s now clear to them, when they applied for a loan or credit card, the lenders saw their name on the lien document and denied them.

Antwon Jennings: “Now that I think about it. Now that I think about it…”

Gail Love: “Paid more, had difficulty achieving credit. I didn’t understand why; I just thought it was the process.”

A lien can destroy your credit. It blocks you from getting bank loans or credit cards or makes you pay higher interest rates.

That thought sent Duvean from surprised to simmering.

Duvean Bouie: “You just don’t know how bad it has hurt us, interest rate, being denied for things that we shouldn’t have been denied for.”

A spokesperson for JMH told us they filed the liens to collect if the patient received money from an insurance company regarding the injuries they were treated for.

She added, “Even though the patient, regardless of their age, may be listed, the lien attaches to an injury case settlement or insurance only. The hospital lien will not affect a patient’s property or credit, and the hospital will not collect from the patient while the settlement is pending. If the case is never settled, the lien automatically goes away after 20 years.”

But Duvean says the lien never went away.

Duvean Bouie: “Everything I applied for, everything that I’ve tried to do in life, you guys made it harder for me. Now you could have made me almost lose my home.”

The Jackson Public Trust released the 40-year-old lien on Duvean, and she was able to refinance and keep her house. We asked them to make sure the lien on Antwon is released as well.

A lien for decades is long enough.

Planes soaring through the South Florida sky are a wonder to watch from the ground.

But it is what we can’t see while flying that has current and former employees speaking out to 7News.

Capt. Tristan Loraine, former airline pilot: “This really is an industry problem, but it is a problem that dates back to the ’50s.”

Capt. Tristan Loraine is a former airline pilot.

Tristan Loraine: “I started to feel lethargic, mentally slow, and I turned around to the co-pilot and said, ‘Look, I don’t really feel 100%,’ and he says, ‘I’m glad you mentioned that, ’cause I don’t feel very sharp, either.'”

On a flight from France to England in 2004, Loraine says he and his co-pilot almost passed out in the cockpit.

Tristan Loraine: “We put on emergency oxygen, and we landed. The fire crew came on board, and they said, ‘You can tell the air’s contaminated.'”

Two South Florida flight attendants also agreed to talk with us about their more recent scares in the air. They asked we not show their faces.

Flight Attendant #1: “We started to feel nauseated and about to pass out, and all three of us went to the back of the plane and got on oxygen.”

Flight attendant #2: “I’ve had at least four severe incidents that have caused crew members to get sick, some including passengers as well.”

Both say they have had neurological issues from the contaminated air.

Flight attendant #1: “I’ve experienced myself a lot of fatigue, low blood pressure, various tumors, seizures and permanent tremors.”

Karen Hensel: “Do you feel you’re slowly being poisoned?”

Flight attendant #1: “Yes, and have been for some time. Absolutely.”

So what’s causing this?

The air we breathe when we fly is pumped into the plane through the jet engines.

Heated oil can sometimes leak and contaminate the cabin air with toxic gas. It is known as a fume event, or aerotoxic syndrome.

Flight attendant #1: “They call it ‘dirty sock smell.’ Roughly half of the flight attendants at my airline have had some sort of neurotoxic exposure.”

The Los Angeles Times analyzed two years of federal aviation reports. The newspaper found “362 fume events … with nearly 400 pilots, flight attendants and passengers receiving medical attention.”

Flight attendant #1: “The companies don’t want the public to know about this.”

Those we spoke with say the airline industry and federal government have known about this problem for decades. And the concerns are being aired in lawsuits — including one where two other Florida flight attendants call this problem the “dirty little secret of the airline industry.”

A new documentary directed by Loraine, “American 965,” takes these safety concerns much further.

Clip from “American 965”: “The reports clearly show the left engine had an oil leak, and that’s vital evidence.”

The flight took off from Miami and crashed in Colombia on Dec. 20, 1995.

Michelle Dussan, survived plane crash: “I was a kid. It was my first time flying.”

Michelle Dussan and her father are two of only four who survived the crash that killed 159 passengers and crew members.

Michelle Dussan, translating her father, Gonzalo Dussan: “Everyone started shouting because the plane starts to vibrate very strongly.”

The crash was officially blamed on pilot error, but Capt. Loraine believes there is more to the story.

Tristan Loraine: “These were two of the best pilots that American Airlines probably had. Our research very much points to the fact that the crew may well have been partially incapacitated or impaired.”

In 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety alert advising airlines to “…enhance flight crew procedures…” for fumes in flight.

Still, the agency says, “…studies have shown cabin air is as good as or better than the air found in offices and homes.”

These airline employees are not convinced.

Flight attendant #1: “It is a problem that the industry faces, and it’s a problem that can be fixed.”

Flight attendant #2: “I think it’s time for this to be put to an end.”

Unless and until that happens, these sky-high concerns remain up in the air.

7News asked American Airlines about the former pilot’s documentary. While they did not comment directly on the film, the airline did say they have taken an “industry leading approach to cabin air quality” and review all “odor events.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

FAA on “Cabin Air Quality”

American Airlines’ full statement to 7News:

“Ensuring the safety of our customers and team members is the top priority for American Airlines. We are deeply committed to providing a safe travel experience throughout every step of the travel journey, including onboard our aircraft. Together with our regulatory and Association partners, including APA, APFA, IAM and TWU, American has taken an industry leading approach to cabin air quality. We encourage thorough reporting of all odor events so we can review and address them immediately. Those efforts include rigorous review of every reported odor event, as well as cross-functional working groups, which involve our union partners, that meet regularly and are focused on ensuring the highest possible cabin air quality standards.”

Ibrahim Al-Rashid, Eesa’s dad: “I’m going to get you!”

In so many ways, Eesa Al-Rashid is a typical 2-year-old.

He loves playing with his parents. He’s obsessed with cars.

Ryann Al-Rashid: “The deal was you can’t hide.”

And, except when Eesa is around strangers, he’s a ball of energy.

Ryann Al-Rashid, Eesa’s mom: “He’s hilarious. He’s brilliant. I think he’s extremely smart for his age.”

Kevin Ozebek: “Is he the boss of the house?”

Ryann Al-Rashid: “Absolutely, 100%.”

It’s all smiles during playtime, but his parents worry about him. That’s because he was born with an ultra-rare genetic disorder called geleophysic dysplasia, or GD.

Ibrahim Al-Rashid: “Neither of us had heard of GD, and in fact, a lot of the doctors that we first initially consulted had never heard of it.”

The Al-Rashids found out the disorder can be life-threatening, so they turned to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine for answers about GD.

Dr. Mustafa Tekin, UM Miller School of Medicine: “They usually have short stature and short fingers and toes, and they may have health problems related to heart and the respiratory system and skin and some other systems as well.”

Dr. Mustafa Tekin leads the Human Genetics team at UM’s medical school. He is also Eesa’s doctor.

Now, thanks to a $3 million donation from the Al-Rashid family, his team is fast-tracking their research into GD.

With money dedicated specifically to GD research, they hope to find a treatment or even a cure.

Dr. Mustafa Tekin: “We are very, very grateful and lucky to have the Al-Rashid family, who donated us funds to get started.”

Geleophysic dysplasia is so rare, there’s a very good chance you have never in your life passed someone on the street who has it.

Worldwide, only about 50 cases have been reported, so Dr. Tekin is pleading for the handful of families affected by GD to reach out and take part in his research.

Dr. Mustafa Tekin: “That’s why having more patients involved that we study and understand more about individual mutations and some of the characteristics that are specific to certain mutations, then our chance of finding a cure for more people, actually, will be available.”

But already, Dr. Tekin is hopeful he can help Eesa.

Dr. Mustafa Tekin: “I am optimistic. Absolutely.”

The more his team can learn about GD, the better the chances they can treat other rare genetic disorders as well.

Ryann Al-Rashid: “Whatever we find out could help hundreds, thousands of people in the future.”

Ibrahim Al-Rashid: “One of the things in life that makes life easier is to know that we’re in this together, right? Whether it’s something positive or whether it’s something negative. You know, to know that we’re a team is a beautiful thing.”

So while inside the UM labs the research into GD races on, Eesa continues to enjoy his playtime.

And Ibrahim and Ryann appreciate every moment with their little boy.

Ibrahim Al-Rashid: “Can we get a wave?” (Eesa waves.)

Kevin Ozebek: “Yeah!”

Ibrahim Al-Rashid: “He’s taught me to be more present in my life and to really focus on the here and now, because ultimately, that’s all we have, right?”

If you know someone who has been diagnosed with GD, the University of Miami Genetics Department would like to hear from you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Genetics Department
305-243-2381
umiamihealth.org/en/treatments-and-services/genetics

It was a frightening way to start the school day. On the morning of Sept. 29, 10-year-old Ely was the only student on board a school bus during a five-car crash.

Ely, student: “I’m pretty sure without the seat belt, I wouldn’t have made it alive.”

Ely was riding in a small, private bus operated by the company Buggy Technologies. The Miami Police traffic crash report says the Buggy’s “brake failed” on Northeast Miami Court near 19th Terrace. The bus hit two cars, took out “…A light pole and school zone sign and stop sign…” then hit a third car. The utility pole came down on a fourth vehicle, causing sparks to fly.

Anjanetta Cooney, bus driver: “My life flashed before me.”

Veteran bus driver Anjanetta Cooney was behind the wheel. The day before the accident, Cooney says she snapped a picture of the “brake wear” message on the dashboard. Then, 13 minutes before the crash, she texted the company about the brakes, writing in part, “I made it to Ely stop on time, but the brakes on this van just went all the way to the floor, and there was a message about the brakes…”

As she pulled up to the school’s drop-off area…

Anjanetta Cooney: “Put my foot on the brakes, no brakes. It went all the way to the floor. It hit the curve, jumped the curve, went down, and the engine just ‘rrrrrrarrrrr,’ and once it did that, it’s going to keep going, and I’m, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God,’ pumping, pumping, pumping, pumping. The brakes won’t stop. The brakes won’t stop. I’m screaming, screaming. To this day, I don’t know what really happened to that vehicle.”

Keren Segal, mother of Ely: “It was any parent’s nightmare.”

Keren Segal got a call and raced over to her son.

Keren Segal: “He was frantic. He was crying nonstop. He was crying nonstop.”

Private school buses have to undergo inspections, and Miami-Dade County tells us this bus had a “full inspection” nine days before the crash, and the “brakes were inspected and functioning.”

But Buggy Technologies has racked up more than $5,800 in fines for citations, including for buses operating without valid inspection decals.

Anjanetta Cooney: “Safety is first. These are precious cargo.”

In a statement, the company’s founder, Isabel Berney, confirmed the driver texted a manager about the brakes “less than 15 minutes” before the crash but said, “He did not have a chance to read it or respond in time.” Adding, “Buggy was not aware of any issues with the van at the time of the accident, nor is there sufficient proof that the truck malfunctioned. The safety of our children on Buggy (mine included) has and always will be our highest priority, which is why we hire drivers with extensive experience and purchase the safest vans on the market.”

In September, 7Investigates looked into complaints about students being stranded at school by the service. Dozens of parents who paid thousands of dollars demanded their money back.

David Marchisotto, parent: “Right away, there were issues.”

Elizabeth Tricoche, parent: “This is a significant amount of money for a lot of people.”

Bianca Hoshina: “It’s concerning.”

Berney blamed the pick-up problems on COVID.

Meanwhile, Ely’s parents have pulled him off the bus service after the crash.

Keren Segal: “Knowing that my 10-year-old went through that by himself without other kids in the car, without us being there to accept him when he stepped off the car, it was just horrible.”

Anjanetta Cooney hasn’t driven a bus since the crash. She says she is still injured and still shaken up.

He has competed in more than 250 triathlons.

Hector Picard, double amputee: “Nothing is ever impossible.”

And can change a bicycle tire in no time flat.

Hector Picard: “I’ve been recognized at events around the world as the guy who changes flats with his feet.”

But what Hector Picard can’t do is feel with his prosthetics. He lost his arms in an electrical accident 30 years ago.

Hector Picard: “Second- and third-degree burns over 40% of my body, entire loss of my right arm and half of my left.”

He relies on his prosthetic arm and hand for daily tasks, but they’re not always easy to use.

Hector Picard: “No sense of touch whatsoever. I’ve dropped many bottles, I’ve crushed glasses because of not being able to sense that I’m gripping too hard. I was always fearful of crushing my daughter’s hand as I held it.”

That’s why Hector is excited about the work being done at Florida Atlantic University. Researchers are creating prosthetics with a sense of touch.

Dr. Erik Engeberg, FAU researcher: “There’s really nothing like this in current prosthetics. Everything is based more or less on rigid technology.”

Dr. Erik Engeberg leads FAU’s team.

Dr. Erik Engeberg: “We’re basically integrating sensing technology within something that is quite similar to human skin in terms of the texture, so it really is a natural fit.”

There are more than 3,000 touch receptors built into each fingertip of this prosthetic hand. The sensors are made with liquid metal, and a constant electric current is run through them.

Kevin Ozebek: “In a way, is this an artificial nerve?”

Dr. Erik Engeberg: “You could call it that.”

As the prosthetic touches different surfaces, the current changes. A chip inside reads those changes and then triggers a vibrating buzzer where the prosthetic meets the amputee’s skin.

It is designed to give that all-important sense of touch.

Dr. Erik Engeberg: “We took information from each fingertip and used that to get a higher level of understanding of what the entire hand is actually touching.”

In the lab, Hector is encouraged by the prototype.

Hector Picard: “The technology is amazing. I’m hopeful for my future or others that will be able to create something very, very good for amputees.”

Researchers here are also working on ways to manipulate the new prosthetics with brain waves. In the future, they’ll think of the movement they want, and then their prosthetics will respond.

Craig Ades, Ph.D. candidate: “There’s different regions of the brain, and each of the signals here are from different locations, and when you take those, you can convert those signals into some mapping and map that signal to control something.”

Kevin Ozebek: “Chelsea, if you could, could you close the hand for me right now?” (She closes the hand.)

Craig Ades: “We’re at the technological stages where it feels like almost anything is possible.”

Dr. Erik Engeberg: “To reconnect a severed sense of touch, to enable more seamless interaction with the environment, with other people, with pets. There is a really good potential to help people.”

It’s their hope people like Hector will be able to test the prosthetic hand prototype at home sometime in the next year.

Inside this restricted area, Officer Pizarro’s eyes are glued to an X-ray machine.

Officer Pizarro, U.S. Customs and Border Protection: “We inspect 100% of all mail that comes through this facility.”

He is part of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection team that scans every single piece of international mail that arrives through Miami International Airport.

Officer Pizarro: “So I’ll open this one up.”

Any package suspected of holding counterfeit goods, Officer Pizarro inspects by hand.

Kevin Ozebek: “Every single day, do you have packages that you flag to inspect?”

Officer Pizarro: “All day, every day. So we’ll take a look inside to see what we have.”

This package looked unusual through the X-ray, so he opens it.

At first he sees just jewelry inside, but Officer Pizarro keeps digging.

Officer Pizarro: “And then, here we go, so we got more stuff in here.”

Hidden inside, he finds what appear to be fake IDs.

His experience finding false documents is coming in handy, especially now. Just last month, Officer Pizarro found counterfeit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine cards at a Miami-Dade mail facility.

Officer Pizarro: “I guess there’s people out there that want to use these things.”

Thousands of bogus vaccine cards have been seized by CBP officers across the country. Many are riddled with misspellings, a tell-tale sign they’re counterfeit.

The cards found here in Miami-Dade are missing the “i” in vaccine.

Zach Mann, U.S. Customs and Border Protection: “A vaccine card that’s counterfeit. What’s the use of that? A counterfeit vaccine card is most likely going to be used by someone who is portraying themselves as someone who has the vaccine and doesn’t, and is ultimately putting friends, family and co-workers at risk.”

Since the pandemic, CBP officers have also found more than 12.7 million counterfeit masks.

All in all, last year officers seized 1.3 billion dollars worth of counterfeit goods. Seventy-nine percent of those items came from Hong Kong and mainland China.

Officer Cruz, U.S. Customs and Border Protection: “It is a daily occurrence. We find counterfeits all over the place.”

Counterfeits like these “Rolex watches.”

Officer Cruz: “These are all Rolex counterfeit that were seized.”

From ritzy rip-off watches, to designer swimsuits and shoes that are actually duds, Officer Cruz showed us a slew of fakes found right here in South Florida.

These are forged labels for car parts.

Kevin Ozebek: “So, if you did not intercept these, these would be put on counterfeit car parts and potentially go into our vehicles here in South Florida?”

Officer Cruz: “And pose a health and safety risk to our people.”

And look at this.

Officer Cruz: “This is a counterfeit U.S. Marshals badge.”

Kevin Ozebek: “I mean, that could be a federal officer impersonator you just stopped there?”

Officer Cruz: “Yes, sir.”

Over at the Port of Miami, CBP officers search the massive cargo containers for fakes.

Officer Garrido, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, PortMiami: “Every day is different. We got a lot of different commodities here in Miami.”

But right now, Officer Garrido has his eyes on shipments of bikes that just arrived into the country.

Officer Garrido: “We’re looking for the battery compartments and the batteries that come in those bicycles, because in the past we have found a lot of these batteries are counterfeit.”

His goal is to make sure these electric bikes aren’t safety hazards.

Officer Garrido: “That’s our goal, is to stop anything where we find a violation so that we can prevent possible tragedies.”

So whether it arrives in South Florida from the ocean or the air, is in a huge container or a tiny package, know there is an entire team dedicated to the mission of finding fakes.

Dr. Alia Abdulla scrubs in before heading into the operating room. The surgical oncologist has performed hundreds of breast cancer surgeries.

7News was allowed inside the operating room as Dr. Abdulla and a team at Broward Health Medical Center performed what’s called a lumpectomy.

Dr. Alia Abdulla, surgical oncologist, Broward Health: “It was removal of the concerning tissue that was within the breast.”

Dr. Abdulla said the patient could not feel the abnormality. It was identified early on her mammogram.

Dr. Alia Abdulla: “We’ve been able to treat patients in early stage breast cancers, and they’re able to live a normal life going forward.”

Patients like Pamela Josephs.

Pamela Josephs, breast cancer survivor: “Last year, when I did my mammogram, they saw something.”

Dr. Alia Abdulla: “That ended up on biopsy showing invasive ductal carcinoma.”

Pamela Josephs: “When I got the call, I started to cry, but my daughter was with me, and you know, they sort of propped me up and said, ‘Mommy it’s grade I. Thank God it’s not grade IV.”

Because it was caught early, Pamela did not need radiation or chemotherapy, just medication after the surgery.

Pamela Josephs: “It made me feel relieved that it was out of my body, to know that this cancer was out.”

Both the mammogram that helped doctors diagnose Pamela’s breast cancer and the surgery to remove it happened during the COVID pandemic.

Pamela Josephs: “I think about if I had missed it and put it off, I would not have known.”

But Dr. Abdulla says there have been women who delayed their mammograms because of coronavirus concerns.

Dr. Alia Abdulla: “They don’t want to come into the hospital or to a facility to get their mammograms. It absolutely is concerning.”

The American Cancer Society estimates about 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women nationwide in 2021. Sadly, they estimate 43,600 women will die from it.

Researchers are also studying the impact pandemic-related cancer diagnosis delays may have in the years to come.

Dr. Alia Abdulla: “We have data from the [National Institutes of Health] that has projected that we are going to have additional deaths from cancer, specifically because of the COVID pandemic.”

This cancer survivor has some simple advice.

Pamela Josephs: “Make sure that you do your mammograms. Make sure, because you never know what is happening.”

On this day, after performing surgery in the morning, by the afternoon, Alia Abdulla went from doctor to patient, getting her first mammogram.

Dr. Alia Abdulla: “I am at the age where I’m supposed to start having mammograms. I do think that they say that doctors make the worst patients, and that probably applies to me.”

Experts say yearly mammograms for women start at age 40 and definitely should happen at age 45. Bottom line: doctors say catching breast cancer early saves lives.”

Maria Savilla: “Get it girl! Woohoo!”

This 4-year-old Great Dane loves being the center of attention.

Maria Savilla’s dog Nala is more than a pet. She is also an emotional support dog.

Maria Savilla, dog owner: “She takes a lot of the anxiety away.”

In addition to suffering from anxiety, Maria also has lupus and neuropathy and is starting to have trouble walking.

She wants to get a second Great Dane puppy to train as a service dog. That dog would learn how to keep Maria steady as she walks.

Maria Savilla: “We were so excited about this adventure that we thought we were gonna go on until it all happened. I Googled Great Dane puppies, and then, all of the sudden, the site popped up.”

This is the site Maria found: MDPuppies.com.

When she saw this 9-week old puppy named Stanley, she emailed the business and spoke to someone named Emmanuel.

According to this contract, she paid $500 to have Stanley shipped from Maryland to Broward.

Maria Savilla: “They said, ‘Well, we can take the CashApp or Zelle,’ and we’re like, ‘OK everybody’s doing that.’ I didn’t think it was bad.”

Maria was asked to send the money not to Emmanuel, but a different person named Terrace Brashier. It did not sit well with her.

Maria Savilla: “We pay ’em. We go to bed. I had a gut feeling. I said, ‘I just wanna go online and Google it again,’ and all this stuff started coming up about the website, how it was a scam.”

Maria tried asking for her money back, but the phone number for the business was disconnected.

No one would respond to our messages, either.

The Better Business Bureau says more people are falling victim to pet fraud.

Cinthya Lavin, Better Business Bureau: “Since lockdown started in 2020, we are definitely seeing an increase of pet scams through our scam tracker and complaints that we receive from BBB.”

Nearly 4,000 claims of pet fraud were reported to the agency last year.

If you decide to buy a pet off a website, don’t rely on the pictures or video you see posted.

Cinthya Lavin: “Approximately 90% of the pet photos out there of puppies may not really be from the seller that’s claiming to have them. Anyone can go on social media and take a screen shot and go online and start posting these animals as if they were their own.”

We did a reverse search of pictures on the site.

Some of them linked back to a website that houses stock photos.

This is video Maria was sent of 9-week old Stanley.

The TV in the background shows the time and the date – Monday, Feb. 3, but the last time Feb. 3 fell on a Monday was in 2020, so it is very likely that the puppy Maria wanted wouldn’t even be a puppy anymore.

Maria Savilla: “Your heart just goes down to your stomach because you’re like, ‘How can these people do this?'”

Maria filed a report with the State Attorney General’s Office, but there is not much chance she will ever get her money back.

Maria Savilla: “Five hundred dollars is just not something to laugh about.”

Maria still wants another Great Dane, but for now, Nala will stay by her side helping Maria through the anxiety caused by a dog deception.

With cars whizzing by, James Carter uses this crosswalk with caution.

James Carter, uses crosswalk every day: “They’re supposed to stop when that light is flashing, but sometimes they don’t. See what I mean?”

But others here in Sunny Isles Beach, like Patrick Dunn, refuse to cross here.

Patrick Dunn, Sunny Isles Beach resident: “It’s unsafe. I will actually go out of my way to get to the beach.”

This crosswalk goes across the on-ramp to the William Lehman Causeway, which breaks off of Collins Avenue near 189th Street.

Kevin Ozebek: “Why is it so scary?”

Annabel Dunn, Sunny Isles Beach resident: “Because the cars don’t stop. They’re racing up the causeway.”

And we saw that for ourselves!

One, two, three, three of those cars did not stop even though the pedestrian crossing light is flashing. This big truck is also still going through, even though we have flashing lights. A semitruck is still going through. Let’s see if this big truck stops. Nope!

Patrick Dunn: “It is a horrific accident waiting to happen.”

Actually, six accidents have already happened here!

Since the crosswalk was installed in 2018, there have been five rear-end collisions involving drivers who slammed on their breaks to stop for pedestrians.

We nearly witnessed a crash when I tried to cross!

And in July, a 14-year-old riding his bike was hit by a car while using the crosswalk.

Annabel Dunn: “I was there about 10 minutes after it happened. The boy was in the ambulance and being taken away.”

The boy who was injured is now out of the hospital, but Sunny Isles Beach Mayor Larisa Svechin worries another person could get hit.

Larisa Svechin, Sunny Isles Beach Mayor: “This is not the best place to cross, especially with small children.”

Collins Avenue and the William Lehman Causeway are state roads maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Back in 2019, FDOT concluded these flashing pedestrian crossing signs should be replaced with a traffic light to ensure traffic comes to a stop.

More than two years later, and that traffic light still has not been installed.

Kevin Ozebek: “Is the state moving too slow here?”

Larisa Svechin: “Yes, absolutely the state is moving too slow.”

FDOT would not go on camera, but a spokesperson tells 7News plans are finalized, though the poles for the new signals “need to be manufactured, which can take up to six months. FDOT is working with the contractor to expedite this as much as possible.”

Kevin Ozebek: “Are you happy with this?”

Larisa Svechin: “No, I am not happy with this, but the only thing I can do to affect that is push them even harder, and we have been. I can tell you we have an excellent relationship with them, and they understand the urgency.”

Mayor Svechin says FDOT told her supply chain delays caused by COVID are making it difficult to manufacture new traffic lights.

Residents like Patrick say they’re furious with FDOT’s response.

Patrick Dunn: “Now we’re looking for parts? No, that’s ridiculous. It’s disgraceful. They’ve known for years there is a problem here.”

And since FDOT does not expect the traffic signal to be constructed until March of next year, the city will pay a crossing guard during peak beach hours to get people safely across the street.

Lia Moise sent her son Collin, who is non-verbal and on the autism spectrum, to Silver Shores Elementary to help him prepare for kindergarten.

She had high hopes for him in the public school program.

Lia Moise, mother: “To prepare him to transition him into elementary pre-K, kindergarten.”

Lia does not want us to show Collin’s face.

She says after classes started, she noticed changes in his behavior.

Lia Moise: “As far as him being happy and wanting to go to school, no, he wasn’t. He seemed down.”

She was worried something was happening at school, and since Collin is unable to tell her, Lia went online, bought this audio recording device and had it sewn into his shirt.

This is part of what was recorded on one day last school year.

Teacher: “Quiet, Collin.”

Teacher: “Shut up your little voice! Collin, get over…”

Teacher: “Fix your mask! Stop, Collin.”

Teacher: “(Inaudible) … wants to hear you crying. I will say you sick, and you need to go home.”

It was hard for Lia to listen.

Lia Moise: “I could not go through the recording. Initially, I couldn’t go through the recording.”

She says it was especially difficult when she heard the teacher actually mimic her non-verbal child.

Teacher: “Stop it, or I’m gonna give you a reason to, eh, eh.”

And when he cried?

Here is how a teacher’s aide responded.

Teacher’s assistant: “Don’t cry like a [expletive].”

Teacher: “I hate this [expletive].”

Then, Lia realized it was not just happening to her son but also to another 4-year-old student with autism in the same class.

Teacher: “Head down and leave it there. Head down. Now you, now you cry.”

And when he wouldn’t stop crying…

Teacher: “I’m gonna get some cold, cold, cold water straight from the fridge!”

Dr. Monica Gilbert, Child Psychologist: “That one was really the hardest one, I think, that I’ve heard because of the crying and him being clearly in distress.”

We asked Dr. Monica Gilbert, a child psychologist who works with special needs children, to listen to portions of the recording.

Dr. Monica Gilbert: “No one, I think, should be spoken to like that and less a child who is a vulnerable child.”

Teacher: “Get up! Because if I have to get up and get you up, it’s gonna be a problem.”

It is unclear at times what provokes the outbursts. The recording also picks up the teacher talking to other students online when parents and caregivers would be nearby. Listen to the difference.

Teacher: “Yeah! We’ll see you guys at 9:15, and I’ll get my stuff together for Play-Doh, too. See you in a little bit, guys.”

Less than 20 seconds later, a much different tone.

Teacher’s assistant: “What do you want to do with Collin?”

Teacher: “You can put, put him in puke.”

Collin’s mom complained to the school. The recording was handed over to Child Protective Services to investigate.

The Florida Department of Children and Families stated, “Both teachers were removed from the classroom pending the outcome of the investigation.”

The investigator noted, “There is some harsh tune that could be heard … in the classroom. However, there is no indication that any child was harm [sic] during this time.”

Broward Schools also conducted an investigation.

The teacher and her aide denied “any verbal abuse of students,” and the teacher “denied ever using water as punishment.”

The district’s professional standards committee recommended no disciplinary action.

This mom still calls what she heard abusive.

Lia Moise: “That’s all bottling inside of him. That’s how I took that to really find out what’s going on because my son can’t talk.”

Karen Hensel: “He can’t tell you.”

Lia Moise: “He can’t tell me.”

Parents of both the boys took them out of the classroom.

Collin has started at a new school, where his mom says he is doing well.

Nico Norena is in his happy place.

Nico Norena, founder, The Succulent Bite: “White sugar, vanilla.”

He is doing what he loves best: creating another recipe segment for The Succulent Bite. It’s his wildly popular social media site for foodies, based inside his Brickell Key home.

Nico Norena: “Then add your eggs, heavy cream, cake flour and mix.”

Nico Norena: “Succulent Bite started out of a passion for food: food photography, video. I was able to gather a bunch of different culinary experiences throughout my life, and then put them all together into Instagram, which is what became Succulent Bite.”

He founded his company when he was a junior at Florida International University majoring in marketing.

Now, at the age of 28, he has close to two million followers on social media, and he recently won an award for being one of the top 100 influencers in the world.

Nico Norena: “Try that at home and let me know how it goes. Oops! Cheers!”

Nico Norena: “Instagram, we’re at 1,052,000 followers. TikTok, we’re at 637,000. I believe it is, and Facebook, 122,000.”

Those numbers are why big brands like Burger King love to team up with successful influencers like Nico.

Nico Norena: “Burger King just launched their new Ch’King sandwich lineup, and they’re absolutely incredible.”

Nico Norena: “We create partnerships, and we create campaigns that align with these brands, marketing strategies to showcase a product or an event that are revolving around that specific brand.”

Nico makes money by partnering with companies like Walmart, Bush’s Beans, Publix, Instacart and Betty Crocker, among others.

Nico Norena: “Betty Crocker Holiday Treats Baking with Ariana.”

He also partners with his fiancée, Ariana.

Ariana Rueda, The Succulent Bite: “Definitely very proud to see how he has evolved so much — him personally and his brand.

Nico Norena: “Fruit and cheese tray paired with an Absolut champagne cosmo. Wow, look at that!”

Their engagement was announced, of course, on Instagram.

A former marketing classmate at FIU, Ariana brings her own expertise to the company.

Ariana Rueda: “It’s, like, not a job for us. It’s generally – it’s fun to, like, sit down, and when he asked me, ‘OK, I have this brand,’ or thinking of what to pitch them, what ideas to create.”

Nico Norena: “Fresh mango ice cream bars. Look at that. Cheers.”

They also decide which local restaurants to feature, free of charge.

Nico says it’s important to give back to the local chefs and restaurant owners who gave The Succulent Bite its success.

Nico Norena: “They opened the doors to me unconditionally.”

Nico Norena: “But hey, now we have a huge audience that we’re going to be showcasing it to, and hopefully, it’s going to drive business back into your business as well.”

There’s a story in every bite, and for Nico, his story is just beginning.

Nico Norena: “What’s up, guys? This is Nico from The Succulent Bite, and welcome to The Scoop.”

He now has a podcast called “The Scoop with Nico Norena.” It features all things food.

Next year, a Succulent Bite recipe book is on the menu.

But that’s not all.

Nico Norena: “For now, what I can tell you is, Succulent Bite will be in everybody’s homes, hopefully 2022, and it’s coming soon.”

It’s all part of the succulent success of a young influencer on his way to the top.

FOR MORE INFO:
The Succulent Bite