Florida

Inside a new disaster-proof neighborhood in Florida, where million-dollar off-grid homes already survived two hurricanes and residents pay no electric bills

Published

1 year ago

May 25, 2024

Inside a new disaster-proof neighborhood in Florida, where million-dollar off-grid homes already survived two hurricanes and residents pay no electric bills

One solution, said real-estate developer Marshall Gobuty, is to build more resilient homes.

“People say they build to code, and my answer is ‘Great,’” he told Business Insider. “Building over code and doing things that haven’t been done — that’s something to be proud of.”

Enter Hunters Point. An 86-unit community in Cortez, Florida, a hour south of Tampa, created by Gobuty’s company, Pearl Homes. Residents first moved into the net-zero single-family homes in 2022, and they have withstood two hurricanes so far while also producing more energy than they consume.

Recently, the carrier Hunters Point used for builders insurance said they weren’t writing any new policies, but Gobuty and his team were able to find coverage by showing details of the homes’ construction— like ground-floor flood vents that drain water and full-home metal strappings that tie the property together as one unit — that Gobuty believes made them change their mind.

“They’re covering us because the way we built our homes,” he told BI.

That’s significant as major insurers have recently fled Florida over the increased risk. Since 2022, a dozen insurance companies have claimed insolvency, stopped issuing new policies, or withdrawn from the state entirely. The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is now the top underwriter as private companies leave.

Take a look at the ground-breaking Hunters Point development.

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Florida

Lawmakers seal lean budget deal, aim for June 16 final vote

Published

3 hours ago

June 13, 2025

Press Room

Lawmakers seal lean budget deal, aim for June 16 final vote

‘Nobody wanted a government shutdown. Nobody wanted employees to be without a paycheck,’ one top lawmaker said.

Florida lawmakers reached a budget agreement for 2025-26 after a month-long standoff, although the final number wasn’t available.
Among other things, the budget includes $560 million in special projects and a 2% raise for state workers.
A final budget vote is scheduled for June 16 after the constitutionally required 72-hour ‘cooling-off’ period.

State lawmakers finally put the finishing touches on a drawn-out budget negotiation this year, agreeing to nearly $560 million in funding for projects and sealing deals on environmental and higher education funding.

The move sets up a vote on the 2025-26 budget – delayed for more than a month over a standoff between House and Senate leaders over tax cuts – for June 16. Florida’s constitution requires a 72-hour “cooling off” period once the budget is made public before legislators can vote on it.

A price tag for the total budget wasn’t available the afternoon of June 13, but House budget chief Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, said it would be less than Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposal of $115.6 billion. The current year’s budget is $118.6 billion.

“Choices have to be made, right? And we all come from different corners of this state with different experiences and different situations so that conversation took a little bit longer than expected,” McClure told reporters.

“Hopefully next year’s legislature and future legislatures will be the beneficiaries, where otherwise they would have been making equally if not more difficult decisions than we did this year,” he added.

The cuts include eliminating more than 1,000 vacant positions throughout the state government and setting aside $750 million per year into a key reserve fund.

Not every portion of the budget, though, will see cuts. State workers will receive an across-the-board raise of 2%, and teachers and law enforcement will receive targeted raises, as will judges, state attorneys and public defenders.

Lawmakers agree on over half-billion dollars’ worth of special projects

As part of the last-minute deals, lawmakers agreed to $560 million in special projects in what have come to be known as “sprinkle lists,” a nickname from the idea that lawmakers are “sprinkling” extra money across the state.

That includes $136.9 million to boost nursing home reimbursement rates, $23 million in operational funds for the Florida State Guard, $10 million for a cancer research fund supported by First Lady Casey DeSantis and $1.8 million for the Mary Brogan Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Senate budget chief Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, said with President Donald Trump and other top federal officials talking about phasing out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it was important to provide funding for the Florida State Guard to help state residents recover from future hurricanes.

“We heard yesterday from our friends in Washington after this hurricane season there may be no more FEMA. We may be on our own some day and that would not be the time to start thinking, ‘Should we plan ahead?’ ” Hooper said. “The State Guard’s an important part of making sure we have the resources.”

Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, has said he wanted to cut expenses, concerned about a projected $7 billion shortfall in two years if current spending trends continued. But he clashed with Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, about how to do it.

Perez’s main priority was cutting the state sales tax from 6% to 5.25%, costing state coffers about $5 billion per year. Albritton initially refused to go along, concerned such a big cut would hamper the ability to fund vital programs for a growing state.

The dispute pushed the budget negotiations past the original May 2 end date for the regular session. Then a “framework” agreed to by Albritton and Perez to cut the sales tax to 5.75% was scuttled by DeSantis, who vowed to veto any tax cut plan that included an overall sales tax reduction. He was concerned such a move would crowd out his push for a property tax cut on the 2026 statewide ballot.

When House and Senate negotiators went back to the drawing board, another framework for a tax cut deal emerged, with $1.6 billion in cuts. Those details still need to be worked out, but Hooper and McClure said they’d meet again to hash out a deal on the tax bill.

Before the latest agreement, lawmakers knew they were pressed for time to pass a spending plan. The fiscal year ends June 30, and if a budget isn’t in place by then, parts of state government may need to shut down.

“We knew that we had to come here to get where we are today because, come July 1, nobody wanted a government shutdown. Nobody wanted employees to be without a paycheck,” Hooper said.

Lawmakers are poised to vote on the budget the evening of June 16. DeSantis, who has line-item veto authority, must still sign it into law by June 30. Given the fights with the Legislature, he could wield a heavy veto pen when he does.

This is a developing news story and will be updated. Check back later for more.

Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.

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Florida

Surveillance video captures moment heroic stranger saves 6-year-old Florida boy sinking to bottom of pool

Published

1 day ago

June 12, 2025

Press Room

Surveillance video captures moment heroic stranger saves 6-year-old Florida boy sinking to bottom of pool

Stranger saves 6-year-old drowning boy from pool

6-year-old Oscar went underwater and struggled to breathe in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Roque Ivan Ocampo heard the screaming and immediately rushed in to save Oscar’s life. (Credit: Fort Lauderdale Police Department)

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A 6-year-old Florida boy who fell into a pool and started drowning was saved due to the quick-thinking heroics of a stranger – and it was all caught on camera.

Surveillance video shows the young boy, named Oscar, arrive at the pool in Fort Lauderdale with an adult.

He tries to jump onto a pool float, but loses his balance and falls into the pool.

The adult with Oscar begins screaming for help as the boy begins to sink to the bottom of the pool.

VIDEO CAPTURES DRAMATIC RESCUE OF FLORIDA MAN FOUND UNRESPONSIVE ON SPINNING BOAT

The pool where 6-year-old Oscar was saved by a stranger after slipping off of a pool raft and drowning. (Fort Lauderdale Police Department)

Roque Ivan Ocampo was passing by when he heard the screams for help and ran to assist.

As Ocampo quickly takes his shoes off, he dives right in to save Oscar.

HERO OFFICERS AND GOOD SAMARITANS WHO WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND IN 2024

Roque Ivan Ocampo jumped into the pool and grabbed the 6-year-old Oscar. Once out of the water, Ocampo began CPR. (Fort Lauderdale Police Department)

Ocampo immediately began pulling him to the surface of the water towards the ladder.

Another bystander assisted Ocampo with getting Oscar out of the water.

During a press conference, Ocampo told the media that he saw Oscar wasn’t breathing.

“I started doing CPR. The kid wasn’t breathing, but I keep doing it and doing it until he started breathing again,” Ocampo said.

Police body cam footage of finding Oscar breathing upon arriving on scene.

Police find Oscar breathing upon arriving on scene due to Ocampo’s quick thinking. Oscar was carried to EMS and survived. (Fort Lauderdale Police Department)

Through police body cam footage, officers are seen arriving to find Oscar breathing.

The officers quickly took over and spoke to Oscar, asking him if he could squeeze their hand.

Officers then carry Oscar out of the pool area and to the paramedics.

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The 6-year-old survived because of the quick action taken by Ocampo.

“I don’t feel like a hero. I just did what I had to do. I feel good. I’m blessed to be able to help this kid,” Ocampo said to the media.

Nick Butler is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Do you have any tips? Reach out to Nick.Butler@Fox.com.

Nick Butler is a Breaking and Trending News Writer for Fox News Digital.

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Florida

Man saves 6-year-old drowning in Florida pool

Published

2 days ago

June 12, 2025

Press Room

Man saves 6-year-old drowning in Florida pool

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Man saves 6-year-old drowning in Florida pool

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