Tens of thousands of dollars are still owed to several companies who did work in the planning stages of the 9th Ward Field of Dreams, a football stadium proposed for the 9th Ward of New Orleans. To date, little to no visible work has been done on the stadium’s proposed site.
Following Hurricane Katrina, a story of hope emerged in the form of a football stadium for Carver High School in the city's 9th Ward. A joint investigation by FOX 8 and The Athletic found what resulted fourteen years later is simply an empty field of dreams.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel with the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board filed formal charges against Timothy David Ray for three possible violations of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, a set of rules that govern how attorneys should practice.
A subpoena obtained by FOX 8 shows the focus of a federal corruption investigation into State Senator Wesley Bishop, D-New Orleans, and his payroll records during his primary job as Vice-Chancellor at Southern University at New Orleans.
State records obtained by FOX 8 News show that while staffing has remained largely unchanged at the Office of Motor Vehicles, wait times have been steadily increasing at facilities across the state.
A Louisiana woman is puzzled how a bill for basic blood tests can be hundreds of dollars more than a co-worker who had the same tests performed. Kim Christina, of Hammond, said her doctor sent her to North Oaks Hospital for a routine blood test and a month later she received an ‘exorbitant bill.’
With water quality and safety concerns across the country, many families are turning to water filters. But there are counterfeit filters and filters carrying fake certification marks.
A bill in the U.S. Senate could help stop the surprise medical bills that cost Americans thousands each year.Senator Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, helped write the Stop Surprise Bills Act of 2019. A bill that has 27 co-sponsors, more than a quarter of the U.S. Senate.
The FDA has a new strategy for imported food safety, and Congress has increased seafood inspection funds. But the U.S. still lags behind some other countries when it comes to inspections and regulations.
The Louisiana Department of Education has allowed at least seven 'for-profit' schools into the state's scholarship program despite a rule saying that state and federal money cannot go to 'for-profit' schools.
Governor John Bel Edwards plans on pushing for more changes to the state’s program that allows children at poor-performing public schools to attend certain private schools on a voucher or scholarship.
A member of the eleven-person board overseeing educational policies in Louisiana said he supports the scholarship system and says it is ‘working very well’ despite findings to the contrary in our recent Cost of Choice investigation.
By
Lee Zurik,Kim Chatelain,Jess Clark andCody Lillich
Teachers, students and parents from an early childhood program held signs in protest outside LSU Health New Orleans, opposing a decision to end a nearly million-dollar grant with the school.
By
Lee Zurik,Kim Chatelain,Jess Clark andCody Lillich
The largest participant in the Louisiana Scholarship Program, the New Orleans Archdiocese with 3,700 scholarship students, has more than half of the total students in the program.
By
Lee Zurik,Kim Chatelain,Jess Clark andCody Lillich
The Louisiana Scholarship Program allows schools to simply notify the state to participate in the program rather than a lengthy application process like public and charter schools face for approval.
By
Lee Zurik,Kim Chatelain,Jess Clark andCody Lillich
Many parents said they are unaware of how their child's school performs in the Louisiana Scholarship Program. As a part of the joint investigation, The Cost of Choice, a searchable database is created containing all of the state's data on scholarship schools.
A joint investigation found many students in the Louisiana Scholarship Program are going to lower performing schools, the opposite of what was touted during the program's launch in 2012.
By
Lee Zurik,Cody Lillich,Jess Clark andKim Chatelain
Tonnette ‘Toni’ Rice repaid $70,682 to the New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network, a non-profit where she used to serve as the former president. A FOX 8 Lee Zurik Investigation uncovered Rice stole more than $70,000 from the organization.
One recipient of questionable spending during a court clerk's final days in office drops off check and cash after a FOX 8 Investigation. Meanwhile, the court has sent findings of a financial audit to law enforcement to review.
A fraud examination report released to FOX 8 shows financial investigators have suggested a possible criminal investigation into the actions of a now-former court clerk.
Timothy David Ray was appointed to First City Court Clerk after Ellen Hazeur won a judgeship in March 2018. In November 2018, Ray lost the election for that office to Austin Badon. In Ray’s last days in office, he wrote two questionable checks, totaling nearly $10,000.
The issue of sky-high auto insurance rates in the state has gotten the attention of lawmakers who are planning ways that could lower the rates -- if they can make it through the legislature.
Louisiana has a ranking many people are not proud of -- home of the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. But the factors behind the distinction -- depend on who you ask.
According to government reports, there is evidence that the main oversight agency for seafood, the Food and Drug Administration, has failed to meet new mandates to increase inspections at foreign food facilities.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar visited with Louisiana pharmacists about drug prices in the U.S. and how future changes could mean savings for customers.
The Louisiana State Judiciary Commission is looking into four New Orleans judges who were part of a FOX 8 investigation into overcharging couples for weddings.
Since Mark Spears took office in 2012, a company called Exceptional Inspections has been hired 43 times in Jefferson Parish, almost all of which was for work in Spear's district.
When the Jefferson Parish Chamber of Commerce urged the parish council to spend BP settlement money on flood protection, one councilmember went against that request.
A law professor and a CPA say a state senator needs to be investigated following new information that Wesley Bishop called in sick to his full-time job at Southern University of New Orleans to fulfill his part-time job in the legislature.
A state senator in eastern New Orleans has a full time job at Southern University of New Orleans. When he works his part-time job in the Legislature, he uses SUNO sick time. That appears to be against the law.
Governor John Bel Edwards remains silent, despite the findings of a FOX 8 investigation. Two months after our initial reporting, the governor's office still won't return our request for a comment. And three powerful board members at the center of our series also remain silent - despite our questions.
Three Louisiana State Troopers that were accused of taking a controversial side trip on their way to a police conference last year has had their punishments significantly reduced.
The law allows judges in New Orleans' First and Second City Court to charge $5 for a wedding at the courthouse. But in First City Court, three judges charged $80. In Second City Court in Algiers, Judge Teena Anderson-Trahan charged even more, $100.
A critic of convention centers says the one here in New Orleans must not care about being wrong. Almost two years ago, we investigated the Morial Convention Center and showed how their attendance numbers are way off. Now, new numbers show the trend continues, possibly worse than ever.
In one year, a New Orleans judge may have received her $100 wedding fees 473 times, pocketing as much as $47,300 in cash. But she may not have reported all the earnings to state ethics officials. Did she report them to tax authorities?
The numbers in healthcare pricing documents typically are closely held secrets. But we've unmasked the costs some of your insurance companies pay for services - costs that directly impact the amount of money coming out of your pocket.
Three members of a powerful state board failed to show up to a meeting after they were featured in two FOX 8 investigations. That board regulates river pilots, some of whom pilots can make almost $800,000 a year.
Fallout from a FOX 8 investigation in May: Louisiana's governor has received two letters asking him to remove three powerful board members from a commission that governs river pilots. We have new questions and new findings that those commissioners may have broken the law.
It's hard to miss Harrah's Casino when you're standing at the foot of Canal Street. But, unless you keep an eye on the state legislature, you might have missed the heated politics behind Harrah's campaign to extend its state license.
We've uncovered a letter that likely has never been seen by the general public - one that impacts a handful of well-connected Louisianans earning more than half a million dollars a year. To understand its significance, we present a back story that involves money, political influence and one of the state's most valuable natural resources - the Mississippi River.
Erin Earl wanted a quaint, intimate wedding. A friend told her about Second City Court, located in the Algiers courthouse. Her fiancé picked the date, Valentine's Day. She called the office of Second City Court Judge Teena Anderson-Trahan, and her unfortunate experience began.
A local ethics expert says a potential conflict of interest by a state senator could get the attention of the La. Supreme Court. That's because the senator never disclosed that possible conflict when he discussed a bill in the legislature.
Some legal observers are keeping a close eye on an unfolding FOX 8 investigation of four Orleans Parish judges who are pocketing as much as $25,000 a year in cash - even though the law says they shouldn't.
Four New Orleans judges perform weddings in their courthouses.But a FOX 8 investigation finds the judges are pocketing the fees themselves - and that may be a violation of state law.
Jason Williams says the potential conflicts detailed in our latest FOX 8 probe need to be investigated further. Those conflicts involve an army of lobbyists hired by Harrah's to push a 30-year license extension through Louisiana's legislature.
Six years before Harrah's current lease at the foot of Canal Street expires, the company wants a 30-year extension to its casino license - and its lobbying effort has drawn fire for potential conflicts of interest, involving local authorities and state lawmakers.
New Orleans police have arrested the former president of the New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network, who allegedly stole more than $70,000 of taxpayer money.
There are almost 20,000 inactive oil and gas wells lying In the water, off highways and even in backyards across the state of Louisiana. Thousands of them were abandoned by their operators and left for the state to clean up, with your money. State law forbids such orphan operators from doing business in Louisiana - or does it?
Slidell police did not want you to see their internal report; the department told us we couldn't have it. But a source handed it over: 53 pages of allegations of police misconduct.
Week after week, bill after bill, the evidence grows: If you want to improve your home or company finances, you need to take control of your healthcare costs. Our Medical Waste investigation picks up with fresh examples of real money being saved by consumers just like you. And if you run a business - or even a government agency - those savings could be in the millions.
Federal prosecutors in New Orleans say Rickey Roberson of New Orleans was sentenced to 13 months, restitution in the amount of $84,308, three years supervised release, and six months of home detention with ankle monitoring.
A Louisiana Legislative Auditor report found former Louisiana State Police Superintendent Michael Edmonson and at least four state troopers misused state money to pay for travel, hotel rooms, and other improper expenditures.
The state of Louisiana has fallen way behind in properly plugging some 4,000 abandoned oil and gas wells. It's a problem we told you about in our "Left for Dead" investigation in early November. Now, we have the results from air and soil samples taken at a handful of well sites near residential communities.
The United States has a shortage of livers ready for transplant to patients who need them. That means many Americans will die before they get a transplant opportunity. So why are rich transplant patients from overseas flocking to some U.S. hospitals, including Ochsner in New Orleans?
Almost 4,000 abandoned oil and gas wells dot Louisiana's landscape and waters, from Oil City to Golden Meadow and beyond. Many of them have been deteriorating for decades; some of them are leaking. And year to year, just as the state cleans up scores of orphan well sites, hundreds more are abandoned by their operators.
Customers who are late or fall behind in payments can face harassment. Some report employees banging on their doors at all hours or calling their family members.
By
Jill Riepenhoff,Megan Luther,Lee Zurik andAndy Miller
Derrell Williams and Rodney Hyatt were the two highest-ranking officers investigated for a trip that four troopers took to San Diego last year for a work conference.
Louisiana produces some of the world's best seafood. But the overfishing of some our tastiest species has forced our local restaurants to find some seafood outside the state.
