WINK Neighborhood Watch: Deadly shooter, home invasion and drug traffickingPedestrian dead after crash on McGregor Boulevard
WINK Neighborhood Watch: Deadly shooter, home invasion and drug trafficking This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features deadly shootings, home invasions and drug trafficking.
FORT MYERS Pedestrian dead after crash on McGregor Boulevard The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash that left at least one person dead Saturday night.
Sunday brings sun and clouds with chance for a stray shower The Weather Authority forecasts another seasonal day across Southwest Florida, with temperatures reaching the upper 70s to low 80s this afternoon.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
WINK Neighborhood Watch: Deadly shooter, home invasion and drug trafficking This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features deadly shootings, home invasions and drug trafficking.
FORT MYERS Pedestrian dead after crash on McGregor Boulevard The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating a crash that left at least one person dead Saturday night.
Sunday brings sun and clouds with chance for a stray shower The Weather Authority forecasts another seasonal day across Southwest Florida, with temperatures reaching the upper 70s to low 80s this afternoon.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
In this Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016 photo, taxi driver Mikhail Yasayev speaks to an Associated Press reporter while stopped in traffic on the West Side highway in New York. A new law aimed at creating a uniform licensing process for drivers has done away with the written English test that used to be required for anyone wanting to drive a yellow cab, but not for people working for services like Uber and Lyft. Sponsors of the law say the change will eliminate a barrier to the profession for immigrants, who make up 96 percent of taxi drivers in the city. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) NEW YORK (AP) — People who hope to drive New York City’s famous yellow cabs must pass tests on such details as driving rules and where they can pick up passengers. But one test they no longer have to take? Whether they have a grasp of English. A new law that streamlines licensing requirements for different kind of drivers has done away with the longstanding English proficiency test for taxi drivers, which supporters say will eliminate a barrier to the profession for immigrants, who make up 96 percent of the 144,000 cabbies in the city. It’s also a recognition of how technology has transformed the business. Many drivers now rely on computer navigation programs, rather than verbal directions, to reach a destination. For-hire drivers for app-based services such as Uber, for example, never had to take an English test. But critics, including some drivers, are giving a side-eye to the idea that a good command of English is no longer considered a basic requirement for a job that involves communicating with passengers and reading street signs. “If you’re going to work in this country serving the population which is majority made up of American citizens that speak English, you probably should learn how to speak English,” said Tanya Crespo, who was visiting Manhattan from Newport, North Carolina. Kathy Amato, a tourist from Baltimore, said she wouldn’t ride in a taxi with a driver who couldn’t speak her language. “They should speak English because we’re in New York City,” she said. New York City’s taxi and for-hire drivers are already an international bunch, hailing from 167 countries, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which currently offers its licensing tests in English, Spanish, Bengali and Urdu. Hacks formerly went through one of two licensing processes, depending on what class of car they drove. One was for the yellow cabs that passengers can hail on the street. Drivers of those vehicles, which mostly operate in Manhattan and at the airports, had to take an education course and an English proficiency test. The other licensing process covered drivers of for-hire cars, the dominant form of taxi in the “outer boroughs” of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Those rides are dispatched by telephone, or, in recent years, by mobile phone app. For those drivers, an English test wasn’t required. Drivers for the different types of cars not only took different types of tests, but they also tended to come from different countries. Among yellow cab drivers, 24 percent were born in Bangladesh, 10 percent in Pakistan and 8 percent in India, according to city statistics. English is widely spoken as a second language in all three places, all formerly part of the British Empire. But among the traditional for-hire livery car drivers, 50 percent were born in the Dominican Republic, where people speak Spanish. Some foreign-born taxi drivers said taking, and passing, the English test was once a successful rite of passage. “You had to really learn to get it,” said Michael Osei-Antwi, a driver originally from Ghana, who took the English exam 17 years ago. “If somebody tells you they are going to Gansevoort Hotel and you don’t know English, how are you going to be able to get there?” Back then, the city also required a geography test, which has also been dropped in recent years. Cab driver Kwaku Atuahene was glad to see the English test go. “A guy might not be able to speak English but he is still a good driver. He could take you where you want to go,” he said. “There are a lot of ways to communicate.” There’s now an education course that both yellow cab and livery drivers will take. Taxi regulators said they are working with other city departments to create an English-language component for that course. New York City Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, who sponsored the legislation, said the driving jobs are “a step into the middle class for many, and we should be removing barriers to entry, rather than keeping them in place.” In certain ethnic neighborhoods in New York City, he pointed out, not speaking English isn’t a problem since the drivers and those using their services all speak the same language. Melquisedc Abreu, a 45-year-old livery car and Uber driver born in the Dominican Republic, agreed, saying it wouldn’t matter to most of his passengers if he didn’t speak English. “They never talk to me,” he said. “They just get in the car, I got the destination, drop them off, thank you, have a good day, and that’s it.”
“If you’re going to work in this country serving the population which is majority made up of American citizens that speak English, you probably should learn how to speak English,” said Tanya Crespo, who was visiting Manhattan from Newport, North Carolina. Kathy Amato, a tourist from Baltimore, said she wouldn’t ride in a taxi with a driver who couldn’t speak her language. “They should speak English because we’re in New York City,” she said. New York City’s taxi and for-hire drivers are already an international bunch, hailing from 167 countries, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which currently offers its licensing tests in English, Spanish, Bengali and Urdu. Hacks formerly went through one of two licensing processes, depending on what class of car they drove. One was for the yellow cabs that passengers can hail on the street. Drivers of those vehicles, which mostly operate in Manhattan and at the airports, had to take an education course and an English proficiency test. The other licensing process covered drivers of for-hire cars, the dominant form of taxi in the “outer boroughs” of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Those rides are dispatched by telephone, or, in recent years, by mobile phone app. For those drivers, an English test wasn’t required. Drivers for the different types of cars not only took different types of tests, but they also tended to come from different countries. Among yellow cab drivers, 24 percent were born in Bangladesh, 10 percent in Pakistan and 8 percent in India, according to city statistics. English is widely spoken as a second language in all three places, all formerly part of the British Empire. But among the traditional for-hire livery car drivers, 50 percent were born in the Dominican Republic, where people speak Spanish. Some foreign-born taxi drivers said taking, and passing, the English test was once a successful rite of passage. “You had to really learn to get it,” said Michael Osei-Antwi, a driver originally from Ghana, who took the English exam 17 years ago. “If somebody tells you they are going to Gansevoort Hotel and you don’t know English, how are you going to be able to get there?” Back then, the city also required a geography test, which has also been dropped in recent years. Cab driver Kwaku Atuahene was glad to see the English test go. “A guy might not be able to speak English but he is still a good driver. He could take you where you want to go,” he said. “There are a lot of ways to communicate.” There’s now an education course that both yellow cab and livery drivers will take. Taxi regulators said they are working with other city departments to create an English-language component for that course. New York City Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, who sponsored the legislation, said the driving jobs are “a step into the middle class for many, and we should be removing barriers to entry, rather than keeping them in place.” In certain ethnic neighborhoods in New York City, he pointed out, not speaking English isn’t a problem since the drivers and those using their services all speak the same language. Melquisedc Abreu, a 45-year-old livery car and Uber driver born in the Dominican Republic, agreed, saying it wouldn’t matter to most of his passengers if he didn’t speak English. “They never talk to me,” he said. “They just get in the car, I got the destination, drop them off, thank you, have a good day, and that’s it.”