Large response to rollover crash in Fort MyersNew information on why FEMA put Fort Myers Beach on probation
FORT MYERS Large response to rollover crash in Fort Myers There was a large response to a multi-car crash with a rollover in Fort Myers just after 8 p.m on Friday night.
FORT MYERS BEACH New information on why FEMA put Fort Myers Beach on probation FEMA was sure to lay it out in a letter. Out of the five points listed, three areas need work on Fort Myers Beach to re-apply for the flood insurance discount.
CAPE CORAL Exclusive: Cape Coral Police Chief speaks out on hate crime incident New exclusive surveillance video shows the moment a Cape Coral home is vandalized. The suspects painted racial slurs on the wall in red paint. WINK News broke this story on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL New police precincts coming to Cape Coral The Cape Coral Police Department is adding new precincts around the city. The reason? Growth.
Vietnam veteran’s unique service animal companion When we think of service animals, dogs usually come to mind, but it’s not just dogs that help people navigate through their challenges.
NAPLES Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year award honoree: John Cooney It’s one thing to be philanthropic and help our community. It’s another to provide so much help and want absolutely nothing in return, not even your name mentioned.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High principal named Lee County Principal of the Year Carl Burnside was the last to find out Friday morning that he was selected as Lee County Schools Principal of the Year for 2025.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach businesses excited for increased season traffic Those on Fort Myers Beach are excited for the town to return to normal. Businesses are ready to accept snowbirds and residents again.
CAPE CORAL Mom faces DUI charge after crash during pick-up at Oasis High School A crash in the pick-up line at Oasis High School led Cape Coral police to a DUI investigation.
Rethinking daily Asprin intake Many of us have heard the saying, “An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away,” but new research shows that taking aspirin every day might not be as good for you as we once thought.
NAPLES Embezzlement investigation in Naples WINK News is looking into claims of embezzlement in the Naples government.
NORTH FORT MYERS Where did the Shell Factory animals go? With the closure of The Shell Factory in September, people have been wondering where the animals went.
Tim Aten Knows: Publix to demolish, rebuild Naples store Two days after Thanksgiving, the 38-year-old Publix supermarket in Neapolitan Way Plaza will close to begin a Naples redevelopment project that has been planned for years.
Planned retail, lifestyle center seeking tenants at Babcock Ranch A new 112,000-square-foot mixed-use complex designed for retail shops, restaurants, bars, office space and residential units is planned for Babcock Ranch. Called B Street at Babcock Ranch, there are approximately 20 parties negotiating leases, said Jon Cashion, a principal with commercial real estate agency Katz & Associates. A groundbreaking ceremony is slated for early 2025, […]
WASHINGTON (AP) Trump chooses loyalist Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department, turning to a longtime ally after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.
FORT MYERS Large response to rollover crash in Fort Myers There was a large response to a multi-car crash with a rollover in Fort Myers just after 8 p.m on Friday night.
FORT MYERS BEACH New information on why FEMA put Fort Myers Beach on probation FEMA was sure to lay it out in a letter. Out of the five points listed, three areas need work on Fort Myers Beach to re-apply for the flood insurance discount.
CAPE CORAL Exclusive: Cape Coral Police Chief speaks out on hate crime incident New exclusive surveillance video shows the moment a Cape Coral home is vandalized. The suspects painted racial slurs on the wall in red paint. WINK News broke this story on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL New police precincts coming to Cape Coral The Cape Coral Police Department is adding new precincts around the city. The reason? Growth.
Vietnam veteran’s unique service animal companion When we think of service animals, dogs usually come to mind, but it’s not just dogs that help people navigate through their challenges.
NAPLES Gulfshore Life’s Men and Women of the Year award honoree: John Cooney It’s one thing to be philanthropic and help our community. It’s another to provide so much help and want absolutely nothing in return, not even your name mentioned.
FORT MYERS Dunbar High principal named Lee County Principal of the Year Carl Burnside was the last to find out Friday morning that he was selected as Lee County Schools Principal of the Year for 2025.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach businesses excited for increased season traffic Those on Fort Myers Beach are excited for the town to return to normal. Businesses are ready to accept snowbirds and residents again.
CAPE CORAL Mom faces DUI charge after crash during pick-up at Oasis High School A crash in the pick-up line at Oasis High School led Cape Coral police to a DUI investigation.
Rethinking daily Asprin intake Many of us have heard the saying, “An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away,” but new research shows that taking aspirin every day might not be as good for you as we once thought.
NAPLES Embezzlement investigation in Naples WINK News is looking into claims of embezzlement in the Naples government.
NORTH FORT MYERS Where did the Shell Factory animals go? With the closure of The Shell Factory in September, people have been wondering where the animals went.
Tim Aten Knows: Publix to demolish, rebuild Naples store Two days after Thanksgiving, the 38-year-old Publix supermarket in Neapolitan Way Plaza will close to begin a Naples redevelopment project that has been planned for years.
Planned retail, lifestyle center seeking tenants at Babcock Ranch A new 112,000-square-foot mixed-use complex designed for retail shops, restaurants, bars, office space and residential units is planned for Babcock Ranch. Called B Street at Babcock Ranch, there are approximately 20 parties negotiating leases, said Jon Cashion, a principal with commercial real estate agency Katz & Associates. A groundbreaking ceremony is slated for early 2025, […]
WASHINGTON (AP) Trump chooses loyalist Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the Justice Department, turning to a longtime ally after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.
Is airline travel really accessible for all people? How about those with disabilities? One Cape Coral homeowner who is quadriplegic says no, and wants to know why, so he reached out to WINK News for help. If you’re disabled and rely on a power wheelchair, you have travel options: wheelchair-accessible buses, vans, taxis, trolleys, and trains. You can’t fly commercial—not in your chair. People who are disabled tell us the services carriers provide illustrate a critical need for more care in the air. For 45-year-old James Glasbergen, his Cape Coral vacation home is paradise. “It’s easy to smile when you come to a place like Cape Coral and the sun shines 300 days a year, and you’ve got beautiful palm trees everywhere,” Glasbergen said. He built the home in 2013 to meet his needs for someone who is quadriplegic. He’s paralyzed from the chest down from a car crash back when he was a teenager, but his disability hasn’t stopped him from seeing the world. “I’ve been traveling for 27 years,” Glasbergen said. “And I do it because I love it and do it because I hate winter more than anything else.” Airline travel appears to be a close second. “I’ll be honest, like I’m getting to that point where I don’t want to do it anymore,” adds Glasbergen. He said it takes skill and muscle to get him in and out of his customized electric wheelchair. “It’s always a two-person carry,” Glasbergen explained. “One person carries the top half the other person carries the legs.” Despite calling ahead to the airlines, he said he doesn’t always get that help. “I’m used to people coming to transfer me and being completely unprepared. It’s frustrating,” states Glasbergen. This video is from his United Airlines flight into Southwest Florida International Airport in February, recorded by his personal care assistant. It begins with a worker walking out. Unidentified worker: “Hey Maria, call the medic because I am not going to deal with the wheelchair.” Another asks the caregiver to stop recording. Airline worker: “No video please.”Personal care worker: “But I am not in your way, though.”Airline worker: “You don’t need to take a video. We need help!” For more than 10 minutes, the remaining crew appears to struggle. Airline worker: “This is a disaster.” They manage to move Glasbergen from the airline seat… Airline worker: “Just lift it up a little bit.”Airline worker: “No, No… This doesn’t slide over.”Airline worker: “One, two, three.” … into the onboard wheelchair. Then it’s time to get him off the plane, out of the onboard wheelchair, and into his electric wheelchair. Airline worker: “Is there a way to bring his wheelchair inside here?”Airline worker: “No, because it won’t fit.”Arline worker: “You okay?”Glasbergen: “I’m fine, as long as I don’t fall out of the chair.” An airline employee on the Jetway asks the personal caregiver for advice. Airline worker: “Do you know how we can help him? They are obviously having a really hard time.” Personal care assistant: “Once you get him in the chair, I’ll do everything else.” Glasbergen explains, his personal assistant didn’t jump in to help because, “he doesn’t do physical lifting. That’s not his job.” Michele Erwin, founder and president of All Wheels Up, a non-profit dedicated to getting wheelchair spots on planes, weighs in. “Why should James’s assistant, end up out on a back injury and then not able to assist James seven days a week when he needs him?” Erwin said the video illustrates the workers’ lack of training and equipment to effectively do the job. “To get onto an airplane, you really aren’t treated like a person, you’re really treated like just, you know, luggage.” In addition to the constant fear of being injured, Glasbergen feels the way he’s handled is degrading and demoralizing, “There’s no dignity whatsoever… and flailing all over the place. And people are watching the whole thing. And it’s like that every single time.” We sent Glasbergen’s video to United Airlines. The airline said, in part, “Our top priority is to provide a safe and comfortable journey for all our customers, especially those who require additional assistance or the use of a wheelchair.” In a follow-up call with United Airlines spokesperson Charles Hobart, he told WINK News the wheelchair agents who work for them at Southwest Florida International Airport are hired by a third-party company called, G2 Secure Staff, LLC., and did not speak to their level of training and expertise. As for his reaction to Glasbergen’s video: Celine on the phone with Hobart: “Do you think that the services provided to this passenger were adequate? Celine on the phone with Hobart: “I didn’t ask you what he thinks I asked what you think. Does United think that the services provided to this man were adequate?” Celine on the phone with Hobart: “So you reached out to the customer to apologize… so, I guess the answer is no.” Hobart told us United Airlines “didn’t offer this passenger service in a convenient, efficient, and comfortable manner.” G2 Secure Staff offers aviation support services to airlines across the country, including wheelchair agents. The company claims these workers undergo “rigorous training.” It also boasts a 99.99% customer satisfaction rate. We found five federal court cases in the last several years, where unsatisfied passengers filed suit against G2 Secure Staff and its partner commercial airlines. All of the passengers claimed they didn’t get the disability services they required to travel safely and were hurt as a result. One is pending and the others settled out of court. We sent G2 Secure Staff the video. After speaking to their lawyers, they responded via email, saying in part, “The agents assisting Mr. Glasbergen were careful and methodical in placing the passenger’s safety and well-being above speed during the transfer.” Celine on the phone to G2: “I have some follow-up questions on that. In addition, I’d like to find out a little more about the training.” The company would not talk about its training, claiming the “materials are proprietary and confidential.” “This is a human rights issue,” says Glasbergen. “It’s discriminatory that people with disabilities can’t sit in their own wheelchairs on planes. Enough is enough, like things need to change.” The U.S. Department of Transportation says United Airlines is responsible for the services provided by G2 Secure Staff. They can’t pass the buck. We also sent the video to Southwest Florida International Airport. They say the airlines provide the customer support services—not the airport—and have no comment on this story. Stay tuned as we continue this investigation. In the meantime, do you have something you’d like Celine McArthur to investigate? Email celine.mcarthur@winknews.com. Read the “No Care in the Air?” series: Part 2: Disabled airline traveler experience exposes lack of uniform training standards Part 3: DOT to host virtual public hearing to discuss wheelchair traveler troubles