NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. — For three years, WPTV has made it our mission to be in the community, listening to you through our Let's Hear It initiative.
We've heard the good and bad, connected you with resources, and got answers for people who had nowhere to turn.
WATCH BELOW: WPTV connects with viewers in North Palm Beach
On Tuesday, that initiative continued with another Let's Hear It meet-up as we celebrate three years.
The WPTV team was at the North Palm Beach Country Club clubhouse restaurant from 9 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.
Claudette Fabian visited our Let's Hear It event to share everything she loves about living in North Palm Beach — especially the library.
"The people at (the North Palm Beach Library) are lovely," Fabian said. "I spend a lot of time there. It's fabulous."
Fabian, who turns 90 next week, said she also appreciates how everything in the area is easy to get to, including the grocery store and dentist.
"As a senior, accessibility is important," Fabian said.
WPTV reporter Samantha Gutierrez spoke with Jacqueline Kapinowski, founder of the Shifting Gears United nonprofit. She has completed 91 marathons, including 71 of them while using her wheelchair. After being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in her 20s, she transitioned from running on foot to wheelchair racing.
"You don't have to have a disability to have an adversity," Kapinowski said. "We all deal with adversity. It's just a matter of how you want to handle it and make your choices. So, I choose to live. I don't choose to let the disease get me."
Kapinowski is now training for a Half Ironman this October, a grueling triathlon of swimming, biking and running—all from her wheelchair.
John Spagnolo spoke with WPTV anchor Hollani Davis about his golf cart safety concerns. He said that people keep riding their golf carts on high-traffic roadways, and worries that accidents will continue to happen.
WPTV's Jon Shainman connected with Wayne Joplin who has lived in North Palm Beach for 39 years. He is 90 years old and said when he first bought his house, he did not know how expensive it would become to own it. Decades later, Joplin said his income is decreasing, while his property taxes are going up.
"That's a problem. They're tearing down all of my neighbors' houses and building mega mansions," Joplin said. "So, your house is very valuable, because of where it is, the house is not worth a thing. It's the sand it sits on."
Joplin said he is in favor of eliminating property taxes or giving seniors over the age of 65 a break.
WPTV anchor Janny Rodriguez had the chance to sit down with Walter Eckler, who has lived in his North Palm Beach home for almost 50 years. Within the last five years, he has been dealing with flooding right in front of his house. He said any time it rains, water accumulates there, because his street does not have a storm drain, and it is an issue he has brought up to village leaders, but has not gotten a clear answer.
"The block south of us and the two blocks north of us have drains; they don't have an issue, we're right off alternate A1A, the elevation is a couple of feet down, and it's like a river," Eckler said.
Eckler just wants to know whether the village will put in a storm drain.
WPTV anchor Todd Wilson spoke with a woman named Bridgett Benoit-Carpenter, who said she was billed by a third-party after the company had already billed and was paid by her insurance company for an annual breast exam.
She paid $74 the first time. Then she was billed again for $414.
"I'm on this. I am not letting it go, and I'm not, because they're probably doing this to other people and they're just making money and they're being covered by insurance and individual care," Benoit-Carpenter said.
Benoit-Carpenter said this is an issue she has been dealing with since August 2025.
Tom Fitz is a filmmaker and the executive director of Schoolyard Films. He shared with Shainman that the non-profit will be having a free show at Maltz Theater in Jupiter focused on ocean plastics.
The film will be narrated live by Fitz and shows how humans and wildlife live with plastics each day. It also depicts how local high schools are getting involved at the county level to advocate for better water quality.
The event at the Maltz Therater will be held on April 21 at 7 p.m.
We want to be your voice and help you find solutions.
While we hold our monthly Let's Hear It meet-ups, we know many are not able to attend, but we still want to hear from you and start taking action to get you answers. You can e-mail us at LetsHearIt@wptv.com.
