WPTV is connecting with you in your community and actively listening to your stories!
Our two Let's Hear It meetups in August are focused on education.
Event in Port St. Lucie
On Thursday, Aug. 20, WPTV will be at the House of Music PSL in Port St. Lucie from noon to 6:30 p.m. House of Music PSL is located at 1973 SW Savage Blvd #203 in Port St. Lucie.
RELATED: Check out more "Let's Hear It" coverage
First Event Held in West Palm Beach
The first "Let's Hear It" was on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at Resource Depot in West Palm Beach.
We know that one of the biggest changes in Palm Beach County for this school year is no more free breakfast and lunch for students at many schools. Many families can apply for the free meals, which can also be a challenge.
We helped you get through the application process. We had computers set-up and volunteers (including Spanish-speaking) volunteers to help.
Resource Depot is a great place for families and educators to shop for back-to-school items. You’ll find new and gently used classroom items at a fraction of the price compared to a typical retail store.
“We’re a great resource year ‘round,” Jennifer O’Brien said, Executive Director at The Resource Depot. “Find materials, get ideas, learn a little and obviously send your families and parents here whenever you need some extra things for the school year.”
Janet Buttery of Delray Beach came to Let’s Hear It to discuss her outrageous water bills with Anchor Ashley Glass.
“I’m getting these crazy water bills,” Buttery said. “Sometimes, they’re $1,100 for just one month.”
Buttery said she can’t get straight answers when she calls the customer service number on her bill, and she hasn’t changed her water usage drastically.
“It makes no sense,” she said.
Luz Roman of Palm Springs spoke with WPTV Morning Anchor Ashley Glass about her concerns with her condo building she’s lived in for more than 20 years.
“We are having a lot of problems with the HOA,” Roman said. “The financials and they don’t want to tell us what’s going on. It’s ridiculous.”
Roman expressed frustration, telling Glass the elevators are out of service for a week at a time, and she has questions that aren’t being met with answers about how revenue from HOA fees she pays monthly is being used.
Resident Judy Paul spoke with Chief Investigative Reporter Jamie Ostroff on Wednesday about issues concerning the expansion of a nearby golf course.
She and her neighbors in West Palm Beach have been battling a golf course that expanded behind their condo community and has continuously failed to control their weed growth.
"The overgrowth on the bank has been continuous. At one point, it grew so high, I'm on the ground floor and my windows go up to 8 feet, it blocked the entire view," Paul told Ostroff. "It was starting to encroach on the view on the second floor."
The condo association has tried to communicate with the new owners of the golf course to no avail. Not only is the growth an eyesore for residents, it's raised health concerns as a breeding ground for mosquitos and other pests.
Vanessa Lewis came to Let's Hear It on Wednesday and spoke with WPTV reporter Kayla McDermott about lack of public transportation in Loxahatchee and Wellington. She said people who live in those areas and don't have cars have to rely on bikes or Ubers causing them to spend unnecessary money. She recently got a car but would like to get rid of it and take the bus if she could, basically believes the west is isolated from the rest of the county.
"I've been wanting to come to the Let's Hear It meet-up event to talk about issues in my community. Number one, the lack of public transportation," Lewis told McDermott. "There's no bus service out in that area. You see a lot of people with bicycles, scooters— have to call Uber for rides. What if you're not that financially stable and able to do that."
Jessica Frais of West Palm Beach sat down with McDermott to share that she believes there are not enough benches along Flagler Drive. She said there also needs to be more cross walks near Flagler and thinks there are too many private beaches in Florida.
"I live off of South Flagler and there's not walkways to get across this busy street and there's not many places to sit down for pedestrians," Frais told WPTV. "There aren't enough accommodations for people who are on foot or who are pedestrians."
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.
