Latest news with #VeroBeach
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Deputies dramatically rescue three men left treading water in darkness after their plane crashed off Florida coast
New video shows the moment rescuers saved three men after they were left treading water when their plane crashed along Florida 's Treasure Coast last weekend. Officials received a distress call at 8.24 p.m. Sunday from a single-seated Cessna 172 Skyhawk as it plunged into the waters off Vero Beach after the pilot reported engine issues. The aircraft took off from Flagler Executive Airport in Palm Coast, 150 miles to the north, just before 7 p.m. The alert sparked a multi-agency search and rescue mission. It was the Indian River County Sheriff's Office helicopter, 'Hawk,' that found the three in the water using its thermal imaging and infrared cameras. Sheriff Eric Flowers said in a press conference Monday that the helicopter pilots were unable to find any visible debris from the crash, describing the rescue mission like 'looking for a needle in a haystack' in the middle of the ocean. Instead of debris, Flowers said that helicopter pilot Deputy Jonathan Lozada eventually noticed 'three heads bobbing in the water' around 8.45 p.m. Lozada told the media that conditions were stacked against the rescue teams. 'It was very dark out there,' he said in a press conference Monday. 'Even though we have night vision goggles, we're still very limited on visibility. So for us to be able to go that far offshore, it's just unsafe for us.' Lozada said the three passengers might never have been found if more time had elapsed. At around 9:50 p.m. Sunday, officials from the Air and Marine Operations, an operational component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, found two survivors in the water, the agency said. 'Coast Guard, Coast Guard, you have two that you're in contact with. There is one more at about your 11 o'clock. He's drifting off by himself,' one of the helicopter pilots said in a video of the rescue shared by the sheriff's office on Facebook. The third man was pulled out of the water shortly after he was spotted. Bodycam footage from an Air and Marine Operations agent showed the moment one of the survivors was assisted up to the boat using a rope. The man, who later identified himself as the pilot, stated that only three people had been on board the plane. 'We have three,' he said. 'We are three.' Flowers said that the pilot appeared to be in the worst condition and in the most distress. The man was recorded screaming as he was transferred to the Coast Guard 45-foot vessel for Emergency Medical Technician evaluation after complaining of 'severe rib pain,' according to the CBP. All three survivors were taken to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce for further medical treatment. The sheriff's office said the victims are in stable condition. Assistant Fire Chief Steve Greer of Indian River County Fire Rescue said that the three survivors attempted to swim to shore. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the cause of the crash. A preliminary crash report was expected to be available on Tuesday. The plane was headed for Vero Beach Municipal Airport and had been due to land around 8:30 p.m. local time.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Breeze Airways offers these summer flights from Vero Beach Regional Airport
Summer is nearly here, and with summer weather comes summer travel. If you're looking to beat the heat and take a trip up north, Breeze Airways offers cheap flights to select locations including New Haven, Connecticut, White Plains, New York and Washington, D.C. from Vero Beach Regional Airport. This month, Breeze Airways adds service to its tenth Florida airport — Key West International Airport (EYW). Nonstop flights are available from Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Tampa International Airport (TPA). Take a peek at what the airline has to offer in June, how early you can check in for your flight and how to get free Wi-Fi, snacks and more. Opinion | Is Breeze a good airline? What I learned from Vero Beach to Washington, D.C. The airline now services ten locations in Florida, starting in June: Pensacola Jacksonville Daytona Beach Tampa Orlando Sarasota/Bradenton Vero Beach Fort Myers Key West Palm Beach As of May 28: Vero Beach flights to and from Hartford, Connecticut Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Hartford, Connecticut are offered on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays in June. Departing ticket prices: $75 - $149 Returning ticket prices: $75 - $149 Vero Beach flights to and from New Haven, Connecticut Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from New Haven, Connecticut are offered Mondays and Fridays, as well as the last Wednesday and Saturday of June. Departing ticket prices: $64 - $79 Returning ticket prices: $64 - $119 Vero Beach flights to and from Providence, Rhode Island Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Providence, Rhode Island are offered on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, as well as some select Wednesdays and Saturdays in June. Departing ticket prices: $69 - $219 Returning ticket prices: $69 - $189 Vero Beach flights to and from Long Island / Islip, New York Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Long Island / Islip, New York are offered on Mondays and Fridays in June. Departing ticket prices: $84 - $219 Returning ticket prices: $79 - $219 Vero Beach flights to and from Newburgh, New York Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Newburgh, New York are not offered in June. When you try to book this flight in June, the Breeze Airways website says "Seasonal flights return soon." Vero Beach flights to and from Ogdensburg, New York Flights from Vero Beach Airport to Ogdensburg, New York are offered on Sundays and Thursdays. Returning flights are offered Wednesdays and Saturdays. Departing ticket prices: $64 - $95 Returning ticket prices: $72 - $104 Vero Beach flights to and from White Plains, New York Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and fromWhite Plains, New York are offered daily in June. Departing ticket prices: $79 - $279 Returning ticket prices: $79 - $159 Vero Beach flights to and from Washington, D.C. Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Washington, D.C. are offered on Thursdays and Sundays in June. Departing ticket prices: $84 - $109 Returning ticket prices: $89 - $109 You can check in from 24 hours before your flight to 45 minutes before departure at the ticket counter, online or through the Breeze app. Breeze Airways recommends arriving to the airport at least 2 hours before flight departure. Breeze Airways offers complimentary snacks for passengers with 'Nicer' and 'Nicest' fare tickets. However, passengers with 'Nice' fares and in the main cabin can purchase snacks and drinks separately. Breeze Easy Visa Cardmembers and passengers with the 'Nicer' or 'Nicest' bundles get complimentary access to high-speed Wi-Fi. Other passengers can purchase Wi-Fi with a credit card, Flight Credits, or BreezePoints. Switch your phone to airplane mode. Turn on Wi-Fi and select the network. Open the Breeze App or visit in your browser to view your connectivity and entertainment options. When you open the Breeze app, sign in to your Breezy Rewards Account to get connected. Why so blue? Why Breeze CEO David Neeleman chose this color, and artist 'Panda,' for fleet Carry-on bags may be included in the 'Nice,' 'Nicer' and 'Nicest' bundles. For other fares, carry-ons are available for purchase. Pet carriers count as your personal item and must fit under the seat directly in front of you. For more information on traveling with pets, visit All guests are allowed such as a purse, laptop bag or small backpack, on board for no charge. Carry-on bags are available for individual purchase or may be included in the 'Nice,' 'Nicer' and 'Nicest' bundles. Bags must weigh no more than 35 pounds and have the maximum dimensions of 22 x 14 x 9 inches to fit in the overhead bin. Checked bags are available for individual purchase or may be included in the 'Nicer' and 'Nicest' bundles. Bags must weigh no more than 50 pounds and be within 62 inches in length, width and height, or will be considered overweight or oversized for an additional charge. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Breeze Airways routes, summer flights include new Key West destination
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First-Time Home Buyers in Florida: Ben Bryk of Ben Bryk Real Estate Shares Insights on State Assistance Programs in HelloNation Magazine
VERO BEACH, Fla., May 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When navigating the complexities of homeownership for the first time, many Florida residents are discovering that the right guidance and programs can significantly ease the transition. This is especially true for those benefiting from the Hometown Heroes Housing Program, a state initiative aimed at helping frontline workers and eligible first-time homebuyers secure their futures. In HelloNation Magazine, Ben Bryk of Ben Bryk Real Estate in Vero Beach, Florida, shares practical insights on how this program can turn the dream of homeownership into a reality for many who serve the state's communities. The Hometown Heroes Housing Program stands out for its structured support. By offering up to five percent of a loan amount — capped at $35,000 — as a zero-interest, non-amortizing second mortgage, the program removes significant financial hurdles. These funds can be used for down payments and closing costs, and repayment is deferred until the property is sold, refinanced, or transferred. Bryk emphasizes the impact of this deferred model in giving first-time buyers breathing room during one of life's largest investments. The eligibility criteria are designed to prioritize both need and service. Applicants must be first-time buyers — defined as those who have not owned a home in the past three years — and must work full-time for a Florida-based employer. Veterans are notably exempt from both these requirements. The program also targets income thresholds by county, up to 150 percent of the area median income. It covers a wide range of essential service roles including law enforcement, education, healthcare, emergency response, and active military. Additional qualifications include a minimum credit score of 640 and completion of a HUD-approved homebuyer education course. Ben Bryk notes the flexibility of the program in accommodating various standard loan products such as FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional financing, making it a highly accessible path to homeownership. Florida's frontline workers and service professionals now have a clearer route toward stable housing thanks to initiatives like the Hometown Heroes Housing Program. Ben Bryk of Ben Bryk Real Estate provides a closer look at this opportunity in Florida's Hometown Heroes: Help for First-Time Homebuyers in HelloNation Magazine. About HelloNationHelloNation is a premier media platform that connects readers with trusted professionals and businesses across various industries. Through its innovative 'edvertising' approach that blends educational content and storytelling, HelloNation delivers expert-driven articles that inform, inspire, and empower. Covering topics from home improvement and health to business strategy and lifestyle, HelloNation highlights leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities. Staff Writerinfo@ photo accompanying this announcement is available at in to access your portfolio
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
David Lazer, Executive Who Joined the World of Muppets, Dies at 89
David Lazer, who as an IBM executive in the mid-1960s hired Jim Henson's Muppets to star in a series of short films that injected laughs into sales meetings — and who a decade later joined Mr. Henson's company as a producer — died on April 10 at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 89. His death, which had not been widely reported, was confirmed by Doyle Newberry, a manager of Mr. Lazer's estate. He did not cite a cause. 'What David brought to the company was class,' Brian Henson, Mr. Henson's son and the chairman of the Jim Henson Company, said in an interview. 'Even my dad would say you couldn't call Muppets Inc. classy. Up until then, it was a bunch of beatniks making weird stuff.' In 1965, Mr. Lazer was making commercials and sales training films for IBM's office products division and had learned the importance of keeping in-house audiences at the company interested during meetings. Intrigued by a reel of commercials and short films made by Mr. Henson, Mr. Lazer wanted to bring his 'sense of humor and crazy nuttiness' to IBM, he told Brian Jay Jones for his book 'Jim Henson: The Biography' (2013). The star of Mr. Henson's early films for IBM was Rowlf the Dog, who typed letters to his mother on a series of IBM manual and electric typewriters in which he described his new career as a salesman for the company. He promoted real products; he also plugged an electric guitar from IBM's 'Hippie Products Division' that, improbably, dispensed coffee. In another short, an early version of Cookie Monster devoured a talking coffee machine. 'The idea is that if you can give people a good laugh, they'll listen better,' Mr. Lazer told The Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1985. Under Mr. Lazer's leadership, the films intended for IBM audiences led to a broader business, Muppet Meeting Films. Companies bought the videos to motivate their employees — or at least keep them awake. One of those films features an executive-type Muppet delivering a motivational speech, in which he calmly praises the company as a family of 'honest men.' But his tone grows more urgent, and his gestures become wilder, as he gets to his point: 'I ask you to remember just one word, the one word that makes it all possible, and that word is sell! I want you to get out there and sell, sell, sell! I want you to sell your socks off!' Mr. Lazer's skills as an executive appealed to Mr. Henson, who asked him to join what was then called Henson Associates (and is now the Jim Henson Company) in 1975. Quoted in Mr. Jones's book, Mr. Lazer recalled that he was shocked by Mr. Henson's offer and responded by saying: 'Oh my God! Oh, probably!' Three weeks later, he took the job. 'Lazer was determined to bring the same polish to Henson Associates that he had brought to the IBM product line,' Mr. Jones wrote, 'and as far as Lazer was concerned, the product at Henson Associates wasn't the Muppets; it was Jim.' Brian Henson said that Mr. Lazer instituted one change very quickly; he didn't want his father slipping into a cumbersome Muppet costume again after the last one, a towering, hairy ogre named Sweetums. 'He said, 'Jim, you're never getting into a costume again,'' Mr. Henson said. ''You can work hand puppets, but you're never getting into a costume with a T-shirt and shorts again.'' David Lazer was born on Jan. 23, 1936, in Manhattan and grew up in the Bronx and in Hempstead, N.Y., on Long Island. His father, George, was a haberdasher, and his mother, Cilla (Schneweis) Lazer, a Polish immigrant, managed the home. David became adept at photography as a teenager and won awards for his photographs in high school. He joined IBM after high school in 1954 and, after serving for two years in the Army, where he received intelligence training, returned to IBM. He studied film at night at New York University. At Henson Associates, Mr. Lazer was a producer or executive producer of 'The Muppet Show,' the television variety series that ran from 1976 to 1981 and won four Primetime Emmy Awards; the films 'The Muppet Movie' (1979), 'The Great Muppet Caper' (1981), 'The Dark Crystal' (1982), 'The Muppets Take Manhattan' (1984) and 'Labyrinth' (1986); and a 1979 TV special, 'The Muppets Go Hollywood.' Mr. Lazer's corporeal image — curly hair, bushy eyebrows, well-tailored suit, tan — inspired the creation of a Muppet look-alike for some of the meeting films. In several of them, the David Lazer Muppet played a self-important businessman; in another, he portrayed one of three executives giving quarterly reports while stranded on an island. The Lazer Muppet reported rising coconut production and steady sand castle production. As a human, Mr. Lazer made a cameo appearance in 'The Muppets Take Manhattan,' squiring Liza Minnelli into Sardi's, the famous theater-district restaurant, where she found that her caricature on a wall has been replaced by Kermit the Frog's. Mr. Lazer played a critical role at the company after Jim Henson died in 1990. By then, Mr. Lazer had left his longtime position as executive vice president and, for a year or two, served as an adviser. To help the Henson family, he returned, as the company's acting president. 'During that period he was very much like a father figure to me,' Brian Henson said. 'My father was my mentor in puppetry, animatronics and directing puppets, but David was my mentor in terms of running the business.' After Brian Henson was named president in early 1991, Mr. Lazer became vice chairman, a post he held until his retirement in 1994. Mr. Henson is now the chairman. Mr. Lazer is survived by a sister, Ann Lazer Harstack. At his first staff meeting at the Henson company, Mr. Jones wrote, Mr. Lazer baffled the Muppet designers and performers with a slew of flow charts and other paperwork. People were laughing at him. To them, he was a suit. So he tossed his papers onto the table and kept talking as if there had been no snickers about his IBM-style presentation. 'It's not the same, is it?' Jim Henson said to him after the meeting, referring to the looser atmosphere in the world of Muppets. 'Oh no,' Mr. Lazer said. 'It's better.'
CBS News
09-05-2025
- CBS News
Florida man accused of trying to have teen "sex slave" killed before she could testify, sheriff says
A Treasure Coast man is accused of trying to have a teenage girl, who he forced to sign a "sex slave contract in 2021," killed before she could testify against him. "This guy is an absolute animal," Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said. According to his arrest warrant, 70-year-old Andrew Mustapick of Vero Beach reportedly made the girl sign a contract to be his sex slave two days a week, in exchange for him buying a car for her friend. When the teen went to the authorities, Mustapick was arrested. Months later, he signed a plea deal and was scheduled to be sentenced in June, according to the sheriff's office "His plan was to withdraw the plea deal," Flowers said. "And then if the victim is no longer here, he essentially gets sentenced to nothing." Mustapick allegedly initially offered the girl $40,000 in exchange for not testifying against him, according to the warrant. Flowers said he then reportedly offered another $50,000 to have her killed if she decided to testify. Flowers said the person who alerted them about the alleged murder-for-hire plot is a "hero" in this case "So, in March we were notified of this," Flowers said. "Thank you to the person who came forward. We're not identifying them at this time. But we would not be here today if it weren't for that person that came forward and let us know about this." Mustapick remains in jail on a $7,000 bond.
