Lifestyles Profile - Ivan Applegate
Advocate for Accessibility
By Josef Kandoll


Some of the recent changes downtown might not be evident unless you’re in a wheelchair. The new Malecón now has proper wheelchair access, part of the recommendation by active DIVAC, an international organization for attention to the needs of the handicapped.

The new airport expansion also includes proper access, with an elevator to the second floor departure area.

And Ivan Applegate is spearheading a new municipal law that recommends accessibility to hotels, restaurants and businesses. Although that law is already on the books at the federal and state levels, he notes that local city administrators were not even aware of it.

“It’s all about the culture of accessibility and of understanding why it’s important for everyone,” he comments.