You're watching Southwest Florida in focus.

Coming up.

My name is Byron Donalds.

And I'm running to be your next governor.

As state lawmakers continue to debate taxes and insurance during the 2025 legislative session.

Some Florida politicians are already turning their attention to the 2026 gubernatorial race.

Unraveling the mysteries of the comedy genre.

Award winning playwright Ken Ludwig explains his method to bringing his stories to life on the stage.

and saving money on your energy bill when you're not home.

Whether you're prepping for a trip back north or heading out for a vacation, a look at how to make your house more energy efficient.

Hello, I'm Sandra Victorova.

Thank you for joining us.

The race to replace Governor Ron DeSantis as the state's top executive is already underway.

Even though the election is a year and eight months away.

Congressman Byron Donalds officially threw his hat into the 2026 race just last week.

President Donald Trump has endorsed his run for governor.

At a rally in Bonita Springs.

Donalds laid out his priorities improving the state's infrastructure, combatting Florida's growing insurance crisis, and promoting economic growth.

Florida is the best state in America.

The best, although were the best state.

Your insurance bills are still rising.

Traffic jams waste your time.

And our kids deserve more.

I'm not here to talk.

I'm here to act.

My plan for Florida is bold and clear.

Fix the insurance crisis.

Build new roads.

Finish restoring the Everglades.

Make Florida the financial capital of the world.

So how competitive could the governor's race be, and why are state lawmakers on the same side of the aisle drooling over major legislative proposals in Tallahassee right now?

Well, to get the latest on state politics, we are joined by John Davis, our WGCU Morning Edition host and of course, reporter.

Welcome, John.

Thanks for having me.

So a lot of folks might assume that Byron Donalds is a shoo in for this governor's spot, because, of course, President Trump has said he supports him to run for governor.

But there are some potential candidates who have big name recognition, right?

Absolutely.

One being the governor's wife, Cassie DeSantis, the governor has been touting her as a possible successor.

I will say with Cassie DeSantis, she has run some initiatives as the first lady but hasn't held public office before.

Whereas Donald served in the state House before winning the congressional seat he's in now in 2020.

He's been a prominent Trump surrogate over the years.

He's been on the shortlist for a number of opportunities.

And concerning, including a possible vice presidential running mate for Trump, that obviously didn't happen.

But I don't know how competitive this is going to be.

I'm going to quote State Senator Joe Gruters.

He's the former Republican Party chair for Florida.

He said recently, quote, Trump is going to decide the elections in Florida in 2026.

He controls the party.

He controls the state.

And there's nothing that anybody can do to change that.

End quote.

That's a pretty strong statement.

But that being said, the Republican gubernatorial primary isn't until August 2026.

That's more than 16 months away.

You know as well as I do, anything can happen.

Covering the news these days is like the Chocolate Factory episode from I Love Lucy.

It's just hard to stay on top of it all.

So even what Trump's endorsement is going to mean in 16 months, right?

We just don't know.

And of course, Cassie DeSantis has not announced she's running.

So we will have to wait and see.

Let's shift gears now.

Of course, one of the big topics during the current legislative session, which is sort of at the midway point right now, is this issue of taxes and there's differing views on how to lower taxes for Florida residents.

Let's start with what the governor is pushing for.

So I'm going to say, in late February, Fort Myers own state senator Jonathan Martin had introduced a bill that would require the state to conduct this feasibility study on possibly eliminate property taxes in Florida.

And this would, of course, mean exploring alternative revenue sources, like possibly increasing sales taxes because, of course, property taxes at the local level fund really, really essential services like public education, EMS, fire, police.

Now, De Santis is pushing this idea of lawmakers putting a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot to eliminate property taxes altogether.

Now, like any constitutional amendment, this would require 60% of voter approval to pass.

But it just shows that this property tax elimination idea is really gaining traction in the DeSantis camp.

There would certainly be huge ramifications now.

House Speaker Daniel Perez says the focus should instead be what, reducing, sales tax.

Correct?

Right.

So he's endorsing this plan that would reduce the state sales tax from its current 6% to 5.25%, which he says would save an estimated like $5 billion.

That's $5 billion the state wouldn't get.

You know, this is important because without a state income tax, Florida relies heavily on sales tax revenue to fund, again, essential services like education, prisons, health care.

So there's a lot of questions about where the funding for these essential services are going to come from.

With either of these plans.

The other big topic during the legislative session is this another change, a proposed change to the child labor laws.

We saw a change in the labor laws.

Child labor laws last year.

Why tackle this issue again?

And really, who wants this?

Right.

So last year, the legislature, passed a bill allowing 16 and 17 year olds to work up to 30 hours a week.

Now they want to loosen those child labor restrictions even further.

There's measures in the House and Senate that, if passed, would allow employers to schedule 16 and 17 year old Floridians for unlimited hours and days without breaks during the school year.

It would allow 14 and 15 year olds who graduated high school who are homeschooled or do virtual school, to also work unlimited hours and days without breaks during the school year.

And the House version of the bill would even allow 13 year olds to work during the summer, the year that they turn 14.

Republicans, by and large, seem to be in support of this.

They argue it gives families more freedom and more choice to, you know, in determining when their kids are going to work.

Democrats and labor advocacy organizations seem largely against it.

They say this is negatively going to impact education outcomes, which you can imagine if you're a kid working all night, you're not paying attention in school the next day.

Also, the Florida Policy Institute, this is a nonpartisan organization, has noted that, you know, the US Department of Labor finds Florida had its second highest number of recorded child labor violations in 15 years in 2023.

There were 209 violations them, and that was down from a peak of more than 300 just the year prior.

So they're saying this is already an issue.

Why would we change the law to make it easier?

DeSantis supports this as well.

But Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez have expressed concerns.

So when you have those two influential leaders from both chambers not sure about it, right.

Its future is uncertain.

John Davis, we appreciate you covering state politics for us.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Coming up, the great snowbird migration is underway.

But before packing up the house for the season or just going away on vacation, some tips on how to conserve energy while keeping your place safe in warmer weather.

It is springtime in Florida, which means the flowers will be in bloom and the snowbirds are preparing for their return back north.

But before you join that seasonal migration of locals, or maybe you're just going away for a long vacation, what can you do to make sure your home is ready for your departure?

And if you're sticking around, how can you save money during the warmer months?

To help us get a handle on our energy output is Francine Freitas from Florida power and Light.

Francine, thank you for joining us.

Thank you so much for having me.

So we know about a million seasonal residents, leave Florida to go back home.

What are the key things they need to remember before they lock everything up?

That's right.

So if you're going to be gone for an extended period of time, we're talking a month or two months even longer.

The number one thing we recommend for customers is to go ahead and turn that thermostat up 80, 82 degrees.

But the key is to also set your humidity below 60%.

The vast majority of thermostats now have that option.

And that's going to prevent mold.

And that's going to be extremely important.

If by chance you have a thermostat that doesn't have that setting, there's two other recommendations that we can offer you.

Okay.

One is you're going to want to have the still turn it up to 80 to 82 degrees, but program it to your AC to turn on, to cycle on, to bring, cool air within your home, setting it to about 7876 for two, three, maybe four hours at night.

That is when it's coolest.

It's going to use the least energy.

An additional.

Additionally, take a look at using the, dehumidifiers.

One dehumidifier per about thousand square feet and setting them up near, like the the kitchen sink, bathroom areas like that, setting that percentage again below 60%.

Your thoughts on unplugging appliances?

Oh my goodness I can't stress that enough.

If you're not going to be home, unplug appliances.

A lot of people don't realize that appliances with, for example, a coffee machine that has the time on it.

It's pulling energy.

That light is pulling energy and it adds up over time.

So if you're not going to be home for an extended period of time, unplug it.

Coffee machines, toaster ovens, air fryers, any electronics, game consoles, all of those.

Draw what's called phantom power.

And it's absolutely so important that you unplug them when they're not in use.

Any advice you have about the hurricane shutters?

Obviously, for safety, you'd want to put them up.

I'm wondering if they also have an impact on on power.

So for the for the folks that are going to be migrating up north, it's really important to to if you're going to be gone during the peak of, hurricane season, hurricane season I believe, starts June 1st.

It's really, really important to have those plans in place.

Whether that's having somebody that you know and trust that's going to install them for you if there's a need or you install them before you leave to just to make sure that your home is protected.

In in the case that there is a storm, you want to make sure that your home is protected.

And that's a big, big, big, tip that we get for our snowbirds.

And with the few seconds I have left.

Do LED lights really make a difference with the power bill?

It does.

LED lights you the new LED lights compared to the old incandescent light bulbs.

Save about 85%.

Consume 85% less energy.

So just five, LED upgrades can add up significantly.

And the LEDs last so much longer.

There's so much nicer.

There's so many different options of temperature settings.

And it's it's night and day.

Francine Freitas with APL, thank you so much.

Thank you so much for having me.

Ken Ludwig is an icon of theater.

An Emmy Award winning playwright, Ludwig has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Edwin Forrest Award for contributions to the American theater and two Laurence Olivier Awards.

Arts reporter Tom Hall sat down with Ludwig to discuss his secrets to success.

Ken Ludwig may very well be the most performed playwright of his generation.

He's had six productions on Broadway and eight in London's West End.

His 35 plays and musicals are staged throughout the United States and around the world.

Every night of the year.

The world premiere of his latest play, Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, closed at Asolo Repertory Theater on February 8th.

His musical crazy for you is on stage at Broadway Palm through April 5th, and his first play, Lend Me a Tenor, opens at the Studio Players on March 28th.

Ludwig ascribes his success to luck.

My father put it this way if you wake up in the morning and you don't look forward to going to work, you did something wrong and you've got to go fix it.

And I get to do just what I love every day, and I, I, I hit the jackpot by luck.

I'm so happy.

Ludwig is being modest, of course.

His almost single handedly revived the genre of comedy and theater does.

Anyway, I'd like to be remembered.

Is that as someone who really kept the arch of comedies in the theater alive during a period, it was starting to fade away.

His success resides in the accessibility of his characters and plots.

Comedy, for me, doesn't mean just getting laughs.

It's a type of theater that touches our hearts and makes us think.

But in a different way than tragedies do.

While his approach to playwriting is deliberate and disciplined, Ludwig has a more descriptive way of visualizing the end product.

Comedies are like taking a jigsaw puzzle and throwing it up in the air, and all those pieces falling down and somehow linking together at the end.

So that picture comes together and gives us a sense of reassurance that the will be all right and the world will be all right.

Of late, Ludwig is pioneering a new subgenre in comedy.

He calls it the comedic thriller.

It's influenced by his recent work with the Agatha Christie estate and adapting murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile for the stage.

But he promises not to stray too far from his comedic roots.

That's what moves me, and that's what touches me and nobody else is writing it.

Tom Hall, thank you so much for that report, and I'm really excited to talk to you because through your reporting, we've basically learned that there are 33 community and equity theaters in Southwest Florida.

That's from Marco Island to Sarasota, and you've been doing your best to cover it all.

So we thank you for that.

Well, you're quite welcome, and I am delighted to be with you on the show.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you.

So what do you want people to know about this local theater scene?

I was really surprised.

At 33.

That's a lot.

It is a lot.

And I think what that does is it gives the people who live and visit Southwest Florida lots of options.

At any given week, there's many as 22 to 30 shows that are on our local stages.

For example, this week alone.

Nine new shows are opening.

There's another two shows at Broadway Palm that are closing, but there are 12 others that are continuing their runs.

So that gives that gives viewers know 22 different options and see these shows.

Some of them are right off of Broadway.

So show closes on Broadway, immediately comes to a to a stage in Southwest Florida.

Others are world premieres, some are regional premieres, some are old standards like Cole Porter and the, you know, playwrights like that.

Tell us about the level we're seeing then of talent that's coming to Southwest Florida.

I've been covering the arts scene since 2011.

Over that span, I've gotten to profile over 400 local thespians.

I am never at a loss when it comes to the talent that is on stage locally.

Some of it is absolutely incredible.

And and I think one of the reasons for that is, is that the local directors and choreographers do a really, really good job of getting our, our, our local actors ready for their productions.

And that's enhanced by the fact that, our area high schools have very active, theater departments.

Places like North Fort Myers, Canterbury, Cypress Lake are producing incredible talent.

You know, kind of like the next generation, I'm sure.

And that's also, which we see that at places like Melody Lane, Dance Studio, Robin Dawn Dance studio.

These are also incubators, but you don't have to take the my word for the talent.

What we can do is we can see that firsthand.

When these kids go and compete at places like the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta or Los Angeles or even in London.

They're coming home with awards of excellence and awards of achievement.

And then some of our locals are actually making it to Broadway and to the West End and other places like that.

A story that I'm getting ready to, to, to work on is about a young, 22 year old by the name of Sophia Brooke.

She's probably 18 years old.

She just got accepted on a full scholarship to the Tisch School of the Arts in Manhattan.

And there's obviously big names coming from outside of Southwest Florida to perform here as well.

Because of the interest of our local public in, the arts and because of the high caliber of talent that we have here.

Yeah.

Equity actors from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles are now flocking to, Southwest Florida in order to perform at venues like Florida Rep, Theater Zone, Broadway Palm, The Naples Players, not to mention Asolo Theater up in, Sarasota.

And the visual arts community is just as busy right?

It's, just as busy, this month, for the month of April, there are 56 art exhibitions that are on view in our ten museums and 13 art centers.

Now, many of the art centers, feature local, artists.

A lot of them are members of those arts associations.

But the museum exhibitions are attracting, regional, national and even internationally acclaimed talent so that, the people in Southwest Florida, when they see these exhibitions, they're really, in tune in terms of what's happening in the art world, around the globe.

So whether folks are interested in maybe it's dance or artwork, how do they find your stories?

I know I listen to you on WGCU FM, but how do they find your stories?

It's real easy.

They go to WGCU.org When they land on the home page in the upper left hand corner is the menu.

The little thing that looks like a hamburger.

When they click on that, just go to Arts and Culture.

Click on that and all of that information will come up.

Tom Hall, thank you for your reporting.

Thank you for having me.

Coming up from the backyard to the big leagues, how the colorful game of croquet has been transformed into a competitive sport.

Said to be like playing chess on grass.

It's a game of sophistication and grace, but that doesn't slow down the competition.

Croquet has evolved beyond the backyard and now holds tournaments across the country featuring thousands of competitors.

WGCU's Andrea Melendez aims for the wickets to learn how Southwest Florida is entering the croquet craze.

If pickleball or golf isn't your thing anymore, or you just need to get out and exercise your body and brain, the Sarasota County Croquet Club wants you to give them a try.

We have a community here, so it's more than just out playing croquet.

Ponce Peterson, president of the Sarasota Accounting Croquet Club in Venice, Florida, discusses the benefits of playing croquet.

Some games you can walk over a mile in a morning, you know, or two just out playing, swinging the mallet.

But then there's also the mental part, which is really the strategy.

That's where your balls are.

You have to kind of determine what's the best approach.

So it really keeps the mind active too.

It's very competitive.

That's Michael Albert, vice president of the United States Croquet Association.

Imagine that you're playing pool and you're playing chess at the same time.

So there's a lot going on and there is a lot of strategy.

It's very, very dynamic.

You can plan everything out.

You can put the balls where you want, and then your opponent knocks your ball into the corner, and you've got to start all over again.

Tournament level croquet can see 10 to 15,000 players in the United States.

And it's growing in November 2024.

The club held the Shark Tooth Invitational at the croquet courts in Venice.

They played a version of croquet called golf croquet.

In golf croquet, there are six hoops or wickets.

Two competitors play against each other with four colored balls.

One player takes two colors and they go in order of the colors on the post.

They alternate between players and colors.

The object of the game is to get your ball through the wicket first.

It's the fastest growing form of croquet in the world right now.

One time golfer Laura Hendrick of Point Verda Beach, Florida, made the switch to croquet to keep her mind and body active.

I started playing croquet when I couldn't play competitive golf anymore.

Every golf course is different.

With croquet, the six hoops are always placed in the same position, the same distance, and so it makes it really challenging.

Hendrick has worked hard to perfect her skills by practicing or playing six days a week.

I like doing jump shots successfully.

Albert said the game is for everyone as long as you can pick up a mallet.

You can pretty much play this game.

We've got an 11 year old playing in the tournament.

We certainly have an 88 year old.

We have a 93 year old here as well playing.

The men and women play on a level field against one another.

There's no advantage for strength in this game.

The Sarasota County Croquet Club offers free lessons for the public on Tuesdays.

In April, they will host the under 21 World Golf Croquet Championship in Venice.

It's good for your heart, mind and soul and, you know, look us up and come on out.

Coming up next week.

Want to launch a business but don't have the capital?

Will we talk to one of the world's top tech executives about how entrepreneurs can use artificial intelligence to help build a company?

Plus, one of Florida's hidden treasures is on the verge of disappearing.

The restoration efforts being put in place to protect Fort Jefferson in the keys.

Join us for those stories and much more next week.

And don't forget, we'd love for you to like and subscribe to our WGCU news YouTube channel, where you will find all of our stories, including extended interviews.

Have a great weekend everyone!