You're watching Southwest Florida in focus coming up while hurricane season is just beginning.

You might already feel exhausted from the surge in storms to our area these last few years.

And you're not alone.

The weather's weird that, you know, we might not get it again for years, but I just feel.

I feel like hurricanes like us now.

We explore the changes being made by residents and local governments before the next storm passes by.

Staying informed when the power goes out, we're giving you a behind the scenes look at how WGCU keeps operating even when the lights go dark.

And is it a sunny future for this massive Port Charlotte attraction?

We learn more about why the Sunseeker Resort is looking for new ownership.

Hello, I'm Sandra Victorova.

Thank you for joining us.

Hurricane season begins this Sunday, and according to Noah, there's a 60% chance for an above average season.

The 2025 hurricane forecast issued by Colorado State University predicts nine hurricanes, with four of those storms reaching major hurricane potential to prepare for severe weather, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office unveiled their new fleet of vehicles to help assist residents after a storm.

New boats and elevated vehicles will be able to reach people stranded in flooded areas.

Water from Helene and Milton swamped areas like Punta Gorda in the span of three weeks, causing chaos to parts of that community, something emergency officials will look to avoid this coming hurricane season.

We are better prepared than we ever have been.

So if we have a wind event, we have a water event.

We're prepared.

And we're also prepared that if another agency is in need of help that they get hit, we're ready to respond and we're not going to be a burden upon them because we're self-sufficient.

Residents and businesses in Gorda also taking steps to avoid more hurricane harm.

As WGCUs Mike Walcher reports, one water front community is adapting to cope with what may come from this and future hurricane seasons.

We last saw Roger and Don good walking away from their beloved neighborhood in disgust.

Milton a surge of 8 to 10ft inundated their home of 40 years.

Elaine had flooded the place just before that.

The morning after showed Milton destroyed the goods, belongings and vehicles and left foul smelling muck churned up from the bottom of the Gulf.

So we have to make a decision.

Do we try to recoup at one more time or is it the end of our Punta Gorda?

Today, the goods are overjoyed to be back living on their landscaped property.

The inside of the bungalow, built around 1950, has been dried, cleaned and remodeled.

All done by Roger, a tradesman during his career.

He did it while the couple lived in a local hotel.

They had canceled their homeowner's and flood insurance after Ian in 22.

Too much money, they claim, for too little.

And repairs.

Well, the way I see it, we're all strong Americans.

So, instead of waiting for the government to help you or the insurance company to help you, all this people that are supposed to show up.

Just roll up your sleeves and get to it.

I moved here when I was 28.

No man.

No job.

I loved Gorda.

I was going to die here.

I'm 68 now.

I want to die here.

People are remaking this Paradise by elevating homes.

Some are tearing down old homes to build back newer and higher.

And some are building on foundations that are 8 to 10ft above ground level.

My heart is that I really hope that we don't have to go through this scenario again, but we are prepared.

Interim City Manager Melissa Reichert says Punta Gorda installed tide Flex backfill structures under some downtown and nearby streets.

That was 17 years ago.

Some valves are 12ft in diameter.

Each is supposed to let water flow out of the drainage system and not allow high water to push back in.

A city official says corroded valves could have made flooding worse.

So the city is spending $31,000 to hire divers to go into the drainage system and check those valves.

They're flowing exactly how they're supposed to be, that they're closing when they're supposed to be closed, and that they're open when they're supposed to be opening, depending on conditions inside.

The Celtic Rain Irish pub deployed sandbags last fall, but both storms flooded the inside.

Here's the high water mark from Milton, several feet above the floor.

The weather's weird.

You know, we might not get it again for years, but I just feel.

I feel like hurricanes like us now.

The owners say they may have a company install movable steel barriers.

They would block the front of the building to hopefully stop the next surge.

And workers got money from a GoFundMe effort while the place was closed for more than two months.

Yeah, this this town, this community is great.

Everybody always comes together and stuff like this.

That's one thing that we can count on.

The city says it is clearing all drains and using cameras to inspect pipes.

Some of those may need replacing.

And the city manager says workers will plant mangroves along the waterfront to help absorb surge.

Resiliency has been a focus of the city of Pontiac Water for a long time.

Changes are happening fast, and the historic section and Don good is worried.

She serves on the Historic Preservation Advisory Board and fears that history could be lost in the rebuild for now.

Roger Goodell relaxing, refusing to worry about what's next.

Now it will prove whether we're dumb or not, depending on how the next storm season goes.

The storm hits north of us.

We're in trouble if it hits south of us.

We're fine.

For WGCU News in Punta Gorda, I'm Mike Walcher.

An initial report from divers indicate that Punta Gorda tide.

Fleck's drainage system is working okay.

So officials believe the flooding was caused by the powerful storm surges from Ian, Helene and Milton.

As we prepare to enter the 2025 hurricane season, what are local governments doing to prepare for another busy storm season?

Well, we are joined now by Lee county's Public Safety Director, Ben Abyss, to find out.

Mr. Davis, welcome.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

So we know that Hurricanes Helene and Milton cause certainly easily tens of millions of dollars in damage to our community here in Lee County.

What were the lessons learned for your team?

So we're still going through a lot of the important lessons that we can take away from the last storm season.

I think, you know, one of the most important things as we go through each season, unfortunately, we've had a series of events here, starting with Ian in 2022.

We had a Dalia in 2023, and now we've got lessons from Helene and Milton.

But what we've been able to see is that we've made incremental improvements after each season.

And so a lot of our lessons learned have really been focused on the incremental improvements, how those have worked with each season and what we can then take away to further improve.

So for instance, communication and lessons learned from Ian on how we communicate with the public, we made significant changes.

We've taken some lessons.

There were improvements in this last hurricane season, how we communicated evacuations and recovery efforts.

Those were, I think, more effective.

But there's always ways that we can improve.

Why are these new weather stations important?

What do they do?

And then the title gauge sensors.

So if you think about when we get, storm warnings, we often get a very broad range of data.

So they'll say, you know, 4 to 8ft or 5 to 9ft of storm surge along the coast.

And one of the things that complicates the ability to forecast and provide, much more isolated or local information is the amount of data that's available to inform those models and the decision making, to have the federal government do some of those tidal gauges.

Those are in some cases hundreds, many hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single gauge.

We were able to partner with a company in Hawaii called Honu.

And they make a low cost tidal gauge that actually uses cellular networks and solar power to to provide data.

We did our first set of those gauges right before Hurricane Helene.

We got some really great information from Helene and then installed more right before Hurricane Milton.

And working with her Honu and their scientists, we were able to see exactly how the water moved.

If you recall, you know, Hurricane Helene moved off the coast parallel to the coast, where Milton was a landfalling storm to our north.

The trajectory of those two storms being different, we could see the differences and the nuance and how the storms are passing by or impacting our area and what that means to the water rise.

And so, from a hyper local standpoint, if you are on a barrier island, your impacts are very different than, say, if you're in downtown Fort Myers or Cape Coral, or maybe far inland along the Caloosahatchee River or the orange River or some of the creeks and streams, we're now able to start gathering more data to better understand how the water is going to move in the community, and that helps us provide that data to not only the local community and then public dashboards and interfaces, but also the weather service, local meteorologist.

All of that data is available free of charge.

We know the Trump administration has talked about, you know, reducing bloat and waste and, and has made cuts to NOAA staff, which of course, is critical to, forecasting storms.

And then of course, there have been cuts made to FEMA, which of course, are critical in responding to storms.

Do you have concerns about how those cuts could potentially impact southwest Florida?

And is it changing anything that you do and how you do it?

It's not really changing our posture at all.

And I think that's one of the misnomers, you know, FEMA, we may have a representative from FEMA and the Emergency Operations Center before a storm hits.

We would certainly have one there after storm impacts.

But but we are prepared to respond to the needs of the community immediately post-disaster, whether that's a tornado, whether that's a hurricane, whether that's a wildfire.

We are prepositioned here to be able to respond to those, to those challenges.

With regards to the weather service, we've had a great partnership with the weather service in Tampa Bay, and of course, our relationship with the hurricane Center over in Miami.

They are prepared that they're ready to provide the same forecast, support and products that they always do.

We just had our, we have an annual meeting with them and all the local meteorologists.

That went very well.

So I think we're well prepared going into the storm season.

Mr.. Avis, we so thank you for your time.

Thank you very much.

Coming up, the Sunseeker resort in Charlotte Harbor was supposed to be a beacon for tourism, but now it's looking to be sold a year and a half after opening its doors.

When it comes to hurricanes, power outages seem to come with the territory.

So when the lights go dark, how can you stay up to date with the latest information?

Mike Canary brings us a behind the scenes look at the steps our team takes to make sure the community knows what's happening before, during, and after any major storm.

Hi there.

I'm Mike and I'm a producer and host here at WGCU Public Radio and Public Television.

This is Richard Chen.

Cui, what's your title exactly?

I'm the FM station manager here at the station.

I, watch over our content on the air that isn't reporting.

So we have been through a number of storms together, you and I. Yeah.

We want to try to pass along some information about, you know, how we track the storms as they may be approaching, and then the things that we do once they do get here.

So Florida Public Radio emergency network, explain who they are and what kind of information we're able to get from them.

Yeah.

So, efferent is a network of stations, public stations all across the state.

And, the headquarters is up at UF.

We have state meteorologists there.

And basically, you know, when there are large storms that threaten any part of the state and even a couple other states, they jump into action to cover it and to offer not only on air content, but also to receive content from those stations in the network so that everybody can kind of get ground level things and then get high level meteorological news from them.

So based on what a storm is doing, we have different tiers of response.

If a storm looks like it might be coming our way, we do one thing, you know, kind of walk through what those tears are like until we reach a point where we are all hands on deck.

Right?

So, once we know a storm is likely to impact, let's say the state in general, we definitely have a meeting as a team to say if this becomes regional for us, it becomes an impact for our listening area.

Then, you know who's going to be where when we get more certainty that it's going to impact, part of our listening area, especially a significant part of our listening area, then we kind of shift that from what will we do to when are we doing it?

When are people going to be coming to the station?

When are people going to be going to the different emergency operations centers depending on where the storm is going to hit?

So once it's making, you know, impact in our area, particularly tropical force storm winds in our area, we could go from, lighter coverage where we're getting updates from friends to more regular coverage, where we're jumping in on breaks, you know, in the regular shows.

And we just we do ten minutes of content, and then we take ten minutes from screen, and then we go again, and then they go again.

And we do that until the storm has passed our listening area.

And during that entire period, which is sometimes eight hours, you know, we have every other reporter who's available here and outside the building sending any content that they can find to generate to producers who are then funneling that information to me and to you or to our other producers and to John Davis.

And and we get that on the air as soon as we have it.

This is the broadcast transmission facility for both radio and television.

This tall tower allows us to broadcast to over ten counties in southwest and southern Florida on both television and radio.

Inside, we have a facility that has a lot of equipment that makes sure it all is possible and reliable is something that we take very seriously.

We have not only backup equipment for both television and radio.

That includes transmission facilities, that includes antennas.

We also have backup power systems.

For example, the generator that's behind me, can run for about five days without needing to be refueled.

We also take maintenance very seriously.

We routinely send out staff that keeps up the air conditioning and the power systems, as well as make sure the transmission systems are all working correctly.

And we also have a backup facility that's located on the Fgcu campus away from here.

So in the event that we lose this facility, for whatever reason, we're able to continue broadcasting, albeit at a reduced power, but most people would still be able to get the information that we're able to put out on radio.

So this is where it all happens, and we take that reliability very, very seriously to make sure that this facility is on the air even during the worst of the storms.

And we have, a building wide generator.

Yes.

During Ian, we did not lose electricity or internet or our broadcast signal did not go down.

I believe the same was true for Helene and Milton.

So we have some redundancy in our system.

I guess you can say we do.

And part of the reason that we are so fastidious about making sure we're on the air is because, as an Lp1 station, it's a designation, the short version is in, in the state there are chunks of counties, and that group of counties designate a station to be, you must stay on the air.

It's called that.

It's like the station of last resort.

And that doesn't mean last resort.

For information.

It means if everything else is down, they should be on.

And then after the storm has passed, we will send our reporters out.

When it's safe, we will be in touch with emergency management officials in various jurisdictions, and we will turn Gulf Coast life, our our radio show, over to post-storm coverage to connect people with resources.

So we really do have a plan that we have learned through trial and error.

Yeah.

It's iterative.

Every year we think about last year and we make changes that we hope, kind of make that coverage not only easier and more efficient for us, but more impactful for the listener.

I know that we've received messages from people saying that, you know, they we kept them going through the storm.

We saved them in various ways.

And we take that seriously.

It's it's it's, it's, I don't know, humbling.

It's it's a big impact to know that that we're not just giving people information, but that the action on that information makes, life saving decisions for them.

Well, thank you, Richard, for explaining all of that.

And, you know, thank you for being a partner in this because we've been through a lot of storms together.

And so we, you know, I'm happy to have you as someone who can help keep us and our listeners and viewers safe.

And I just want to, you know, suggest to viewers that having some sort of weather radio that you can crank that will work if there is no power, if there is no internet, you and Wmca will stay on the air.

So if everything else fails, that's the way to get in touch with us.

When hurricane coverage begins, make sure you dial in to 90.1 WGCU FM or 91.7 WMKO a year and a half after opening its doors, the nearly $700 million Sunseeker Resort in Port Charlotte is up for sale.

The USA Today Network reports the facilities owner, Allegiant Travel Company, hopes the sale of the 22 acre Charlotte Harbor compound will be finalized by September.

We reached out to Allegiant to learn why they're looking to sell, but haven't received a response prior to this recording.

So what happened to the struggling resort?

And what could a sale mean to the community?

With the very latest on the story.

We're joined now by Phil Fernandez in the Know columnist with the USA Today Network.

Welcome, Phil, and I'm excited to have you because you've been following this story literally from the very beginning.

So help us to understand why would this resort get sold now?

I know Allegiant has spent so many years and time and money on this.

Yeah, they've spent millions.

I mean, probably close to 700 million with everything that went out there.

They're, you know, they've lost their they're not thinking the kind of money or the return.

I think that they'd like to make.

They want to focus, return back to their core, business, which is the airlines at the time when they did this, they had different leadership, a different CEO who was like, hey, let's diversify.

It's a very unusual thing for them to do in the industry.

But the, it hasn't had the occupancy.

You know, people have talked about pricing and location are some of the challenges out there.

So occupancy rates, I mean, what are they looking like?

Well, yeah, last year they, you know, opened around Christmas of 2023.

Pretty much all of last year they were, you know, trying to get about 40%, which is quite low in the industry.

Toward the end of the year, they got to about 54, 55%.

And then, this first quarter, they were very excited to get to 70%.

But now the forecast is talking about, you know, mid 50s, you know, for the, for the second quarter.

So from the very beginning, Sunseeker had a lot of obstacles.

Let's talk about that first, construction delays.

Yeah.

The construction delays.

I mean, they have been trying to get this going, you know, for, you know, six, what, six years or so?

You know, they ran into Covid, we had the supply chain issues.

And then, you know, just the hurricanes, they they just kept coming.

I mean, the the damage in there from the hurricanes alone was probably over $40 billion.

So it really, really slow them down.

And it was just a lot of hurdles to get over for Allegiant.

This was really unique.

An airline taking on a resort.

Right?

I mean it was a this was risky.

Yeah, it really was.

There were a lot of questions about it early on as this would, you know, Allegiant really wanted to do, they, at the time, you know, obviously where the low cost flight type airlines, but they saw opportunities with Punta Gorda that was one of their hot destinations.

And I think they foresaw a potential future to say, hey, maybe we can go into lodging and entertainment.

And in fact, when you would talk with company folks they wanted, they would remind you that, hey, we're now the Allegiant Travel Company, but that's what they wanted to be referred to.

But that was like, I said, different leadership.

And I think, with the challenges that are going on out there, they're like, you know, what are investors?

The stock market, they kind of want us to stay on into the core.

Do we have any idea who they might be, you know, trying to sell to?

Yeah.

You know, there's a lot of possibilities, obviously.

They've got to make the property, you know, something that that investor might be interested in, you know, would it be in the lodging industry?

They're trying to show that, hey, maybe we can grow this with business travel.

That's kind of an area that they've been talking about recently.

But, hey, I think this could be an opportunity that way.

But there are challenges there because they're competing with more established areas like, you know, Naples, Fort Myers and Sarasota and it's not that close to a beach.

It's like 45 minutes to a beach.

And when people come to Florida, the beach is kind of one of the the main destinations.

I know when you're reporting, you mentioned that, you know, regardless of whether they they're trying to at least get out of having a majority stake in this or whether they sell completely or just partially.

Allegiant is going to be staying in Charlotte County and will have a significant impact on the economic growth of Charlotte County.

Yeah.

I mean, they really they pretty much built put a, an airport.

I mean, that airport, there was not that much going on there prior to 2012 prior to Allegiant arrival.

I mean, the economic impact with Allegiant there has gone from like 150 million to 1.5 million annually, which is just astounding numbers to do that in, you know, a matter of a dozen years.

You know, they're flying over 50 destinations.

Like I said, this is a hot, hot spot for them.

So there is a very strong relationship between, Charlotte County and the Legion.

So I don't see that changing any time soon.

Phil Fernandez, thank you so much for your reporting on this, and to continue following your reporting, we can check out the News-Press or the Naples Daily News.

Please do.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Coming up.

It is tortoise time at the Naples zoo.

The new experience that gets you up close and personal with one of nature's most popular critters.

The Naples Zoo has become a great place to get in touch with your wild side.

The facility's primate expedition cruise was recently named one of the ten best zoo exhibits in the country by USA today.

And now guests can get hands on with a new program designed to inspire future conservationists.

WGCUs Cary Barbor explains.

No no no no.

Oh, yeah.

So cute.

The Bud family is taking advantage of a new opportunity at the Naples Zoo.

So afterward.

This encounter involves going behind the scenes.

And with our Galapagos tortoise.

Her name is Poppy, and she loves people and loves interacting with them.

Part of the encounter is to target training poppy, a red ball on a wand is wave near the hundred pound tortoise.

When she reacts to it, Poppy is rewarded with fresh veggies.

The staff estimates Poppy's age at about 8 to 12 years old, but they can't be sure because she was rescued from an illegal smuggling operation at the Port of Miami.

She was brought to the Naples Zoo as a much younger tortoise.

As long as she keeps her neck up with this finch response, you are welcome to pet the bottom of her neck here as well.

Really?

Yeah, but just with hands on that one.

Oh my goodness.

The goal for Wild Encounters is to educate visitors about tortoises, their habitat, and their welfare.

And Poppy gets to socialize with families like the bugs.

James Bud says his daughter, Bonnie is a big fan of turtles.

I mean, she talks about turtles all the time.

Like we go to a serpent harem near our house.

And the turtles are the things that have always drawn her in.

And they learned a new fact through their wild encounter with Poppy.

I didn't know they could feel through their shells.

That's kind of cool.

For WGCU news, I'm Cary Barbor with Amanda Inscore Whittamore.

As the rain returns to southwest Florida, so do the mosquitoes.

Coming up next week, we learn about the new methods being put in place to keep the pesky bugs away from your summer plans.

Join us for that story and much more next week.

And don't forget to like and subscribe to our WGCU News YouTube channel, where you can find all of our stories and extended interviews.

We hope you have a great weekend and we'll see you again next week.