This is Southwest Florida InFocus.

Coming up, a look forward on Florida's economic outlook, including the hot topics of property taxes and the fluctuation of home prices.

And we know most New Year's resolutions won't last a month, but we have some tips to help you commit to those new changes.

And outdoor art shows return to Southwest Florida.

The economic impact that could be seen across the region.

Hello, I'm John Davis, thanks for joining us.

The debate over Florida property taxes has rolled over into the New year.

Governor Ron DeSantis is continuing his push to eliminate all property taxes for primary residences, with the hope to include a measure on the 2026 ballot for a constitutional amendment that he said would allow Florida homes to be, quote, free and clear of the government.

Any constitutional amendment would need a 60% approval to pass.

Property taxes were just one of several issues from last year that will impact the Sunshine State for the foreseeable future.

To help us understand some of the biggest stories over the past year in Florida.

We're joined now by Tom Hudson, senior economics editor with Warren in Miami.

Tom, thanks so much for joining us.

My pleasure, John, thanks so much for the opportunity.

So one of the major focuses of Governor Ron DeSantis was the elimination of property taxes and working on a constitutional amendment for Florida voters to decide on the fate of property taxes and next fall's election.

You know, I'm sure some homeowners would be thrilled with no property taxes, but many other lawmakers oppose this proposal.

What do state finances look like without a property tax?

Well, state finances are actually forecast to be in the red deficit financing within the next couple of years here, John.

But it's not related to property taxes because state government is not funded by property taxes in the state of Florida.

This deficit outlook also is not really new.

Over the past several years, it has been the case where the forecast, as we enter into a new fiscal year, has been for deficit spending in 2 or 3 years time.

But the legislature has made changes each and every year to spend it.

And in fact, this year or in 2026, this new legislative session expects some big changes because the House speaker, Daniel Perez, has said he wants it to be a fiscally conservative legislative session in 2026.

So the prospects about property taxes certainly loom large in the state of Florida, but not necessarily for state finances understood when it comes to concern about eliminating property taxes.

This is really about the essential government services they found on the local level.

You spoke with House Speaker Perez on an episode of the Florida Round Up not too long ago.

He had even mused about the idea of even maybe some of the smaller rural counties that rely more on property taxes for their budgets could even be eliminated.

I spoke with House, Senate President Albritton a few days after I heard that interview, and he kind of turned it around and said, well, maybe even some of the bigger counties with all those municipalities, those could be consolidated.

So we have these five proposal or there's a handful of proposals the House has put out.

Do you think any of those are going to gain traction in the legislative session, or do you think we're going to see something totally different?

Maybe.

I think we're going to see several different proposals wind up on the ballot for Florida voters to decide the fate of in November of 2026, each and every time a property tax measure has appeared on the statewide ballot for a referendum, it is passed in the state of Florida.

Florida property owners, would like to see lower property taxes.

They'd like to see, a reduction in property taxes.

But this debate is going to be particular because there's such a wide spectrum right now of proposals from, reduction to property taxes, a limit to property tax increases, or even a further elimination of most non-school and nonpublic safety property taxes.

And I think what we'll see over the spring and summer and into the fall election cycle, John, is going to be a concerted effort by both sides on this debate to show to voters if property taxes are reduced, what public services are you going to go without?

And I think here is going to be the crux of the debate that Floridians are going to have to have in the spring, summer and fall of 2026.

All right.

I'm pivoting from property taxes to the housing market itself.

It did seem to stabilize this year, with experts calling the year a soft correction as prices level off and a shift began towards a buyer's market.

Just this past year bode well for the future of Florida's housing market.

You know, 2025 was a challenging year for the Florida housing market, for single family homes and for condominiums.

Single family homes in the Fort Myers and Cape Coral area were flat through October.

Jan and median prices were down 5%.

Condominium sales the pace of sales down 8% in the first ten months of 2025, with prices down almost 6%.

So soft correction, weak market, a mild, collapse of sorts.

However you want to characterize it, it has been a tough year for Florida homes, particularly Florida condominiums.

The crisis in the condominium market appears to be receding as we end calendar year 2025.

The building reforms that were put in place after the Surfside collapse, were reformed yet again this year to provide more time for condominium associations to kind of get their financial house in order.

And meantime, we've got mortgage rates which are moving lower, which improves affordability.

And I think that helps stabilize the overall market.

It's not going to be off to the races in 2026.

This is not a post-Covid world that we're living in for Florida real estate, but instead, I do think it is going to be more moderating.

And, certainly the numbers are leading us to believe that it'll be a more stable market.

And the impact of a rise in inflation has been seen across the state.

But in regards to Florida's construction industry and agriculture, there seems to have been a toll taken due to tariffs.

What damage was done and is there any relief on the horizon?

Yeah, tariffs are one factor in the affordability challenge in Florida's real estate market.

A lot of construction materials are imported here.

Lumber you know, drywall, concrete certainly.

Same with automobiles too.

Regional inflation in the southeast, in the United States here, John, as we wind up this year, about 2.6%, which is still an increase in prices, right?

We're not talking about prices overall decreasing.

That would be called deflation.

That's a different economic challenge.

And a more serious economic problem.

We're still talking about a general rise in prices.

It has cooled off so it has slowed down but still moving higher.

You know the tariff clarity is still something that businesses and consumers long for here because the president, President Trump, has made a series of unilateral decision when it comes to, import tariffs, seemingly on a moment's notice.

And that just makes it tough to pinpoint the exact impact on Florida industry and ultimately, Florida consumers.

And tariffs, again, were one of the reasons for struggles with Florida's citrus industry.

But there's also environmental factors like citrus greening.

Southwest Florida saw its largest citrus grower, a LeEco, announced a nearly $150 million loss this past year.

On top of announcing its departure from citrus to begin a foray into land development.

Is it LeEco an anomaly, or are we seeing the beginning of the end for citrus production in Florida?

Hi John, we may be seeing the end of the end of citrus production in Florida.

Consider this 20 years ago, in 2005, Florida produced 150 million boxes of oranges, 150 million.

A decade later, that dropped to 100 million.

This year, Florida has harvested barely 1 million boxes of Florida and 92% drop in Florida's orange crop production in 20 years, 92%.

This is an utter collapse.

It's a disaster.

It is fueled by, yes, citrus greening disease, storm damage and that insatiable appetite for Florida real estate for development purposes.

And so a challenge, I think, that the citrus industry faces in Florida, particularly, is this was an industry that defined the Sunshine State in the 20th century.

What does it look like in the 21st century with all the pressures that continue to build against it?

All right.

Well, our end, senior economics editor Tom Hanson, thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

My pleasure.

Coming up, making a promise you can keep.

We learn how to avoid quitting on your New Year's resolutions to help start off the new year right.

A new diet, a better exercise routine, or even getting a better grasp on finances all seem like noble gestures.

To start the new year.

But maintaining those pledges is not as easy as it would seem.

According to the Baylor College of Medicine, 88% of people will give up on their New Year's resolutions by the second week of January.

In fact, Friday, January 9th has already been dubbed Quitters Day since that's when most people are expected to forgo their commitments.

WGCUs Jennifer Crawford has more on how people can make plans stick for 2026.

For more on how you can maintain your New Year's resolutions, we are joined by Danielle Pascoe, a functional nutritionist and certified health coach.

Miss Pascoe, thank you so much for joining us today.

Thank you for having me.

By January 1st, most people are happy to make plans for a better year.

But shortly after making well-intentioned New Year's resolutions, many of us failed to keep them.

Why is that?

I think many people have all the best intentions to keep their resolutions.

It's just that their resolutions many times are unrealistic and they don't have the energetic capacity to keep it going.

One of the most popular resolutions is getting in shape.

Losing weight.

Is there a difference, though, in getting in shape and beginning a path towards a healthy life?

Definitely.

So getting in shape, especially if you're trying to keep it.

In my opinion, it's not just about counting yourself at the gym, but it's really about doing practices that start to build up your life force help you to cultivate more energy.

So you have the stamina to withstand maintaining it every day.

Because otherwise, if you start burning yourself out too soon with these super heavy practices, you know no pain, no gain.

It's just very hard to stick.

And a gym membership might work great for some, but you also recommend trying ancient practices like Tai Chi.

Now, what benefits do those exercises have that might make people stick to their resolutions?

Yes, I gave up going to the gym a long time ago.

I happen to like practices like Tai Chi and qigong because they help to move energy throughout the body and they also many times are practiced in nature.

I tend to do them outside.

You know, it's a little chilly if you're in the northern states.

But getting outside and possibly even grounding, doing it barefoot, not having any soles on your shoes.

You're starting to get energy from the earth, and then you're taking that energy with the grounding and doing the movements really start to build up your life force.

They really stabilize you and they really help with fatigue.

And we sometimes imagine these practices to be just for people, maybe our grandparents.

But actually anyone who's young could tremendously benefit not only for their for their health and their strength, but their their brain capacity.

And how important is mindfulness and maintaining a positive outlook when you're trying to stick to these newly created healthy habits?

Mindfulness is a way of life.

It's really important when you're trying to maintain these types of practices, because if you don't have them with the right mindset, you're not going to be able to stick with it.

And mindfulness also moves into other areas of your life when you're talking about even the way that you eat, the decisions you make regarding foods you ingest or supplements that you ingest, anything like that has to be very mindful and even intuitive, rather than just taking things or doing things because you see them as trends.

So true.

And a new workout is always a very good place to start.

But diet is equally as important.

And what mistakes do you find people make with their nutrition when they're starting a new workout routine?

Well, I think when I talk about energy and the mechanics of even exercising, there's also energetic principles, regarding our eating.

And we want to eat things that have a higher vibration, that are healthier, that are more natural.

If we can get things foods from places like farmers markets, health food stores, obviously not processed.

I like an anti-inflammatory diet or Mediterranean diet.

You know, it's it's kind of bio individual, what you choose.

But in addition to diet, we're in the United States.

And unfortunately, our food supply is not necessarily the healthiest, even when it's organic.

So supplementing is can be very beneficial.

And that's why I also really like to incorporate herbs, which also are cultivated in nature for their energetic properties in any kind of routine.

And there's actually an emerging science right now, I'm a functional nutritionist, and I have been watching this trend of what's called quantum AI or Veda, and how it ties into energy is that let's say you're taking a supplement like turmeric, which we all know is good for inflammation or potentially pain, but it goes back to the no pain, no gain approach.

We don't want to bombard somebody with a laundry list of supplements or herbs.

So quantum Iron Veda actually works and that these, herbs are tuned with an energetic frequency.

I know it sounds a little woo, but there's science behind it, and they become more bioavailable at lower dosage dosages.

So my feeling for people is to try to get the most through the energetics of food of your herbs and also through your workouts.

And, so green space Herbs is actually one of the pioneers doing this right now.

That's very interesting.

Well, what is the most important thing people should know about making a New Year's resolution and keeping it slow and steady?

Really?

Be realistic with yourself.

And I think do not compare yourself to other people.

Platforms like social media make you feel like, wow, look at that person at the gym.

They're really they're really working out hard and they are doing all these things and they're so strict with their diet.

If only I can do that and be like them.

And maybe that's aspirational, but you have to meet yourself where you are.

And so that's why you don't have to commit to going to the gym for an hour every single day, doing practices like tai chi and qigong.

They're kind of like micro practices that can take ten minutes a day to build up your energy.

Doing grounding is a quick practice that you can do.

Learning to do things in a slow and steady pace that keep you incentivized and motivated.

And as you start feeling really well, you're just you're just going to say, you know, I feel good and I really want to maintain this, and I think we have to get away from the mentality of more is better.

And sometimes softer is where the strength is, you know, given us some great information, very, very helpful.

And thank you so much for joining us today, Miss Pascoe.

Thank you for having me.

If you want your new year to begin with.

New experiences, then jumping into the Southwest Florida art scene is the perfect start.

Multiple art festivals are happening now and into the spring, with major shows in downtown Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral, and nearly every other corner of the region.

To learn more about the impact these massive art shows are going to have on the region, we're joined by WGCU arts and culture reporter Tom Hall.

Tom, thanks for joining us.

Delighted to be here, John.

Thank you.

So the arts season kicks off this weekend at the Naples New Year's Art Fair at Campbell Park.

But this is the start of what's going to be a busy art festival season altogether.

Correct?

It sure is.

Between now and the end of April, there are over 40 major outdoor art fairs and festivals from Marco Island all the way to Sarasota.

And these events not only bring artists from around the country, but tourists from across the state and other parts of the world as well.

Correct.

If you think about it, the reason for all of that is whether, there's there's only a handful of states that you can hold an outdoor fair or festival in during the winter months.

We're the prime target.

And the reason is, during tourist season, we have an influx of about 1 million people, that come to Florida.

Both in terms of winter residence and in terms of vacationers.

Now, I've been able to quantify how many of those come to Southwest Florida.

But what we do know is, is that our population increases by roughly 22%.

So, for those two reasons, you know, the weather, for the for the display of the art and because of the influx of all those people, this is a prime area for having an outdoor art fair and festival.

All right.

And Cape Coral has stated that they bring in more than 140,000 people for the annual art festival there.

Are we seeing any economic uptick with this surge in visitors for these events?

Sure.

In addition to the 140,000 at the ten, the Cape Coral Art Festival, Art Fest, Fort Myers in downtown Fort Myers estimates that they get between 90 and 95,000 visitors, during their two and a half day event.

The economic impact is staggering.

Arts Bonita conducts three outdoor art festivals.

The Naples, the Bonita National art festivals.

They estimate that each artist spends about $1,000 for room and board meals and travel expenses.

So they attract 211 artists.

That's roughly a quarter of $1 million just in that.

But as you know, John, in 2022, the Americans for the Arts conducted a survey of the economic impact that the arts make in our local economy.

Although the Cape Coral Art Festival and Art Fest, Fort Myers did not take part in that survey, if the data that was collected applies to their visitors.

Roughly.

Each each individual that attends one of those art festivals is going to probably spend money off site, either at a restaurant, at a bar or ice cream shop in a retail outlet.

We've quantified that.

So if you get 140,000 people and they're doing the normal, spending, that's about a $6 million economic impact.

That means $6 million being paid into cash registers of all of the proximately located and adjacent businesses.

Oh.

That's incredible.

And and that's on top of, you know, the arts and economic prosperity study you were talking about.

That's just looking at, you know, local arts and culture organizations.

I'm curious how these festivals maybe help those local arts organizations.

Do we see any sort of cross-pollination between the local groups, or are these events kind of put on by nationally touring operations?

Well, there's a mix.

We do have a few nationally touring operations like, Hot Works and, Boulder Brooks that that put on these shows.

But, a lot of the shows are put on by local organizations like Cape Coral, is, you know, that has they have their own art festival, organization, our fest.

Fort Myers is an entity as well.

The Naples Art Institute puts on the ones the three shows in Naples and Arts.

Bonita does the in April or the money of the national art festivals?

They, most of these art shows are free admission.

Free parking.

But they still benefit the organizations that are hosting them, because each artist pays anywhere from a couple hundred to maybe several hundred dollars in booth fees.

So that that helps.

And most of the arts organizations ask for donations at the door.

They're they're voluntary, but a lot of people do make those donations.

And so that helps add to their coffers as well.

And they then, in turn, use that money to fund not only their normal operations, but a lot of community outreach.

So, for example, our first Fort Myers, does a lot going into the schools, sponsoring art shows and things of that nature.

Arts Bonita basically does the same thing.

I think last year they contributed about $150,000 for arts education in underserved title one schools.

All right.

Well, Tom Hall, thanks so much for joining us.

It was my pleasure.

Thank you.

John.

From art shows to theater performances, you can keep up with all the art happenings around Southwest Florida by heading to gcu.org.

After the break.

Turning a swamp into a speedway, we meet one family who has spent generations perfecting swamp buggy racing.

For more than 75 years, the swamp buggy has been an annual tradition in Naples.

Originally designed to help navigate through the hardened terrain and murky bogs, the swamp buggy has evolved into a thrilling competition.

As a preview to the upcoming WGCU documentary Swamp Buggy.

Fever Janine Zeitlin introduces us to one family who has spent generations capturing that checkered flag.

For father and son.

Roger and Scotty McCandless.

Swamp buggy racing in Naples, Florida is a family tradition, and I ran their original rat home, which was in the V8 two wheel drive, which is now the Pro Mod class.

So that's where all of this began.

The buggies name lives on.

Well, we built this buggy for pretty much that, or our pretty much built this buggy for him because it waiting for him.

I wouldn't be racing so.

And honoring him it gives you butterflies you know to see and because I've got pictures of him in my lap and he was just 5 or 6, 4 or 5 years old, sitting in my lap, driving out of the pits, you know.

So at one time he got up to the age and said what they had.

I'd like to try it.

I said, well, if we're going to do it, let's do it right.

Everything is relative.

You know, the technology then versus now.

Over the years, we evolved and came up with lighter rear end wheels, steering the whole system.

The trick is to build it light and wind it tight.

You'll be back first.

Roger McCandless competed against another familiar name in racing, Leonard Chesser.

Decades later, Roger son and Leonard's daughter married Scottie and Amy, who's also a driver, share daughter Bristol.

There's a lot of bloodline that runs through her.

Yeah, we saw her.

A purebred.

So then hopefully one day I may not see it.

Scott name is Steve Briscoe.

That's our goal.

My granddaughter.

See her dog?

It won't be any trouble with her.

You put her in there and tell her what to do, and she'll do it.

She has no fear.

On October 5th, 2025, Roger McCandless passed away following a battle with leukemia.

His family called him a mentor who would help anyone at any time.

Coming up next week.

An unintended consequence of blue green algae.

The role that toxins are playing in the rise of Alzheimer's and dolphins.

Thank you for joining us.

Make sure to download the WGCU app or visit wgcu.org where you'll find all our stories plus extended interviews.

Have a great weekend and join us again here next week on Southwest Florida and focus.