This week on Southwest Florida in focus on the eve of a presidential inauguration, we talk with Senator Rick Scott about Florida's upcoming influence in Washington.

As several prominent Floridians are tap to play key roles in the Trump White House and building a better brand here from local companies that are helping Florida be a leader in minority owned businesses.

That's this week on Southwest Florida in Focus.

You're watching Southwest Florida InFocus coming up, the return of President Donald Trump to the white House, and how Floridians will have an unparalleled impact on U.S. foreign policy.

We speak with Florida's U.S.

Senator Rick Scott, about what he expects from the Trump administration these next four years, new interest in the cold cases of two young men who vanished from southwest Florida just months apart, both last seen alive with a former deputy of the Collier County Sheriff's Office two decades ago and open for business.

Hear from local companies about what it takes to build a minority owned organization in Southwest Florida.

Hello, I'm Sandra Victorova Thank you very much for joining us.

We begin now with Florida's unprecedented impact on the next white House.

President elect Donald Trump has tapped Floridians for key roles in his administration.

From chief of staff to U.S. secretary of state to U.S. Attorney general.

What does the Florida influence mean on U.S. foreign policy and the big issues facing Floridians?

Joining us now from Washington to discuss this is Senator Rick Scott, who was recently sworn into his second term as U.S.

Senator.

Senator Scott, welcome.

Thank you for joining us.

Oh, it's always nice to be with you and hope you, hope you had a good New Year and good Christmas.

And this is going to be a great year.

Yes, I did, thank you very much for that.

So let us start with I recently heard you say that Florida is the center of the Republican Party.

Now that Washington can learn a lot from what Florida has done.

So can you describe for us what exactly you think Florida has gotten right?

Well, first of let's let's look at this administration.

The president's from Florida.

The chief of staff is from Florida.

Suzy Wiles was my first campaign manager.

The secretary of state, Marco Rubio from Florida.

The the, the director of national intelligence.

Mike Walters from Florida.

So he's got a lot of Floridians, as part of his team.

And the reason he does is you look at what's happened in Florida when I got elected back in 2010.

There are 568,000 more Republicans and Democrats.

If you look at this, the last election cycle, both President Trump and I won by more than 1.3 million votes.

So clearly the state has changed what people have seen that if you have a government that watches how your money is spent, cut your taxes, make sure your kids get a great education, keeps you safe.

That's a formula for success.

So we have a lot of people that were part of that in Florida.

I was excited to, to be the governor for eight years.

We added 1.7 million jobs.

I think President Trump did a great time and great job in his first term.

Building a great economy.

And he's going to do the great another great, job this time.

Well, as you mentioned, President Trump has elected, several prominent Floridians to serve in his cabinet.

What do you think this Florida connection will specifically mean to Florida?

How will it benefit Floridians?

You know, another person I forgot is Pam Bondi.

Yeah, of course, Pam was the attorney general.

Myers, as governor is a very good friend of mine.

I think I think what they're what's going to happen is as a result of all these relationships, they're going to be receptive to any issues that Florida deals with, which is what's important, what you want, what you know, my experience in the my eight years as governor, in my six years now as a U.S. senator, is you get things done by building relationships and letting people know the issues you're dealing with and see if they can be helpful.

So with all these Floridians as part of the Trump administration, then we're they're going to be receptive to the issues that we're dealing with.

We know that we've got to, you know, get inflation down.

We know, that we have to work on the issues that were going on in Latin America, like the fight.

Right?

That's happening right now in Venezuela, for freedom and liberty.

We know we've got to get interest rates down.

You do that by, by balancing the budget.

So I think what's the I think the opportunity is you're going to have a lot of, Floridians are going to listen to Floridians about solving problems of Florida, which are similar problems around the country.

So you mentioned inflation.

I'd like to ask you about the, high cost of housing here in Florida, as well as the cost of property insurance, a huge issue for Floridians.

Are there things that Washington can do to address those issues and that you vow to do to address these issues?

Well, first of all, on the cost of housing, we've we've got to make sure, that we have housing that, you know, the average worker has the opportunity to live in.

I you know, as you know, I grew up in public housing.

I know the importance of government being part of that.

So we've got to make sure our, you know, our national programs through HUD are fully funded.

And I'm going to make sure that happens with regard to property insurance, a significant issue in our state.

Since I left office, the I think the cost of property insurance has doubled.

And so we've got to we've got to figure that out.

Now, what I'm that's a state issue.

But what I'm trying to do at the federal level, is give you a tax deduction on your federal tax return for your property.

Insurance costs up to $10,000.

So we so I'm what I'm trying to do is figure out there's things that are clearly state.

They've got to the state's going to have to figure out how to get, property insurance rates down, car insurance rates down.

But we can, with the, with the housing, hopefully give you a tax deduction with regard to their cost of, property insurance.

Shifting gears here, President Trump has said he was looking at the possibility of pardoning the January 6th rioters.

As you know, many of them were from Florida.

Should he should he?

Pardon, pardon the folks involved in January 6th.

Well, I think I think for first off, you should not be violating the law.

I mean, nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody should be violate the law.

And there ought to be equal.

You know, if you violate the law, we ought to all be treated the same.

The.

But we need to look at exactly what happened on January 6th, why it happened.

As you know, we, the January 6th commission, was a complete farce.

We know that it did.

You know that we don't have a lot of information on how the FBI, how they prosecuted people and didn't prosecute people.

So I think what President Trump, will be doing is will be going through there very quickly and saying exactly what happened here, and let's treat people fairly.

Violate the law.

You violated the law and you should be held accountable.

But also that that, you know, if you did, how long what's a what's a proper, term, for violating that law?

If an if I can end on this.

Senator, President Trump received the highest percentage of votes on his third run for president, just under 50%.

That's about 77 million Americans who supported him.

I'd like to ask you about the 75 million who did not vote for him.

Many are concerned.

You know what his second term will mean for this country.

Do you understand those concerns?

Well, I, I, I know people have a lot of hope and opportunity, but let's, let's we can look at his first term and see what his second term is going to be like, what he do in the first term.

One, he he recruited security.

We didn't go to war.

Our border was secure.

Our economy was unbelievably good.

Maybe the best economy in my entire lifetime, right?

He didn't go.

He didn't go after his political opponent like Biden.

But like Biden did.

So I think what you're going to see and I was with President Trump yesterday.

What you're going to see is a president is going to secure the border.

He's going to rebuild this economy.

He's going to hold government accountable.

Which is exactly what when I talk to voters, exactly what they want, Senator, with the minute that I have left.

What is your take on the president's comments on his desire to acquire Greenland, the Panama Canal, and to annex Canada through economic force?

So what I you know, what I appreciate about this president is one, he wants to build the American economy.

And number two, he's he's focused on national security.

Any any issues he has when he's thinking about what about Greenland?

Is it talking about the national security of this country?

We that's what he should be doing when he talks about the Pentagon.

Panama Canal is what he's saying.

And he said it yesterday when I was with him.

He said we gave the Panama Canal away for nothing.

We got nothing for it.

It probably was the biggest expenditure of this country ever in the history of this country.

And at this point, we're getting treated unfairly and they're not complying with what the deal was at the time.

That is going to have to change.

And then with regard to Canada, we cannot allow, trade deficits where we're treated unfairly if we're if we're going to allow people to come and sell things into the American market.

We have to be allowed to sell things into their market.

So Canada is going to have to open up their trade barriers because it's not fair to Americans.

It's not fair to American jobs.

Right.

Primarily.

But it's also not fair because because of the costs we have, we've allowed so much of our manufacturing go out of this country.

We've got to rebuild that manufacturing.

So I know what I hear from this president is he's absolutely committed to American jobs and American security.

Senator Scott, we thank you for your time.

Thank you for joining us.

All right.

Have a great day.

Thank you.

You too, sir.

Coming up next.

It was over 20 years ago when two young men went missing in southwest Florida.

Both last seen alive with a Collier County deputy.

We speak with the reporter behind an award winning podcast that has reignited interest in the investigation.

In the early 2000s, two young men disappeared in Naples.

Phillip Santos and Terrance Williams, both last seen with the same Collier County Sheriff's deputy.

Both men of color in their 20s vanished three months apart on the same street in separate encounters with Officer Steven Caulkins.

The former deputy has denied any wrongdoing.

The USA Today Network Florida You produced an award winning podcast series in 2023 documenting their disappearance and the investigation into the cases.

The series, called The Last Ride, is the first locally originated podcast ever distributed by NPR and has now been downloaded more than 2 million times.

As we begin the new Year for embarking on a weekly airing of The Last Ride every Tuesday in hopes of shining some more light on these unsolved cases.

Janine Zeitlin has been reporting on this case for 20 years and was a key reporter on this investigation.

And, of course, she joins us now and we were grateful for your time, Janine.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

So tell us what has happened since this podcast aired.

So I would say that the story got out to a lot more people across the nation.

People were made aware of the disappearances and dozens of tips came in and unfortunately, none bore out.

But there was renewed interest in the cases.

And a couple of, cold case investigators reached out to me.

And I know that, one has taken the case further.

Steve, Reg and he actually went to Caulkins House and tried to interview him in an Iowa, and he did share video of us with that encounter.

And, Mr. Caulkins was certainly not happy to see to see him there.

I'm gonna place them on right now because this is Grassman.

That's no, he.

Mr. Ridge did file a complaint with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division asking for further investigation.

We should know that Mr. Calkins again denied any wrongdoing, but he was fired.

Can you explain?

Absolutely.

So, there were two Internal Affairs investigations brought against Mr. Calkins after the disappearances of both Philippe Santos and Terrance Williams, basically because the families went to the sheriff's office and said your deputy was the last person that we saw our family member with.

So the agency was compelled to start an internal affairs investigation with the internal affairs investigations of Philippe.

It was very short.

It wasn't very thorough at all.

And they asked Mr. Calkins what happened?

Mr. Calkins said, I gave them a ride and the investigation was closed and he went back to patrol.

But the real investigation happened three months later, when Terrance Williams disappeared in January, and his family really pressed as hard as they could to get answers about what happened to Terrance Williams.

So obviously technology has changed a lot since these disappearances.

So let's talk about how the technology around police encounters, police accountability, you know, has evolved since the disappearances.

We don't have proof of what happened after Calkins said he pulled these men over because we didn't have technology at the time that was tracking Calkins.

We didn't.

Now we have GPS tracking on, on on cars.

We have dash cams, we have body cams.

There would be less mystery in terms of what happened when Caulkins had these encounters with Terrance Williams and Philippe Santos.

Janine, we really appreciate your reporting on this, and we thank you for not letting this story go.

Thank you, thank you.

And you can listen to The Last Ride on GQ every Tuesday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.. Episodes can also be found on all podcast platforms and@gcu.org.

There are about 35 million small businesses in this country.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Nearly 11 million are minority owned.

In a recent survey, Florida ranked as the third best state nationally by entrepreneurs for minority owned businesses.

As Brian Monti reports on a program designed to help business owners succeed.

A minority owned business, is 51% owned and operated daily by an American citizen of an ethnic minority group.

Gender and or military veteran classification.

Here in Southwest Florida, Goodwill's Microenterprise program provides aspiring small business owners with the skills they need to succeed as entrepreneurs and become more independent.

Sandra Plazas helps to run the program, so it's a six course training program on Mondays and Thursdays, and they will go through a book to put together a feasibility plan.

So they're going to learn how to understand who their customer is.

Target analysis.

So we're going to talk about marketing strategies.

We're going to talk about pricing their product and service.

We talk about cash flow and we talk about break even.

Entrepreneurs like Monica Spiral, who completed the training in 2014, now owns and operates Tamu Cupcake Aerie.

They actually helped me piece everything together.

So as I graduated the class, I got my LLC.

I did the, you know, in all the paper stuff I would not have known how to do if I didn't have the class.

Nikki Branch recently graduated from the class and has been in business for two years.

It's a journey meeting the people that I'm meeting, the connections that I'm making.

Seeing the growth for the business is exciting.

Often the driving force for many small business owners is not just their skills or talents, but what they put into what they do and make.

My secret ingredient is definitely love.

Nikki's mom taught her how to bake at a young age.

Her mom passed away about two years ago.

We asked what would her mother say about her business ventures?

She would be very proud that it just kept going.

Yeah, investing in myself just.

As a single mom with two boys.

Oh, yeah.

In this economy, to start a business and let go of the corporate world.

By nature, I'm a medical assistant for 16 years, and I definitely gave that up to pursue what I want.

And so big tech gives me emotional.

Let's talk about my mom.

Entrepreneurship has its challenges.

It's reported that approximately 45% of small businesses fail during the first five years.

However, with the right tools, resources, and financial support, the greater the odds of economic success for budding entrepreneurs.

They want to have a legacy for their children.

They are in a situation that maybe they thought they would never be able to have a business.

And so now they're learning how to start a business, how to strengthen the business, and they want to teach that to their children.

And that's one of the things I hear a lot, especially the women that come out of the program.

I get up and say this is mine.

I mean, if I could do it for somebody else for all those years, then I better do it for myself.

For WGC news, I'm Brian Monte.

The goodwill Microenterprise program is offered in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.

Well, it was a season of giving for one southwest Florida philanthropist.

Paychex founder Tom Golisano made a series of gifts totaling $85 million to 41 groups in our region.

This followed another series of gifts in upstate New York, where groups received $360 million in donations.

We visited Mr. Golisano in his Collier County home to learn more about his motivation for giving.

Tom, thank you for having us in your home.

Glad you're here.

This year, more didn't have.

We're more than happy to have you.

Oh, thank you so much.

So this year, you donated $500 million between New York and Southwest Florida.

You have said that these organizations were in your will, but you decided to give this year.

Why?

Well, you're exactly right.

All those.

Most of those organizations were in my will.

And one day, I just got to thinking.

Why make them wait?

You know, I don't know when I'm going to leave the world here.

So let's, let's let them have the advantage of having the funds available now.

And it was all a surprise.

How fun was that?

Oh, it was tremendous.

Both in Rochester and here in Naples.

People were just.

I never seen so many tears and had to deal with so many hugs and so forth.

People were just delighted in Southwest Florida, 41 nonprofits benefited from your giving.

How do you decide where to invest these funds?

Well, in most cases, we've had experience with some of those organizations.

We have in cooperation.

Of course, our foundation and the head of our foundation and the employees of the foundation have worked with these organizations locally.

So we know quite a bit about them.

So it wasn't a difficult process to decide who we were going to help.

Now, I bet you there are some organizations we wish we had helped.

And this thing isn't over yet, so we'll see.

So I know a lot of your focus in giving has been organizations working with people with developmental or intellectual disabilities.

Why are you so passionate about this?

Cause?

Well, I think, first of all, I have a son who's developmentally disabled.

He's older now.

He's actually.

I hate to tell you this.

He's 58 years old.

But, my son Steven, obviously he's been with us, for a lot of years.

And, Steven's mother and myself, particularly his mother, got very involved in the world of developmental disabilities.

And in the late 80s, we started the foundation that directs, our financial grants to organizations that work with the developmentally disabled.

So we're kind of close to it.

And it's been a happy experience, quite frankly.

So my understanding is you built most of your fortune, founding paychecks.

Did you ever imagine that you would be so successful?

And that second you would be able to give back in such a way?

Well, quite frankly, Sandra, I had a 40 year plan and I fell short of it.

I'm kidding.

Well, like what?

You know, the growth in paychecks and and, the financial capability came in plateaus.

Okay, you reach one plateau and you keep working for another plateau and and so on and so forth.

Nobody would.

I couldn't I could never.

I don't think many people could anticipate starting a company 40 or 50 years ago and having it grow to the point that it's growing.

You you are so incredibly generous, both in Florida and obviously in New York for you.

What have you learned from this giving process?

What has been the best part about being able to give back like this?

I think I should have been more aggressive earlier.

I could have started being more philanthropic.

Earlier in my life than I have.

So I'm trying to catch up now.

And your plan for the future?

You hinted at the fact that.

Oh, don't.

There's more coming.

Yeah.

You know, looking at my financial situation and, family situation.

Yeah.

Making sure the family seeking care of.

And then there should be some access excess that we can distribute.

Tom, I thank you so much for your time and for having us in your home.

Thank you.

Oh, thanks for coming.

When we come back, the new year didn't mean the end of holiday celebrations for many Southwest Floridians.

We learned about some of the festivities in 2025.

While most of us wrapped up the end of year festivities ringing in the new Year this week, some Southwest Floridians continued celebrating their big holiday.

Joining me now to explain these religious and cultural traditions is WGCU Culture and Connections reporter Elizabeth Andarge Welcome, Elizabeth.

Thank you, Sandra, for having me.

It's a joy to be here with you again and it's a joy to have you because you are going to explain to us what Three Kings Day is and why it's a big deal.

Yes.

So it dates back all the way to the biblical era, when three Kings were traveling through Bethlehem to find baby Jesus, when once they found him, they gifted him with all sorts of presents.

Fast forward to today and January 6th.

The same tradition occurred.

Bakeries all over Southwest Florida were packed.

We found one bakery, la mexicana, that had over 300 orders of desserts.

Inside these desserts, they had 4 to 6 baby Jesus statue figures.

And the tradition goes, if you are lucky enough to get the slice with it, you have to bring tamales to the next celebration in February.

It was also a big week for our Christian Orthodox community, right?

Yes it was.

It was Christmas for them on January 7th.

But, they actually like to do things a little bit early.

So on January 6th, they go to church, they have prayers and service, and they stay at church up until midnight.

Their tradition is a little bit unique because after the service, they have a huge feast after midnight, and they are celebrating the 43 days of fasting being over.

And it's really a religious celebration, but also a cultural celebration for them as well.

And so, Elizabeth, what did you learn in covering these stories?

For me, it was really a joy to witness these festivities and see all of these people maintaining their cultures here in Southwest Florida.

And it is a joy for us to learn from you.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for your time.

Thank you Sandra.

Coming up next week on Southwest Florida in focus.

Does the orange have a future in the Sunshine State the size of Florida?

Citrus harvests have plummeted.

We look at the impacts citrus greening, climate change and development of have had on crops and what the industry is doing to try to survive.

Be sure to join us for that story and much more on.

See you until then.

Have a great week everyone.