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Coming up.

President Donald Trump touts the opening of Florida's new immigration detention facility, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz.

Very soon this facility will have some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.

We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation.

While some protest the environmental impact that facility will have on the Everglades, supporters believe the center shows Florida is leading the way to support the president's crackdown on immigration.

We take a look at the items in the Florida budget that caused Governor Ron DeSantis to bring out his red veto pen and help your pet get through 4th of July celebrations.

Could a new medication be the answer to managing your pooches fear of fireworks?

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

Floridians get a slimmer state budget this fiscal year along with a tax cut package.

This will mean more than $1 billion in tax cuts for families and businesses, as well as a pay increase for state workers and state law enforcement.

Governor Ron DeSantis approved that new state budget of nearly $115 billion on Monday, just hours before it was scheduled to go into effect.

But before signing on the dotted line, he cut hundreds of millions of dollars out of the budget already approved by the legislature.

With more on what the final finances look is.

State government reporter Douglas Saul with WSF.

So, Douglas, thank you for joining us.

We appreciate it.

No, thanks for having me on.

I'm excited to talk.

So I want to start with why state leaders pushed a slimmer state budget this year.

Yeah.

Well, now politically it's not necessarily a surprise that conservatives try to make the budget smaller, but this especially stood out because the state budget has grown by a lot in recent years.

A lot of that is because of Covid 19 related federal dollars that have poured into the state.

That's, of course, now drying out.

And speaking of federal dollars, federal funding overall is expected to decrease down the line, maybe sooner than later under the Trump administration.

A third of the state's budget is made up of federal dollars, so that's a pretty big deal.

Lawmakers also wanted to prepare for this by getting the budget in order.

They were additionally worried about potential budget shortfalls down the line in a potential recession.

So in the end, the governor made some cuts to the budget after it was approved by the state legislature.

What were those cuts?

Yeah.

So first I want to point out that there's actually less vetoes this year than last year, but there's still 13 pages of vetoes, a lot to look through.

He cut nearly 400 million in mostly local projects.

We're talking about money to some museums, some after school literacy programs, and so much more to see if it's even vetoed 1.3 million for public radio stations in about 4.4 million for public television stations.

I, talked to a group called the Florida Policy Institute this week.

It says the largest share of these vetoes, about $175 million worth, targeted local transportation projects, water quality improvements, park improvements in federal energy programs.

Education projects received the second largest cut.

So the governor also nixed the legislature legislature's idea to put $750 million in sort of a a state rainy day fund.

Explain that.

Yeah.

So the lawmakers who led the budget talks seemed really proud of this allocation, actually.

They believed it would help the state in the future if the road gets rocky.

Now, lawmakers are limited in how much they can put the rainy day fund.

750 million is more than they can currently put in.

So voters would have to approve a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot to allow this transition to this transaction to take place.

In mentioning his veto, DeSantis said he didn't believe voters would approve it.

He also mentioned not wanting to put too much in that fund, saying that means that residents are being overtaxed.

He seems to be okay with the current Max.

Now, I'll say also that this is an especially interesting move because Democrats themselves, at least some of them, were against this $750 million appropriation.

They said that there were active needs that money could be used for.

Instead.

You reported that, DeSantis approved an estimated $2 billion in tax cuts.

Who will who does that impact?

Who benefits?

Yes.

So businesses were definitely the big winner in terms of these tax cuts.

The biggest chunk of the tax cuts went to eliminating the business rent sales tax that actually generated some controversy, with some voices saying they wanted to see more direct to family cuts.

But those in charge said the tax savings would trickle down to families who were employed by these businesses.

The tax package also included yearly tax holidays for hurricane and back to school supplies.

There were also permanent tax exemptions set for bug spray, sunscreen, life jackets and a whole lot more.

There was even a one time tax holiday slated for later this year for hunting, fishing and camping supplies.

Douglas Stoll, we appreciate your help with this.

Thanks for clearing up the budget for us.

Thanks for having me on.

As we just mentioned, the governor's vetoes to the state budget include eliminating nearly $6 million in state funding to public radio and TV stations, such as for full transparency, WGU as an NPR and PBS member station.

WGU will lose 470,000 state dollars.

That's 4% of our budget if proposed federal cuts are also approved.

That would be an additional $1.4 million eliminated.

Paul Grove, chairman of the board for Florida Public Media, says the cuts are disappointing and surprising because for decades, he says, public media has had bipartisan support among state lawmakers.

It's drastic and it's critical, and the dollars we're talking about are immediate to our budgets because we have these in our budgets.

Each quarter we receive the dollars that we've been appropriated by the state.

In addition, if the actual clawback happens with federal funds, that's, a devastating blow to PBS and NPR stations in the state of Florida, because these were funds that were already allocated and put into our budgets.

So it's very, very difficult to have the dollars brought back when they've already been appropriated.

And put into law.

But it's critical, those dollars for each station, obviously in the rural stations, it's going to hit them the hardest because they have the least amount of, voluntary support.

The governor did maintain funding for the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network, which provides severe weather information to public media stations across the state, as well as funding for the Florida Channel.

This week, the governor welcome President Donald Trump to the official opening of the immigration detention facility in the Everglades, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz.

The president toured the facility, including a look at the center's barracks.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that it will cost $450 million to run the facility annually.

Originally the Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport.

It is now expected to house 3000 people.

President Trump praised the state's rapid development of this project, and spoke about the long jeopardy the facility might have in Florida's future.

They did this in a less than a week.

And you look at it, it's incredible.

I look, the incredible thing is picking the site, because the site was one of the most natural sites.

It might be as good as the real Alcatraz.

You know.

Oh, that's a spooky one too, isn't it?

That's a tough site.

But, so I really I think it could last as long as they want to have it.

I mean, you you may morph this into, you know, your prison system.

The president's visit to the Big Cypress Preserve drew a large contingency of gatherers.

For some, the opening of alligator Alcatraz marked a time to celebrate.

For others, a time of sorrow, argues Jennifer Crawford, followed multiple days of protest in the Everglades.

Alligator over 35 000.

Good to go courting ice.

President Trump and sang a song getting a festive mood accompanied those in favor of the opening of Alligator Alcatraz deep in the Florida Everglades.

Like Penny Perry, I'm here on vacation.

We heard this was happening, said it was a historical event that will be taking place, and we hopped in the car and came down.

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio arrived from Miami.

I'm here to practice my First Amendment right.

They might be here actually protesting.

I'm here to celebrate.

Tarrio, along with Barry Raimi, both pardoned by President Trump for their roles in the January 6th riot.

We're excited to see this come to fruition.

I support the detention center.

I think it's a testament to Ron DeSantis as a governor.

How quick it went up.

The same governor that designed that bridge pretty much overnight after that devastating hurricane shows that the bureaucratic red tape is unnecessary in most cases.

Oh, Donald Trump has massive crowds of protesters far outnumbered those in support of the detention facility.

This is going to be if they are allowed to put this prison camp up here.

You operate it.

A blight on the landscape.

They will offer nothing but environmental and spiritual pollution for the land, destruction for our native species, and terror and fear for our neighbors.

It can't be allowed to stand.

It's an area that has lots of threatening, dangerous species you can imagine.

This isn't exactly good for that.

And we've spent billions, literally billions.

That's what I've worked most of my career on, is science support for Everglades restoration, to do things thoughtfully with as much science and information and data as possible, so that you make long term wise choices and wise investments of that public money.

This flies in the face of that total.

I got I got Miccosukee tribal leader Betty Osceola has organized several peaceful protests.

She's sorrowful at what is taking place on what she calls sacred land.

The earth must be crying.

I, I feel the sadness.

My shoes are off.

I can feel what is feeling.

It's very upset.

My ancestors are laid to rest out there all around the place.

The ancestors were there.

The ancestors don't like all these vehicles and all that fuel that's going to be dumped on them, as opponents work to spread their concerns about the facility.

The first detainees moved in.

Supporters hope other states will follow in Florida's footsteps.

I think because we have to clean up Florida, I think a lot of red states should start joining and doing the same thing that we're going to clean up the country in the Everglades.

I'm Jennifer Crawford reporting for WGCU news.

Alligator.

Alcatraz is the first of what President Trump hopes will be multiple new migrant detention facilities.

Governor DeSantis has already expressed interest in a second center in Florida.

That one at Camp Blanding outside of Jacksonville.

Well, coming up, we turn our attention to the celebrations this 4th of July.

While fireworks are part of the fun, they can also have a lasting impact on both nature and your pets.

Fireworks have been part of the 4th of July since the inaugural celebration in 1777.

This year, Americans are expected to spend $2.7 billion in fireworks.

The majority of those purchases happened this weekend.

But that sparkle could be lost due in part to President Trump's tariffs and his trade war with China.

Almost all consumer fireworks are manufactured in China right now.

Chinese imports face, on average, a 30% tax, and that means higher prices for some explosives this year.

But the big impact won't be felt immediately.

Phantom fireworks, America's leading fireworks retailer, purchased their 2025 inventory nearly 11 months ago, before the increase in tariffs.

However, as the company prepares for next year and America's 250th Independence Day celebration, that rising cost could lead to a drop in sales for both consumers as well as local governments planning community fireworks displays.

Concerns about prices and supplies have led to uncertainty for leading retailers.

The only country in the world that makes fireworks.

Or I should say, 98% of all fireworks in the world is China.

And right now, China is shut down.

They are not manufacturing fireworks for several reasons.

But one of those is the fact that their warehouses are full.

No one is importing and hasn't imported in the last three months because of the high tariffs.

They're hoping that at some point there's an exemption for fireworks.

There should be an exemption for fireworks because there's not manufactured in America.

We're not harming any factories in America.

And China has a 2000 year history of manufacturing fireworks.

So we feel that we need to have something happen soon in China so that there will be fireworks next year, not just for the consumer side, but for the professional side.

A growing number of cities in the U.S. and around the world are banning or restricting fireworks, and more communities are replacing their pyrotechnic displays with light shows created by drones.

Those cities are ditching the fireworks because of the environmental and health impact that pyrotechnics have on people and animals.

Joining us now to help us understand the effect explosives have on animals is Becca Meyer with the clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, also known as Crow.

Welcome, Becca.

Thank you so much for having me.

I appreciate it.

So let's start with what animals are most impacted by fireworks displays.

There's a lot that can be impacted more.

So probably birds are the most impacted.

Due to the firework displays going off the loud noises that can harm them.

They can cause disorientation.

They can fly more likely into buildings or cars.

But small mammals can also be affected too.

If a, you know, mom, mommy see that a nest site is now no longer a safe environment because there's a lot of noise or distractions going on, she could easily abandon her young and kind of take off.

So I know your group works hard to help animals that have been injured.

What types of animals do you see after a 4th of July, 4th of July celebration, and how do you help them?

Does it change what you do after a celebration?

Sure.

A lot of it can go into education aspect of it.

We may see a spike in hit by car cases or just trauma cases in general.

Sometimes even a spike in dog attack and cat attack cases, too.

If you know, a dog is very scared to make it out, of someone's fence or their yard, that's now an another predator in the environment that those animals have to evade.

So we may see a spike in those cases as well.

So fireworks are certainly nothing new.

In fact, in doing a little bit of research, I found that the Chinese first created and manufactured fireworks in the ninth century using bamboo stalks and gunpowder.

So, you know, these shows have been a long been around for such a long time, but now we are seeing communities like Sanibel becoming more concerned and about the impacts to the environment.

Are you surprised that we're seeing this change now in some communities?

I think it's a positive change for sure.

I think the the concern is how much of an impact it can, have on our wildlife populations and the birds in general.

And looking at protecting our native species and our populations, a lot of the, you know, what's going on.

The environment can throw off migration patterns.

It can throw off, even migration patterns to the extent of it can affect breeding populations.

So you can see a decrease in our and our number of native birds.

So I think, however, are the steps that we can take to help protect them as much as we can.

I think it's a step in the right direction.

And you say it's not just the immediate impact of the sound and the light, but it's also the lasting environmental impact.

Tell me about that.

So after fireworks or even just any general celebrations, there's harmful pollutants that could go into the waterways, especially here in Southwest Florida.

Animals can easily ingest those things.

They may choke on them or they're just not able to ingest them in general.

You can also look at the fact of those birds or those small mammals can leave their young because they're spooked and they're scared.

They don't seem that a safe environment anymore.

That then effects that those those young no longer have a parent caring for them, which could be really detrimental to to, you know, them.

And having been branded by mom.

What do you want us to learn from this?

As far as you know, I was saying that that some communities are turning to drones.

What is your message to anyone out there who wants to be at least sensitive to what animals are facing during a 4th of July celebration?

What can we do to make the situation better?

Yeah, I think, you know, celebrating responsibly is a huge aspect of it.

It's not necessarily a one night event.

A lot of people enjoy the full weekend with family and friends.

You know, if you're having, like, a grill out, making sure those fires are put out responsibly.

If you are choosing to, you know, do your own fireworks, you know, making sure you're cleaning up after yourself and get that debris and, you know, harmful pollutants that could go into the environment that animals could ingest.

Making sure you're safe as well and not doing anything you're uncomfortable doing.

So a lot of, things that we recommend is going, if you're wanting to do fireworks, you know, going to a professional kind of show that's been put on, you know, by the city.

To where those, experts are there to make sure that it's a safe environment for everyone.

And it's a controlled kind of space.

Back away.

Maya, thank you so much for your time and happy fourth.

Thank you very much.

And then For many pet owners, Independence Day means preparing their furry friends for the noise caused by fireworks.

Veterinarians warn that loud sounds from fireworks or thunderstorms can send many dogs into panic mode.

Jennifer Crawford visited one Cape Coral Veterinary Hospital, which is taking part in a clinical trial for a medication they hope could help.

That team is looking for more Southwest Florida pooches to participate.

Good morning.

Good morning.

How are you doing today?

Fine.

How are you?

How's your baby?

Is most happy to see.

Oh, nine year old gizmo, a gentle retired racing dog rescued by Lee County resident Karen Feldman, suffers at the sounds of thunder, lightning and fireworks.

I've had so many animals and so many of them have been really, really terrified by, the storms.

And they'd hide in the shower, they'd hide in the closet, they'd shake like they were going to have heart failure.

Doctor Milton McKelvie says strong reactions to storms plague many of his patients at the Skyla Prado Veterinary Hospital in Cape Coral.

I'm shaking.

Anxiety, vocalization, you know, destructive behavior when you have to either break out of the house or, or, you know, trying to up doors to get out rooms.

It can be very severe.

There was a research study last year that 44% of pets had some degree of fear of thunder put on fireworks.

On top of that, it's up in the 70s and unfortunately, we live in the thunderstorm capital of the U.S. you know, we have close to 100 days of thunderstorms every year with about 65,000 patients and 20 doctors on staff.

Vizcaya Prado Veterinary Hospital is one of at least a dozen vet clinics, mostly in Florida, taking part in clinical studies to evaluate a potential new treatment for dogs with thunderstorm aversion.

We're looking for a medication that can help animals with their storm anxiety and loud noise anxiety.

Everything that we have right now, the dog has to already be in an anxious state.

To take a dog from here to down here is impossible.

It's okay.

Clinical Trials Coordinator Maureen McNamara says the investigational medication, a capsule administered twice daily 12 hours apart, aims to provide round the clock relief without being addictive or sedating.

We try to get the word out there.

I tell all of my clients, that come in that, you know, especially now coming to our 4th of July, they're coming in for these particular medications to prepare.

We will let them know that we have a double blind study.

They can go online to Dog Storm study.com and really take the survey, see if your dog qualifies.

McNamara says this is the second year their clinic has taken part in the research.

He's here for the pets.

Gizmo was one of the first 25 dogs successfully completing the study last year.

This summer, they hope to recruit at least 75 dogs.

It's a very well designed study.

It's a double blind placebo, so we don't know what's dogs are getting the placebo, which dogs are getting the drug.

Feldman says she can't discuss gizmos reaction to the pills he received during the research, but she encourages other dog owners to sign up.

It's so important to get this problem treated.

So many of them suffer.

You can't really give them any comfort.

They don't believe you if this would work.

What a great thing for people, especially down here in Cape Coral.

I'm Jennifer Crawford, reporting for WGCU news.

Hi my beautiful.

For more information on this trial, you can go to Dog Storm study.com.

Or you can take a survey and see if your dog qualifies.

During the Covid pandemic, retired editor for the News-Press.

Sheldon's old and created a daily email featuring a little trivia, a little history with a little music called song of the day.

Four years ago, WGCU began producing song of the day for radio, and it's become a regular feature every Friday and a hit on social media.

So feeling patriotic this week, song of the day features a tune we all grew up with, but whose origins aren't exactly what you might think.

Bring on the parades, picnics and fireworks.

America is 249 years old today.

Yankee Doodle take you down a ride in the morning sun.

Your father and his captain call it macaroni.

On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the declaration of Independence, freeing the 13 American colonies from British rule.

Keep it up, Yankee Doodle Dandy.

The ungrateful British came up with our song of the day.

Yankee doodle.

During the French and Indian War, lyrics from a British surgeon made fun of the unsophisticated American colonists who were helping them fight the French.

Yankee was an English term of contempt.

Doodle implied a simple turn, and the macaroni was a wig wearing fop.

The CliffsNotes translation.

This country bumpkin on a pony thinks that sticking a feather in his hat turns him into a suave sophisticate.

What a Rube!

The colonists got the last laugh.

They turned the song into a battle cry during the Revolutionary War.

There must have been Washington.

This happens again in the northwest.

Over this bad.

I guess that was a million.

They don't keep it up like that.

They fight the news and the stuff that goes up in.

A Harvard student wrote 15 new verses and troops sang it when the British surrendered at Yorktown, ending the war.

Every the other part of it made a noise like Thanos gun.

Oh, major, thanks a lot.

Poignantly, Thomas Jefferson, who wrote most of the Declaration of Independence, and John Adams, who signed it, both died on the 4th of July in 1826.

For WGCU, I'm Sheldon's older.

Let's go pick it up.

I got this.

I didn't.

And you can listen to song of the Day on Fridays during Morning Edition and All Things Considered on WGCU FM 90.1.

In Fort Myers and Naples, or 91.7, in Marco Island.

Thank you so much for joining us on this 4th of July weekend.

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

Enjoy the holiday weekend and we'll see you right here next week.