A six-story building with offices, retail space and restaurants will anchor the corner of North University Drive at White Settlement Road (soon to be renamed Westside Drive) as part of the $1.7 billion Westpark Village development.
Documents filed with the city of Fort Worth this week, including artist renderings, describe the design as having a pedestrian-friendly plaza “flanked with restaurant patios, retail storefronts, and lobby entries.” The top floor would be “dedicated to a social club, offering wide views of the Fort Worth skyline from indoor and outdoor dining and social spaces.”
The site is the former location of the Fort Worth ISD administration building.
The project will kickstart in the beginning of 2026 with Phase I, which includes the 100,000-square-foot office building as well as a 308-unit residential building just to the north on University Drive and Shotts Street. The first phase is expected to be complete by 2028.
Led by Dallas-based developer Larkspur Capital and consultant The Keystone Group, the development will take about 15 years to complete in four parts.
It will also result in approximately $45 million in infrastructure improvements, according to the city of Fort Worth . The area, which is near the Trinity River, has historically experienced stormwater and flood problems.
Courtesy of the City of Fort Worth
The city invested a $125 million grant package to aid in remedying flood concerns in June. If everything goes to plan, the city expects the project to generate roughly $121 million in new property, hotel and sales taxes, according to the city’s economic development manager, Michael Hennig .
This first phase office space will have retail on the first floor, two restaurants and a private social club, according to Larkspur. It was designed by Austin-based firm Michael Hsu Office of Architecture. According to blueprints, there will be an office building and a restaurant space with outdoor seating, all separated by a garden area.
The southeast corner of the apartment building will house a restaurant and retail spaces. The $1.7 billion Westside Village project will break ground in early 2026 and is estimated to finish in 15 years. Courtesy of the City of Fort Worth
The apartment building, designed by Dallas-based architecture firm Corgan, will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. The first floor will have retail space and a restaurant on the southeast corner.
The development will have underground parking for a more sophisticated, pedestrian-friendly look, the developers say.
“Fort Worth has always had a rich cultural fabric, rooted in tradition,” said Colt McCoy, a partner at commercial real estate firm HPI, which is leasing the office space. “With Westside Village, the developers are creating a place where the city’s history and character meet forward-thinking design and modern amenities. It is setting the stage for Fort Worth’s next chapter of growth.”
The apartment building will be on the corner of University Drive, pictured here, and Shotts Street. It will include 308 residential units, a restaurant and retail spaces. Courtesy of the City of Fort Worth
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
Doug McKinnon has sold another of his Cherry Creek gateway corners.
The owner of real estate firm McKinnon & Associates last week sold 55-65 S. Colorado Blvd., two parcels that form the northwest corner of Colorado and Bayaud Avenue, for $3.2 million, according to public records.
The undeveloped site is 0.38 acres, so the deal works out to $191 a square foot.
McKinnon said the local buyer “will be utilizing the G-RO-5 zoning we put in place to develop an office building for his firm’s use on the site.”
The property was purchased by DEG Realestate LLC, an entity formed by Alla Feldman with an office address corresponding to a home within Cherry Creek Country Club. Reached by phone, Feldman declined to comment on the purchase.
No development plans have been submitted to Denver for the site.
The corner lot is one of four on the outskirts of Cherry Creek — all marketed as a redevelopment opportunity — that a McKinnon-led group bought in 2019 for $5.5 million. The other lots were the southwest corner of Colorado and Bayaud and the southwest and northwest corners of Colorado and First Avenue.
McKinnon got the sites rezoned in 2020 after striking an unusually detailed “good neighbor agreement” with surrounding residents. Then, he put “Cherry Creek Gateway” signage up at each of the properties indicating they were for sale.
In 2023, McKinnon sold the southwest corner of Colorado and Bayaud for $1.4 million.
He still owns the corners at Colorado and First. He bought a neighboring parcel there for $1.8 million in 2023, giving him a larger footprint at the intersection.
In November 1998, Denver’s leaders celebrated a moment they had planned for years: the opening of a three-story shopping mall — emblazoned with the city’s name in gigantic neon lettering.
“The Denver Entertainment & Fashion Pavilions,” sitting along 16th Street, was the finishing touch on a decades-long effort to reinvent Denver’s urban core, powering it out of the malaise of the ‘80s.
The local government and the property’s developers had pumped tens of millions of dollars into the project. In return, it was expected to draw hordes of locals and visitors alike — and their tax dollars.
“It was successful, until COVID,” recalled developer Susan Powers.
Now, that crown jewel is looking pretty tarnished. Pandemic-era closures, a surge in work-from-home culture and years of construction on 16th Street have left many of its storefronts vacant. The crowds that once gathered here have become harder to spot.
People mill around Denver Pavilions, on 16th Street, on a Saturday evening. Oct. 18, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
In March, the owner of the property — which is now known as Denver Pavilions — said it faced tough finances and a possible foreclosure. Then, a few weeks ago, a city authority announced it would buy Pavilions for $37 million, a fraction of its former value.
The purchase, which is still pending, is an attempt to rescue the flailing property from closure. Mayor Mike Johnston is relying on a reinvigorated downtown to rebound from a $200 million budget crisis, and a dead mall would be a threat to that recovery.
Officials say it would be a risk to sit on the sidelines and let Pavilions’ future play out on its own. But if Denver does succeed in buying the property, the city could be carrying a new liability into a fraught economic future. And there’s also a chance it all falls apart: City officials told Denverite that it hasn’t inked a deal with a financial lender involved with the mall.
Here’s how Denver’s prize mall fell into disarray — and what comes next.
A vacant space for lease at Denver Pavilions, on 16th Street. Oct. 18, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Pavilions originally promised to fix the neighborhood.
City planners had been dreaming about a mall on 16th Street for decades, with the concept turning up as early as the 1980s. By the 1990s, the dream was becoming reality.
“A California developer plans a $90 million entertainment and retail project that promises to revitalize the long-suffering upper end of the 16th Street Mall,” the Rocky Mountain News read on Oct. 13, 1994.
Downtown’s image had suffered in the decade prior, thanks to an economy tied to the volatile oil business and growing investment in the suburbs. Large, longtime department stores had moved out. The closure of the Denver Dry Goods Building in 1987, a cavernous building filled with high-end shops and an elegant tea room, marked the end of an era.
“We wouldn’t be the department-store-focused downtown anymore,” said Powers, who ran the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) in the late ‘80s and ‘90s. “It took a long time for downtown, for everyone, for the administration and for us, to accept that.”
The Denver Post, Oct. 4, 1995.Denver Public Library/Special Collections
Bill Mosher, who headed the Downtown Denver Partnership at the time, said there was growing pressure to reimagine the corridor.
“We had lost all that retail, and there was the advent of the Cherry Creek Mall. There was talk of a new shopping mall at the corner of I-225 and I-25 that ended up being Park Meadows, further away,” he remembered. “Downtown felt really threatened. And so there was a real push to try and establish more and better retail on 16th Street.”
In 1994, Mosher told the Rocky Mountain News the Pavilions project would be a “shot in the arm” for downtown. Early announcements teased a “flagship” movie theater and “one-of-a-kind retailers and five-star restaurants.”
The Denver Post, Oct. 21, 1997.Denver Public Library/Special Collections
Still, Powers said it turned out to be harder to finance than expected. Though DURA promised millions to subsidize the project, developers had secured less than 20 percent of the money they needed by October 1995.
“It was lenders that didn’t believe in it,” she said.
Securing the money took so long that Hensel Phelps, the construction company leading the project, eventually said “screw it” (in so many words) and started building before the financing was finalized, Powers said.
Though bankers wrung their hands about the project, Powers said city leaders were sure it would deliver for downtown.
“I think this is going to be a home run,” William Denton, a developer behind Pavilions, told the Rocky in 1994. “Denver has been locked in a Catch-22. You need good retail to attract good retail. We will take on that responsibility.”
The Rocky Mountain News, Feb. 12, 1997.Denver Public Library/Special Collections
Pavilions lived up to its promise, for a time.
It was completed two years later than expected, at a total cost of $105 million — including DURA’s $32 million public subsidy. And it had some issues at the start.
Niketown, one of its most anticipated offerings, delayed its debut until 10 months after Pavilions’ grand opening in 1998. The Colorado Cross Disability Coalition also sued United Artists over inaccessible movie theaters, which impacted the company’s flagship there. And chilly weather during the grand opening caused some to question its very configuration.
“I just wish this place had a dome,” 17-year-old Logan McCash told the Rocky on opening day. “I can’t be walking around in the cold.”
Still, throngs of people came to see it, waiting in line to sit in the Hard Rock Cafe and wandering into the Virgin Megastore.
“I’ll definitely be back,” Johnanna VanZaig, a local nurse on her day off, told Rocky reporter John Accola. “I think the scene is changing in Denver.”
The Denver Post, Oct. 22, 1998.Denver Public Library/Special Collections
Denverite reader James Kerley, who wrote to us about his memories of the place, said he was entranced to see it for the first time, as a kid on a school trip from out of town.
“It absolutely felt like a grand experience. I felt like I had finally made it to the big city, to a place where all the action was,” he said. “That experience stuck with me, and for years after I moved to the Denver area, that was the place I took every single visitor.”
“It felt like an exciting place to be,” reader Rachel Vigil remembered, “almost like a home base. I’m not sure it ever lived up to its intended vision, but I do sincerely love that odd mall.”
But it was never universally loved. Some people who wrote us called it “puzzling,” “uninviting” and an “ugly boondoggle.”
The Rocky Mountain News, Oct. 1, 1998.Denver Public Library/Special Collections
Mosher, the former Downtown Denver Partnership leader, said the mall did achieve what he and others promised. Ten years ago, he said, the property was valued at $140 million.
“I think it became part of the downtown experience and was successful,” he said. “It was essentially over 90 percent occupied and the sales numbers were upwards of $60 million, just within the last decade. You have to pay attention to that.”
But the mall’s hot streak ended in 2020, and the city’s leaders would soon face difficult decisions.
Pavilions is on the brink, and Denver is invested in its survival.
Mosher went on to work for the Trammell Crow development company in 2006 after 20 years leading the partnership.
Last year, Mayor Mike Johnston tapped him as the city’s chief projects officer and head of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), which was created by the city to oversee investment in Union Station in the 1990s. It is tasked with managing a special tax fund that can only be spent on improvements to Denver’s central business district.
Early this year, Mosher said Pavilions’ ownership group came to the authority with a grim warning about their finances.
Pavilions is owned by an LLC that’s affiliated with local developer Gart Properties, which did not return a request for comment in this story. Mosher said it’s “no secret” that the group hasn’t made a payment on an $85 million loan since July and was headed toward default.
“It was pretty clear that the lender and the ownership group were coming to the DDA and sort of saying, ‘How do you want to handle this?’” Mosher said. “What we have been dealing with from the beginning is the notion that if we didn’t do something before the end of the year, it would go into some sort of a receivership, foreclosure-type position, and it would go back to the lender.”
What would happen if Pavilions became the center of a long legal fight, or if it were sold to someone who let it sit vacant?
Denver Pavilions’ Coyote Ugly bar on a Saturday evening. Oct. 18, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Mosher and his colleagues came up with a plan: The DDA would pay $37 million to the ownership group to take possession of Pavilions, spend a year or two developing a master plan for the site and then resell it to a developer who would reliably take care of this important piece of 16th Street.
Part of the plan is to combine Pavilions’ parcel with two adjacent parking lots, potentially making it easier to sell to a future buyer. DDA set aside an additional $23 million to buy that land last July.
“The decision was, if we can’t step in and have an impact on 16th through Pavilions, what can we do?” he said. “That uncertainty is, obviously, what had driven us, a little bit out of fear.”
If it works out, Mosher said this plan would allow Pavilions’ owners to settle up with the bank, and it would allow the bank to move on without having to take control of the property and resell it. It would also give the DDA a chance to guide what Pavilions becomes, selecting a buyer who would follow a menu of options that the city will create in the next year.
People mill around Denver Pavilions, on 16th Street, on a Saturday evening. Oct. 18, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Mosher told Denverite that negotiations are ongoing and hinge on whether Pavilions’ lender will agree to cede full control to the downtown authority.
Mosher has stressed that the DDA — not the city of Denver itself — would buy the property, though the two are closely linked.
The authority collects an “increment” of downtown property and sales taxes — diverting some of the growth in downtown tax revenues to be spent on downtown projects, instead of going to the city’s general fund.
The Denver City Council would have to approve the Pavilions purchase.
A vacant space for lease at Denver Pavilions, on 16th Street. Oct. 18, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Doing nothing would be a risk, but buying the property could present other dangers.
A worst-case scenario, Mosher said, would be that Pavilions falls into neglect.
Outdoor malls around the nation have experienced similar struggles, he said. The Charlotte Epicentre, in North Carolina, was also a game changer before it began to decline in 2016, spiraling as vacancies invited violence that led to more vacancies. Its owners defaulted on an $85 million loan in 2021, and it has yet to recover despite new ownership and a rebrand.
Mosher said the DDA’s involvement would ensure the property continues to contribute to downtown’s economy, but he stressed it should not be a long-term project: The DDA hopes to resell the property within a year or two after it’s purchased.
“Our goal is to get Pavilions back into private sector hands,” Mosher said. “The DDA and this mayor have felt some urgency to deal with downtown, now that 16th Street is open. How do we put a spark back and some confidence back into the private sector and spur redevelopment in downtown?”
Bill Mosher, head of the Downtown Development Authority, sits in an office building at 17th and Lawrence Streets. Oct. 10, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
But the authority would take on a different risk in purchasing Pavilions, said Glenn Mueller, a former University of Denver economics professor who tracks commercial real estate in the nation’s 54 largest cities. The question is whether the DDA can actually sell the property as it hopes.
“I understand the Denver development authority wanting to keep something from going dark, because then the city loses property taxes,” he said. “The question is, within one year, is there a retail owner and or developer who would be interested in taking this over?”
Mueller is not watching this deal closely, but he told Denverite that retail is generally a riskier gamble than other sectors. The fact that the mall is only 60 percent occupied doesn’t help, he added — nor do recent economic forecasts.
“There is still a good chance that we go into a recession,” Mueller said. “When there’s a recession, people don’t have money, they don’t spend. They stop spending and all the retailers get hit hard.”
Mosher said the DDA is hedging against a downturn and is prepared to own the property for as long as five years, if necessary. The authority’s plans include financing to cover $11 million in ongoing maintenance costs.
People walking 16th Street pass by Denver Pavilions on a Saturday evening. Oct. 18, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Bigger changes downtown might help.
Jon Weisiger, who leads retail and mixed-use projects for the international real estate firm CBRE, said cities like Denver are poised to bounce back from COVID-era slumps. He said the DDA was wise to consider purchasing the property.
“Investment is favoring outdoor strip retail space or even unique curbside opportunities that are well located in a thriving environment. We’re seeing, definitely, a trend towards more of that,” he told Denverite. “Retail’s actually been the right spot in the investment horizon for a lot of buyers.”
Part of that recovery is tied to new housing projects downtown, like office conversions, that could help replace spending from white-collar workers who haven’t returned since the pandemic.
“This is kind of starting to flip in favor of more residential, in and around the downtown area,” he said. “It’s just a matter of trying to work with retailers that live in both worlds, because you can do some dinner business and you can do some breakfast business, and that is definitely changing before our eyes.”
A view of downtown from Denver Pavilions, on 16th Street. Oct. 18, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
But, as always in this town, there’s a debate about who those changes are meant to benefit.
V Reeves, a housing advocate with Housekeys Action Network of Denver, said they understand the city thinks it can fund needed services with tax revenue from a property like Pavilions — things like recently slashed budgets for eviction prevention and rental assistance. They just don’t believe it will actually happen.
“They’re seeking a means to an end, and saying this is to eventually be able to fund the projects that we actually need. We’re spending millions and millions of dollars when we are asking for a fraction of that to address those very things,” they said. “I don’t think that that’s the economic engine that [Mayor Johnston] is intending it to be. Because we have found, again, trickle-down economics is not an effective solution.”
People mill around Denver Pavilions, on 16th Street, on a Saturday evening. Oct. 18, 2025.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Still, city leaders are adamant that projects like the Pavilions are the path forward. Downtown is supposed to be a tax revenue machine — it’s just going through a reimagining.
In the same way Denver had to move on from the days of the mighty department store, former DURA chief Sue Powers said it will have to find a new identity in this moment of change. She said the risks are worth it.
“It’s everybody’s responsibility now to step up and say, ‘We value our downtown. And it won’t look like it did 10 years ago. But there’s a really important historical role that it’s played, and it’s an important part of our economy, so let’s figure out how to fix it,’” she said. “I don’t think there’s a choice in this community, any more than there was in 1987, to let downtown die. That’s just not an option. Not an option.”
The Denver City Council hasn’t yet set a date to consider the plan.
Terms were not disclosed Wednesday of developer Jamestown’s sale of the property to Houston-based Hines U.S. Property Partners.
The mixed-use development Birkdale VIllage in Huntersville has been sold. Birkdale Village
Hines announced the acquisition in a news release Wednesday afternoon, calling the iconic mixed-use development near Lake Norman a “premier” community that is 99% leased.
In May, Birkdale Village was up for sale less than a year after getting a new owner, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Two months prior, the Huntersville Board of Commissioners approved Jamestown’s request to add to the development a 125-room, full-service hotel, 150 multi-family units, 26,715 square feet of commercial space and an office building.
History of development ownership
In August 2024, Jamestown announced the acquisition of Birkdale Village owner North American Properties’ Atlanta subsidiary. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Jamestown’s projects have included some of the most iconic buildings in the U.S., such as One Times Square, where the New Year’s Eve ball drops in New York City.
Jamestown also is a joint owner of two North Carolina properties: Optimist Hall in Charlotte and the mixed-use development, Raleigh Iron Works.
Birkdale Village was a joint venture partnership with Jamestown, Nuveen Real Estate and North American Properties, Jamestown said.
The community was among the first of its kind in the Charlotte area when it was built in 2003 by Charlotte firms Crosland and Pappas Properties.
In 2022, North American Properties’ invested $20 million to transform the 52-acre property into an entertainment destination with the addition of an outdoor stage, green space and retail kiosks. Retailers include Apple, lululemon, Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma.
Birkdale Village had a total assessed value of $37.3 million in 2023, Mecklenburg County public tax records show. Its current assessed value is under review, according to the county.
Notable Hines buildings are The Lipstick Building in New York City, a 34-story building that opened in 1986 at 885 Third Ave., known for its curvy design; and the largest skyscraper in Texas, the 75-story JPMorgan Chase Tower in Houston.
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This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Israel must allow the United Nations’ aid agency to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza, the International Court of Justice said Wednesday, labeling the country as an occupying power.
The nonbinding opinion by the top U.N. court, requested by the U.N. General Assembly last year to clarify the protections member states must provide their staff, carries little practical weight. A bigger issue is the stability of the fragile cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas that took effect Oct. 10. It was tested earlier this week after the Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes, saying Hamas militants had killed Israeli soldiers.
ENGLEWOOD — Metro Denver budtender Quentin Ferguson needs Regional Transportation District bus and trains to reach work at an Arvada dispensary from his house, a trip that takes 90 minutes each way “on a good day.”
“It is pretty inconvenient,” Ferguson, 22, said on a recent rainy evening, waiting for a nearly empty train that was eight minutes late.
He’s not complaining, however, because his relatively low income and Medicaid status qualify him for a discounted RTD monthly pass. That lets him save money for a car or an electric bicycle, he said, either of them offering a faster commute.
Then he would no longer have to ride RTD.
His plight reflects a core problem of lagging ridership that RTD directors increasingly run up against as they try to position the transit agency as the smartest way to navigate Denver. Most other U.S. public transit agencies, too, are grappling with a version of this problem.
In Colorado, state-government-driven efforts to concentrate the growing population in high-density, transit-oriented development around bus and train stations — a priority for legislators and Gov. Jared Polis — hinge on having a swift public system that residents ride.
But transit ridership has failed to rebound a year after RTD’s havoc in 2024, when operators disrupted service downtown for a $152 million rail reconstruction followed by a systemwide emergency maintenance blitz to smooth deteriorating tracks that led to trains crawling through 10-mph “slow zones.”
The latest ridership numbers show an overall decline this year, by at least 3.9%, with 40 million fewer riders per year compared with six years ago. And RTD executives’ newly proposed, record $1.3 billion budget for 2026 doesn’t include funds for boosting bus and train frequency to win back riders.
Frustrations intensified last week.
“What is the point of transit-oriented development if it is just development?” said state Rep. Meg Froelich, a Democrat representing Englewood who chairs the House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee. “We need reliable transit to have transit-oriented development. We have cities that have invested significant resources into their transit-oriented communities. RTD is not holding up its end of the bargain.”
At a retreat this past summer, a majority of the RTD’s 15 elected board members agreed that boosting ridership is their top priority. Some who reviewed the proposed budget last week questioned the lack of spending on service improvements for riders.
“We’re not moving the needle. Ridership is not going up. It should be going up,” director Karen Benker said in an interview.
“Over the past few years, there’s been a tremendous amount of population growth. There are so many apartment complexes, so much new housing put up all over,” Benker said. “Transit has to be relied on. You just cannot keep building more roads. We’re going to have to find ways to get people to ride public transit.”
Commuting trends blamed
RTD Chief Executive and General Manager Debra Johnson, in emailed responses to questions from The Denver Post, emphasized that “RTD is not unique” among U.S. transit agencies struggling to regain ridership lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson blamed societal shifts.
“Commuting trends have significantly changed over the last five years,” she said. “Return-to-work numbers in the Denver metro area, which accounted for a significant percentage of RTD’s ridership prior to March 2020, remain low as companies and businesses continue to provide flexible in-office schedules for their employees.”
In the future, RTD will be “changing its focus from primarily providing commuter services,” she said, toward “enhancing its bus and services and connections to high-volume events, activity centers, concerts and festivals.”
But agency directors are looking for a more aggressive approach to reversing the decline in ridership. And some are mulling a radical restructuring of routes.
Funded mostly by taxpayers across a 2,345 square-mile area spanning eight counties and 40 municipalities — one of the biggest in the nation — RTD operates 10 rail lines covering 114 miles with 84 stations and 102 bus routes with 9,720 stops.
“We should start from scratch,” said RTD director Chris Nicholson, advocating an overhaul of the “geometry” of all bus routes to align transit better with metro Denver residents’ current mobility patterns.
The key will be increasing frequency.
“We should design the routes how we think would best serve people today, and then we could take that and modify it where absolutely necessary to avoid disruptive differences with our current route map,” he said.
Then, in 2030, directors should appeal to voters for increased funding to improve service — funds that would be substantially controlled by municipalties “to pick where they want the service to go,” he said.
Reversing the RTD ridership decline may take a couple of years, Nicholson said, comparing the decreases this year to customers shunning a restaurant. “If you’re a restaurant and you poison some guests accidentally, you’re gonna lose customers even after you fix the problem.”
The RTD ridership numbers show an overall public transit ridership decrease by 5% when measured over the 12-month period from August 2024 through July 2025, the last month for which staffers have made numbers available, compared with the same period a year ago.
Bus ridership decreased by 2% and light rail by 18% over that period. In a typical month, RTD officials record around 5 million boardings — around 247,000 on weekdays.
The precautionary rail “slow zones” persisted for months as contractors worked on tracks, delaying and diverting trains, leaving transit-dependent workers in a lurch. RTD driver workforce shortages limited deployment of emergency bus shuttles.
This year, RTD ridership systemwide decreased by 3.9% when measured from January through July, compared with that period in 2024. The bus ridership this year has decreased by 2.4%.
On rail lines, the ridership on the relatively popular A Line that runs from Union Station downtown to Denver International Airport was down by 9.7%. The E Line light rail that runs from downtown to the southeastern edge of metro Denver was down by 24%. Rail ridership on the W Line decreased by 18% and on R Line by 15%, agency records show.
The annual RTD ridership has decreased by 38% since 2019, from 105.8 million to 65.2 million in 2024.
A Regional Transportation District light rail train moves through downtown Denver on Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Light rail ‘sickness’ spreading
“The sickness on RTD light rail is spreading to other parts of the RTD system,” said James Flattum, a co-founder of the Greater Denver Transit grassroots rider advocacy group, who also serves on the state’s RTD Accountability Committee. “We’re seeing permanent demand destruction as a consequence of having an unreliable system. This comes from a loss of trust in RTD to get you where you need to go.”
RTD officials have countered critics by pointing out that the light rail’s on-time performance recovered this year to 91% or better. Bus on-time performance still lagged at 83% in July, agency records show.
The officials also pointed to decreased security reports made using an RTD smartphone app after deploying more police officers on buses and trains. The number of reported assaults has decreased — to four in September, compared with 16 in September 2024, records show.
Greater Denver Transit members acknowledged that safety has improved, but question the agency’s assertions based on app usage. “It may be true that the number of security calls went down,” Flattum said, “but maybe the people who otherwise would have made more safety calls are no longer riding RTD.”
RTD staffers developing the 2026 budget have focused on managing debt and maintaining operations spending at current levels. They’ve received forecasts that revenues from taxpayers will increase slightly. It’s unclear whether state and federal funds will be available.
RTD directors and leaders of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, an environmental group, are opposing the rollback of RTD’s planned shift to the cleaner, quieter electric hybrid buses and taking on new debt for that purpose.
Colorado lawmakers will “push on a bunch of different fronts” to prioritize better service to boost ridership, Froelich said.
The legislature in recent years directed funds to help RTD provide free transit for riders under age 20. Buses and trains running at least every 15 minutes would improve both ridership and safety, she said, because more riders would discourage bad behavior and riders wouldn’t have to wait alone at night on often-empty platforms for up to an hour.
“We’re trying to do what we can to get people back onto the transit system,” Froelich said. “They do it in other places, and people here do ride the Bustang (intercity bus system). RTD just seems to lack the nimbleness required to meet the moment.”
Denver Center for the Performing Arts stage hand Chris Grossman walks home after work in downtown Denver on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Riders switch modes
Meanwhile, riders continue to abandon public transit when it doesn’t meet their needs.
For Denver Center for the Performing Arts theater technician Chris Grossman, 35, ditching RTD led to a better quality of life. He had to move from the Virginia Village neighborhood he loved.
Back in 2016, Grossman sold his ailing blue 2003 VW Golf when he moved there in the belief that “RTD light rail was more or less reliable.” He rode nearly every day between the Colorado Station and downtown.
But trains became erratic as maintenance of walls along tracks caused delays. “It just got so bad. I was burning so much money on rideshares that I probably could have bought a car.” Shortly before RTD announced the “slow zones” last summer, he moved to an apartment closer to downtown on Capitol Hill.
He walks or rides scooters to work, faster than taking the bus, he said.
Similarly, Honor Morgan, 25, who came to Denver from the rural Midwest, “grateful for any public transit,” said she had to move from her place east of downtown to be closer to her workplace due to RTD transit trouble.
Buses were late, and one blew by her as she waited. She had to adjust her attire when riding her Colfax Avenue route to Union Station to manage harassment. She faced regular dramas of riders with substance-use problems erupting.
Morgan moved to an apartment near Union Station in March, allowing her to walk to work.
She still hoped to rely on RTD for concerts and nightlife, and to reach DIA for work-related flights at least once a month. But RTD social media posts have alerted her to enough delays on the A Line that she no longer trusts it, she said. To reduce her “anxiety” and minimize the risk of missing her flights, she shells out for rides — even though these often get stuck in traffic.
She and her boyfriend recently tried RTD again, riding a train to the 38th and Blake Station near the Mission Ballroom. They attended “an amazing concert” there, she said, and felt happy as they walked to the station to catch the train home.
A man on the platform collapsed backward, hitting his head. He was bleeding. She called 911. Her boyfriend and other riders gathered. She ran across the street to an apartment building and grabbed paper towels. RTD isn’t really to blame, but “I just wish they had a station platform attendant, or someone. I do not know head-injury first aid,” Morgan said.
The train they’d been waiting for came and went. An ambulance arrived. They got home late, the evening ruined, she said.
“His head cracked open. He had skin flaps hanging off his head. This was stuck in my head, at least for the rest of the night.”
TEL AVIV—Israel conducted dozens of airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday and halted humanitarian aid into the enclave after it accused Hamas of killing troops inside Israeli-controlled areas in what is shaping up to be the biggest test yet of
the fragile cease-fire.
The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in southern Gaza, where militants targeted troops inside Israeli-controlled areas with an antitank missile and gunfire. Another soldier was severely injured, the military said.
Hamas made two other attempts to attack Israeli soldiers on Sunday, the military said.
Israel decided to halt humanitarian aid, which Israeli officials confirmed, following calls from Israeli politicians across the political spectrum for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respond forcefully to the attack against troops.
The National Hurricane Center tagged two new areas of interest in the Atlantic on Thursday. East of Windward IslandsA tropical wave located over the central tropical Atlantic is producing large areas of showers and thunderstorms. Gradual development of this system is expected over the next several days as it moves westward at 15 to 20 mph. This tropical wave is in the same area some long-range models have been hinting at development for next week as well.Regardless of the system’s development, heavy rainfall and gusty winds are possible as it moves across the Windward Islands and into the Caribbean Sea next week. Formation chances for the next two days: zero percentFormation chances for the next seven days: 30%North AtlanticA non-tropical area of low pressure is currently developing well off the coast of the Northeast United States.This system is expected to drop southeastward and then turn northeastward by this weekend.Some subtropical or tropical development could occur while the system moves over the Gulf Stream to the northeast of Bermuda. Formation chance through 48 hours: 10%Formation chance through 7 days: 10%Hurricane season 2025The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.>> More: 2025 Hurricane Survival GuideThe First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.>> 2025 hurricane season | WESH long-range forecast>> Download Very Local | Stream Central Florida news and weather from WESH 2
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We are tracking two features in the Atlantic tonight but it’s a wave in the Central Atlantic we’ll keep an eye on. Euro Ensembles still weaker and west but Google Deep Mind and the GFS Ensembles are leaning more northerly by late next Thursday. Stay with #weshwx for updates. pic.twitter.com/2UlDKGuGSw
A tropical wave located over the central tropical Atlantic is producing large areas of showers and thunderstorms.
Gradual development of this system is expected over the next several days as it moves westward at 15 to 20 mph.
This tropical wave is in the same area some long-range models have been hinting at development for next week as well.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Latest Global models have trended weaker in the short run with signs of life by late next week. Still not seeing anything right now that would suggest any concerns for #florida. Stay with #weshwx for updates. pic.twitter.com/KyocXzh2GK
Regardless of the system’s development, heavy rainfall and gusty winds are possible as it moves across the Windward Islands and into the Caribbean Sea next week.
Formation chances for the next two days: zero percent
Formation chances for the next seven days: 30%
North Atlantic
A non-tropical area of low pressure is currently developing well off the coast of the Northeast United States.
This system is expected to drop southeastward and then turn northeastward by this weekend.
Some subtropical or tropical development could occur while the system moves over the Gulf Stream to the northeast of Bermuda.
Formation chance through 48 hours: 10%
Formation chance through 7 days: 10%
Hurricane season 2025
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.
Gov. Gavin Newsom wrapped up the 2025 legislative session with the usual flurry of activity, signing several important environmental, energy and climate bills and vetoing others ahead of Monday’s deadline.
Among the newest laws in California are efforts to accelerate clean energy projects and advance the state’s position as a climate leader — but also decisions to ramp up oil drilling and reject the phase-out of forever chemicals.
Here’s a look at what happened this year:
In September, Newsom signed a blockbuster suite of bills including the reauthorization of California’s signature cap-and-trade program, which sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions and lets large polluters buy and sell emissions allowances at quarterly auctions. The Legislature extended the program by 15 years to 2045, rebranded it as “cap-and-invest” and specified how its revenues will be allocated for wildfire prevention efforts, high-speed rail and other projects.
The greenhouse gas trading program is seen as essential for the state to meet its climate targets, including reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
“California really needed to act this year to decisively try to put in policies to meet our climate goals [and support] the economy and different sectors,” said Susan Nedell, senior western advocate with the nonpartisan policy group E2. She called state legislative efforts especially important as the Trump administration aims to erode California’s authority on tailpipe emission standards, electric vehicle initiatives and renewable energy projects, among others.
“This is the time for California to lead, and I really feel like they came through on it as a state,” Nedell said.
WHAT ELSE BECAME LAW
One of the more controversial bills of the year was Senate Bill 237, which makes it easier to drill up to 2,000 new oil wells in Kern County. It’s a tradeoff that also makes it more difficult to drill new oil or gas wells offshore. Legislators said it will help address the volatility of gasoline prices following announcements from oil companies Phillips 66 and Valero that they are shutting down two big refineries in the state. Environmental groups were quick to condemn the bill.
Also controversial was Assembly Bill 825, which will expand California’s participation in a regional power market — enabling the state to buy and sell more clean power with other Western states. Opponents feared that it will cede some control of California’s power grid to out-of-state authorities, including the federal government. Supporters said it will improve grid reliability and save money for ratepayers.
January’s firestorm in L.A. led to a renewed focus on the state’s approach to fires, including Senate Bill 254, which contains various policies to address California’s aging electric infrastructure and wildfire prevention goals. It will secure about $18 billion to replenish the state’s wildfire fund — a state insurance policy for utilities — which officials say will help protect ratepayers from excessive utility liability costs. It also will establish a program to speed up the construction of power lines needed for clean energy projects.
Assembly Bill 39 requires cities and counties with at least 75,000 residents to plan for more electrification infrastructure by 2030, including electric vehicle charging and building upgrades. The measures must address the needs of low-income households and disadvantaged communities.
Senate Bill 80 will create a $5-million fund to accelerate research and development for fusion energy. Fusion creates energy by slamming two atoms together. The state hopes to launch the world’s first fusion energy pilot project by the 2040s. “Fusion energy has the immense potential to provide consistent, clean baseload power on demand that will help us meet our clean energy goals,” said Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Merced), the bill’s author, in a statement.
Assembly Bill 888 creates a grant program to help low-income homeowners clear defensible space around their houses and install fire-safe roofs. It is “exactly the kind of proactive, people-first policy California needs,” said Eric Horne, California director for the nonprofit Megafire Action, which is geared to ending large wildfires.
Senate Bill 653 means that state agencies have to pay more attention to using native species in their fire prevention work and use science-based standards to avoid introducing invasive, fire-prone species.
Senate Bill 429 establishes the Wildfire Safety and Risk Mitigation Program at the California Department of Insurance, which will fund research into developing and deploying a public wildfire catastrophe model — a computer simulation that estimates property damage from large wildfires and helps communities better assess and prepare for risk.
Assembly Bill 462 streamlines approvals for accessory dwelling units on properties affected by the 2025 wildfires in the California Coastal Zone, requiring decisions on coastal permits within 60 days and eliminating some appeals.
Assembly Bill 818 accelerates local permitting for rebuilding homes and allows residents to place temporary homes, such as manufactured homes or ADUs, on private lots during reconstruction.
Assembly Bill 245 gives residents additional time to rebuild their homes or businesses in the wake of the 2025 wildfires without experiencing a property tax increase.
Senate Bill 614 will establish new regulations for the safe transport of carbon dioxide captured from large polluters or removed from the atmosphere. The legislation will authorize the development of dedicated pipelines to move CO2 to underground geological formations for permanent storage, and was described by Newsom as a vital next step for the state’s burgeoning carbon capture, removal and sequestration market.
Assembly Bill 14 expands the “Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program” statewide. The program encourages large vessels to voluntarily reduce their speed in designated areas in order to reduce air pollution and reduce the risk of fatal vessel strikes and harmful underwater acoustic impacts on whales.
WHAT WAS VETOED
The governor vetoed Senate Bill 34, which would have required the South Coast Air Quality Management District to consider certain factors before implementing regulations at the region’s ports. Opponents, including health and environmental groups, said it would have ultimately weakened its authority and ability to meet clean air standards. In its place, the air district and the ports are pursuing a voluntary cooperative agreement that will include obligations for zero-emissions infrastructure and other clean-air efforts. “With the current federal administration directly undermining our state and local air and climate pollution reduction strategies, it is imperative that we maintain the tools we have,” Newsom wrote in his veto.
Assembly Bill 740 would have directed the state’s energy agencies to create an implementation plan for “virtual power plants” — networks of small energy resources such as smart thermostats, home batteries and rooftop solar panels that can help reduce strain on the grid. Newsom vetoed it earlier this month, stating that it would result in additional costs for the California Energy Commission’s already depleted operating fund. But Edson Perez, California lead at the nonprofit Advanced Energy United, called its veto a “costly mistake” and said the bill would have saved ratepayers more than $13 billion.
Newsom this week also vetoed Senate Bill 682, which would have phased out the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in consumer products such as nonstick cookwear and products for infants and children. The governor cited concerns about affordability in his veto.
Earlier this year, the governor also signed the most significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, since it originally became law in 1970. Signed in June, Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131 exempt a broad array of housing development and infrastructure projects from CEQA in an effort to ease new construction in the state. Supporters said it will help address the state’s housing crisis, while many environmental groups were outraged by the move.
“While California was able to advance on grid regionalization, strengthen energy affordability, uphold local air quality protection, and protect endangered species, we’re frustrated by the Governor’s vetoes of measures that would have banned forever chemicals, prioritized cost effective energy consumption, expanded virtual power plants to lower electricity bills, and banned microplastics,” said Melissa Romero, policy advocacy director with the nonprofit California Environmental Voters.
TEL AVIV—Israel and Hamas on Tuesday accused each other of violating the cease-fire that was part of the deal that
released all 20 living hostages from Gaza, with Israel reducing the humanitarian aid promised under the agreement to increase pressure on Hamas to return more bodies of deceased hostages.
Israelis celebrated the return of the living hostages on Monday, in what for many marked an end to the two-year Gaza war. But the families of the deceased hostages who are supposed to be returned to Israel as part of President Trump’s 20-point plan for peace said they were angered that only four of 28 bodies had been returned.
Hamas police are re-emerging on the streets of Gaza, and tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning to their homes following the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the implementation of a cease-fire that is bringing about an end to two years of war.
Palestinians are awaiting a surge of humanitarian aid as Israel prepared for a handover of about 20 living hostages held by Hamas. Both are expected in the coming days as part of a
deal orchestrated by President Trump and Arab and Muslim countries.
Watches, warnings discontinued as Tropical Storm Jerry weakens
CENTRAL FLORIDA IS AGAIN A HURRICANE HOTSPOT THIS YEAR. OH MY GOD. MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE PREPARING FOR THE POTENTIAL THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO EVACUATE. WE’VE SEEN THE IMPACT OF CATASTROPHIC STORMS. EVERY LOT THAT’S EMPTY WAS SOMEBODY’S HOME FOR 100 YEAR FLOODS. FLOODS THAT AREN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN FOR 100 YEARS HAVE HAPPENED FOUR TIMES IN THE LAST 6 TO 7 YEARS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER A HURRICANE. THE WESH TWO FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM IS HERE TO HELP. WE’RE STICKING TO A BUDGET FOR YOUR HURRICANE KIT AND STAYING IN TOUCH WITH LOCAL LEADERS ABOUT THEIR PLANS TO KEEP YOU SAFE. WE’VE BEEN WORKING ON A PROCESS SINCE MILTON IN ORDER TO BETTER THE SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE RESIDENTS. THE TIME TO PREPARE IS NOW. SURVIVING THE SEASON. THE 2020 HURRICANE SPECIAL. AS WE GET INTO THE THICK OF THE 2025 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON, YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF AND WHEN A STORM HEADS OUR WAY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. I’M STEWART MOORE AND I’M MICHELLE IMPERATO. WE HAVE A LOT TO COVER WHEN IT COMES TO STORM PREPARATIONS AND WHERE TO GET HELP AFTER A HURRICANE. BUT FIRST, THIS SEASON COMES WITH A LOT OF UNKNOWNS. THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, OR FEMA, STRUGGLED WITH BUDGET CUTS AND LAYOFFS THIS YEAR. THE FULL IMPACT REMAINS TO BE SEEN AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WORKS TO OVERHAUL THE AGENCY. IN JANUARY, PRESIDENT TRUMP FLOATED THE IDEA OF GETTING RID OF FEMA AND SHIFTING FEMA’S RESPONSIBILITIES TO STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALSO CUT FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, OR NOAA, WHICH PLAYS A BIG PART IN WEATHER FORECASTING. AND WHILE THE SITUATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT COULD CHANGE THE STEPS TO PREPARE FOR A HURRICANE ARE TRIED AND TRUE. SO THAT’S OUR FIRST WARNING. WEATHER TEAM IS FOCUSED RIGHT NOW, STARTING WITH CHIEF METEOROLOGIST TONY MAINOLFI. WITH THE 2025 HURRICANE SEASON OUTLOOK. AND HERE WE GO AGAIN. I TELL YOU WHAT, ONCE AGAIN, MICHELLE IT LOOKS ACTIVE. YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. NOW NOAA CAME OUT WITH THEIR OUTLOOK 13 TO 19 NAMED STORMS. COLORADO STATE RIGHT AROUND 17. YOU GO TO WESH 16 TO 20 AND THE NUMBER OF MAJOR HURRICANES. NOW GUYS RUNNING BETWEEN ABOUT 3 TO 6. AGAIN, THE NORMAL IS 14, NINE AND THREE. SO JUST ABOVE THE NORMAL THERE OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, THAT’S SOMETHING WE’RE GOING TO BE WATCHING. THERE’S REALLY THREE MAIN FACTORS WHY WE THINK IT’S GOING TO BE ABOVE AVERAGE SEASON. YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE WARMER THAN AVERAGE OCEAN WATER TEMPERATURES, ESPECIALLY IN THE GULF AND THE CARIBBEAN. THE FORECAST FOR WIND SHEAR LOOKS LOW. REMEMBER, THE STRONGER THE WINDS, THE GREATER THE SHEAR. THE WINDS DO APPEAR TO BE LOOKING LIGHT, AND THERE’S GOING TO BE MORE ACTION NOW FROM THE WEST AFRICAN MONSOON. THE MORE MOISTURE OFF THE WEST COAST, THE GREATER THE RISK THERE IS FOR THESE TROPICAL WAVES TO DEVELOP. SO WHAT I WANT TO SHOW YOU HERE IS THE NORMAL WATER TEMPERATURES VERSUS VERSUS WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. AND WE ARE RUNNING ABOVE NORMAL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO AND IN THE CARIBBEAN. AND BEFORE JUNE. THIS IS THE AREA THAT WE LIKE TO WATCH. SO WE’LL BE WATCHING THAT INTENTLY, THOUGH FOR NOW WE ARE IN GOOD SHAPE. GUYS, BACK TO YOU. HURRICANE HELENE AND MILTON CAUSED WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION AFTER MAKING LANDFALL ON THE GULF COAST LAST YEAR. THIS DRONE VIDEO SHOWS THE DAMAGE ON ANNA MARIA ISLAND. THE STORMS ALSO PACKED A PUNCH FURTHER INLAND. METEOROLOGIST ERIC BURRIS REMINDS US HURRICANES ARE NOT JUST A CONCERN FOR THE COAST. LAST YEAR WAS A TOUGH LESSON FOR SO MANY THAT STORMS ARE CLEARLY NOT JUST COASTAL EVENTS. HELENE TRIGGERED LANDSLIDES AND FLOODING IN THE CAROLINAS, FAR FROM THE GULF COAST, WHERE IT MADE LANDFALL A FEW WEEKS LATER. DURING MILTON, FLAGLER COUNTY SUFFERED SOME OF THE GUSTIEST WINDS, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS FAR FROM THE CENTER OF THE STORM. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LOST POWER, AND ROUGH SURF ENTERED PEOPLE’S BACKYARDS. THERE CAN BE EFFECTS. HUNDREDS OF MILES OUTSIDE OF THAT CONE. FLAGLER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER JONATHAN LORD SAYS MANY PEOPLE HAVE MOVED TO THE AREA IN RECENT MONTHS. HE WANTS NEWCOMERS TO KNOW IF A STORM HEADS ANYWHERE NEAR FLORIDA. THEY NEED TO BE READY. MOSTLY WITH PEOPLE MOVING IN FROM OUT OF STATE. WHO’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED A HURRICANE BEFORE. OR SOMETIMES I’M TOLD THEY HEAR FROM THE REALTORS THAT WE DON’T GET HURRICANES IN THIS PART OF THE STATE. DEFINITELY NOT TRUE. AS WE TRACK THE TROPICS THIS YEAR, THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS REMINDING EVERYONE THAT THE CONE, WHICH IS ONLY CONCERNED WITH THE CENTER OF THE STORM, IS JUST ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE. THE HAZARDS ARE INCREASINGLY FALLING OUTSIDE OF THE CONE. JAMIE RHOME, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, SAYS THIS IS ACTUALLY FOR GOOD REASON. THE CONE HAS GOTTEN SMALLER AND SMALLER OVER TIME AS FORECAST ACCURACY HAS IMPROVED. LAST YEAR TO TRY AND BETTER COMMUNICATE IMPACTS COUNTY BY COUNTY. THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER ADDED ADVISORIES OVER TOP OF THE CONE TO INCLUDE THREATS OVER LAND, AS WELL AS COASTLINE. SO IMMEDIATELY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CONE, THE FIRST THING YOU SEE IS, IS ALL THIS COLOR AND HOW FAR INLAND IT GOES. SO WE THINK IT’S A BETTER WAY TO COMMUNICATE. YOUR BEST SHOT AT SURVIVING THE SEASON IS TO HAVE A HURRICANE KIT STOCKED AND READY TO GO. METEOROLOGIST KELLIANNE KLASS SHOWS US BEING PREPARED DOES NOT NEED TO BREAK THE BANK EVERY HURRICANE SEASON. WE ALWAYS TELL YOU TO HAVE A HURRICANE SUPPLY KIT, BUT LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGERS ARE SAYING, LET’S GO AWAY WITH THE 72 HOUR SUPPLY KIT AND GO FOR A DISASTER SUPPLY KIT THAT CAN HAVE YOUR FAMILY BEING FED FOR UP TO FIVE DAYS OR EVEN LONGER. AND THAT CAN GET PRETTY HEAVY ON WALLETS. BUT TODAY WE’RE AT A LOCAL DOLLAR TREE AT 1792, IN FERN PARK TO SEE HOW MUCH WE CAN GET WITH $100, WE HAVE OUR LIST READY, AND NOW WE’RE GOING TO GO SEE HOW MUCH WE CAN GET. LET’S GO SHOPPING. OKAY, SO THE FIRST THING THAT WE’RE GOING TO DO IS STIR KNOWS THEY’RE IN THE PARTY SECTION. AND THESE ARE GOOD UP TO TWO HOURS. SO WE’RE GOING TO GET FIVE IN THIS AISLE WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR LOSS OF POWER. THERE’S YOUR TRADITIONAL FLASHLIGHT. BUT YOU ALSO HAVE THE OPTION OF AN LED LANTERN. EXTRA BATTERIES SHOULD BE ON YOUR DISASTER KIT. AND THE DOLLAR STORE HAD PLENTY OF THEM. I DIDN’T HAVE THIS ON THE LIST, BUT YOU DO NEED A LIGHTER FOR THE STERNO, SO I’M GOING TO ADD THIS TO IT. AND IF YOU NEED CANDLES, THEY DO HAVE TEA, LIGHT CANDLES. IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL OF THEIR SUPPLIES STOCKED UP. WE GRABBED A FEW CHILDREN’S WIPES, WHICH COULD ALSO DOUBLE AS CLEANSING WIPES FOR ADULTS. THE DOLLAR STORE HAD DIAPERS IN STOCK, BUT FOR $6 PER PACKAGE, THE AMOUNT OF DIAPERS PER PACKAGE DEPENDS ON THE CHILDREN’S SIZE. BANDAGES ARE IMPORTANT TO HAVE IN ANY DISASTER KIT. WE PICKED UP SELF-ADHERING BANDAGE WRAP AND ADHESIVE BANDAGES. WE ALSO GRABBED ANTISEPTIC TO HELP CLEAN THE WOUNDS. IBUPROFEN IS GOING IN THE CART AS WELL. NOW WE’RE ON TO NONPERISHABLE FOOD. WE’RE IN THE SNACK AISLE AND NOW IS THE TIME TO GET SNACKS THAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MAY ENJOY. PEANUT BUTTER. NOW WE’RE ON TO SHELF STABLE ITEMS, SO THIS IS GOING TO BE YOUR CANNED MEATS, YOUR CANNED VEGETABLES, ANYTHING THAT CAN SIT ON A SHELF IN CASE YOU LOSE POWER. YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE ONE OF THESE A CAN OPENER, BUT THIS IS A REALLY CHEAP AND AFFORDABLE OPTION, AND WE’RE GOING TO BE OPENING A LOT OF CANS, DISPOSABLE PLATES. PLASTIC WARE AND PAPER TOWELS ARE GOOD TO STOCK UP ON TO. HELLO, HELLO. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD. YOU GOOD? TO ONE 1053. WE ENDED UP GOING ABOUT $10 OVER BUDGET, BUT I DID START OUR DISASTER KIT FROM SCRATCH. YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF THESE ITEMS AT YOUR HOME ALREADY. AND I ALSO DID ADD A COUPLE OF ITEMS INTO MY BASKET THAT WERE NOT ON THE LIST. OVERALL, YOU SHOULD TAILOR YOUR DISASTER KIT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY’S NEEDS. ADD A GENERATOR TO YOUR SHOPPING LIST IF YOU NEED A BACKUP SOURCE FOR POWER, YOU MIGHT BE IN THE DARK FOR DAYS AFTER A BIG STORM. CHIEF METEOROLOGIST TONY MAINOLFI SHOWS US THE PROPER WAY TO USE A GENERATOR. HURRICANE SEASON IS HERE AND A LOT OF FOLKS ARE GOING TO START RUNNING THESE GENERATORS. WE WANT YOU TO KEEP THEM 20FT AWAY FROM YOUR HOUSE, NOT INSIDE YOUR GARAGE, TO PREVENT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT THING IS GENERATOR MAINTENANCE. NUMBER ONE, YOU ALWAYS WANT TO RUN IT A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR TO MAKE SURE THERE’S NO LEFTOVER FUEL IN THERE. THAT’S NEVER GOOD FOR YOUR GENERATOR. AND WHEN YOU’RE DONE USING IT, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NO FUEL IN THERE. OTHERWISE, YOUR GENERATOR MAY NOT START UP WHEN THE NEXT HURRICANE ARRIVES. AND FOLKS, PLEASE REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING YOUR GENERATOR. TIME AND TIME AGAIN. HURRICANES LEAD TO FLOODING HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA AFTER FLOODED AFTER IRMA IN 2017, THE ORLO VISTA COMMUNITY FLOODED DURING IAN IN 2022, AND RISING WATERS FROM MILTON FORCED PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR HOMES INTO LAND LAST YEAR. PROPERTY OWNERS DEALING WITH REPEAT FLOODING ARE READY TO GIVE UP THEIR LAND. METEOROLOGIST CAM TRAN LOOKED INTO A PROGRAM MANY COUNTIES OFFER WITH THE HELP OF FEDERAL DOLLARS, WHAT IS NOW A CORDONED OFF LOT IN SANFORD USED TO LOOK LIKE THIS A TWO STORY HOME BELONGING TO A LOCAL FAMILY. BUT AFTER YEARS OF SEEING THEIR HOME DAMAGED BY FLOODING, THE FAMILY SOLD THE PROPERTY TO SEMINOLE COUNTY. THIS PARTICULAR HOME BACK HERE WAS SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS, WHICH MEANS THAT IT WAS SUSTAINING FLOOD DAMAGE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. FEMA OFFERS GRANTS TO PROPERTY OWNERS WHO EXPERIENCE REPETITIVE DAMAGE FROM FLOODING. THE FUNDING IS DISTRIBUTED TO INDIVIDUAL COUNTIES, INCLUDING SEMINOLE COUNTY, SO THERE’S THREE PROGRAMS. THERE’S BUYBACK. SO WE BUY OUT AN ACQUISITION DEMOLISH. THERE’S ELEVATE. SO WE TAKE THE HOME AS IT IS AND ELEVATE. AND THEN THERE’S ELEVATE RECONSTRUCT. SO ELEVATE RECONSTRUCT WOULD BE A CONCRETE MASONRY BLOCK HOME. YOU CAN’T JUST PICK IT UP. SO IT WOULD REQUIRE US TO PICK IT UP. BUT WHILE WE’RE PICKING IT UP WE’RE CONSTRUCTING WE’RE DOING CONSTRUCTION THAT’S GOING TO COST MORE MONEY. ANY PROPERTY OWNER WHO WANTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FEMA GRANT WILL NEED TO BE PATIENT. IT CAN TAKE MONTHS, EVEN YEARS, TO GET THAT FEDERAL FUNDING APPROVED. VOLUSIA COUNTY IS CONSIDERING A SIMILAR PROGRAM. IT WAS AWARDED $20 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO BUY BACK FREQUENTLY FLOODED HOMES. WE CAN’T BUY THEM ALL, BUT THERE’S SOME THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE. DELAND ON TAYLOR AVENUE, THERE IS A HOME THAT’S ACTUALLY THE HOMEOWNERS COME TO US AND SAID, WOULD YOU WOULD YOU BUY US OUT? AND THEY SAY THAT WITH TEARS IN THEIR EYES. DONNA ROONEY HAD FOUR FEET OF WATER IN HER HOUSE AFTER HURRICANE MILTON. SHE HOPES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS BUYBACK PROGRAM. THAT’S WHAT WE WANTED FROM THE BEGINNING. WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF REBUILDING OR REFURBISHING THIS HOME. HUD STILL NEEDS TO APPROVE THE PROGRAM BEFORE IT CAN TAKE EFFECT. NEXT, ON SURVIVING THE SEASON. OUR FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM SPENT MONTHS ANALYZING WEATHER PATTERNS AND PINPOINTING THE HOT SPOTS FOR A BIG STORM. PLUS, HOW TO IDENTIFY THE SAFEST PLACE TO HUNKER DOWN DURING A TORNADO AND THE FUNDING STILL AVAILABLE. IF YOUR HOME SUFFERED DAMAGE DURING HURRICANE IAN. NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS OR KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAM, AND THAT’S A SHAME. ONE NEIGHBOR LOOKING TO REBUILD IS SPREADING THE WORD TO HELP OTHERS JUST LIKE HER. OVER THE PAST YEAR, OUR FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM HAS BEEN ANALYZING WEATHER PATTERNS TO PREDICT WHEN WE COULD GET A BIG STORM IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. METEOROLOGIST ERIC BURRIS WAS ABLE TO PREDICT WITH 85% ACCURACY LAST YEAR, WHERE BIG STORMS WENT AND WHEN THEY MADE LANDFALL. HE’S DOING IT AGAIN AND PRESENTS THIS YEAR’S LONG RANGE FORECAST. HEY, THAT’S RIGHT. THE OVERALL PATTERNS THIS YEAR CLEARLY SHOW THE GULF AS THE HOT SPOT FOR ACTIVITY YET AGAIN. BUT THE WAY MY LONG TERM FORECASTING WORKS IS LOOKING AT LONG TERM FORECASTING CYCLES. SO LET’S BREAK IT DOWN. THE FIRST PART OF THE PATTERN THAT WE WATCH IS THE NORTHERN GULF COAST, FOR WHAT SHOULD BE THE SLOW MOVING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE. EARLY JUNE, BUT IN PARTICULAR LATE JULY AND AROUND THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER, THEN ALONG THE NORTHERN GULF COAST YET AGAIN, I’VE OBSERVED AN OVERALL WEATHER PATTERN SHOWING A STORM SYSTEM AGAIN MID JUNE, BUT MOREOVER, LATE JULY AND INTO EARLY SEPTEMBER. BUT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, INTO THE PANHANDLE AND OUR WEST COAST, THE BIGGEST PART OF THE PATTERN I’M WATCHING FOR THREATS IN THIS AREA IS THIS ONE WITH AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE THAT SEEMINGLY WANTS TO CROSS THE GULF AND WORK TOWARD OUR WEST COAST. SO WATCH THESE DATES VERY CLOSELY. LATE JUNE, EARLY AUGUST AND MID SEPTEMBER. AND LASTLY, OUT OF ALL THE DATA OVER THE MONTHS AND MONTHS OF GATHERING MY NUMBERS FOR THIS YEAR’S HURRICANE FORECAST, WHILE ABOVE AVERAGE, ARE NOT CALLING FOR A HYPERACTIVE SEASON. EITHER WAY, WE HAVE A CLEAR THREAT TO WATCH FOR, AND THUS WE’LL NEED TO KEEP OUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL. BUT KNOW THIS YOUR FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM WILL BE HERE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. WHEN THERE’S A RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES WATCHES AND WARNINGS. YOU’LL HEAR OUR FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM USE THESE TERMS A LOT. METEOROLOGIST MARQUISE MEDA EXPLAINS WHAT THEY MEAN. THINK OF IT LIKE COOKING PASTA. A WATCH IS WHEN YOU PUT A POT OF BOILING WATER ON THE STOVE. THE HEAT IS ON. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE AND YOU’RE WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN. A WARNING MEANS THAT WATER IS BOILING AND IT’S TIME TO ADD THE PASTA. OR IN WEATHER TERMS, THE EVENT IS HAPPENING NOW AND YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY. JUST LIKE YOU DON’T WALK AWAY FROM A POT THAT’S HEATING UP, YOU SHOULD IGNORE A WATCH. CONDITIONS. THEY CAN CHANGE QUICKLY AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THAT GENTLE SIMMER CAN TURN INTO A ROLLING BOIL. SO DURING A WATCH, STAY ALERT AND BE PREPARED. BUT IF IT’S A WARNING, BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER. BECAUSE JUST LIKE A POT OF BOILING WATER, SEVERE WEATHER DOESN’T WAIT. BEFORE MILTON MADE LANDFALL IN FLORIDA LAST YEAR, THE STORM SPAWNED MANY TORNADOES, INCLUDING ONE IN BREVARD COUNTY. THIS VIDEO SHOWS SOME OF THE DAMAGE IT CAUSED. METEOROLOGIST CAM TRAN EXPLAINS WHERE YOU SHOULD TAKE COVER IN A TORNADO. THE SAFEST PLACE TO GO DURING A TORNADO WARNING IS TO THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOUSE. MAKE SURE THAT AREA IS NOT CONNECTED TO ANY EXTERIOR WALLS OR WINDOWS. YOUR SAFE ROOM COULD BE A CLOSET, A BATHROOM, OR EVEN A HALLWAY LIKE THIS ONE. BUT IN THIS HOUSE, THE SAFEST ROOM TO BE IN IS ACTUALLY THIS INTERIOR BATHROOM. IT IS AWAY FROM ANY EXTERIOR WALLS OR WINDOW, AND IT’S THE MOST INTERIOR ROOM OF THIS HOUSE. IF YOU LIVE IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING OR YOU’RE WORKING AT AN OFFICE HIGHRISE, SIMILAR RULES APPLY. GO TO THE BOTTOM AND THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR BUILDING. AND IF YOU CAN’T GO TO AN INTERIOR HALLWAY. AS WE PREPARE FOR THE NEXT BIG STORM, MANY HOMEOWNERS ARE STILL TRYING TO RECOVER FROM PAST DISASTERS. CHIEF METEOROLOGIST TONY MAINOLFI SHOWS US A PROGRAM RIGHT HERE IN ORANGE COUNTY THAT’S HELPING FOLKS GET BACK ON THEIR FEET. THE ORANGE COUNTY RECOVERS PROGRAM HAS SET ASIDE $59 MILLION TO HELP RESIDENTS OF ORANGE COUNTY AND ITS MUNICIPALITIES REPAIR, REBUILD AND REPLACE ELIGIBLE HOMES WITH REMAINING DAMAGE FROM HURRICANE IAN. IT IS A GRANT, SO THAT’S GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYBODY. IT’S NOT ALONE. FOLKS ARE ABLE TO APPLY FOR THESE FUNDS AND CAN DO SO UNTIL THE MONEY RUNS OUT. SHERI JILLIAN WITH THE DISASTER RECOVERY TEAM, EXPLAINS WHO’S ELIGIBLE. NUMBER ONE, YOU MUST HAVE OWNED THE PROPERTY AND RESIDED IN THE PROPERTY AS YOUR PRIMARY RESIDENCE, SO OWNED PRIOR TO IAN, AND STILL OCCUPY THE RESIDENCE AS YOUR PRIMARY RESIDENCE, YOU MUST BE A LOW TO MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUAL, WHICH IS 80% AMI. YOU MUST HAVE A CURRENT MORTGAGE AND TAXES ON THE PROPERTY. ONCE ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN APPROVED, THE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT WILL BE DETERMINED. FROM THERE, THE HOMEOWNER WILL THEN BE GIVEN SOME MONEY SO THAT THE REPAIRS CAN BE MADE ON THEIR HOME, AND THEY CAN HOPEFULLY GET THEIR LIVES BACK IN ORDER. DEBBY RYAN LIVES IN ORLO VISTA. IT WAS LIKE A RIVER AND IT WAS VERY FAST MOVING AND EVERYTHING. SHE GAVE US A TOUR OF HER HOME WHICH FLOODED DURING HURRICANE IAN IN 2022. THIS WAS ALL WATER. WATER WAS UP TO THAT SECOND STEP AND THAT WAS ON FRIDAY. SO I DON’T KNOW HOW HIGH IT WAS BEFORE THEN AND ALL THAT HIGH WATER DEVASTATED THE INSIDE OF MANY PEOPLE’S HOMES. FLOORING IS COMING APART, PLUMBING FOR LAUNDRY ROOMS IS DAMAGED. THERE’S MOLD INSIDE HOMES AND IN SOME CASES, MOBILE HOMES WERE DESTROYED AND HAD TO BE TAKEN AWAY. RYAN IS APPLYING FOR THE COUNTY’S PROGRAM AND WANTS TO MAKE SURE HER NEIGHBORS KNOW ABOUT IT, TOO. THERE’S 6000 PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN ORLO VISTA. YOU SAW HOW FEW PEOPLE WERE THERE. THEY’RE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO HELP PEOPLE. THE ONLY CONCERN I HAVE IS THAT NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS OR KNOW ABOUT THE PROGRAM, AND THAT’S A SHAME. THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO APPLY FOR FUNDING. WE POSTED THAT INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE, WESH.COM. UNDER THE HURRICANE TAB. TRIM THE TREES, CLEAR YOUR YARD, FILL YOUR GAS TANK. THESE ARE ALL STANDARD THINGS WE DO TO PREPARE FOR A HURRICANE. METEOROLOGIST KELLIANNE KLASS REMINDS US NOT TO FORGET ABOUT THE SMALLER TASKS THAT CAN MAKE LIFE A LOT LESS STRESSFUL. IF YOU LOSE POWER OR ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER. WASH YOUR DISHES AND DO YOUR LAUNDRY. FILL UP ANY PRESCRIPTIONS YOU MAY NEED. IF YOU HAVE A DOG, MAKE SURE TO GET SOME PEE PADS. IT COULD BE A WHILE BEFORE THEY CAN GET OUTSIDE AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOOD, WATER, AND LITTER FOR YOUR PET. CHARGE ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CHARGE BANKS. WALK THROUGH YOUR HOME AND TAKE VIDEO OF EVERYTHING. IT WILL HELP YOU IF YOU NEED TO MAKE A CLAIM LATER. FILL PLASTIC BAGS WITH WATER AND FREEZE THEM BEFORE THE STORM. OH, AND DON’T FORGET TO COOLER. DON’T WAIT UNTIL A STORM IS COMING TO CHECK YOUR INSURANCE. UP NEXT, THE SPECIFIC PROTECTIONS YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR IN YOUR HOME INSURANCE POLICY. AND SANDBAGS CAN KEEP THE WATER OUT, BUT ONLY WHEN USED CORRECTLY. WE GET OUR HANDS DIRTY, SHOWING YOU THE FASTEST AND EASIEST WAY TO FILL. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR INSURANCE BEFORE A BIG STORM HITS. FIRST WARNING, METEOROLOGIST CAM TRAN EXPLAINS WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE FINE PRINT. REVIEW YOUR HOMEOWNER’S POLICY BY LOOKING AT THE DECLARATION PAGE. THAT’S WHERE YOU’LL FIND YOUR COVERAGE LIMITS AND DEDUCTIBLES. EXPERTS SAY THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION HAS GONE UP IN RECENT YEARS, SO YOU MAY HAVE A SHORTFALL IN COVERAGE IF YOU HAVEN’T UPDATED YOUR POLICY IN A WHILE. IT’S ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO GET FLOOD INSURANCE, EVEN IF YOU DON’T LIVE IN A FLOOD ZONE. THIS IS NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR TRADITIONAL HOME POLICY. EXPERTS HIGHLY RECOMMEND FLOOD INSURANCE EVEN IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, ESPECIALLY AFTER WE SAW SIGNIFICANT FLOODING DURING HURRICANES IAN AND MILTON. YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO GET YOUR INSURANCE POLICIES IN PLACE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. ONCE A WATCH OR WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED, YOU CAN NO LONGER ADD OR CHANGE A HOMEOWNER’S POLICY FOR FLOOD INSURANCE POLICY. IT’S EVEN LONGER. IT TAKES 30 DAYS TO TAKE EFFECT. SANDBAGS ARE OFTEN THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE IN PROTECTING YOUR HOME FROM RISING WATERS, BUT MANY PEOPLE DON’T KNOW HOW TO FILL THEM UP OR LAY THEM DOWN PROPERLY. FIRST WARNING METEOROLOGIST MARQUISE MEDA SHOWS US THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO USE SANDBAGS. EVERY YEAR A STORM SEASON APPROACHES. WE COVER SANDBAG DISTRIBUTION SITES ACROSS THE REGION. HOMEOWNERS LINE UP EAGER TO FILL UP SANDBAGS TO PROTECT THEIR HOME FROM RISING WATERS. SO WE PROVIDE THE BAGS, WE PROVIDE THE SAND. WE PROVIDE THE MECHANISM. THE RESIDENTS HAVE TO PROVIDE THEIR THEIR ENERGY AND AND THEIR THEIR BODY STRENGTH TO DO THIS. I GOT HANDS ON TRAINING WITH THE ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. WE ROLLED UP OUR SLEEVES AND GOT TO WORK. IT’S 3 OR 4 SHOVEL FULLS. YOU DO NOT WANT TO FILL THE BAGS ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP. YOU WANT TO LEAVE SOME SPACE IN ORDER TO TIE THEM OFF. SHOVELING INTO THE BAG CAN BE TRICKY. SO THE COUNTY MADE FUNNELS TO HELP OUT. SO THESE ARE OUR OLD SAFETY CONES THAT WE’VE HAD SITTING ON A SHELF. TURN THEM UPSIDE DOWN AND THEY MAKE A WONDERFUL FUNNEL. OFFICIALS SAY FUNNELING SAND TAKES LESS TIME THAN SHOVELING. SO THIS METHOD COULD GET THE LINE MOVING AND PEOPLE CAN GET HOME FASTER. TO MY SURPRISE, THE BAGS WEIGHED LESS THAN I EXPECTED BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT FILLED TO THE BRIM. THEY’RE MUCH EASIER TO PICK UP. THEY ARE ABOUT 10 TO 12 POUNDS EACH. IF YOU FILLED IT CORRECTLY, YOU’LL GET TEN SANDBAGS PER RESIDENT. TEN SANDBAGS CAN DO A LOT. THEY WILL TYPICALLY COVER THE AVERAGE SLIDING GLASS DOOR. THE FRONT OF A GARAGE DOOR. PLACEMENT IS KEY AND SO IS PROPER LAYERING. ONCE YOU PLACE THE SANDBAGS, YOU WANT TO STACK THEM IN 2 TO 3 LAYERS. MAKE SURE THAT NO WATER CAN SEEP THROUGH SO WE OFFSET THEM. WE GO STACK THEM OFFSET. SO YOU LAY YOUR FIRST FOUNDATION DOWN AND THEN YOU OFFSET ON TOP AND OVER ON TOP OF THE OTHER ONE. WHEN THE NEXT BIG STORM HEADS YOUR WAY, YOU CAN EXPECT FREE SANDBAG LOCATIONS TO OPEN IN JUST ABOUT EVERY CENTRAL FLORIDA COUNTY. WESH TWO IS COMMITTED TO HELPING YOU GET READY FOR WHATEVER COMES OUR WAY THIS HURRICANE SEASON. RIGHT NOW ON WESH.COM, YOU CAN FIND OUR 2025 HURRICANE SURVIVAL GUIDE. IT BREAKS DOWN IN DETAIL EVERYTHING YOU SHOULD DO BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A BIG STORM. AND IT’S FREE FROM THE WESH TWO NEWS AND FIRST WARNING WEATHER TEAM. THANKS FOR WATCHING. STAY SAFE THIS HURRICANE SEASON.
Watches, warnings discontinued as Tropical Storm Jerry weakens
Tropical Storm Jerry is weakening in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center. >> Video above: A hurricane special from WESH 2All watches and warnings have been discontinued, the NHC said. Jerry was initially forecast to strengthen into a hurricane; however, the system is struggling and beginning to pull away from the Northern Leeward Islands. For parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and eastern Puerto Rico, Jerry may result in an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain.This rainfall is not expected to cause any additional flash flooding concerns, NHC says. Maximum sustained winds: 60 mphMinimum central pressure: 1004 mb >> Subscribe to the WESH 2 YouTube channel Watches and Warnings All watches and warnings have been discontinued. Hurricane season 2025The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.>> More: 2025 Hurricane Survival GuideThe First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.>> 2025 hurricane season | WESH long-range forecast
Tropical Storm Jerry is weakening in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center.
>> Video above: A hurricane special from WESH 2
All watches and warnings have been discontinued, the NHC said.
Jerry was initially forecast to strengthen into a hurricane; however, the system is struggling and beginning to pull away from the Northern Leeward Islands.
For parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and eastern Puerto Rico, Jerry may result in an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain.
This rainfall is not expected to cause any additional flash flooding concerns, NHC says.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.
A California physicist and Nobel laureate who laid the foundation for quantum computing isn’t done working.
For the last 40 years, John Martinis has worked — mostly within California — to create the fastest computers ever built.
“It’s kind of my professional dream to do this by the time I’m really too old to retire. I should retire now, but I’m not doing that,” the now 67-year-old said.
Born and raised in San Pedro, Martinis said his California high school teachers influenced him to pursue his career. A physics teacher got him interested in the topic, he said, and a math teacher taught him rigor, work ethic and organization.
“I think before then I’d just write down the solution” rather than showing his process, he joked in an interview with The Times.
As an undergraduate senior at UC Berkeley in the 1980s, he met John Clarke, a British physicist and professor who would become his graduate advisor and Michel Devoret, a French physicist who worked with him as a postdoctoral researcher.
John Clarke, right, a professor emeritus of physics, looks on during a celebration at UC Berkeley on Oct. 7, 2025, after he and fellow physicists Michel Devoret and John Martinis were awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in physics for their work on quantum tunneling.
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
“This was a fantastic experience, to be mentored by two wonderful people,” he said during a news conference Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara, where he works as a professor. “I learned so much from them that, through my whole career, I was kind of trying to re-create that spirit that we had in there.”
Martinis was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in physics, alongside Clarke and Devoret, for his doctoral project, a series of experiments in the mid-1980s that proved quantum tunneling was possible with large objects, which became the basis for the development of quantum computers as well as much of the current research in that field.
Both Clarke and Devoret are based in the U.S. and associated with the University of California system — Clarke as a professor emeritus at Berkeley and Devoret as a professor at UC Santa Barbara.
“I loved Berkeley. It was great to be taught by these really amazing professors,” Martinis said, noting the university’s cutting-edge facilities that supported the experiments. “As a student, I could focus on just being a good scientist.”
Martinis went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship in France, then returned stateside to Boulder, Colo., where he worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a U.S. government lab. In 2008 he moved back to California to work at UC Santa Barbara as a professor, and in 2014, Google hired him and Devoret to create an experimental quantum processor faster than any human supercomputer — which his team completed five years later.
“It really was all this basic research we did for decades that enabled this to happen and enabled us to have a vision … to build this thing,” Martinis said.
He chose UC Santa Barbara as a workplace not just because of the great location and weather, but also for its advanced facilities and community. Researchers from other disciplines — such as engineers and materials scientists who build semiconductors — are able to freely communicate and collaborate with his team.
“Working with talented and friendly people at the university is really special,” he said. “You can actually get things done.”
Martinis said he has enjoyed hearing back from former students who have reached out to celebrate his award. Speaking to students years after they take his classes and grasp the effect on their lives has been refreshing. His work over the years has spawned an industry that created thousands of well-paying jobs for people across the country, he said.
He praised the UC system for its culture and collaboration with the private sector and government, but said that research and development for quantum computers in the U.S. must urgently speed up if we expect to see it in our lifetimes.
After leaving Google in 2020, Martinis co-founded his private company, QoLab, in 2022 with a belief that advanced semiconductor chips are the path to achieving usable quantum computers. The company has begun collaborating with other startup companies and academic groups involved in semiconductor production, he said.
“I think this collaborative model is going to be more fruitful because we really get a lot of interesting ideas,” Martinis said. “We have a lot to catch up on. But it’s a very good atmosphere to invent things.”
TRACK THE TROPICS WITH FIRST WARNING. METEOROLOGIST ERIC BURROUGHS. WE HAVE BEEN SO FORTUNATE SO FAR THIS HURRICANE SEASON. KNOCK ON WOOD, THAT PERSISTS. I MEAN, ALL OF THE HURRICANES HAVE STAYED AWAY FROM THE UNITED STATES. WE STILL HAVE ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF TO GO FOR HURRICANE SEASON. SO LET’S MONITOR AND SEE HOW THIS PLAYS OUT. THE GOOD NEWS DOES NOT LOOK LIKE JERRY WILL BE A LANDFALL FOR US. IT’S UNDERGOING SOME SIGNIFICANT WIND SHEAR, BUT AS THE HURRICANE HUNTERS HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING, THEY HAVE FOUND IT GRADUALLY INTENSIFYING. WINDS ARE NOW AT 65 MILES AN HOUR. SO JERRY CONTINUES TO DEVELOP. WE THINK IT BECOMES A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE AS IT LIFTS TO THE NORTH AND EVENTUALLY MAKES A HARD RIGHT TURN. IT GETS CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE LEEWARD ISLANDS AND WINDWARD ISLANDS, THOUGH, THAT THEY DO HAVE TROPICAL STORM WATCHES POSTED, SO IT IS EXPECTED TO STAY NORTH OF THEM. BUT SOME OF THOSE SQUALLY CONDITIONS MAY MOVE IN. SO IF YOU’VE GOT FRIENDS OR FAMILY THAT LIVE OUT THERE, JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. ELSEWHERE, WE ARE WATCHING. THIS IS EXTRATROPICAL. INVEST 96. JUST SOMETHING INTERESTING TO LOOK AT. HAS A LOW END 10% CHANCE OF
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring Tropical Storm Jerry. Bookmark this page for the latest maps and spaghetti models for Jerry. Hurricane season 2025The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.>> More: 2025 Hurricane Survival GuideThe First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.>> 2025 hurricane season | WESH long-range forecast>> Download Very Local | Stream Central Florida news and weather from WESH 2
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring Tropical Storm Jerry.
Bookmark this page for the latest maps and spaghetti models for Jerry.
Hurricane season 2025
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.
Real estate developer Post Brothers has secured a $170 million loan to start construction on the second phase of its Piazza Alta project in Northern Liberties, where two new buildings will add another 431 apartments to the first phase of the complex completed two years ago.
Financing for the next phase of the development will come from San Antonio-based Affinius Capital, the Commercial Observer reported Monday.
Post Brothers, run by brothers Matthew and Michael Pestronk, has led a transformation of the former Piazza at Schmidt’s and its surrounding parcels over the last several years. In 2018, they had purchased the original Piazza apartments and retail complex, built by developer Bart Blatstein in the 2000s and then acquired a controlling stake in plans to expand at the corner of Second Street and Germantown Avenue in 2019
The first phase of Piazza Alta included five-story, 12-story and 16-story buildings with a combined 695 units. The second phase of the market-rate development will add an eight-story building and a 16-story building atop a pair of podiums that were constructed with ground floor retail during the first phase.
The two new buildings will have a mix of studios and one- to three-bedroom apartments along with a rooftop pool, fitness center and co-working space. Post Brothers aims to complete the expansion by the end of 2027, bringing the development to a total of 1,126 apartments.
The Pestronk brothers told the Philadelphia Business Journal that Piazza Alta’s first phase is now 97% leased.
Northern Liberties saw a construction boom in the years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, including several other projects nearby the Piazza. Southwood Properties opened up its 55-unit Eight Two Eight building at Second and Poplar streets last year and Stamm Development Group opened the 50-unit Beverly building along Germantown Avenue. Among other multifamily projects in the neighborhood, Jefferson Apartment Group and Haverford Properties also debuted their 470-unit Rivermark development at Spring Garden Street and Christopher Columbus Boulevard last year.
Affinius Capital’s loan for the second phase of Piazza Alta comes amid a cooling off in new construction in Philadelphia, part of a national trend triggered by high interest rates and increased building costs. In 2024, the number of permits issued for new residential construction in Philadelphia fell to the lowest level since 2013, according to a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
“This project aligns with our strategy of financing exceptional multifamily assets with top-tier sponsorship,” Affinius Capital senior vice president Perry Katz told the Commercial Observer.
DENVER — Demolition crews are tearing down the former Denver7 building at 123 Speer Boulevard.
On Thursday, Denver7 got an up-close look at the progress.
The building, which served as the home of Denver7 for decades, is being demolished using conventional methods rather than implosion due to cost considerations, according to Paul Koch, Construction Executive for Milender White.
Denver7
“It’s not as easy as just pressing a button,” Koch said. “They’re crunching and munching with the teeth and the jaws.”
Demo crews expect the entire building to be down in about four weeks.
After that, they’ll focus on clearing out the site and priming it for development.
The demolition comes after a challenging period for the property. Asbestos abatement was completed in five months. Since the new owner, Property Market Group (PMG), took over, the site became a target for vandals and was added to Denver’s list of derelict and neglected buildings.
“There was a tremendous amount of damage that had been done,” said Albus Brooks, vice president of Milender White. “People were in there, you know, taking wiring and casings and sleeping in there and living in there.”
Denver7
Brooks said the issues have since been cleaned up, and the focus is now on the future.
“I’m not going to get into all the details of what this is going to be, but I can let everybody know in this neighborhood that it will be a transformative project,” Brooks said.
Construction crews working on the project weren’t forthcoming with details about what the transformation will entail.
However, renderings show plans for a mixed-use development called “Society Denver” — a high-rise apartment community with around 400 units and retail space. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
Local real estate expert Lori Abbey said redevelopment projects citywide are taking longer than expected due to challenging market conditions.
“It’s a perfect storm of not great scenarios all at the same time,” Abbey said.
Abbey said the cost of labor and tariffs is impacting the industry, significantly reducing profit margins for developers.
“I have a lot of development projects going on right now, and a lot of them are where maybe we priced the numbers on a 30% profit margin,” Abbey said. “We’re talking a profit margin of 3% to 5% now.”
Denver7
When asked about solutions for getting projects like Society Denver off the ground quickly, Abbey suggested incentives are needed.
“I think that people there need to be incentives for people to be able to do this development,” Abbey said.
While it’s too early to tell what will ultimately call this site home or when construction will be complete, the demolition marks a new chapter for this stretch of Speer Blvd.
“This building has stood the test of time for many years,” Koch said.
A new chapter for 123 Speer: Demolition is underway at old Denver7 building
Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Claire Lavezzorio
Denver7’s Claire Lavezzorio covers topics that have an impact across Colorado, but specializes in reporting on stories in the military and veteran communities. If you’d like to get in touch with Claire, fill out the form below to send her an email.
The National Hurricane Center is now monitoring two areas of interest in the Atlantic Ocean, including one in the Gulf. >>Video in player is previous forecastThat’s why rain is in the forecast for much of the weekend. Below: Eric Burris has a long-range look at tropicsNorth-Central GulfA weak area of low pressure has formed over the north-central Gulf and is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. This system is expected to move slowly northwestward during the next day or two, reaching the coast of Texas by Monday. Development of this system is not expected due to strong upper-level winds.Formation chance through 48 hours: 0%Formation chance through 7 days: 0%Tropical AtlanticA tropical wave between the west coast of Africa and Cabo Verde Islands is producing a broad area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Gradual development of the wave is possible over the next few days, and it could become a tropical depression by the middle to latter part of next week while moving across the central tropical Atlantic and approaching portions of the Leeward Islands.Formation chance through 48 hours: 10%Formation chance through 7 days: 60%Hurricane season 2025The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.>> More: 2025 Hurricane Survival GuideThe First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.>> 2025 hurricane season | WESH long-range forecast>> Download Very Local | Stream Central Florida news and weather from WESH 2
The National Hurricane Center is now monitoring two areas of interest in the Atlantic Ocean, including one in the Gulf.
>>Video in player is previous forecast
That’s why rain is in the forecast for much of the weekend.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Below: Eric Burris has a long-range look at tropics
This content is imported from YouTube.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
North-Central Gulf
A weak area of low pressure has formed over the north-central Gulf and is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. This system is expected to move slowly northwestward during the next day or two, reaching the coast of Texas by Monday. Development of this system is not expected due to strong upper-level winds.
Formation chance through 48 hours: 0%
Formation chance through 7 days: 0%
Tropical Atlantic
A tropical wave between the west coast of Africa and Cabo Verde Islands is producing a broad area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Gradual development of the wave is possible over the next few days, and it could become a tropical depression by the middle to latter part of next week while moving across the central tropical Atlantic and approaching portions of the Leeward Islands.
Formation chance through 48 hours: 10%
Formation chance through 7 days: 60%
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
8 PM TROPICAL UPDATE: Chances for development of the wave off the coast of Africa is now at 50%. Models want to develop it late next week. The LATEST Global models take this feature near the Lesser Antilles in a week and then more NW from there. Stay with #weshwx for updates. pic.twitter.com/VNsgJQqHqP
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on-air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.
In the sweeping Southern California metropolis spanning from Santa Barbara to the Mexico border, Camp Pendleton has long remained the largest undeveloped stretch of the coastline.
The 17 miles of beach and coastal hills has, since World War II, proven critical in preparing soldiers for amphibious missions. The bluffs, canyons and mountainous terrain that comprise the interior of the base has been fertile training ground for those sent to conflicts in the Middle East and beyond.
But change may be on the horizon.
The United States Department of Defense is considering making a portion of the 125,000 acre base in northwestern San Diego County available for development or lease in what, if successful, would be unprecedented for the military installation.
“There’s no place in Southern California like Camp Pendleton when it comes to open space along the coast,” said Bill Fulton, a professor of practice in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at UC San Diego.
Marine recruits rest while the rest of the remaining platoons in their company to catch up at Camp Pendleton in 2020.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda/San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)
In late August, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan conducted an aerial tour of Camp Pendleton and visited with Marines at the base where he had “initial conversations about possible commercial leasing opportunities” by the Department of Defense, Phelan’s spokesperson Courtney Williams told The Times.
“These opportunities are being evaluated to maximize value and taxpayer dollars while maintaining mission readiness and security,” Williams said in a statement. “No decisions have been made and further discussions are needed.”
Details about the sites being considered for commercial lease remain unclear. Officials with Camp Pendleton declined to comment to The Times.
A view of the sign at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Discussions over the 83-year-old base comes at a time when the Trump administration is more aggressively trying to use public lands to raise money for the federal government and rolling back protections on open space.
The administration this month proposed rescinding a Biden-era rule that sought to protect public lands from industrial development and instead prioritizing the use of the land for oil and gas drilling, coal mining, timber production and livestock grazing.
Secretary Doug Burgum has repeatedly emphasized that federal lands are untapped assets worth trillions of dollars.
“We believe that our natural resources are national assets that should be responsibly developed to grow our economy, help balance the Budget, and generate revenue for American taxpayers,” he said in a statement to Congress in May.
A man takes in the view of Camp Pendleton property. Camp Pendleton has long remained the largest undeveloped stretch of the coastline in California.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
While there has been development on Camp Pendleton those projects have solely been for military uses. A large hospital was recently added, and there are various buildings for the base’s more than 42,000 active duty personnel.
Camp Pendleton has won praise for balancing national security needs with environmental preservation.
In 2022, Camp Pendleton was named the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s military conservation partner of the year for its efforts to support the recovery of several species, including the tidewater goby, coastal California gnatcatcher, the arroyo toad and southern California steelhead.
Conservation and management of the least Bell’s vireo, California least tern, and western snowy plover have resulted in significant increases to on-base populations of these species, according to the agency.
A marine walks through the Santa Margarita River running through Camp Pendleton, where the arroyo toad can be found.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
In addition to endangered populations, the base is home to a herd of North American bison, one of only two wild conservation herds of bison in California.
Past efforts to build more on the camp have not been popular with the public.
In the mid-1990s, the U.S. Marine Corps put forth a plan to build 128 homes for officers and their families on a 32-acre bluff at San Mateo Point near Trestles Beach, one of the nation’s most famous surfing spots. The California Coastal Commission ultimately rejected the project.
In 2021, the Department of the Navy issued a request for information to seek feedback on hosting “critical energy and water infrastructure resiliency projects” on a portion of Camp Pendleton.
In the document, the department sought information on long-term partnerships to plan, design, construct and operate facilities that could include energy generation, transmission and storage, microgrid technologies, water desalination, drought mitigation, stormwater management, reuse or alternative use of decommissioned energy infrastructure, high speed fiber communications, data centers or residential, commercial or industrial purposes.
It is not clear whether any potential projects were identified from the request for information.
Motorists travel the 5 Freeway with military housing at San Mateo Point in the background.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
NBC News reported that funds from development on Camp Pendleton could potentially fund Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense project, citing defense sources. But officials have not publicly specified where funds would be allocated.
Absent specifics, it’s challenging for people in the areas immediately around the base to know what to expect and how to prepare, Fulton said.
“Are we talking about little shopping centers or high-rise hotels?” he said. “You would assume that the military has certain constraints that they would want to impose to protect their activities, but we just don’t know.”
Given the base’s coastal location, development on the site could certainly be fruitful for the federal government. Developers have long had their eye on smaller swaths of coastal land in Southern California. Years-long battles between developers and environmentalists were waged in the fight over proposed housing and commercial developments at Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach and Banning Ranch in Newport Beach. Ultimately, those projects were scrapped.
Camp Pendleton, bordered by San Clemente to the north and Oceanside to the south, opened in 1942 during World War II at a time when the military was looking for large places to train soldiers, particularly for amphibious missions in the Pacific. It became a permanent installation two years later and has trained thousands of service members, sending troops to battle in Operation Desert Storm and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Camp Pendleton has a deeply entwined relationship with its southern neighbor, Oceanside, once a sleepy beachside town turned military city and recreation hub.
In 1940, the city’s population was 4,652. Ten years later, it had swelled to more than 12,800 and grew further as the United States entered the Korean War and more service-connected families moved into the region, according to census data.
Development on the base would certainly have an effect on Oceanside, city leaders say.
Service members and their families frequently travel off the base to surrounding communities to shop and dine out, providing a steady customer supply for local businesses including those that cater heavily to Marines including dry cleaners, tailors, barbershops and military surplus stores. The base’s regional economic impact is more than $6 billion dollars annually, according to the city.
“I think it would be very concerning to see large scale development without collaboration with local municipalities,” said Oceanside Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce. Joyce said the city hasn’t yet been given any insight into the federal government’s plans for the base.
“We have neighborhoods that are literally right up to the gate, who are very impacted when there are changes in traffic or other developments there,” Joyce said, adding that the city has a deep respect for the base and any shifting away from its original mission of training Marines would “be deeply concerning.”
Several homeowners insurance companies that had either left the state or limited policies are coming back or committing to staying in California’s market, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of insurance said on Wednesday. The development comes about nine months after Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the department overhauled California’s insurance regulations after several companies had either dropped policies or limited them in the state. KCRA 3 was the first to report the update on Wednesday, after Gov. Newsom appeared to tell Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative that a handful of companies were coming back to the state. Newsom made the remarks in New York after Clinton asked Newsom what he thought should be done about the situation, which Newsom called one of the most pressing global issues. “We just had four of our admitted market come back,” Newsom told Clinton. “In the last two days or so we had our fourth come back in. We had a lot of folks who were leaving the market, they simply said it was too expensive and the losses are too significant.”Following the remarks, KCRA 3 asked the California Department of Insurance to confirm. A spokesman for the department said the governor’s remarks were accurate and provided a list of the companies that were committing to staying in California. The spokesman noted the list includes three of the state’s largest insurers. The five companies listed are Mercury, CSAA, USAA, Pacific Specialty and California Casualty. After this story first published Wednesday, both USAA and Mercury clarified in separate statements to KCRA 3 the company never stopped writing coverage in the state. A spokesman for Mercury would not say if the state leaders mischaracterized the situation but said they had “simplified” it.The new rules that lured the companies to return or do more business in the state allow insurance companies to consider new factors when they set premiums, including the likelihood of a catastrophe and the cost insurance companies pay to insure themselves, also known as reinsurance. In exchange, the companies have promised to provide more coverage in high-wildfire risk parts of California. State leaders have also been pushing to bring companies back into the market to reduce the number of properties relying on California’s FAIR plan, the state’s insurance of last resort. The plan provides insurance to those who can’t get private insurance and has been facing significant financial challenges as it takes on more claims. “The Sustainable Insurance Strategy helps restore stability and access to California’s homeowners insurance market,” said Mark Pitchford, the Chief Operating Officer at California Casualty Group in a press release Wednesday. “We appreciate all the work being done by the Commissioner and the Department to make coverage more accessible to homeowners across the state.”All five insurers have requested rate increases of 6.9%, according to Michael Soller, a spokesman for the California Department of Insurance. Soller noted the rate increase is identical to thousands approved under past insurance commissioners, but with a promise to remain and grow in the state. “This is a far cry from what has happened in the past, when insurance companies increased their rates and dropped policies,” Soller told KCRA 3 in an email. “Under Commissioner Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, we are seeing initial signs of market improvement despite the devastating L.A. wildfires. We won’t declare victory prematurely. We will thoroughly review companies’ rate filings to make sure consumers do not pay more than is required.” Speaking with Clinton, the governor acknowledged the new rules will allow for more rapid rate increases.”I think this issue requires leadership at the national level, it is under resourced, under focused. It’s a challenge for me, a challenge for Ron DeSantis, for governors in most states but it’s not top of mind and I think we need to be more focused on it,” Newsom said. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Several homeowners insurance companies that had either left the state or limited policies are coming back or committing to staying in California’s market, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of insurance said on Wednesday.
The development comes about nine months after Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the department overhauled California’s insurance regulations after several companies had either dropped policies or limited them in the state.
KCRA 3 was the first to report the update on Wednesday, after Gov. Newsom appeared to tell Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative that a handful of companies were coming back to the state. Newsom made the remarks in New York after Clinton asked Newsom what he thought should be done about the situation, which Newsom called one of the most pressing global issues.
“We just had four of our admitted market come back,” Newsom told Clinton. “In the last two days or so we had our fourth come back in. We had a lot of folks who were leaving the market, they simply said it was too expensive and the losses are too significant.”
Following the remarks, KCRA 3 asked the California Department of Insurance to confirm. A spokesman for the department said the governor’s remarks were accurate and provided a list of the companies that were committing to staying in California. The spokesman noted the list includes three of the state’s largest insurers. The five companies listed are Mercury, CSAA, USAA, Pacific Specialty and California Casualty.
After this story first published Wednesday, both USAA and Mercury clarified in separate statements to KCRA 3 the company never stopped writing coverage in the state.
A spokesman for Mercury would not say if the state leaders mischaracterized the situation but said they had “simplified” it.
The new rules that lured the companies to return or do more business in the state allow insurance companies to consider new factors when they set premiums, including the likelihood of a catastrophe and the cost insurance companies pay to insure themselves, also known as reinsurance. In exchange, the companies have promised to provide more coverage in high-wildfire risk parts of California.
State leaders have also been pushing to bring companies back into the market to reduce the number of properties relying on California’s FAIR plan, the state’s insurance of last resort. The plan provides insurance to those who can’t get private insurance and has been facing significant financial challenges as it takes on more claims.
“The Sustainable Insurance Strategy helps restore stability and access to California’s homeowners insurance market,” said Mark Pitchford, the Chief Operating Officer at California Casualty Group in a press release Wednesday. “We appreciate all the work being done by the Commissioner and the Department to make coverage more accessible to homeowners across the state.”
All five insurers have requested rate increases of 6.9%, according to Michael Soller, a spokesman for the California Department of Insurance. Soller noted the rate increase is identical to thousands approved under past insurance commissioners, but with a promise to remain and grow in the state.
“This is a far cry from what has happened in the past, when insurance companies increased their rates and dropped policies,” Soller told KCRA 3 in an email. “Under Commissioner Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, we are seeing initial signs of market improvement despite the devastating L.A. wildfires. We won’t declare victory prematurely. We will thoroughly review companies’ rate filings to make sure consumers do not pay more than is required.”
Speaking with Clinton, the governor acknowledged the new rules will allow for more rapid rate increases.
“I think this issue requires leadership at the national level, it is under resourced, under focused. It’s a challenge for me, a challenge for Ron DeSantis, for governors in most states but it’s not top of mind and I think we need to be more focused on it,” Newsom said.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a large tropical wave in the Atlantic. Invest 94-L is producing disorganized showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds for most of the Windward and Leeward Islands. This wave is forecast to move west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph. Heavy rainfall and gusty winds are expected in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands tonight and on Wednesday, according to NHC. The system is expected to slow down and shift northwest when it arrives in the southwestern Atlantic near the Bahamas later this week.A tropical depression could develop in that area. The NHC advised that the following regions should keep an eye on the system: the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas. Formation chance through the next 48 hours: 30%Formation chance through the next 7 days: 70%Hurricane season 2025The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.>> More: 2025 Hurricane Survival GuideThe First Warning Weather team includes First Warning Chief Meteorologist Tony Mainolfi, Eric Burris, Kellianne Klass, Marquise Meda and Cam Tran.>> 2025 hurricane season | WESH long-range forecast
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a large tropical wave in the Atlantic.
Invest 94-L is producing disorganized showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds for most of the Windward and Leeward Islands.
This wave is forecast to move west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph.
Heavy rainfall and gusty winds are expected in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands tonight and on Wednesday, according to NHC.
The system is expected to slow down and shift northwest when it arrives in the southwestern Atlantic near the Bahamas later this week.
A tropical depression could develop in that area.
The NHC advised that the following regions should keep an eye on the system: the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas.
Formation chance through the next 48 hours: 30%
Formation chance through the next 7 days: 70%
Hurricane season 2025
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Stay with WESH 2 online and on air for the most accurate Central Florida weather forecast.
