It’s no secret the price of groceries and gasoline has gone up significantly in the last year. The economic news is gloomy and seems to get worse every day. And for many people, including senior citizens living on fixed incomes in Southwest Florida – the reality of the economic downturn has filtered into their day to day lives. WGCU’s Valerie Alker prepared this report.

The jobless rate in Lee County is now at its highest point in more than 13 years. But even as many employment opportunities are leaving the area some officials say opportunity is still out there. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports.

The food pantry at the Salvation Army in Collier County has never been so empty…and officials say it’s directly linked to the housing downturn. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry reports.

Classes begin Monday on the new campus of Ave Maria University near Naples. And residents are beginning trickle in to the new town of Ave Maria. Both are the result of money and influence wielded by self-made billionaire Tom Monaghan of Dominos Pizza fame. Monaghan is a devoutly conservative Catholic interested in creating a legacy. But how far his influence will extend has raised some concerns. WGCU’S Valerie Alker reports.

Sarasota is well known for its’ beaches, architecture, and arts driven lifestyle. And it just made Money Magazine’s list of top spots for young retirees too.

Sarasota is ranked the seventh best place to retire young according to a Money Magazine. The magazine’s editors looked at things like recreation and arts, cost of living, and proximity to a metropolitan area. The only thing going against Sarasota was the cost of housing. Visitor’s bureau spokeswoman Erin Duggan says her department has to work a little harder every time a tourist becomes a resident…but the exposure is great for the area.

“We’re still thrilled when we get in positive stories such as in Money Magazine…what we’re most excited about is that it raises the awareness of Sarasota.”

Other cities listed in the magazine include: Charlottesville Virginia, Logan Utah, and Manhattan Kansas. No other Florida cities were in the top ten, but four others did make the top 100.

Americans eat more than 4 pounds of shrimp per person each year, making it our most popular seafood. And more shrimp are off-loaded and processed in Lee County than anywhere else in Florida. Yet despite numbers that should indicate a thriving local industry, Fort Myers Beach shrimpers say they’re barely getting by. In part 2 of our series on the San Carlos Island shrimping fleet, WGCU’s Christine Buckley has more.

The Chamber of Southwest Florida’s annual Regional Economic Outlook Conference starts Thursday at the Harborside Event Center in Ft. Myers. Every year the conference focuses on a different economic theme...this year it is the region’s Health-Care industry. Steve Tirey is the Chamber President and conference organizer.

A new survey finds Floridians aren’t all that confident about the state’s economy. The University of Florida monthly consumer confidence report fell in August to its lowest level in more than 13 years. U-F Economist and Survey Research Director Chris McCarty cites soaring energy costs, stock market swings and most notably: a housing slowdown.

“A lot of people like with the dot-coms really did not believe that there could be a downturn in housing and I think what we’re now seeing is obviously that does happen and has happened before. I think there’s cause for concern in some markets that are overvalued.”

McCarty singles out Naples, specifically. He says real estate investors bid up that housing market to unsustainable levels. When consumer confidence is low, people don’t spend as much money. McCarty has also predicted this sagging of consumer confidence for several months and was surprised it didn’t show up sooner.
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University of Florida economists say consumer confidence in the state has dipped to its lowest level in more than a dozen years. The August survey found the decline was broad-based. People cited concerns over high energy costs, uncertainty over the national economy and a housing slowdown. U-F Survey Research Director Chris McCarty says the decline in consumer confidence was most pronounced in people younger than 60. He says that’s not surprising because those are the people who had been using their homes as cash machines.

“They would be more in the market to be selling their homes. And that’s where we’re really seeing an impact. There’s been an incredible increase in the inventory of homes. They’re just not moving nearly as fast as they have been over the last several years.”

McCarty expects Florida’s housing market to remain unsettled for the rest of this year and into the early part of 2007. And he expects coastal communities will continue to see further housing slowdowns beyond that.

Shares of Fort Myers-based Chico’s tumbled more than 20-percent Thursday. It comes a day after the women’s specialty clothing company announced a disappointing outlook for next year. In a conference call, Chico’s C-E-O Scott Edmonds said August has been a disappointment for the company. Chico’s operates more than 800 stores under the Chico’s name and White House | Black Market, Soma and Fitigues. Edmonds said for the first time in nine years, the company sales sagged and he cited a stale marketing campaign, specifically the monthly catalog books they mail to customers.

“If you go pull our books from five years ago and you look at them and look at the book that went out in July, there’s not much difference. After a while, it starts to look like wallpaper. We have to spend as much time and effort on revitalizing our marketing effort as we do on our merchandise.”

Edmonds said they’ve already hired a marketing expert who is making changes and he expects to see improvements soon. But earnings will continue to be hurt because of the company’s expansion plans.

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Investors punished shares of Chico’s Thursday. The Fort Myers-based women’s clothing company announced its sales for the rest of the year would be impacted by a sluggish marketing campaign and changes in its growth plans. In a teleconference today, Chico’s C-E-O Scott Edmonds said the company has already hired a new marketing expert. They’re also planning how to improve sales at their stores, which are projected to be lower for the first time in nine years.

“We’re in a show-me mode. We have to show each other and show the investment community that we can correct this and deliver and that’s where all of our focus is.”

Chico’s operates more than 800 stores around the country under the Chico’s name and also White House/Black Market and Soma. More than 12-thousand people work for the company. Its stock traded down more than 20-percent today.

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