Daylight saving & Halloween fun

Good morning and welcome to Tampa Bay Live. I'm your host, Mariah Harrison, sitting in for Regina Gonzalez while she enjoys some well-deserved time off. So today is Friday, October 30th. We've got one sleep until Halloween. It's all treats, no tricks coming up on the show for you this morning. However, we do want to dip into a live event happening right now. This is the Milwaukee Brewers. Celebration parade after winning the World Series. Check it out, I mean, they are shutting this city down. It's been an amazing season for the Brewers. Do we wish we were doing the same thing here in the Bay Area? Absolutely, but you do have to give the Brewers their due. Again, they had an amazing season. What a great run, it'll be our time. Our time is coming up, Braves fans, we are patient. And it will be our turn, but right now, you do have to give it up for the Brewers. So here's what we know about what's going on in Milwaukee right now. I believe they shut down school for this so that all the fans of all ages, from grade school up to grandma and grandpa, could come out and celebrate their big. Team win. So they're doing everything right now at their intersection of North Vel R. Phillips Avenue, 4th Street, and West Wisconsin Ave. If you have ever been to Milwaukee, I think this is a pretty popular intersection, especially right now. They're having an end rally at Henry Mayer Festival Park, their Summerfest grounds that has completely opened up to the public, and people started lining up at 8 o'clock this morning. We've seen all kinds of things rolling down the street, everybody with a smile on their face I think a minute ago, me and my producer Lindsey, we saw a honey badger going down the street. No context, just celebrations. Look at all these fans, check it out, good for them. But like I said, I wish we were doing this here in the Bay Area. But let's talk about what's coming up for you this morning on Tampa Bay Live. Because we do have some exciting stuff happening back here in the Bay Area. Starting with, I mean, what looks to be travel for the future. Check this out. An aviation company debuting their brand new air taxi and completing a full test flight from St. Pete over to Tampa. It was an incredible thing to watch. Not only a look to the future, but also a nod to the past. So we're going to have more on this later with also some remarks from Governor Ron DeSantis, who was there to see it all. Also straight ahead, I mean, don't forget Guys, we are falling back this Sunday. It's time to reset those clocks. This weekend, we are gaining an hour of sleep, shifting from daylight saving time to daylight standard time. I mean, more sleep, it always sounds great, right? Well, turns out that may not always be the case. So what we're going to do today is we're going to talk with a neurologist about the pros and the cons of springing forward and falling back, but also the do's and don'ts to consider this weekend to just set yourself up for success. You want to rock the time change. You don't want the time change to rock you, right? And for the parents out there with toddlers going through a sleep regression, first of all, I emotionally identify with you. But we're also going to see if we can get some answers to some questions about how to go through this time change with young ones at home, because that is its particular challenge, a unique challenge in itself, right? And those nice fall breezes, since we are falling back, Those lower temps that we're enjoying right now. I mean, it can only mean. I mean, one thing, right? Here come the manatees. The Crystal River Manatee Viewing Center opening up for the season this weekend as our favorite sea potatoes. That's what I like to refer to manatees as. They're sea potatoes to me. But they search for that warmer water that they love to swim in. This is absolutely one of my favorite. Places in the Bay Area. I always bring family members, snowbirds that I know. I bring everybody down here and we go see all of the manatees. This is truly a Bay Area favorite. Manatees have been using this warm water next to Crystal River's Big Bend plant since the 70s. Not much has changed here. So we're going to talk live with a rep from the center to hear what's new for the season and how they're gearing up for all of the visitors. But of course, like I said, we've got one sleep till Halloween. Right. So it's getting scary around here. Halloween events are sure to be packed this weekend, especially at the theme park. So we actually sent our social media guru undercover, actually under heavy makeup to see what it takes to get the screams going. Also, we're going to find out what it takes to get all that makeup off. I'm guessing a lot of elbow grease, a lot of scrubbing. Maybe a couple of beauty blenders. So we're going to talk live with Amari Craft coming up. But right now, let's head outside to a place where we all mentally wish we could be right now. Paradise Grill, Pass-A-Grill Beach. I mean, talk about gorgeous. Yes. To be those people just at the edge of the water, looking at the waves, getting a snack. Let's head on over to meteorologist Jim Weber over in the weather center now. I mean, Jim, talk about gorgeous. Hopefully, we've got more of that gorgeous weather for the trick-or-treat forecast. Yeah, we're gonna try. The issue is now we're starting to get some of these clouds. That was a beautiful camera there. So some areas are seeing plenty of sun, especially as you look down to our south. Other areas dealing with some of these clouds that we've had around. And I do think we're going to see more clouds as we go through the weekend. We're also, we're going to be watching those rain chances. Unfortunately, we've got a lot of outdoor activities this weekend. So we're going to have to watch closely because that rain may be a bit of an issue as we go through the weekend. But you look out at the beach, Clearwater Beach, beautiful out there right now. You look over Tampa and you do see the cloudy skies. You are seeing some clouds over downtown Sarasota as well. We've been in and out of some of these clouds, that visible satellite loop, you can see where these clouds are right now. You look down to our south, and you're starting to see a few of these clouds starting to build in that persistent north and northeasterly wind. But notice as you move up into, say, Hernando, up into Citrus County, thicker clouds up in those areas, so mainly cloudy skies. Now, none of these are producing any rain at the moment, but we do have some showers over on the other side of the state, over towards, say, Down towards Port St. Lucie, down towards Jupiter, you're seeing some showers in that direction. So we will continue to see more of these little small showers moving across the state today. Our rain chance, only about 10% for today, but it's gonna continue to work its way up as we go through the weekend, in fact. As we go through the weekend by Sunday, seeing that rain chance much, much higher about the highest we've seen in quite some time. 79 degrees right now here in Tampa, Lakeland 79, Sarasota a warm 82 degrees. Probably noticed over the past couple of days, that humidity level, that's been sneaking back up. So that dew point number, once that gets up into the 70s, it feels a bit more humid. And that's exactly where we are right now. And we're going to hold pretty much at that same level of humidity as we go through the weekend. It's kind of a sticky, somewhat of a sticky Halloween. So if you watch that future cast, you just see a lot of clouds. You see some of these showers down to our south and east. Notice as we go through the day, you see that best chance of rain, which isn't huge, but it's mainly down to our south. Manatee, Sarasota County, as we go through the afternoon. But I want you to watch as we get into the weekend. Here we are heading through Saturday, Saturday afternoon. You see a few of these scattered showers around, so we'll bump that rain chance. Up to about 30% as we go through tomorrow afternoon. The issue is some of these showers could linger into the evening hours along the West Coast. So just keep that in the back of your mind for the trick-or-treaters tomorrow evening. It may have a couple of lingering showers, but they'll be winding down as the evening goes on. And then as we head into Sunday, you see those rain chances. They're starting to head up. You see a lot of that rain sitting off to our west. Moving in our direction as we go through Sunday afternoon and into the evening. So that's an increase in those rain chances as we head into Sunday. I think we're up to about a 60% chance. So trick-or-treaters, spooky, some stray spooky showers in the evening hours. 80 degrees, but that temperature dipping back down into those upper 70s as we go through the evening sunset there at 6:46. Seven-day forecast. You see that rain chance, it's up to 60%, of course, tomorrow night, heading into Sunday. Remember, we turn those clocks back as well, an extra hour over the weekend. But these temperatures, they stay on the warmer side, and those rain chances, they're there. They're not huge as we head into next week, Brian. Jim, I love what you said there. A stray spooky shower, not a regular shower. It's Halloween weekend, so it's a spooky shower. It's got to be spooky. It's getting spooky around here. All right, thanks, Jim. Okay, so since it is Halloween weekend, I mean, we've been reaching out really all week long just seeing how you're getting ready for Halloween. We want to see how you're decorating your house, what you're going out as, the costume, what you're putting your dog in, if your dog tolerates a Halloween costume. Thankfully, mine does. Thankfully, Kiki's been He's been well trained, but this is how we want you to share that with us. So we have a QR code and you can scan it right there live on the screen. Show us your Halloween decorations, but we also wanna see those costumes and we're gonna try to bring those to you throughout the hour and just highlight some of our favorites. So right now it's about 11:10, we're gonna take a quick break and we'll see you back here in just a few minutes. So right now, we are mentally, physically getting ready for daylight saving time. It's something that we do every year. We fall back, we spring forward. Right now, we are in daylight saving, but we're getting ready to fall back into daylight standard time. And there are some pros and cons with this. At 2 a.m., we're going to be gaining an hour on Sunday. So that means by this time this weekend, it won't actually be this time because we're falling back. And while an extra hour of sleep sounds really great, especially when you've got a toddler going through a sleep regression, right? Parents, I hear you. We're going to get into it. In some cases, the shift in time can really start to. Impact your quality of life, right? So we do want to get down into it, kind of the science behind this, why it happens, why some people kind of go through the. The time change and it works out just fine for them. But for other people, it really does mess with their system. So right now we're going to go live out to Dr. Michael Jaffe. He is a UF Health neurologist and a chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. So, Dr. Michael Jaffe, thanks for joining us live this morning. Well, thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. And this is a topic I'm always interested in discussing. Well, it's a topic that we definitely have a lot of questions about. And I'm gonna come at it from the perspective of a parent. But first, I wanna talk to you because you're a neurologist, right? You're the person to ask, what is actually happening in our brains when we shift the clocks around? That's a great question. So it turns out that there is within our brains, an important regulator, sort of a master clock of our body that helps regulate not only our brain functions, but all the functions in the body themselves. And the thing that actually kind of most entrains or most guides this regulator of our body is actually light and exposure to light. And so when we get light in the morning and if we're getting light too late at night can actually very much align with this. And this is what some people refer to as our circadian rhythms. This is our hardwired biological systems that control so So many aspects of our physiology and our different functions. And so within that, there's a number of brain mechanisms that do this and then it connects with a whole bunch of systems throughout the body. And certainly it starts with our eyes and that the light exposure that we're getting hits certain cells in the retina which then go directly to the hypothalamic part of the brain, the hypothalamus. And that kind of leads to all sorts of regulations kind of on down as the brain interfaces with the systems of the body. And so when we talk about making these changes, it's a little bit difficult. And so you were talking about the controversy. And I just wanna say that I think most people, certainly all the scientists who are involved in this, are in favor of not having to go through the changes twice a year. That creates two different times during the year when we have to go through a lot of A lot of these transitions and a lot of these changes. And You mentioned looking at this sort of perspective of a parent and it's important to realize that this biological clock system, the circadian system in our body, it does evolve over time. And so for parents, you might sort of eventually see the transition of your very early rising child to when they get to be a teenager. It's hard to get them to wake up because a lot of their biology of their circadian system is actually changing and evolving with age. And so it's important to try and keep the body as most aligned with the natural sun, kind of with the natural way our earth is rotating and the sun is coming as possible. And so from a purely scientific perspective, the way to keep the body most aligned without having to struggle to make all these adjustments is if we were on a permanent standard time. Because that most is consistent with helping our alertness in the morning, helping our mood in the morning. It turns out that Many Americans are sleep-deprived, and when you deny that sleep in the spring, that springing forward in the clocks, which means you lose an hour of sleep, there has been a very well It's all documented over and over again. That there is an increase in heart attacks during those days, there is an increase in car crashes, and certainly there's productivity issues that occur at work. And so there's a lot of studies that show some of the medical harms from doing that because of that baseline sleep deprivation. And Dr. Jaffe, I want to go back to something that you said earlier, too, about lining up our internal clock with the sunlight and how the circadian rhythm, kind of how naturally the daylight works. So can you kind of talk about. How much our brain does rely on that and maybe even the difference between a more developed circadian rhythm and system and how that affects a child to maybe be in the dark a little bit earlier or to be in the light a little bit earlier. I mean, I know it even has an emotional impact in some cases. Great questions. So things do align, but starts off with. How much sleep is enough varies by age. The younger we are, physiologically, the more hours of sleep we need. So our teenagers, they need typically at least eight hours of sleep, whereas adults need at least seven hours of sleep. And so it turns out that during that vulnerable time when teenagers tend to not be able to fall asleep until late at night, Then they end up kind of getting even more challenged when we have to go through these time shifts through daylight savings time. And certainly, this is why your children, they require naps when they're very young, and they require a lot more sleep as things evolve. And then certainly, as we get older, our brains can be a little more vulnerable to and a little more sensitive to not getting enough sleep. And that has to do with the brain physiology and why sleep is so important to both brain function as well as functions throughout our body. And in the brain, one of the things that sleep does is it kind of resets the synapses, the way that different neurons and cells in the brain communicate with each other and how quickly they communicate with each other. So some people refer to it as the signal-to-noise ratio, so we're able to kind of reset that and have that be more refreshed the following morning when they awaken. And even a more interesting physiology that's really just been discovered over the past 10 years is what scientists call the glymphatic system. That's like the lymphatic system, but with a G in front of it. And what that means is really abnormal proteins and products that have built up during the day that we don't want gets flushed out, but it only happens during sleep, in certain stages of sleep. So if we're not getting enough sleep. And the brain isn't able to wash those things out and that has been linked to increasing the risk of things like Alzheimer's in later life as well. And so we actually our sleep does help wash out some of the abnormal proteins called amyloid that do eventually accumulate And can affect our memory and things. Now you asked Maria about. Some of the short term effects and there's absolutely documented issues that if we're not getting enough sleep, we perform less well when we're testing cognition, when we're testing attention. You mentioned the issue of mood and certainly our mood can definitely be affected from an objective perspective when we don't get enough sleep. And there are actually a number of people that are so Attuned to the light, they might have what's called seasonal affective disorder. And that's when they're not getting enough sunlight during the day, that it can really worsen their mood and they can feel more acute depression. And it turns out with some of these changes with daylight savings time, there can be spikes in sort of acute depressive episodes So it's amongst people with that vulnerability. So as we go to wrap up, I want you to give us two things that we can do to set ourselves up for success this weekend as we change the clocks so things don't get spooky over Halloween weekend. It is ironic, it is the night of Halloween. So two things, so the number one thing I can recommend for anyone is get in the habit of when you wake up of exposing yourself to light and particularly sunlight is preferable. So if you can't get outside, at least sit by a window. And trying to get that as soon as you wake up in the morning for at least 20 minutes, that can be helpful in terms of helping us adjust. And the other thing we can do is little changes matter. And so even making changes of an hour can sound Intimidating to people, everyone has so many busy things to do, so many parts of their night routines. But even starting to get ahead of it for the next night or two of just adjusting things by 15 minutes can actually help with that adjustment as well. And so on that especially helps in the spring. So making small changes in the days leading up to our sleep schedule and making sure that We get that light exposure and part of that. Light exposure in the morning, the sort of counter side of that is trying to limit light exposure in the evening. And so if we can certainly, one of the biggest kinds of light that affects that circadian system is electronic lights like from our smartphones. So if there's a way we can better use the filters that are built into our smartphone to kind of tune out the blue light or kind of start sort of winding down an hour or two before we go to bed. And sort of not use the smartphone while we go through it for the rest of our evening routine. So these are all things that certainly can help us prepare and help the changes be less jarring for people. For me as a neurologist, as you said, from a perspective, this is really a lot about brain health. And there's a lot more attention these days in doing everything we can to preserve our brain health. And sleep is a very important part of that. Absolutely. And you know, Dr. Jaffe, I might email you with my own set of questions about my own toddler after this. But thank you so much for your time, Dr. Michael Jaffe with UF Health, UF Health Neurologist and Chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. I hope you have a great day and a good time change and happy Halloween. And happy Halloween to you. So good sleep, everybody. Okay, bye-bye. Yeah. Okay. Well, now we have been asking you to send in. Some of your Halloween decorations, right? We want to see how the Bay Area is getting ready for this big holiday weekend. So let's see if we've got some that you've sent in. Yes, the pet costumes. I think these are my favorite. Big thank you to Leanna Sanchez of Tampa. I mean, look at those two adorable bubs. The Michelle Guest of Riverview giving us what I believe might be like a haunted garage. You set up a whole scene here. How long did this take? Right now, you can scan that QR code on the side of the screen so you can send in your pictures or your videos, whether it's your costume, it could be your dog's costume. We got a little Harry Potter right now, a four legged Harry Potter, 10 points to Gryffindor. We're gonna keep them coming all hour long and we'll be back on the other side of this break. Thanks for watching Tampa Bay Live. Welcome back to Tampa Bay Live. You know, whether you're a snowbird, a Bay Area native, A tourist even spending time at the Manatee Viewing Center is always a special sight. So when the temperature drops, so does the water temperature. And our beloved Florida manatees, they love that warm water. And good for them, the water surrounding TECO's Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach stays at a nice and warm and cozy temperature really all year long. And that is why it is the perfect place. For the Manatee Viewing Center, which doesn't stay open all year long. Opening weekend is this weekend. And to talk more about that, we've got Jamie Woodley with the TECO Manatee Viewing Center. Thanks for joining us this morning. You're quite welcome. We appreciate the invite. So, Jamie, we were talking. I mean, the Manatee Viewing Center. So I am kind of a Southern Hillsboro resident. And so when my family members come to town, I mean, this is one of the places I like to take them. I come from Michigan. So seeing a manatee is not just like a short drive away. So it is always a treat to see one manatee. But going to the viewing center, you get to see so many and you get to see the babies. I mean, this really is a special place for us to have just in our own backyard. It is, it's one of the few places you can go and see them in the wild, and it's all free of charge. We open November 1st through April 15th, seven days a week, except Christmas, Thanksgiving, early on Christmas Eve. But it's an education facility set up to not just see manatees, but you're able to see all kinds of sort of an ecosystem. We have platforms and viewing platforms, education building, trails, a 50-foot tower. We've partnered with the... Florida Aquarium and FWC, there's a turtle hospital on site, a fish hatchery on site, a youth conservation center on site. We have a raised touch tank on site. So there's a lot to do. And the great thing about it, we're celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. So never expected it to get this big, but it's definitely turned out to be a very popular place. Very popular. And Jamie, I want to ask you, I feel like you'd be the person to ask, is there a perfect water temperature that a manatee prefers it to be? Yeah, manatees aren't. Big and blubbery, like you think, they really only have about an inch of fat, so they get cold very easily, cold stressed. They handle 68 degrees water, nothing lower. They can only handle that for so long before they become sick. So when the bay temperature starts, bay temperature, not air temperature, when the bay temperature drops to in the low 70s, we'll start seeing them come in. Anything lower than that, they come here and congregate because they need the warm water. So we've even had manatees recently, I think they're coming to check us out because our temperatures have dropped in the evening. So we've had moms and babies and some adults come in and check us out to make sure we're still here. Yes, and you guys are still there. I mean, still open and also what's so special is still free. I mean, I hope that's something that's not lost on you guys because in a year, 2026, where there are so many wonderful family places that are behind a paywall. The Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach remains free, and I hope that's not something that's lost on you guys. I think that's also a special piece of this, that this unique and educational place is free and open to the public. Right, and we have. When we first opened, that was the idea to do something to give back to the public. And it started out really small, and then it turned into a state and federal sanctuary. It was one of the few places you could come and see it. So it's just gotten bigger and grown more, and it's great that we can still offer it for free. Absolutely. So for people who don't know the background. In the story of the viewing center, I feel like there's a question that I should ask you, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Was the viewing center first because you knew the manatees would come there eventually or were the manatees there, so you built the viewing center? Well, what happens is whenever you create warm water, which our power plant does, we use cold water from the other side. We use it to cool the system down. The warm water gets discharged on this side. And when manatees would come with our first few units, but when four went in, it created a lot more hot water. So more and more manatees started showing up. So Basically, the power plant came first and then the manatees followed. Followed. Okay, you know, that does make sense when you take two seconds to think about it. Opening weekend, it is opening weekend, opens on Sunday. I know that obviously there are the manatees to go there and view and enjoy. Personally, I love seeing the babies, but there's a lot more to see than just the manatees there, right? Right, and we can't guarantee when the manatees are in and out because they're wild. They come and go as they please, but there's a lot of stuff to see. Same with the turtle hospital. It is a working turtle hospital, so we can't always guarantee there's turtles. I mean, it's good to see them, but it's good that they're not there. It means there's no injuries or sickness. But, you know, the trails, the tower, other wildlife that they can see, the education building. There's a movie. There's a sandbox for the kids to, you know, play in. The raised tank. Lots and lots to do, you know, wear comfortable shoes, be willing to walk around because it is a walking facility, and again, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary, so there'll be some different things going on throughout the season. The first three Saturdays of December, you know, there'll be a little bit more going on, but we're kind of just stretching it through the whole season so that everybody can enjoy it. And I know that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has a fish hatchery that is open to the public. Can you talk us through the specifics, the details of that? A little bit so. The fish hatchery is not up and running fully, but they have received some fish. And what they're gonna do is they are going to take redfish and spotted trout, and they're going to grow them. They're going to breed them there and eventually release a lot back. Back into the Bay Area Sarasota area throughout the Florida area. So and we'll see how that goes, if they find that we've been told if they find that there's more things that they can do or more types of fish that they can do, maybe eventually they will. But right now their plan is to raise redfish and trout. Okay, Jamie, I wanted to make sure, sorry, I'm just gonna wanna make sure that people Well, we haven't said this yet. The address. How can you get through the whole interview and not talk about the address? Where is it? The Manatee Viewing Center is at 6990 Dickman Road in Apollo Beach, right beside the power plant. We have trails that will take you throughout the facility down to our overflow parking lot. If you park at our overflow parking lot, we have golf cart transportation that will take you down to the turtle hospital. I'm Youth Conservation Center and also the Fish Hatchery. going So there's some walking, there is possibility of some riding. And again, it just depends on what you want to see and how to long you want to stay. You could stay turn for 10 minutes or you could stay for two hours. Jamie, we always want to stay for two hours. We want to see everything. We want to walk everywhere. it Yeah, if you're going to come, come see it all. It's well worth it. back And I know this wasn't part of my official talking points, but do you have that little snack bar over there too? on. I do want to shout out the hot chocolate. Yes, we do. It's small, but it's mighty. Yes, ma'am. Small, but mighty. Yeah. So we offer an array of things, more kind of things that you would give to your kids at home. So it's not a real fancy, but it provides what you need. Absolutely. Okay. And then also, can you, I know you said it at the beginning, but can you remind us opening day is Sunday and how long does the viewing center stay open? We're open from November 1st through April 15th, seven days a week, 10 to 5. Again, wear comfortable shoes, comfortable clothing, shirts and shoes obviously required, no pets. We do allow ADA official dogs. Yeah, just be ready to come and have a good time. Always a good time, the Vanity Viewing Center. Jamie Woodley, thank you so much for your time, and then have a great opening weekend. Hopefully I get to see you. Y'all have a good one. Thank you, okay, and thank you for watching. We're going to have a quick break and we'll see you back here in two. Welcome back to Tampa Bay live right now. We're taking a look at our beautiful Brookdale Bayshore camera. It's just a gorgeous fall day here in the Bay Area. Absolutely beautiful site. You know what else is a beautiful site? The sight of the future. So Governor Ron DeSantis flew into Tampa today, joined by Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue and FAA Administrator Brian Bedford at Tampa International Airport as Joby Aviation demoed their flying air taxi. That's what we're looking at right now. This is something we looked forward to all morning long. It's an all-electric air taxi that took off from Albert Whitted, Airport in St. Pete flew over the bay to Tampa International Airport, and this isn't just a sign of the future, it's also a nod to the past. So 112 years ago, over a century ago, these same skies helped launch commercial aviation. On January 1st, 1914, pilot Tony Janis took off from St. Petersburg with former mayor Abe Field as his passenger in their destination. Was Tampa, that 23-minute trip across the bay is now recognized as the world's first scheduled commercial airline flight. Today, Joby Aviation deliberately retraced that historic route with an obviously very different kind of aircraft. So we did receive an update from Governor Ron DeSantis this morning, who again was here on hand to see it all happen. And we want to bring that to you full. Let's take a listen. Where we're going, we don't need roads, and that was pretty cool to see that, and that is the first demonstration flight of Eventals with two different companies that were in the formation, and I want to thank both Joby and Beta Technologies for being here. You're going to hear from representatives from both of those companies. We also have our administrator from the federal FAA, Brian Bedford. Thank you for coming. Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, Thank you. Director of White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios, and Senator Jim Boyd. And I think we have some reps. I saw Bankson. Are the other candidates here? And is Linda Chaney here? She was on the thing from over in St. Pete. So welcome, everyone. I think this has been very exciting. We've done a lot in Florida on transportation. We did a project that Jim and others in the Legislature supported our moving Florida forward. We've been able to accelerate projects up and down the state, deliver them ahead of schedule. That's just to kind of keep up with a lot of the traffic and the tourists and all that stuff. But we're proud of what we've done on all of that, which is really, really important. But we know that just the roads and stuff are not the full story here. And we have had a commitment to advanced air mobility, really for many years now, going back to going like the Paris Air Show and some of these things. And in fact, last year, we had a bill that the legislature passed on advanced air mobility, recognizing that as an official mode of transportation in Florida. We've then been able to take that and make strategic investments in infrastructure and research. To be able to create opportunity for innovation, economic growth, and workforce development. Our SunTracks facility down the road in Polk County is a good example of the commitment. It's a 775 acre research and testing facility, which was originally done to test things like how tolls work. When I became governor, we were like, okay, I don't really want to do tolls on people, but we do want to test. Other types of traffic solutions, and including autonomous vehicles. So we were there a couple months ago, and you saw the Waymos, the CyberCab, the Tesla RoboTaxi. And they're doing all this stuff there, which is really good. And now you do have those operating in different parts of Florida. And I think you're going to continue to see that operate even more. But we announced that we were going to have SunTracks Air. There would be focus on the testing of advanced air mobility vehicles, and we had them there. People could see them. There wasn't a demonstration flight, but we said we're going to do the demonstration flight, and that's what brings us here today. These can be used potentially as an air taxi service. You think about some areas you would want to avoid by car, you could have a situation where these are operating almost like a ride share. Cargo delivery, medical transportation, emergency response missions. There's a whole host of things that these eVTOL aircraft would be able to do. It's the closest thing that we have right now to flying cars. You could potentially take this, land at Tampa Airport. First of all, thanks to Tampa Airport for hosting this and allowing this. Yes, they had to. They had to make some accommodations, and I think it was really cool to see those coming in. But you would be able to go, and say you want to go to Disney World, you come, and then you can go there. Say, you know, you want to go from Miami to West Palm Beach. You'd be able to avoid traffic on the ground, be able to get places a lot quicker, and I think that the technology is going to continue to advance. So there's a lot of potential here just for people's everyday lives. We've also directed Florida's Department of Transportation to partner with higher ed institutions Embry-Riddle and Polk State University to train and credential skilled workforce needed for these and other associated technologies. And some of that will be pilots but also technicians, engineers, and other types of professionals. We've done a lot on workforce education. We are ranked number one now in that. And I think that you're seeing how the economies develop, why that's important, because there's a lot of opportunities if you have those skills. We also are proud to have been selected by the FAA to participate in its AAM Integration Pilot Program, which we're here today as a result of, to give Florida a leading voice at the table when it comes to advanced air mobility. This is going to end up being a global hub for this. And I know that this is going to make a big difference for many, many years to come. Now, we've also been selected as one of seven aerospace workforce hubs by NASA for the state of Florida. And we also are looking to do this U.S. Space Academy. I know there's other places that want it. I think it would be really, really good for that to be in the state of Florida. And I'm looking forward to seeing that get done. I know our federal representatives are doing it. But before I turn it over to the next speaker, back in 1914, thousands of people gathered on the shore of Tampa Bay to witness Tony Janus make history with the world's first commercial airline flight. More than a century later, here we are in Tampa Bay. To usher in a new era of transportation. The first demonstration flight with two different companies in formation. So this is a part of history. Who knows where this will lead. But I'm just glad that Florida is on the forefront of this. And I thank everybody for being a part of it. The best is yet to come. Thank you. Administrator Brian Bedford. Well, we've been taking a look at Governor Ron DeSantis coming into town to celebrate the debut and the demo of Joby Aviation's air taxi. They completed their flight from St. Pete Albert Whitted all the way across the bay to Tampa International Airport. I mean, what a feat. They also followed the historic flight and the historic route of Tony Janus. And a little more history about Tony Janus. He's the namesake of the Janus Elevator Bank. At Tampa International Airport, just a little history lesson for you here on Tampa Bay Live. And before we go to break, it's getting spooky around here. I want to let you know, I asked for pet Halloween costumes, and you guys delivered. We've got a little witch. Oh, my gosh. Is that a dog? That's a duck in a Halloween costume? This is why you watch. You see things that you're never going to see anywhere else. I've never in my life. Seen a duck in a Halloween costume. We got a little cute pumpkin. I mean, keep them coming. We are at the bottom of the hour, but we might have time for just a few more. Thank you so much for sending them in. We're going to go to break right now. We'll be right back in two. Welcome back to Tampa Bay Live. It is October 30th. We've got one sleep until Halloween. We're looking at our beautiful Brookdale Bayshore camera. But we're going to come back here because if you want a proper, proper scare, you can head out to any of these Halloween events, especially the theme parks. I mean, they really do it right. And we sent one of our own undercover under makeup, under heavy makeup to Hollow Scream. I've got Amari Craft, our social media guru. Thank you so much for joining us. First of all, we sent you in to cover as a scare actor. They really do make the event, right? They do. I was looking kind of for that last Halloween hurrah. I was like, I've done everything. I've been everywhere. I've been scared to death multiple times, as you guys have all seen. But what does it take to step into that role, to really get into it? And I've got a great way for us to kick things off and we're gonna get to that in a second. But I wanna ask you, do you have a newfound respect for the people who dress up and do this? I mean, year after year, they bring the energy night after night so that everybody gets that experience. I was sweating by the end of this experience. So absolutely, this is a full time. Full energy job, you have to be on all the time, even as we were walking through the park to our scare zone that we were going to be undercover in, you have to be in character and people are taking pictures of you, they're interacting with you, kids are getting scared. It's a lot. How many people did you scare? My gosh, I didn't count, but we got a lot of people. I was out there with Lindsey Gimbert, by the way, guys. Let's see it right now. Here we go. Let's see undercover as a scare actor. Locked to theme parks, ready for a good scare. But have you ever wondered what it takes to be the one doing the scaring? I headed to Halloween Scream for one last Halloween hurrah with Fox Tampa Bay Live producer Lindsay Gimbert to see who can become the best scare actor. Our not-make-up-done outfit. Step one. I'm a zombie. I guess you're like the undead. Haunted child. Haunted child. Undead. Okay. Undead child. Once our costumes were on, the next step was hair and makeup. It's going down. What is this going to be? Look at that. Look at that. Look at that. Look at that. Look at that. Look at that. Look at that. Before facing the crowds, scare coordinator, Cameron Cox, broke down the anatomy of a good scare. Cameron, me and Lindsey, we are in full costume at this point. You look horrible. We look disgusting. You gotta tell me, I know you kinda told me a little bit before when I was here in September, but you gotta tell me again, how do we do this? How do we become scare actors? Well, the first thing, the most important thing is to stretch, because you are about to move in ways that you don't usually move. Okay. So, we got to do a few stretches. The most important one is get your neck stretched out. Oh, I did have a little tightness there. The cameraman. It was time to put the lesson to the test in one of the park's darkest corners, the infested grounds of the Pestilence Scare Zone. Better scare. Well, when I saw you last time, you were afraid of me. But now I got to say I'm afraid of you guys. Um... It's a tough decision. But I gotta give this one to Lindsey. Put me on competition, it's rigged. Look at this, look at this. But no, you did a great job. You did a great job. You both are naturals. You can come scare with us anytime. Thank you very much. I might be too done to speak. Lindsey, they put you in the cutest dress that they could find. I know. And then they put an ax in your forehead. I mean, guys, first of all, you should have seen us. We should have had a double box with the story playing on the side and then our reactions to it. I think I almost cried laughing a couple of times. But you guys are really convincing. As a person who does not go to do scary things, I'm not a spooky gal. Now, um, I'm very impressed. So how long did it take to get into character? I would say as soon as they put that makeup on us, we kind of snapped into it. And that's something that I talked about with Cameron a couple months ago when they first started Halloween Scream is when you get in full costume and character, it's like you just switch. It's almost kind of like Beyonce and Sasha Fierce. You just like make a switch. Oh, we saw it. No, we saw it. I believe you. You don't even have to explain. We saw it play out live in front of us. I mean, just the artistry and I just don't even think I'd be able to watch a YouTube video and get that done. They are professionals and it only took thirty-five minutes That is crazy, okay, but the real question is, how long did it take to get it off? Okay, so thankfully, there were some lovely ladies there that told us micellar water is like the key to getting everything off, the holy grail, all women have that in their cupboards for their makeup. It's in my car right now, actually, it's in the car. It took us about an hour and 30 to get everything off. I scrubbed, I did micellar water, makeup wipe, micellar water, hopped in the shower, washed my hair, cleaned everything off, and I was still finding. Remnants the next day, so like really it that also gives me a newfound respect for the scare actors who not only bring the energy every single night. So everybody gets that experience, but then they also, I mean, so much goes into even becoming the character and then. Coming back to yourself, getting all this stuff off. There's so many elements, there's an entire costume area, makeup. They have to do like auditions to get ready for it to even be able to participate in the event itself. So it really is a whole thing. A lot of these people actually have normal jobs. Like we talked to one guy, he works in finance. And he's a scare actor, so you might see someone that is your accountant that's out there. It seems like a good way to blow off steam. So do you think that you have like a side hustle as a scare actor? I kind of thought about it. I don't know, we should watch Lindsay because she may actually get a job there. Lindsay is doing it, yeah. She's absolutely, congratulations, give a round of applause to Lindsay. Okay, thank you so much, Jamari. Thank you for having me. And thank you for putting We're putting together that story. I might need a personal copy. I might need to save that. Okay, so as we're going down the hour, I believe it is time to check in with our Linda Hurtado, gearing up for the noon. Hey, Linda. Hey, Mariah. I'm so like you. I don't like to be scared. I'm tired. No, not for fun. That's not my idea of fun. But I'm very impressed with those two ladies. They have a side hustle if they need it. Have a great weekend, Mariah. Bye