Things To Do In SW Florida

Shark Valley is one of the most beloved and busiest destinations in all of sprawling Everglades National Park — a winding 15-mile asphalt loop where bikers, hikers and tram riders travel through glistening marsh often adorned with alligators, herons and other wildlife.

But Shark Valley has a rising problem: the surrounding waters of the River of Grass.

Flooding along a trail first created more than six decades ago has always been an issue, one long driven by the seasonal wet and dry cycles of the Everglades. But it’s becoming more common – the result of super soggy hurricanes, climate change and even efforts to raise water levels and restore the natural flow of a system long bottled up by roads and flood-control levees.

Alissa Jean Schafer, an outdoor enthusiast and the climate director at Private Equity Stakeholder Project, is a regular biker at Shark Valley and tries to visit the park around twice a month. One morning in early September, Schafer found herself biking through two miles of flooding on the east side of the trail. It was deep enough that she saw fish swim across the path. read more

The virtual queue era is over for Tron Lightcycle / Run, the indoor/outdoor roller coaster at Magic Kingdom.

The sign-up system, accessed by the My Disney Experience app, had been in place for the ride since its debut in April 2023. Walt Disney World visitors now choose between the standby line or paying for faster access with Lightning Lane passes.

On a recent midday visit to Magic Kingdom, the posted wait time was 50 minutes, so I opted for lunch first, thinking I’d digest while queuing up. After lunch, the wait time was listed as 60 minutes.

Oh well, more time to absorb the atmosphere I sped by in the past. Here are notes I made whilst flying standby.

• The futuristic architecture of Tron ride is perfect for Tomorrowland and a fitting neighbor for Space Mountain, Florida’s oldest operating coaster. Tron is large, yet the entrance for riders is tucked away. I mean, the sign for Enzo’s Hideaway at Disney Springs is more obvious … and that’s a hideaway. For the record, get to Tron by walking toward the entrance to Space Mountain, then veer down the left side by the rounded-top Tomorrowland Launch Depot gift shop. read more

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

SMITHTON, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump sat in a large barn in rural Pennsylvania on Monday, asking questions of farmers and offering jokes, but, in a rarity for his campaign events, mostly listening.

The bombastic former president was unusually restrained at an event about China’s influence on the U.S. economy, a roundtable during which farmers and manufacturers expressed concerns about losing their way of life. Behind Trump were large green tractors and a sign declaring “Protect our food from China.”

The event in Smithton, Pennsylvania, gave Trump a chance to drive his economic message against Vice President Kamala Harris, arguing that imposing tariffs and boosting energy production will lower costs. He highlighted Harris’ reversal of a previous vow to ban fracking, a method of producing natural gas key to Pennsylvania’s economy.

And he noted the tractors behind him were manufactured by John Deere, which announced in June it was moving skid steer and track loader manufacturing to Mexico and working to acquire land there for a new factory. Trump threatened the firm with a 200% tariff should he win back the presidency and it opted to export manufacturing to Mexico. read more

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Attention, Kmart shoppers, the end is near!

The erstwhile retail giant renowned for its Blue Light Specials — featuring a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole enticing shoppers to a flash sale — is shuttering its last full-scale store in mainland United States.

The store, located in swank Bridgehampton, New York, on Long Island, is slated to close Oct. 20, according to Denise Rivera, an employee who answered the phone at the store late Monday. The manager wasn’t available, she said.

That will leave only a small Kmart store in Miami. It has a handful of stores in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Transformco, the company that bought the assets of Sears and Kmart out of the bankruptcy of Sears Holdings in 2019, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

In its heyday, there were more than 2,000 Kmarts in the U.S.

Struggling to compete with Walmart’s low prices and Target’s trendier offerings, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 — becoming the largest U.S. retailer to take that step — and announced it would close more than 250 stores. read more