Believe it or not, the year wasn't all about hurricanes. Once again, phenomenal growth blessed our economy. The construction frenzy, new businesses, expanding companies and higher education are among the fruits of our fertile region.

Offsetting those highs, however, were a number of lows. Test scores for public school students slid and the Sanibel Causeway continued degenerating into a political mess, leaving taxpayers and commuters to foot the tab.

The hurricanes blew away every other story when they began arriving in August, and their effects will linger in the year to come. Here's a look at the storms and other top stories that played out this year in Southwest Florida.

Aviation

Major airlines hit turbulence, with United Airlines and US Airways in bankruptcy and Delta Air Lines seemingly headed that way, but air travel in Southwest Florida kept flying high.

Winner: Southwest Florida International Airport

SWFIA continued to break passenger and cargo records even after Hurri-cane Charley hit. August marked the 21st consecutive month of record-breaking passenger counts with more than 407,600 passengers-almost 19 percent more than August 2003-and air cargo increased by about five percent for the month. And it was the busiest September in the airport's history, with 319,000 passengers-a 12.6 percent increase over the same month last year. It was also the busiest September on record for air cargo, with more than 2.7 million pounds of freight passing through the airport.

In addition, the trade publication Airports ranked SWFIA as the 10th busiest of 30 airports in the South-east for 2002-03.

Although the storms caused some chaos in the construction schedule, the much-anticipated Midfield Terminal is still expected to open in 2005.

Loser: Hooters Air

The airline failed to capture enough business to keep its Fort Myers flight, which connected to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Less than a year after the airline's maiden flight here, it pulled out.

Winner: Naples Municipal Airport

In a major boon to businesses and commuters, the airport landed a direct flight to Atlanta (though not necessarily at discount rates) with Delta's Atlantic Southeast Airlines.

Health Care

Winner: Health Management Associates

Loser: NCH

After a lengthy fight with NCH, which owns Naples Community and North Collier hospitals, Naples-based HMA won the right to build a new hospital in East Naples when a court of appeal rejected NCH's challenge to the state's decision to grant HMA a license.

But HMA is one of three health-care companies in the country charged in a proposed class-action suit that claims they price-gouge people who don't have insurance.

Loser: Lee Memorial Health System

A task force cleared the Lee system of similar price-gouging accusations, but it faces other problems. Lee Memorial followed in the footsteps of NCH and filed suit against Oklahoma-based Medical Savings Insurance Co. for refusing to pay medical bills. And in spite of receiving $4.5 million through the state legislature, rising costs and patient loads and decreasing revenue continue to leave Lee Memorial's trauma center barely clinging to life.

Losers: Businesses and their employees

Businesses and employees remain the big losers in health insurance. "If you're a small business and you offer any type of health insurance to your employees, you've got to budget for at least 20 percent increases each year," says Tammie Nemecek, executive director of the Eco-nomic Development Council of Collier County. "The continued rise in health insurance rates is going to not just affect the bottom line in businesses, but affect the ability for families to have proper health insurance."

Development

Winners: Collier economic developers

The Florida Tradeport (formerly the Immokalee Regional Airport) lost one potential new business-Miami-based Safire Aircraft Co., which ran into money problems-but it gained three: Skytruck Co., Florida Architectural Products and DLC Marine, which is at Tradeport Technology Park (formerly Agricom Park). Tradeport Technology Park is next to Florida Tradeport.

Through its Polish connections, Naples-based Sky-truck, which proposes to open a finishing plant at the Tradeport for its cargo aircraft, also helped the Collier EDC folks develop a relationship with Polish officials and businesses interested in the airport and its proximity to Western markets. With Poland's entry this year into the European Union, Nemecek adds, "it's an opportunity for us to use Poland as a jumping-off point for Europe."
March Performance, an automotive-parts manufacturer, moved from Michigan and became the first property owner in the North Naples Research and Technology Park, which is expected to create 40 jobs at an average salary of more than $54,000, according to Nemecek.

Winners: Lee economic developers

Robb and Stucky, one of Lee's biggest employers, is building a new facility that will include a large distribution center and more administrative space. It also is expanding its retail locations, with a new 60,000-square-foot store in North Bay Village in Bonita Springs that will feature a furniture store and a gift boutique. Another new store nearby will carry Robb & Stucky's patio furniture.

Chico's FAS, a national chain founded on Sanibel and based in Fort Myers, completed integrating the White House/Black Market stores and catalogs. It also launched its new Soma intimates stores, the first of which opened in August in Bell Tower Shops, driving record sales.

T3 Communications in downtown Fort Myers also expanded in 2004 and brought to the region a technological boost-a network access point. "That really helps put us in line with a lot of larger cities," says Regina Smith, director of Lee County's Economic Development Office.

Shamrock Boats, which had consolidated in North Carolina and shut down its longstanding Cape Coral division, divided again and returned boat-building operations to the Cape.

Winner: Fort Myers

Spurred by the adoption of Andrés Duany's plan for redevelopment, downtown Fort Myers experienced a surge of economic vitality, with about a dozen new waterfront projects proposed or permitted. Most are residential towers, and the influx of new homes is sparking more commercial interest.

"With that many residents, now you need a whole other level of services. You don't need just specialty retail, you need entertainment retail, groceries, drugstores, dry cleaners," says VIP Commercial real estate adviser Gary Tasman.

Loser: Slow-growth vote in Naples

Voters took a stance in February against slow-growth city council candidates and rejected a charter amendment that would have limited growth in the "Heart of Naples," which includes the long-disputed 41-10 district.

Winner: Cape Coral

The region's largest (inland), but late-blooming, city continued its growth spurt in 2004.

Under discussion or underway: upgrading the deteriorating Club Square area, a parking garage and new office buildings, retail space and mixed-use projects. Commercial growth is accelerating in the Pine Island Road corridor, with 15 to 20 projects in the planning stages, accounting for some 3 million square feet. Among them: a mixed-use project by Cape Harbour developer Will Stout, and a commerce park.

Houlihan's restaurant opened, and several more national chains were announced, including BJ's Wholesale Club, Carrabba's Italian Grill and-even more noteworthy-Wyndham Resorts and Hotels, which will develop a new hotel at Tarpon Point Marina.

Winner: Big banks

A rash of mergers changed the landscape for banking customers in Southwest Florida. First National Bank-shares of Florida Inc. acquired Southern Commu-nity Bancorp. Come January, FNB will be bought by Fifth Third Bancorp. Colonial Bank took over Premier Community Bank, Wachovia is taking over SouthTrust, and Colonial BancGroup is in the process of acquiring Union Bank of Florida.

Winners: Realtors and homeowners

The hurricanes might have caused a temporary setback in home sales, but even Charley couldn't affect appreciation. In Lee County, the median price for a home in August-the month Charley hit-rose 13 percent over August 2003 to $202,600. In Naples, it jumped to $397,300-34 percent higher than the previous year.

Winner: Future engineers

Florida Gulf Coast University gained funding and broke ground on its much-anticipated school of engineering, thanks to contributions from The Whitaker Foundation and Ginn Co.

Edison College (whose name was officially changed from Edison Community College by the State Legislature) launched an associate in science degree program in biotechnology, which is intended to feed the much-anticipated Scripps Research Center in Palm Beach.

Loser: Edison College's four-year programs

Edison and FGCU jointly requested this year that the state Board of Education give Edison the authority to offer bachelor-degree programs in computer technology and public services management.

The board had not decided on the current request by press time, but a similar request was turned down a few years ago. The schools currently provide the two programs with shared resources, and FGCU confers the degrees. Both schools support turning the four-year programs, seen as workforce studies, over to Edison.

Winners: Commuter students

FGCU and Edison collaborated to serve Charlotte County students by offering FGCU classes at the Edison campus in Punta Gorda. A task force was formed to look into expanding Edison into Glades and Hendry counties.

Winners: College capital projects

Edison revamped its Collier campus to create a conference facility that will open in January.

And International College broke ground on a new Fort Myers campus at Winkler Avenue and Colonial Boule-vard, where it will relocate from Renaissance Center on College Road.

Ave Maria University in Naples opened this fall with nearly 310 students-triple last year's enrollment. About 10 percent of the students transferred from Ave Maria College in Michigan, another Catholic college started by Domino's Pizza mogul Tom Monaghan, who plans to fold the Michigan college campus into AMU in a few years.

Losers: Ave Maria College students in Michigan

The plan to close puts the college's accreditation status at risk, along with the potential for students to transfer credits.

Loser: Public school students

Florida public schools, scoring an average of 499 in both math and verbal sections of the SAT, still lagged slightly behind the national average SAT numbers. Col-lier scores were higher than state averages in each section, but slipped a few points this year, to 505 in verbal and 512 in math. Fewer students in Collier took the college admission test. In Lee County, more students took the test and scores rose, but they are still lower than the state and national averages, with 490 in math and 489 in verbal.

Transportation

Losers: Sanibel and Captiva commuters

Sanibel Causeway users and taxpayers will bear the brunt of the cost to replace the three causeway bridges, with a price tag that nearly doubled from the original $55 million price tag as a result of two lawsuits and skyrocketing cement costs. To pay for the $105 million project, commissioners increased tolls from $3 to $6, and prices jumped from 50 cents to $3 per trip for those in the discount program, which includes most commuters who work on the islands. The increases were another blow to island businesses already knocked down by Hurricane Charley.

People

Winner: Porter Goss

The former U.S. Congressman from Sanibel was confirmed as the new director of Central Intelligence, a position that heads up the CIA and a dozen or so additional agencies. Although he was prepared to retire several years ago, Goss was persuaded to stay on in the wake of 9/11.

Winner: John DeBoer

The Naples retiree won a dispute with Wachovia Securities, netting almost $2.66 million. He filed a complaint with the National Association of Securities Dealers, arguing that he received poor investment advice from adviser George Walker. Arbitra-tors agreed and ordered the company to pay DeBoer an amount that ranks among the highest securities arbitration awards given.

Hurricane charley and its followers left no industry untouched in Southwest Florida. Tourism, agriculture, construction, retail-pretty much every business felt some impact, directly or indirectly, and a lot of jobs were gone with the winds. Even so, some actually made business gains in the storms' wake-even if exhaustion, overwork and unhappy customers sometimes left them feeling less than ecstatic about their economic windfall.

Winners: Cleanup and repair companies

For roofers, carpenters, pool-cage builders, tree services, trash haulers and other companies in the repair and redevelopment businesses, the storms produced more work than they could keep up with. People who lost agriculture jobs lined up to join roofing crews. Others built siding on their trucks to make some FEMA money removing hurricane debris. And pickups hauling trailers cruised neighborhoods collecting aluminum to sell.

Winners: Inland hotels

On the other hand, says D.T. Minich, executive director of the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, "We've had record-breaking weeks at the inland properties," he says. "They've been full with evacuees or FEMA crews or insurance adjusters at a time that's typically the slowest time of the year for them."

Winner: Real estate investors

The storms temporarily quashed a thriving real estate environment. Plans to buy homes or expand businesses faltered as the storms came and went. Some reconsidered moves and many were delayed in getting insurance. But in Charlotte County, offers to buy damaged property started pouring in from all over the country, and a lot of homeowners were all too happy to oblige.

Winners: Redevelopers

Some are turning a bad situation into an opportunity. South Seas Resort and Sanibel Harbour Resort and Spa, two of Lee County's biggest, are taking a long time to reopen, but they aren't just rebuilding, they are improving, says Minich.

Perhaps this year's hurricanes will provide the same impetus for Charlotte, DeSoto and other ailing counties that Hurricane Donna gave Collier in 1960, adds Morton.

"In a very perverse way, the genesis of Naples [came from] the money and assistance the city received to rebuild itself," he says.

Losers: Citrus and ornamentals growers

Unripe citrus crops, palm trees and other ornamentals fell victim to the winds. Those losses, on top of the trade issues and other hardships already pressuring farmers, could accelerate the rate of agricultural lands being sold for development.

Losers: Coastal hotels

The storms decimated resorts, attractions and beaches and tourism itself, especially on Sanibel and Captiva-Lee County's tourism central. Fort Myers Beach's hotels recovered relatively quickly. But on Sanibel and especially Captiva, some properties weren't expected to completely reopen until 2005.

Losers: Small businesses

Those with few reserves suffered most, no matter the industry, says Tammie Nemecek, executive director of the Economic Development Council of Collier County. In the hardest-hit areas, they lost buildings, inventories and records. The Florida Bridge Loan program, Small Business Administra-tion loans and other state and federal loans helped some get back on their feet. But owners must find ways to repay the loans as they rebuild their revenue streams.

Loser: New-home builders

New construction stumbled as the hurricanes halted real estate transactions and shifted the focus to rebuilding. Cape Coral and Lee County temporarily froze new-building permits, and shortages of building materials compounded the problems. But building was expected to regain its record pace. In Cape Coral, only a month after Charley, the city received permit applications for 407 new homes, compared with 330 the previous year.

Losers: Collier taxpayers

The loss of new construction could even raise Collier County taxes. "Property values may hold steady, if they don't decline. That's going to put major pressure on local city, county governments to generate appropriate tax revenues without having to raise millage rates," says Edward Morton, chairman of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce and CEO of NCH Healthcare System.

Kevin Adell and partner Pedro Prado's plans to launch Cubano One, the country's first English-language television station targeting a Cuban audience, were sidelined when Adell filed personal bankruptcy. Adell was ordered to pay $6.4 million to a builder in Michigan, then paid cash for a $2.8 million home in Aqualane Shores in Naples. A judge in October rejected Adell's Chapter 11 bank-

ruptcy protection case. His family owns Adell Broadcasting Corp., and he is president of Satellite Television Network Inc. and a Detroit-based religious television channel.

The lengthy Stadium Naples case finally wrapped up early this year.

Charges against developer Paul Hardy were dropped. Former Collier County commissioner John Norris, whose health was failing in January, struck a last-minute deal to serve house arrest. He pleaded guilty to reduced charges: one charge of racketeering conspiracy and one charge of unlawful compensation.

That isn't the end of the players' court action, though. Among the events this year:

. Robert Hardy filed bankruptcy this year, only to have a judge order an investigation of his finances in August.

. William Rasmussen filed a libel suit against the Naples Daily News and three employees in April, charging them with repeatedly publishing false reports about his involvement with Stadium Naples.

Racketeering charges against him were dropped in 2002, and he eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.

. The federal receiver for investors who lost some $21 million to swindler David Mobley sued Quarles & Brady law firm and former partner Leo Salvatori, who was Mobley's lawyer.

Ben Marlin as Collier School District superintendent:

After a rocky period with Dan White at the school district's helm, the Collier school board in May 2003 hired Ben Marlin, whose plans to get the school system back on track were heralded. In August 2004, Marlin unexpectedly resigned, citing problems with critics and board member Linda Abbott. Longtime district employee Ray Baker, chief operating officer, was named to replace Marlin, backed by strong support from the business community.

Ben Hill Griffin III as chairman of Alico, Inc.:

A long legal battle among the heirs of citrus giant Ben Hill Griffin Jr. was settled in 2004, with son Ben Hill Griffin III relinquishing control of the agribusiness company. Griffin III retained a number of company assets, including the family's citrus packinghouse in Frostproof and Lake Wales Country Club, but stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer. Stepping in, along with a new board, was new chairman John Alexander. Bernie Lester was later named CEO.

Caribbean Gardens: Fans of the Caribbean Gardens, the Zoo in Naples, stepped forward to save the longtime landmark after it became known that the property owners were considering developing or selling it. Park PAC, a political action committee, pushed for a November referendum asking Collier voters to approve a tax to buy 150 acres, including the property occupied by the gardens. The measure passed.

Babcock Ranch: Fearing that the owners of this 91,000-acre ranch would sell off property for development, Lee and Charlotte county officials teamed up with environmental advocates, state and federal agency officials to try to buy the land and preserve it.

Pineland Marina: After Hurricane Charley smashed Pineland Marina and the many boats there, Lee County is again considering buying the Pine Island facility. Not only would it provide a public boat ramp-an increasingly rare commodity-it might ease the way for outer islands, including North Captiva, Useppa, and Cabbage Key, to get rid of their construction debris from the storm. The debris could be barged there, then hauled off.

Lee county's population broke a half-million people, a milestone in attracting major companies.

"That puts us on the map for expansions, relocations and new businesses," says commercial real estate broker Gary Tasman. "One of their criteria is 500,000 people or more, because of the services and accesses that you have with that many people. It's causing a ripple effect for retailers, site selectors, everybody."

Cape Coral, the region's largest city, got its first college. Nova Southeastern University was set to open classrooms in December in the Business Park in City Centrum-in spite of a delay caused by Hurricane Charley-and to start classes in January. The Business Park is a temporary site; the city is planning to create a permanent site in North Cape Coral for a 171-acre academic village.

Some 4,400 Democrats in Lee County switched parties so they could vote in the Aug. 30 primary elections-a new record. The majority jumped ship temporarily in response to write-in candidates closing elections for sheriff and a county commission seat. Most were expected to return to Donkeydom.