significant upgrades. In 1987, WEVU moved to new studio facilities in the Bonita Bay Executive Center, where the front entrance was designed to also double as an outdoor studio and the station would have more space to operate. (The previous studios were then occupied by WSFP-TV, giving the PBS station its first proper headquarters.) Its second upgrade, a new tower on the Lee–Collier county line, was more controversial. The National Audubon Society warned that the construction of the tower would cause potential harm to a sanctuary of wood storks and asked the ABC network to intervene in the dispute, which it refused. In October 1987, Lee County approved the zoning for the new transmitter tower; a 1989 settlement brokered by Governor Bob Martinez enabled WEVU to finally build the facility and begin broadcasting from it that summer. The relocated tower improved WEVU's signal in the northern and eastern portions of the market, particularly in Charlotte County. However, by 1991, WEVU still had half the audience share of either WINK or WBBH. A side venture for WEVU began in the late 1980s with a low-power TV station permit in Fort Myers held by Caloosa that the station wasn't using. Ultimately, Caloosa sold 49 percent of it to Tim Pipher, and the station signed on in August 1988 as W07BR; the station was noted for its extensive affiliations with baseball team networks, carrying more than 180 games a season. FCVS and Ellis ownership In 1991, Home News put WEVU on the market in a bid to pay down long-term debt. Home News accepted a bid from Young Broadcasting in January 1992, but the deal fell apart that March and Home News instead sold WEVU to FCVS Communications of Columbia, South Carolina for $9.925 million. FCVS, owned by two former ABC executives, promised to infuse resources into WEVU's news department. FCVS, which also owned WKCH-TV (now WTNZ) in Knoxville, Tennessee, and WACH in Columbia, South Carolina, received an "offer it could not refuse" and sold itself to newly formed Ellis Communications in 1993. However, the station continued to struggle; it was understaffed and had outdated equipment. Waterman LMA Effective June 1, 1994, Ellis entered into a local marketing agreement (LMA) with WBBH-TV, owned by Waterman, whereby WBBH would produce all news programming for WEVU. Some WEVU staffers were not retained by WBBH; in all, there were 20 firings, including WEVU's main news, weather