Letters to the editor for Saturday, December 9, 2023

Stop the madness

Bellmar Village by Collier Enterprises, 2,750 new homes, does Collier County need this? I think not, but if your business name has Collier in it, I guess anything can happen.

The land is supposed to be preserved and still needs a wetland permit, which I am sure will just fly through.

When does this craziness of constant building development stop in Collier? Doesn’t anybody realize what this will continue to cost the taxpayers? New roads like the extension of Vanderbilt Beach Road cost the taxpayers to build. That project is the most expensive road project in the history of Collier County paid for by us taxpayers instead of the builders that are causing the road to be widened.

Does anybody realize with each of these large developments planned by Collier Enterprises we will have to add many more services like police, rescue, additional road crews and on and on.

The traffic is bad enough and it is all year long now and this will make it even worse. While everyone is moving down to Florida, we will soon pay the price and it will be worse than where we left. The quality of life will deteriorate to the point of no return. This craziness to keep building, especially on land that is supposed to be preserved must stop. Do the commissioners even know what it means when land is preserved? It means no building on it, plain and simple, you do not need a fancy degree to figure that one out.

We will have water shortages like they are having in Cape Coral. More pollution.

We do not have enough housing for the workforce employees, but we keep letting in all these multimillion dollar housing developments. We need housing for workers in every aspect of employment in Collier, like teachers, hospital staff, restaurants, police, fire etc.

Stop the madness now before it is too late.

Ken Vogel, Naples

Questionable process

Central to The News-Press' claims for its own value is that it spotlights the facts regarding local issues. Here is your chance to demonstrate that. The Lee County commissioners voted 4 to 1 to grant an immediate windfall to the South Seas Resort and a likely long term abrogation of long established development standards for the rest of Captiva Island. The first such vote was held without gathering any input other than from the beneficiary and the second, and confirming vote, ignored the storm of opposition input triggered by the first vote.This whole questionable process invites investigative reporting. Who/what initiated this questionable process? Why did the commissioners resolutely insist that their action had nothing to do with South Seas even when such insistence drew a full throated laugh from the attendees at the commission meeting where the final vote was taken? Why did the commission elect to ignore public input rather than stepping back and evaluating that input? Most importantly, what is motivating those commissioners who shepherded this questionable process? "We are just trying to do the right thing" rings hollow. This is a great opportunity for The News-Press to demonstrate its value by impartially laying out the facts.Michael Armstrong, Fort Myers

Happy holidays

Thank You! Thank you! Thank you! to everyone that decorates their yards, homes, businesses, and vehicles for the holidays; it is very much appreciated.It wouldn't be Christmas without Charlie Brown & Snoopy on Burnt Store Road and 9th.Happy holidays to all.Maria Benton, Cape Coral

Get real, DeSantis

Egad! So now our governor is going to sue the CFP because they overlooked the "Noles." He is going to spend my (and your) dollars to accomplish something that can't be rectified!

Grow up! He isn't winning in Iowa, he will drop in New Hampshire, so now he's going to go on a crusade for football players.

Get real, DeSantis -- there are lots more major needs in this state than chasing something that will soon pass.

Housing! Insurance! Roads!  Get to work on our state's needs, not something as petty as this!

Franklin Warner, Fort Myers

Hatred and petty fights

I can’t even be surprised DeSantis takes credit for anything good and beneficial for the people of Florida that he opposed! I received an e-mail from him stating he continued to support (what a laugh) health care. He turned down 346 million in free federal funds under the Inflation Reduction Act that would have helped Floridians, hospitals, and health care institutions with energy improvements, modernizations, and lowered costs! In the latest budget he vetoed 140.5 million in health care, education, and environment spending, hurting Floridians! The 346 million loss hurt hospitals that must legally treat people that show up in the emergency room, along with many jobs that won’t happen. When DeSantis was in office he tried to repeal ACA six times; he wanted pre-existing conditions slashed. Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured residents in the U.S. - nearly 2.6 million as of 2021. Florida families experiencing extreme poverty are not covered by Medicaid thanks to Governor DeSantis who refuses to adopt expanded Medicaid. Forty-one states have adopted expanded Medicaid; the remaining states offer no health care whatsoever for the extreme poor. In June of 2023, 250,000 Floridians were kicked off of Medicaid, exacerbating the problem. State bill SB1580 signed by DeSantis shields health care providers, institutions and insurers who decline to treat patients or refuse to pay for care when they have conscience based objections meaning “sincerely held religious, moral or ethical beliefs.” Who will die because of this? What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? He is not a governor for the people! His hatred and petty fights are destroying our beautiful state.Denise Healey, Bokeelia

Not doing their part

Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue has turned down $320 million in federal money aimed at reducing tailpipe emissions. He is not doing his part.

I have just ordered a 100% electric truck to completely reduce my tailpipe emissions. I am doing my part.

Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed 30 million that would have allowed state agencies to seek up to $346 million in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants to improve energy efficiency in our Florida buildings. He is not doing his part.

I am in the permitting process to install a solar system to reduce my home's reliance on fossil fuel derived electricity. I am doing my part.

There are two bills in our state government, SB28 and HB 107, being discussed that would require electric vehicle owners to pay a yearly registration fee, starting at $200 , aimed at helping make up for lost gas tax dollars. Florida government is not doing their part and making it harder for Florida residents to do their part.

Jared Perdue's decision to turn down $320 million in federal money denies  Florida residents significant financial benefits and cost savings opportunities potentially saving Florida residents hundreds of millions dollars. He is not doing his part and restricting us from doing our part.

I harvest oysters and blue crabs in Matlacha Pass in a kayak completely without a carbon footprint. I am doing my part.

I urge all of the citizens of Florida to do their part and to think globally and act locally.  John Simon, Cape Coral

Building codes, hurricanes

The Florida insurance imbroglio has been well publicized and analyzed with conclusive evidence that municipal mismanagement, contractor corruption and incompetent oversight on insurance carriers by regulatory authorities were the principal causes of the dilemma further aggravated by inadequate building codes and enforcement.

Ordinarily, the lesson to be learned from this experience would be to adjust and amend building codes to minimize the effects of hurricane forces especially in an area highly susceptible to windstorms. Sounds simple enough, yet an article in the Wall Street Journal (12/5/23) captioned “Florida Home Builders Stick to Wood” states: Developers in Florida are rolling out new homes with wooden frames undaunted by the risk that wood can be less reliable for withstanding hurricane force winds. The material is riskier than concrete but developers persist.”

So once again, we have powerful greedy developers dictating and dominating obsequious state authorities with prejudicial and deceptive assurance that less costly wood-frame homes can be built to withstand hurricane force winds despite the fact South Florida contractors phased out wood-frame construction after Hurricane Andrew's 165 mph winds flattened communities built from materials and codes existing in 1992.

According to developers, the new building code permits wood-frame construction and is sturdier. Engineers, however, state there is very little room for error. The slightest flaw in the design or construction could collapse the building by the force of a violent storm and could easily become a house of cards. Providing additional strapping to wall connection plates to long span wood trusses, lateral reinforcing etc. are minimal solutions. Most structural engineers agree that concrete construction offers the strongest assurances of withstanding powerful winds.

There are a host of other problems associated with frame construction e.g., availability of insurance, short setbacks that significantly increase fire flame spread exposure, 100% surface combustibility, termites, water rot etc. Once again, greed supplants common sense and public safety because of spineless politicians making ingratiating concessions which approach the boundaries of stupidity.

Leo Boghosian, Bonita Springs

Universities' hypocrisy

Hypocrisy, thy name is the president of a university. In testimony before Congress, the presidents of three prestigious universities - Harvard, Penn, and MIT - were asked if the recent antisemitic ruckuses on their campuses, going so far as calls for the killing of all the Jews, violated the code of conduct for their students. Their answers were that it depended on the context. The questioner, Elise Stefanik, Republican from New York, said those responses were inadequate and that they should resign.I couldn't agree more. Imagine if mobs of students on their campuses had called for the killing of all the Blacks on campus. This would be equally reprehensible, but let's not kid ourselves that the responses from the presidents wouldn't be totally different. Their would be expulsions of the offending students, as would be appropriate. Freedom of speech does not include the call for genocide.What is happening to our country?

Chuck Bainbridge, Naples

Speeding motorbikes

I cannot tell you how often I am driving on 41 and these kids come racing along on motorbikes without any concern for how they absolutely scare other people they are racing past.  A couple of days before a recent accident, I was driving north on 41 in the Bonita Springs area.  Two of these kids come racing along making a lot of muffler noise and weaving in and out of traffic without any concern for fellow drivers.  I pulled up alongside of them at a stoplight and yelled at them to slow down, that they had almost caused an accident.  Naturally, they denied any wrongdoing.  When the light changed, they took off again, this time roaring between two cars that were parallel to one another.  I can imagine the scared feelings of the two adults driving those cars.

I wish those kids a long life but they are going to have to slow down and respect other drivers.  Hopefully there are no other cars involved when they pile up.

Larry Halpin, Naples

Campus antisemitism

We know that for many years preceding the October 7 atrocities, colleges and universities were “cesspools of antisemitism,” but unless you were an 18-year-old Jewish college freshman or her parents it just didn’t matter that much. Administrations, student governments, and tenured professors created or acquiesced to a campus environment that violated the constitutional rights of Jewish students and their own codes of conduct. But it just didn’t matter that much to them. Now the presidents of Ivy League schools have publicly disgraced themselves and their institutions by refusing to simply state that calling for a second genocide of the Jews is hate speech, and cannot be tolerated. It just doesn’t matter that much to them.Some bystanders harbor ’60s memories of college radicals that went on to become accountants, or mistakenly think that what happens on campus stays on campus. They are disturbed that medieval Jew hatred has leapt from Cambridge to Congress to Main Street like an out-of-control wildfire, but not enough to do something about it. It just doesn’t matter that much to them.We have seen this movie before, and it does not end well. What our colleges and universities do matters. Their presidents need to get their heads out of their ivory towers, and lead or resign and let someone who can do the job.Allen Menkin, Naples

Trump the master of projection

Psychological projection is projecting undesirable feelings or characteristics onto someone else, rather than admitting the same to oneself. A person who projects, according to psychology, makes accusations, without being able to provide clear evidence that supports their statements. Donald Trump is the master of projection. Examples of his characteristic projections are many, a few are disloyalty, evilness, meanness, lack of intelligence, psycho, etc. He exhibits all of these despicable personal characteristics and projects them to others. He projects the term "loser" to many, and that clearly defines him.  He has told more proven lies than seem  to be  humanly  possible. He would be a great psychological study into how anyone becomes so deranged. He states that he is a law and order person, yet he lashes out at prosecutors and the rule of law. Trump makes a mockery of the law as it applies  to him, there is no question that he is guilty of many criminal acts and yet people still support his criminal and corrupt behavior. Country over party, democracy over autocracy.Tom Beck, Naples

Biased opinion pages

I seldom read the politically biased opinion pages of your paper, I don’t recognize it as a local paper as I once did. A few times that I have looked through the letters to the editor, (lauded as SWFL voices)  I don’t believe them representing the voice of Southwest Florida.  Some letters  are local issues of Fort Myers or Naples but most of the ones chosen by the editorial board, on state or national issues, all have a leftist or Democrat bent. Letters are insultingly about “bad “ MAGA, white supremacy, DeSantis in negative terms. One can only conclude that these left leaning folks are prolific letter to the editor writers, possibly feeling  their voices aren’t heard in conservative Collier, or the board of editors are inbred, politically speaking, or influenced by headquarters, USA Today a notably leftist paper.  The letters don’t match what my ears hear on the street.

Gerard Fischer, Naples

Liberal agenda

It is no secret that the overall agenda of items in The News-Press, especially reflected in the SWFL Voices section, are overwhelmingly liberal.

Even though this is counter to my overall political views, I nonetheless subscribe and read a paper version of the paper everyday. My first encounter with a newspaper goes back more than 65 years ago and, as for many, I enjoyed the "funnies." The older I got I progressed to the sports section and then really took an interest in the letters to the editor. This always gave me the opportunity to savor what was happening in my neighborhood, city, county and state.

I would like to offer two constructive suggestions:

1. If possible go back to offering an op-ed page every day. The letters are many times more interesting and informative than some of the "news," which, in many cases act as "filler" for pages.

2. Could you try something novel?  Balance the letters/views instead of the majority, and sometimes, all being of liberal content with an equal amount of opposite or somewhat conservative or opposing thoughts.

This may offer the readership an opportunity to see an opposing point of view, opinion or even provoke an idea contrary to what may be normally in their realm of politics or scope of existence.

Harold Merschtina, Cape Coral

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Saturday, December 9, 2023