Letters to the editor for Saturday, July 15, 2023
Irrelevant ordinances
Since the last election for the Board of Collier County commissioners, the county citizens have had to endure a series of vanity ordinance proposals that are made in a clear lack of understanding of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions, and of the chain of command established under USA law. This has got to stop.
A county sheriff is not empowered by the two constitutions to decide what laws are constitutional or not. Any questionings of state or federal laws require that the laws first be challenged in court as flawed. This is Civics 101, and commissioners who propose or endorse such slipshod proposals should have learned this in high school.
There is no time for libertarian “feel good” ordinances to be proposed. The people run the government through our elected representatives, who propose our laws and constitutional amendments, and nominate judges to the courts who rule regarding constitutionality when a law is challenged. Many often disagree with these rulings, but these are the procedures by which conflicting views are resolved.
If members of the Board of County Commissioners want to persist in presenting irrelevant ordinances that ignore the basis of our governmental system, I suggest that they consult respected conservative Judge Michael Luttig or an equivalent recognized authority before wasting more time that should be spent on real county issues. If readers know of relevant civics publications that will clarify how our government system works, please send them to the individual commissioners, and publish the list in the Letters to the Editor so the rest of us can speak knowledgeably about governmental issues.
Michael Finkel, M.D., Naples
Manatee deaths tied to lock
Your newspaper had previously published letters to the editor regarding removal of the Chiquita Lock in Southwest Cape Coral. The lock has been responsible for the deaths of several manatees in recent years and they are an endangered species. Removal of the lock would stop this from happening.It recently came to my attention that the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Fund (SCCF) is financially backing a group that is trying to force Cape Coral to keep and maintain the lock. The website sponsored and maintained by SCCF lists a number of beliefs and activities, with the number one issue being to protect wildlife (which would obviously include manatees). How can an organization like this raise money for their not for profit enterprise and then give that money to a group that wants to keep a lock in place that kills manatees. Sounds like they are not living up to what they represent to donors.
Duncan Russell, Cape Coral
Grateful for Collier schools
A response to a letter to the editor regarding Collier County’s recent state test scores. Before we start condemning the Collier County school system, its educators and students, let’s review what they endured this past year.
• A catastrophic hurricane that resulted in a two-week layoff (with a large number of families and school employees being displaced due to damage)
• A highly political school board election that resulted in a 60% turnover (although it is supposed to be nonpartisan)
• Teachers leaving their field in droves (I personally know of instances where teachers didn’t return after winter break because they were fed up and burnt out)
• The new FAST state tests (which required administrators, educators and staff to implement new standards for instruction and instructional materials in grades K-12 math and 6-12 ELA, as well as a new assessment system)
Finally, let’s not forget that English is not the first language of nearly 16% of Collier students with nearly 54% living in non-English speaking homes (per the district website). So yes, the scores may not have been as high as they can be but Collier continues to outperform the state and has been an A rated school system for the past five years.
Our administrators, teachers and staff work tirelessly day in and day out and deserve our praise and gratitude. Instead of publicly shaming them, we should all seek out ways to help. I know our schools are always looking for volunteers.
Anne Nylund, Naples
Homeowners' insurance
If your 10-12 year old car was in an accident and the cost of repair was greater than the value of the car, then the insurance company may elect to “total the car” and send you a check for the market or depreciated value. In many cases, your check may only be 10-20% to the original cost of the car, why not consider the same methodology for homeowner's insurance? I believe that the roof replacement costs make up a large percent of claims in Florida and in many cases roof replacement of concrete tile may be 50-80 thousand dollars for a roof that is 25 years old. Why not have a sliding scale based on the age of your roof. If your roof is less than 5 years old, the insurance company would cover 100% for the cost of a new roof, if your roof is 5-10 years old, than 75% of the cost would be covered, if the roof is 10-15 years old then 50% of the cost would be covered and finally if your roof is 15-20 years old then 25% of the cost would be covered. For those roofs over 20 years old, then the insurance company would be responsible for 10 percent of the replacement costs. This plan seems to fairly place the burden of replacement costs in a manner that is consistent with automobile insurance and is fair to both the insurance company and the insured. What planet do you live on when your roof is older than 20 years old and your insurance company is expected to cover 100% of the costs. I know some of you will disagree because of the past practice of insurance companies but I believe the logic is very solid.
R.J. Marino, Naples
Commit to clean energy
I would like to answer a letter responding to my July 9 editorial.
The writer cites an excerpt from an IPPC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, apparently from 2014 for the proposition that climate change is not happening. Below are excerpts from the most recent IPPC 2023 “Summary for Policymakers”.
"Observed Warming and Its CausesHuman activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020. Global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with unequal historical and ongoing contributions arising from unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production across regions, between and within countries, and among individuals (high confidence). "
"Observed Changes and ImpactsWidespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred. Human-caused climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. This has led to widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people (high confidence). Vulnerable communities who have historically contributed the least to current climate change are disproportionately affected (high confidence).
"Future Climate ChangeContinued greenhouse gas emissions will lead to increasing global warming, with the best estimate of reaching 1.5°C in the near term in considered scenarios and modeled pathways. Every increment of global warming will intensify multiple and concurrent hazards (high confidence). Deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would lead to a discernible slowdown in global warming within around two decades, and also to discernible changes in atmospheric composition within a few years (high confidence)."
It is hard to ignore what we are experiencing. The Naples Daily News articles discuss rising ocean temperatures and dangerous heat levels. One more insurance company is pulling out of Florida identifying “risk” as reason.
It is going to get worse, because of our inaction. The writer suggests that clean energy options will be expensive and ineffective. Stay with fossil fuels, he says. I do not see that as a choice.
Switching to a clean energy economy is multi-faceted, complicated, and involves technologies that are evolving. As citizens, here is our best bet. Ask every candidate what their program is to deal with climate change. Vote only for candidates that show an understanding of the issue and a commitment to moving to clean energy.
Judy Freiberg, Naples
Incredulous
The word of the day. If the Secret Service could not find the source of the cocaine in a Trump White House, you guys would be all over the story like stink on Pelosi. Should be fun watching you continue spinning this story.
Don Rader, Naples
Global warming danger
I was alarmed to read in the July 12 edition the letter to the editor “Climate change is normal.” The letter suggests that global warming is simply climate change that “is an ordinary event and the planet warms up and cools down on its own. It has for thousands of years.” The letter cites the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as its source. I hope that a representative of the IPCC elects to respond as they are clearly the experts. In the meantime, I will offer some quotes to think about from the IPCC in its most recent report (AR6 Synthesis Report, 2023):• “Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020”• “Global surface temperature has increased faster since 1970 than in any other 50-year period over at least the last 2000 years.”• “More than a century of burning fossil fuels as well as unequal and unsustainable energy and land use has led to global warming of 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. This has resulted in more frequent and more intense extreme weather events that have caused increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in every region of the world.”• “Every increment of warming results in rapidly escalating hazards. More intense heatwaves, heavier rainfall and other weather extremes further increase risks for human health and ecosystems. In every region, people are dying from extreme heat. Climate-driven food and water insecurity is expected to increase with increased warming. When the risks combine with other adverse events, such as pandemics or conflicts, they become even more difficult to manage.”
• “In the near term, global warming is more likely than not to reach 1.5°C even under the very low GHG emission scenario (SSP1-1.9) and likely or very likely to exceed 1.5°C under higher emissions scenarios.”• “Sea level rise is unavoidable for centuries to millennia due to continuing deep ocean warming and ice sheet melt, and sea levels will remain elevated for thousands of years.”I will read Dr. Lomborg’s book “False Alarm.” What I’ve read about it is that he agrees that global warming is a problem and encourages cost effective approaches to address it.Regarding the cost of flooding in the U.S., the best source for the direct costs of extreme weather is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Their data on the number of billion dollar disasters in the U.S. show that, in the 1980s, they cost $25B; in the 90s $314B; in the 2000s $587B; in the 2010s $936B. The number of associated deaths climbed similarly.Regarding Atlantic hurricane frequency, the U.S. EPA data since 1878 shows fluctuating intensity for most of the mid- to late 20th century, followed by a noticeable increase since 1995.I agree that our focus should not be on policies that cost a lot, deliver little, and will not work. However, I suggest that the data indicates clearly that we have a global warming problem and that action is warranted to address it. Pretending that this is normal is not the answer.
Rob Woolley, Fort Myers
Courts prevent overreach
On July 12, a couple of letters to the editor complained about the judges for “superseding the will of the people’s representatives“ when they blocked/overruled so much of Florida’s legislation. Do they not understand that our democracy has three branches of government designed to serve as checks and balances on each other? The courts prevent both executive branch overreaching (i.e. recent U.S. Supreme Court case on student loan forgiveness) and legislative branch overreaching (i.e. Florida’s numerous laws deemed unconstitutional). Simply having elected officials pass a law doesn’t automatically make the law constitutional. Rather, our government puts the authority in the courts to make that determination. The judges are simply doing their job.
Tamra Mitchell, Esq., Naples
Bias in the AP
Another classic example of the bias in the AP in "Farmer's markets thrive on loyal following." The text reads 'Egg prices rose partly due to avian flu' and 'Bread and flour prices rose partly because of the Ukraine crisis'. Why not tell the whole story? The other part. Why not say "Egg prices rose along with grocery prices as a result of Biden policies that drove up the costs of fossil fuels used to transport food and excessive spending by the Biden administration in addition to the avian flu"? It's clearly the intent of the AP to prop up this administration and take any of the blame off the Biden administration. Americans need to read between the lines and understand what is NOT being said and why. One could also add the part about how we egged this war on in the first place by threatening to cross Russia's red line and add Ukraine to NATO, but I don't expect the AP to mention that.
Allison Spataro, Naples
Intemperate, ignorant Trump
News accounts last week about one of the “Central Park Five,” Yusef Salaam, winning a Democratic primary for a seat on the City Council in New York City, virtually assuring his election this fall, overlooked one important and timely feature of that sorry saga from nearly four decades ago.
As many recall, especially New Yorkers including those residing around here these days. Salaam was one of five Black youths wrongfully accused, tried, convicted and imprisoned for the 1985 brutal attack and rape of a woman jogger in Central Park. The quintet ultimately was exonerated when another man confessed to the crime, verified by his DNA, leading to the release from prison seven years later of Salaam and the others and a large monetary settlement.
But, before that occurred, Donald Trump, then a rising real estate developer, weighed in. He purchased a full-page ad for $85,000 in a New York newspaper proclaiming their guilt and urging the “death penalty” for Salaam and the other four.
If it had been up to him, all five would have been executed, maybe without a trial, perhaps on a reality TV show hosted by him handling them each a slip saying: ”You’re dead.”
That fits in, of course, with the law here in Florida, which has been in the vanguard of capital punishment over the years, with four this year, including the most recent one last month of Duane Owen for the pair of gruesome slayings he committed 39 years ago. He and many of his death house predecessors may have been deserving of state-administered execution, but none of the innocent New York “Central Park Five” was, notwithstanding the advocacy of private citizen Trump.
Now the ex-president is back on the warpath, urging indiscriminate capital punishment for drug dealers and other offenders as well.
He then doubled-down this week, asserting that Hunter Biden deserves the death penalty for not timely paying his income taxes. He didn’t mention what sanction should be imposed for violation of the Espionage Act.
His injudicious, intemperate, and ignorant impulses nearly 40 years ago were every bit as present then as they are now. They reflect, as the saying goes, that a “leopard never changes its spots.”
Given his notorious proclivity for non-paying his bills, that newspaper probably made him pay in advance.
Marshall H. Tanick, Naples
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Saturday, July 15, 2023
