Letters to the editor for Saturday, September 16, 2023

Letters to the editor should be 250 words or less. Include your name and city or community of residence. Guest opinions should be 600 words or less and include a brief summary of the author’s credentials relevant to the topic. Guest opinions may include a head shot of the author. For the Fort Myers News-Press, email submissions to mailbag@news-press.com and for the Naples Daily News to letters@naplesnews.com

Don't cut conservation funds

Three times the citizens of Collier County have voted, by an overwhelming margin, to put some of their tax money into the Conservation Collier Fund. Any attempt by the Board of County Commissioners to use these monies for other than what the public directed them to be used for is opposed to our rules of government. Most people moved here at least in part due to the quality of the environment and Conservation Collier by acquiring natural properties and maintaining them for access by the public is performing a service. You have an obligation to the people of this county to fulfill their wishes and to leave these funds untouched.Taxes are increasing because the assessed values of properties have increased. This does not obligate the BCC to decrease the millage rate by raiding essential programs. Once raided, these funding levels are rarely returned to previous levels. You may feel it is unpopular for citizens to experience elevated taxes, but when they sell their properties, they are very happy to receive the increased profits. I think you have to be prepared for some blowback, but you should not reduce essential programs to decrease the millage rate and balance the budget.Because citizens have directed the BCC to fund and operate Conservation Collier, failure to do this will open the county to a lawsuit.

Judith Hushon, Naples

Tax relief for Ian losses

Since Hurricane Ian many Florida residents have been focused on insurance issues -- filing claims and finding affordable premiums.

There’s another topic that needs our attention: pressuring Congress to pass legislation making Hurricane Ian a “qualified disaster area for purposes of the disaster-related personal casualty loss tax deduction.”

Passage of HR1331 will allow us to reduce our taxes from storm-related losses not covered by insurance.  The legislation was “introduced in the House” (Ways and Means Committee) on March 1, 2023 by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL-17).  Nothing has happened since then!

Here’s a list of people and their contact information who need to hear how important HR 1331 is to Florida constituents:

Rep. Jason Smith (Ways and Means Committee chair), 1011 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, Phone: 202-225-4404, Fax: 202-226-0326 ; Rep. Byron Donalds, 1039 SE 9th Ave Ste 308, Cape Coral, FL 33990, 239-599-6033; Sen. Marco Rubio, 2120 Main Street Room 200, Fort Myers, FL 33901, 239-318-6464; Sen. Rick Scott, 3299 Tamiami Trail East Building F, #106, Naples, FL 34112, 239-231-7890.

I encourage you to call each of these people, starting with Jason Smith.  As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he’s the one who needs to move the legislation forward.  The others can put pressure on him to act.

Also, until legislation is passed, calling each one frequently will let them know how important this is to us.

Jim Sherman, South Fort Myers

Golden Gate incorporation

Approximately 35,000 residents of Golden Gate Estates were denied their right to vote after State Representative Lauren Melo shot down the proposal at the Legislative Delegation on 9/11/23. Many Golden Gate residents have worked tirelessly on incorporating the Estates since 2020 only to be bogged down with unrequired petitions requested by Representative Melo and now adding a new unrequired request of over 60% in favor referendum. Tactics of political delay that will take years. Only one has to follow the money trail to understand the resistance. For the record 700 petitions were gathered in a short period of time and presented only to be told it was not enough. Our state representative apparently has never done that tedious and arduous job. Whether one is for or against our incorporation is not the issue. The real and only issue is we the people have the unequivocal right to that vote on the 2024 ballot and that was stripped away by unfounded and uninformed grounds. One thing I do know along with many fellow Golden Gate residents is who we will not be voting for on the 2024 ballot.

Judy Schwarzwaelder, Naples

Program no longer needed

On June 14, 2023, the City of Marco Island submitted a “4E Plan” to FDEP stating: “The City of Marco Island is hereby submitting the documentation needed to demonstrate the City's efforts to bring Water Body Identification (WBID) 32780 (Marco Island) into compliance with state water quality criteria for total nitrogen.”This 4E report used outdated information from 2020 as justification.More recent FDEP records (6/30/22) for the Marco Island waterbody show that the Marco waterbody was NOT IMPAIRED for TN for the year 2021. Further, Marco Island city records show that the waterbody has been below the 0.3 mg/L impairment limit for the full year 2022 (0.26 mg/L) and so far in 2023 (0.20 mg/L). If the current 2023 trend continues, the Marco waterbody should soon be automatically delisted from impairment for Total Nitrogen (TN).Why does this matter? The 4E plan includes over $15,000,000 in projects that consume staff time and city treasure. One example is the San Marco “Dead End Canal Interconnect” project. The 2024 Proposed Capital Plan for Marco as presented (6/19/23) shows this single culvert budgeted for 2024 will cost the city $1,600,000 after a $400,000 Florida state grant is applied. The other four dead end interconnects proposed will cost an additional $8,000,000. Pipes under roads do not reduce pollution.Let’s come to our senses. If the waterbody is not impaired for nitrogen, stop implementing projects to reduce nitrogen in the waterbody.

Nanette Rivera, Marco Island

Override Tuberville hold

Tommy Tuberville is a toxin to the military. As of today 301 military promotions and ranking changes are on hold, and he has given no indication of changing his position.This Republican senator has maintained this hold since February because he opposes the Pentagon's policy of offering time off for service members and their family to receive reproductive health care when they are stationed in a state that restricts abortions and other procedures.In the Senate, one senator can hold up a nomination even if 99 move it forward. Usually the majority party gets around this tactic through a series of votes and negate the hold.Tommy Tuberville does not support the needs of service members who have defended him and our country.He is holding up Senate business.Senators, you can do this! Why wait so long?Kathleen Callard, RN BSN, wife of a veteran, North Fort Myers

EV tax proposal unfair

Florida Republican Senator Ed Hooper has proposed legislation (SB28) imposing a $200/year tax on electric vehicles increasing to $250/year in 2029. Facts: Florida road tax is 35.225 cents/gallon. On average Americans drive their vehicle 12,000 miles/year and the current mandated fleet average fuel economy requirement for new vehicles is 36 mpg. This means average gallons of gasoline used per year is 333.3 for which the Florida road tax equals $117/year. So, if the EV owner drives 12,000 miles/year they would on average be paying nearly twice as much road tax as owners of gasoline powered vehicles. For EV owners, such as myself, that only drive 6,000 miles/year, the road tax would be nearly four times as much. The current road tax is based on gallons of gasoline consumed which directly relates to miles driven per year. An EV road tax should be based on the miles driven and this could be done at each vehicle registration renewal by including the odometer reading and charging perhaps one cent per mile driven since the previous renewal. I have no issue with EV owners paying a fair road tax, but Ed Hooper's proposal is not that.

Ron Jones, Fort Myers

Hunter Biden gun charges

Excuse me for scoffing at Hunter Biden’s indictment for making a false statement in his application for a gun purchase.  Hunter apparently answered “no” in response to the question “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” as part of the background check.

I know lots of gun owners and I know that many of them smoke pot regularly.  There must be millions of pot smoking gun owners who made the same false statement on their gun application!  You know who you are.  Most of us have never been aware of this gun purchase restriction and it has clearly been ignored, as it should be, by the gun buyers and law enforcement.

For two years we’ve heard Trump supporters bellyaching about him being a victim of selective criminal prosecution by the Justice Department.  These same people will be applauding the Justice Department’s absurd filing of the three felony counts related to Hunter’s five year old purchase of a handgun for making a false statement, just as they or their friends did.

Louis Erickson, Naples

Joe Biden and ageism

It's time to stop talking about Biden's age. Let's recognize ageism for what it is, the discounting of a person's ability based on a number. Some want us to forget what Biden has accomplished, considered by many to be the most impressive legislative record since Johnson, 50-plus years ago. They want us to forget the wisdom and experience he brings to the office and the esteem and trust he has from many world leaders. They focus solely on 80. Let's compare. Following is a list of leaders all over 80: Warren Buffet-93, George Soros-93, Charles Koch-87, Stephen Breyer-85, Rupert Murdoch-92, Nancy Pelosi-82, Pat Buchanan-84, Pope Francis-86, Michael Bloomberg-81, Emir of Kuwait-86, Emperor Akihito-89, King of Norway-86, King of Saudi Arabia-87, President of Lebanon-83, President of Cameroon-90. A visit to a retirement community would find many highly functioning individuals in their eighties and nineties. Let's focus on the accomplishments of the individual rather than an arbitrary number. President Biden's recent trips have demonstrated his stamina and ability to lead our country another four years.

Rosemary Giovannone, Fort Myers

Biden the worst president

It is difficult to understand how anyone would consider voting for Joe Biden much less encourage him to run for another term. Biden will eventually go down in history as our country’s worst president. Of that I have absolutely no doubt. Since he took office in January, 2021 here are a few lowlights of what this president has allowed to occur. 1) our energy independence was immediately halted and, lately, when news of an increase in oil prices was known Biden’s reaction was to restrict oil drilling leases here in the U.S., 2) major cities have been in essence turned over to criminal gangs to a degree never before experienced, 3) our southern border has become the province of Mexican and South American drug lords and nearly 200,000 of our citizens have died because of drugs coming across those borders, 4) the economy remains in trouble and the president’s renditions of how effective his "Bidenomics" program have been, simply stated, blatant lies, 5) the gaffes associated with a deteriorating mental capacity are frequent and, frankly, are scary and 6) details will come out regarding Biden’s involvement in the influence peddling scheme while vice president -- millions of dollars to the Biden family still unexplained. Please, no one in their right mind would consider voting for this man.

Read McCaffrey, Naples 

End the discord

Under the leadership of Donald Trump and his congressional minion and VP hopeful Marjorie Taylor Greene, the GOP has become the party of grievance and vengeance, not governance.  America can do better than this; if we can’t, our noble experiment in democracy is doomed.  What unites us as Americans is far more important than what divides us.  This has to be true!

If you believe the 2020 election was rigged and voter fraud is rampant, volunteer to be an election worker. Soon, your faith in our electoral system will be restored. If you think teachers are indoctrinators, pick a school and do some volunteer work there. You’ll see dedicated, creative teachers doing fantastic work with our students. Your faith in public education will be restored. You think the judicial system is broken and biased, spend some time at the courthouse watching cases unfold. You’ll see fair, impartial judges doing their best for a country that believes in the rule of law.

Are there problems in our foundational institutions? You bet there are. Do the people we depend upon to hold our society together make mistakes? They sure do. But the remedy is not to sow discord and trash our institutions; the remedy is working together for solutions, for meaningful change, for a better, more democratic America.

Ray Clasen, North Fort Myers

Push back against state

Intolerance of children's identity jeopardizes students. Questionable edicts, humiliating at best and deadly at worst. “Don’t Say Gay” means “outing" students. LGBTQ+ teens, celebrated choosing pronouns, now in the shadows. Kids with same-sex parents mustn’t mention them. Shame brings pathos. Silence kills. Suicide rates of gay, lesbian, non-gender conforming children, increasing. Black History curriculum, shut down. Slavery’s injustice, downplayed. Whitewashing wrongdoings of ancestors profiting from barbarism, adds insult to injury to children whose relatives suffered forced servitude. Can society learn from its errors, minimizing slavery’s dehumanizing effect on slave and slaver alike?

Stifling debate, gaslighting our students, educationally wrong-headed. A vociferous few culled books from school libraries. Poet-laureate and Shakespeare, in the crosshairs. Parents controlling their children’s reading shouldn’t censor literature for ALL!

Keeping kids safe from gun violence, teaching them to cower or throw books at gunmen? Schools should unite making assault weapons inaccessible to young assassins. The #1 killer of kids? Gun violence!

Assaulted gender identity, stifled discussion of controversial subjects, slashed diversity programs, books banned -- ON OUR WATCH. Adults dropped the ball -- heads in the sand, not doing everything possible for school safety, nor leading by example by demanding our hard earned rights.

It’s risky. School board members, threatened. CCEA loses members, advocating for social justice. CCPS sacrifices funding by not following Florida’s cruel mandates. Teachers are disciplined if non-compliant to the “gag” orders. Community members sanctioned by bosses, ostracized for speaking out. All stand to face consequences, pushing back against the state. I think it’s worth it.

Cynthia Odierna, Naples

Funding the IRS

One year ago, those on the right in Congress criticized the Inflation Reduction Act which gave the IRS a boost of $80 billion. The right believed, and wholeheartedly planted the idea, that any money the IRS was given would go towards lower- and middle-income taxpayers being targeted. For years the IRS has been in dire need of hiring, but not for agents to target low to middle income Americans but for employees to answer the phone, process returns timely, and to have staff to be able to collect past-due taxes from millionaires and corporations. Since August of 2022 the IRS has new resources in order to target (at last count) 1,600 millionaires who each owe at least $250,000 in uncollected taxes. I hope that number is equal to corporations. The IRS now has new tools which help see patterns and trends of where to look for high earner tax noncompliance. I for one thought it very wrong that the low and middle class were doing their part to keep our economy afloat., but higher income folks were being protected from having to do their part. All this said this isn't settled yet. The IRS money is vulnerable to potential cutbacks. House Republicans built a $1.4 billion reduction to the IRS into the last debt ceiling budget negotiation. That debt deal also has a separate agreement to take $20 billion from the IRS over the next two years, and to divert that money to other non-defense programs. I have concerns for the IRS future budgets, and so should you. I don't want to continue to be expected to pay everyone's way.L. O'Brien, Fort Myers

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Saturday, September 16, 2023