Letters to the editor for Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Collier school board candidate forum June 21
The Tuesday, Aug. 23, Primary Election is not one that can be overlooked by voters who care about today’s schools and the issues impacting the education and future of our children. District 1, 3 and 5 seats are up for election. The candidate list includes the three incumbents and eight challengers, with the close of filing not until June 17. Naples Better Government and Naples Area Board of Realtors will be co-hosting a forum on Tuesday, June 21, at The Naples Conference Center, 1455 Pine Ridge Road in Naples. Attendees are welcome to arrive as early as 5:30 p.m. for outdoor networking with the candidates and sponsors under the portico. The forum itself will begin promptly at 6 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. There will be no questions taken from the audience. Under the leadership of guest moderator, John Davis, WGCU assistant news director and reporter, the event will focus on major issues being faced by many school boards across the nation. The program will be live streamed via WGCU News on WGCU-FM (90.1 Fort Myers) and WMKO (91.7 Marco Island). It will be viewable online at WGCU.ORG, News-Press.com and Naplesnews.com. Supporting organizations are the Collier Citizens Council, Greater Naples Leadership, League of Women Voters of Collier County and WGCU.
Sally Tiffany, president, Naples Better Government
Capitalize on charm of downtown Bonita
Charming: pleasing or delightful. When charming is used in reference to a town, it implies that there is a relaxed, genuine, unpretentious characteristic, as well as some quirkiness that you just don’t get in bigger urban settings. This is the definition of Old Downtown Bonita Springs. You can throw in some history and the beautiful Imperial River as a bonus; a little bastion of charm in the middle of urban sprawl. Many of us moved to Bonita because of these qualities.
The comprehensive plan for the city often refers to this vision. It mentions keeping public access to the river preserved, redeveloping downtown with an “old town” feel, and preserving and promoting the rich history we have. Clearly the potential of our charming little town was considered in the planning for progress and redevelopment. Sadly, the plans presented to the citizens for the redevelopment of the Bamboo Village property completely miss the mark. Building four-story apartment buildings on both sides of the river in the heart of downtown flies in the face of what was originally envisioned.
There have been previous renderings of what a “charming” mixed-use river walk could look like here. Cities all over the country have capitalized on their waterfronts, on their history and beauty, while successfully moving forward. We know it’s possible. Let’s find a way to progress thoughtfully, in the spirit of the town. Let’s embrace what we have and who we are, not be forced to be something we are not.
Michelle Wiebold, Bonita Springs
Proposal would flood Riviera Golf Estates
Riviera Golf Estates has been an over 55 community of 692 homes for more than 30 years. There is a golf course that winds through out our community that is owned by outside interests that want to close the course and build approximately 300 homes on it. They have done a number of things to try to strengthen their case. The latest one, they closed the course well over a month ago yet are still maintaining it to show that their expense exceeds any income they may get due to not having enough golfers. Yet Hibiscus, a golf course right across Rattlesnake Hammock Road from us, has so many golfers that their vehicle overflow must park in a field.
The rain we had from this recent tropical depression filled our lakes to overflowing and it is flooding parts of the golf course. Yet they want to fill some of our lakes in so they can build homes on them. They say they will make a larger lake somewhere on the course that will accept these waters. We are in a flood plain; the property on which any future homes or roads may be built must be raised approximately 4 to 11 feet to meet federal flood control requirements. This will flood our homes.
Please county commissioners help us.
Clifford C. Lingsch, Naples
Textbook standards will hinder students
The Florida Department of Education recently invited proposals from textbook companies for social studies materials. The department also posted a 29-page document on its website, stating what must be left out of textbooks, including: “critical race theory, social justice, culturally responsive teaching, social and emotional learning, and any other unsolicited theories that may lead to student indoctrination."
It seems they have no understanding of what the issues contained with the broad area now called "Social Justice" mean in an academic setting, and how its areas of study are central to social studies education. How, for example, does one teach social studies without discussing such social justice issues such as the civil rights movement or women’s suffrage?
The University of Central Florida offers a graduate certificate in “Social Justice in Public Service" that is focused on providing "a background in social justice, exploring topics such as human rights, income distribution and the role of markets" that they explicitly state will extend the job skills for students going into a wide variety of fields. Colleges and universities across the U.S. offer minors, majors and graduate degrees in Social Justice, including Brandeis, Loyola, George Mason, the University of Michigan, Eastern Kentucky University, the University of Oklahoma, Arizona State and many more.
Clearly, our DOE has no idea what they are asking social studies textbook publishers to do, or the ways in which their misinformed "standards" will hinder our students' knowledge, preparation and job skills for years to come.
Sally Harrison-Pepper, Ph.D., Fort Myers
State of the nation depressing
According to news sources across the political spectrum, our society is dealing with mass shootings which our Congress won’t do anything about. And at the same time we have a Supreme Court which is about to take away a woman’s control of her uterus while many states are passing laws that will make it easier for an 18-year-old to buy a weapon capable of killing 40 people in a minute. There is the war in Ukraine, inflation, record gas prices, crumbling infrastructure and a resurging COVID pandemic.
Let’s not forget those other really urgent stories, including the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp trial in which Depp proved to be the better actor, Kim Kardashian’s love life and the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
Add to this that fact that our political news is dominated by which member of Congress can prove him/herself to be the biggest buffoon by making the most outrageous headline-grabbing statement in any given day.
Top that off with the fact that nearly three-quarters of the members of one of our major parties still think it’s just fine to have a president who has the emotional responses of a 4-year-old, the truthfulness of Pinocchio, the intellectual curiosity of a potato, the empathy of a hyena, the ethics of a mafia don and the morals of an alley cat, and we’ve pretty much covered it all.
I had my annual “Wellness Checkup” with my family doctor recently and the question arose, “Do you ever have feelings of being depressed?” My only response was, “Anybody who’s paying attention to our world who isn’t at least a little depressed has a cognition problem that’s much more serious than a mild depression.”
Jay Light, Fort Myers Beach
Our protectors have been outgunned
Since Columbine, not much has changed, except to make guns easier than ever to get -- and to make every student and teacher in America responsible for hiding from killers in their classrooms. Most of these young male shooters were not legally old enough to buy a glass of beer at a tavern, yet they had access to firearms, even military-style rifles. Why on earth does anyone NOT in the military need those kinds of weapons, except to kill? Why do the current laws permit this? Isn’t shooting kids an American problem, not a political one?
Are we at the point today where policemen in Uvalde are kept from entering a school because they are facing an AK-15 style weapon with only their handguns? Have we so hardened our schools we have to wait for someone with a key to open a door to a classroom with a gunman? Have our protectors been outgunned by the right to carry a gun?
I fear for all of us who, at this point in 2022, do not have the “right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” because many Americans hold the right to carry ANY gun to be non-negotiable. I’m thinking of how mutilated these children must have been that they needed to be identified by DNA. Maybe, like Emmett Till, we need to see the horror of what was done in order to get something done!
Nancy Iacoli Pointer, Naples
Second Amendment outdated
It’s time! As a parent and future grandparent, it’s time to do the responsible thing and vote for stricter gun laws. I don’t use the term gun control, because it’s not about control, it’s about having in place laws that make sense.
About 88 percent of Americans want stricter gun laws, yet 50 senators are blocking what the American people want. How in good conscience can this happen in America today? They stand by and put politics and party over humanity?
It is very simple: A complete ban on assault type weapons. No one needs these. Outlaw bump stocks. Maximum of 10 shots in any magazine. Must be 21 to purchase a gun with valid ID (including handguns). Thirty-day waiting period on any gun purchases including those purchased at gun shows. Stricter red flag laws. No person to own more than two handguns.
There are 400 million guns in the U.S. and just over 300 million people (including children and babies). That statistic alone is alarming. If you already have at least two legally registered handguns, you can keep them, but cannot purchase more.
None of the above violate Second Amendment rights which these 50 senators are hiding behind. Read the amendment: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
No one owning a gun today qualifies to be a "well regulated militia." The amendment is outdated and needs to be eliminated.
Let's use common sense and give the 88 percent of Americans what they want. Demand your representatives and senators to do the right thing and pass common sense laws.
Lou Vigliotti, Naples
Arm qualified and willing staff
Reducing mass shootings in schools and houses of worship requires both strategic and tactical measures.
Strategic measures out of the control of these facilities include better mental health care country-wide, strict enforcement of existing gun laws, including background checks, and intelligence gathering through social media of potential offenders. Strategic measures within the control of the facilities include “hardening” them by limiting access doors, alarming non-guarded doors, and guarding the primary entry point(s). Large facilities may have the resources to install scanners for people and luggage such as in airports.
Tactical measures out of the control of the facilities include guarding and/or surveilling them by local police. Tactical measures within the control of the facilities include regular inspections and intrusion testing, regular training of staff, identifying and reporting potential threats, and arming qualified and willing staff.
What the vast majority of mass shootings in these facilities have in common is that existing threats were not identified or reported, access control measures were violated, no internal staff were armed, and response by local police was not rapid enough. Oral or electronic threats by problem students were not identified or reported. No internal staff were armed. Police response was too late or failed to immediately enter the facility.
Like it or not, banning so-called “assault-like” weapons would not be an effective strategic measure and the most effective tactical measure would be arming qualified and willing staff. The AR-15 is the most popular hunting rifle in the country and determined offenders could find illegal ways to obtain one. Arming qualified and willing staff is the most effective tactical measure because they could most quickly end the attack. This was proven by a church intrusion when a man with a shotgun under his coat walked through all access controls, killed a parishioner and was immediately killed by an armed staff member.
All mass shootings cannot be prevented but lives can be saved if the above measures are followed.
Ira Cotton, Naples
Protect with armed volunteers
The Second Amendment gives us the right to protect ourselves and our loved ones from attackers. Hence, all supporters of the Second Amendment should be willing to stand guard to protect our loved ones at locations where they may get attacked.
With this in mind, armed volunteers would be placed at schools, houses of worship, hospitals, government buildings, theaters and any other venues where there are large numbers of citizens.
At this point in time, there are more guns in our country then there are people. So, let’s be real. We can’t stop gun violence now with legislation. Our politicians know this and they also know that for some of them, they would not get elected if they go against this amendment.
Therefore, let good citizens using their Second Amendment rights go forth to protect our good people from the evil in society. We are living in a war zone. We need protection when our government officials endorse no background checks, and want everyone to be able to carry a gun without a permit. The lawmakers who support arming the public without limits are just one step away from what I have proposed.
This is a scary world and state that we live in.
Jim Sarconi, Naples
The once and future militia
At the time of the American Revolution, we were British colonial subjects of King George III, lord and master of the British Empire and commander of the most powerful army and navy in the world. We were farmers and laborers, shopkeepers and tradesmen, and we joined together in a violent, armed struggle against our own government for the tyranny they imposed upon us. And therein lies the prescience of the framers of our Constitution regarding the Second Amendment: They enabled us to rise up in armed struggle against our own government if we ever have to again. We ordinary American civilians are the once and future militia.
Gary Marsh, Estero
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Wednesday, June 8, 2022
