Incentivizing chronic complainers
Do you remember 2023 when police were being called multiple times in the middle of the afternoon to toddler birthday parties? Ask the police chief. She remembers.
Is this good government? Children traumatized and the city violating their constitutionally protected free speech. Kids in the pool are doing nothing wrong. You are again attempting to criminalize laughter and children playing in the pool with an overly restrictive noise ordinance.
The measures proposed by Councilor Gray will once again create a hostile environment for families and children specifically. Is it OK for armed police officers to show up at a kid’s birthday party? Well, they did in 2023 on multiple occasions – do you want that to happen again?
Marco is for outdoor living. We want to be able to chat while having dinner on our lanai, enjoy a conversation in our hot tub and celebrate family milestones in our backyard. The proposal to lower decibels and changing times to 8 p.m. is unacceptable.
Everyone can understand quiet hours. Councilor Gray says he wants to stop ‘nighttime disturbances’ – then put in a simple requirement and people can respect quiet time from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. This is a solution that everyone on Marco can understand and abide by.
By lowering the decibels and the time to 8 p.m. you will once again incentivize chronic complainers and create this hostile environment for families on Marco Island.
Thorsten Sandner, Marco Island
Personal attacks concerning
I am deeply concerned by recent online comments directed at Marco Island Councilor Schwan by the supporters of shark fishing. Disagreement with elected officials is expected — but the tone and nature of online remarks have gone too far.
Criticism should focus on decisions and policies, not personal attacks. Posting under anonymous accounts to target someone personally crosses a line and undermines any legitimate point. If there are real concerns, there are appropriate and effective ways to express them — writing to council, submitting a letter to the editor, or speaking at a public meeting.
What’s especially troubling is when deeply personal matters are brought into the discussion by the shark fishing supporters. Referencing something as painful as a family loss is not constructive, and it has no place in civic dialogue.
Marco Island has always prided itself on being a strong, engaged community. That standard should extend to how we communicate online, especially when we disagree. Respectful, issue-focused conversations lead to better outcomes; personal attacks do not.
I also believe it’s important for City Council leadership to speak clearly about expectations for civility. Setting and maintaining those standards benefits everyone.
We can disagree without being disrespectful. The online behavior by the shark fishing supporters is nothing short of despicable.
J.R. Stark, Marco Island
Beware of rubber stampers
In Collier County, many of us care about low taxes, safe communities, and stable, predictable government. Recent national policies delivered some of that — but the way power is being centralized in the presidency has gone too far, and in the coming midterms we should think carefully before giving automatic support to candidates who promise to be rubber stamps.
The concern is less about any one policy and more about how they are being carried out. The current governing blueprint envisions replacing many career professionals with political loyalists and bringing law‑enforcement and regulatory agencies into much closer alignment with the personal priorities of the president. That might feel effective in the short term, but any tools created now will be available to future presidents of either party.
We have also seen a growing reliance on executive orders and administrative directives to make major changes on immigration, federal agencies, and cultural questions, rather than using the legislative process. That may be faster, but it leaves the country more polarized and our institutions fragile.
Collier is a growing, educated coastal community where residents understand long‑term risk. Instead of rewarding candidates who campaign on absolute allegiance to any president, voters can look for those — of any party — who respect checks and balances and are willing to say no when a president oversteps.
A midterm course correction is not an act of partisanship. It is a way for citizens to insist that our Constitution, our institutions, and our community’s future matter more than any one leader or agenda.
Paul Howard, Naples
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
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This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: Letters to the Editor, May 8
Reporting by Marco Eagle / Marco Eagle
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