Common sense restored
There is a saying that common sense isn’t very common anymore. That was brought home quite clearly in a story in your paper about a fellow who caught a python in Everglades National Park and was fined $180 for doing so. The fine was for handling wildlife without a permit. The rationale for the fine is that the authorities are afraid that someone would mistake a python for a native species. Are you serious? You would have to be short several brain cells to mistake an 8 foot python for a 2 foot long rat snake.
Lately, you can’t pick up a copy of the Naples Daily News without there being a big story on the front page about how we have to get rid of the pythons in the Everglades because these invasive snakes are eliminating much of the native wildlife. Then you turn to some of the other sections and they are touting the upcoming hunt. Make sure you join in to help us to restore the critters who are vanishing right before our eyes! You can win big money if you catch enough of the invaders! Etc., etc., etc.The only good news in this unbelievable tale is that Everglades National Park said that the violation was dismissed prior to the court hearing. Well, at least somebody showed some common sense.
Chuck Bainbridge, Naples
Was redistricting legal?
The new reality is that the Florida House of Representative districts have been changed effective immediately, This has caused tension, worry and confusion among the residents of District 17 as I am a longtime resident of District 17. As the news broke about the reshuffling of the district maps, I was not surprised. Question: is this legal?
According to the U.S. Constitution Article 1: Section 2, which states, representatives are chosen according to the census every 10 years. It says nothing about readjusting any enumeration in between due to population shifts. It has been over a decade (2010) since voters passed the “Fair District amendment” by popular vote of 63% and the amendment became a constitutional amendment in our great Florida Constitution.
Our governor said that this move is necessary due to population shifts. I believe it is about power and control. The gerrymandering changed the margins of highly concentrated districts or by cracking, splitting up districts to decrease the majority. This was supported by a decision of Florida Supreme Court. There was one member of the Supreme Court who wrote a dissent on this judgment. Judge Jorge Ladaga rebuked the court for refusing to block the majority of the court for a path of delayed appellate review that could cause millions of voters to lose their right to vote.
Whatever district you live in vote, know your representatives not the boundaries, become aware of your candidates, write letters to the editors. Vote, mail your ballots and keep abreast of our changes in Florida.
Kathleen Callard, North Fort Myers
Naples Airport survey
The Naples Airport Authority’s recent survey claiming that “80% of residents support allowing American Airlines to return with 65 passenger aircraft” is deeply problematic and risks misleading both policymakers and the public. The Authority surveyed only about 600 city residents out of more than 14,000, and it remains unclear how many of those respondents actually live under a flight path or experience daily aircraft noise, fumes, and low altitude overflights. Presenting such a small, unbalanced sample as representative of the broader community is statistically indefensible and echoes the same issues seen in the Authority’s previous Sentiment Study, where just 1,462 residents were surveyed out of the county population of 414,000. It appears in both cases, the number of respondents living in the most heavily impacted neighborhoods was extremely low, yet the results were promoted as if they reflected widespread support. While community engagement is always appreciated, surveys that fail to meaningfully include the residents who bear the brunt of airport operations do not produce reliable or trustworthy data. Instead, they create the appearance of consensus where genuine concerns remain unmeasured, minimized, or ignored. Naples deserves transparent, comprehensive assessments that accurately reflect the lived experience of those under the flight paths — not selective sampling that downplays the real impacts of noise, air pollution, and expanding commercial operations. True public input requires representative outreach, not surveys designed in ways that make the numbers look favorable while failing to capture reality.
Mary Tatigian RN, Naples, Quiet Forida/Quiet Communities
How to fix Reflecting Pool
Florida know-how could finally fix D.C.’s troubled Reflecting Pool. While Naples enjoys clear water management, Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool continues its saga. After a recent multimillion-dollar renovation and “American Flag Blue” coating, algae turned it green again within days. Basic engineering tells us why: poor adhesion on old, oxidized concrete and stagnant shallow water that heats up fast. I’m a Florida builder of ponds and water systems. This isn’t rocket science. Here’s a simple, permanent plan that works:
Total cost at a rock-bottom $499 per square foot with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. I’ll supervise free of charge. A man without a plan is like a ship without a rudder. D.C. has tried temporary fixes for decades. This one solves the adhesion, temperature, circulation, and algae problems for good. Florida water management know-how could help our nation’s capital. I’m happy to share project photos and details.
Richard Matthew Eckstein, Naples
Wasteful spending, incompetence
The sickening saga of the algae-laden pool that runs along the Mall in the nation’s capital is reflective. It reflects three cardinal characteristics of President Trump and his administration: wasteful spending, corruption, and incompetence.
Converting the slimy green body of water into a big beautiful blue one was estimated to cost $1.8 million by the Trump administration, which gave out another one of its corrupt no-bid quid-pro-quo contracts to a friendly company that resulted in the final price tag of $14 million.
The contractor, like many other others who have received no-bid overpriced deals from the administration, turned out to be just as incompetent in doing its job as the president is in carrying out his duties.
Other contractors who might have taken on the project successfully may be green with envy at being bypassed for the prestigious and profitable work, while the president is probably blue now that his laudable color-changing scenario is turning out to look like another scam.
Marshall H. Tanick, Naples
A letter to liberals
Stock Market is up, jobs are up, inflation is stable, unemployment is down, 401Ks are up and all Republicans are happy about everything. The Democrats are still having TDS and nominating socialists to run against Republicans in the midterm elections. It’s hard to believe that Maine is considering a candidate who wears a Nazi tattoo with pride running for the Unted States Senate. He would not qualify for a state job in Florida and New Jersey is considering a candidate with ties to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. So, to all the liberal mailbag writers keep on sending your negative letters about Trump and we will see what happens in the midterms. As of now you don’t have a chance of changing anything. Trump and his excellent Cabinet and qualified candidates will prevail.
Jim McMenamy, Fort Myers
That character thing
It has been accurately said Mr. Trump has the survival instincts of a reptile and will in fact chew off an appendage to escape entrapment. This was again proven conclusively with the recent Memorandum of Understanding Mr. Trump signed with Iran in which the United States, under Mr. Trump, without consultation, effectively threw Israel overboard, chewing off an important ally and a country with shared Judeo-Christian historical roots, all for the expediency of Mr. Trump’s (who else) political fortunes. Mr. Trump saw a world economy going south, plummeting poll numbers, and approaching domestic midterm elections and was experiencing the ghost of impeachment past haunting his every waking moment. This, along with the strategic blunder of failing to anticipate the impact of the closure of the world’s most important commercial waterway, activated his reptilian instinct for self-survival, and caused Mr. Trump to abandon his and his boy blunder secretary of defense’s chest thumping war cry heard at the onset of Mr. Trump’s war of choice which demanded Iran’s total surrender, confiscation of all of its enriched uranium, destruction of all of Iran’s ballistic missile capability, rendering Iran incapable of funding proxies, and Iranian regime change. Now, Israel finds the U.S. attempting to constrain Israel’s military actions in defense of their own country, an Iran with even more hardline leadership, seeing over 400 billions of dollars go to Iran through various means to rebuild, rearm and fund proxies, an Iran allowed to sell its oil without any limitations and allowed to keep and build more ballistic missiles. It would be “unfair,” Mr. Trump now says to constrain Iran on building missiles (translation, Iran would not agree to it as part of the MOU), and confiscating the enriched uranium is just not that important anymore. You have to give credit to the MAGA king. Mr. Trump really thinks he can sell ice to an Eskimo, often confusing Eskimos and others with MAGA, obviously. Character is destiny, folks. It is a shame it takes thousands of folks dying and untold destruction only to arrive back at where we started, or worse, caused by those totally lacking in character, to remind us just how important it is to have leaders and those that can enable them, with character. I hope we remember that when we vote in November.
Thomas Minor, Bonita Springs
Property tax vs. impact fees
Vote for property tax relief and collect full impact fees to offset the shortfall. Not enough money? Get the Legislature to change the law that exempts developers from full impact fees and only phases in, over years, their full collection.
In theory, folks who buy new houses here in paradise are supposed to pay a fee, called an impact fee, for the infrastructure that will have to be created to accommodate them, like roads and schools and so forth. Sadly, our county commissioners reduced those fees years ago to stimulate development. Boy oh boy, have they done that! If you are a Lee County taxpayer, you should know that some of your taxes are given to buyers of new houses, in the form of reduced impact fees, to encourage them to come here when they should be paying that money themselves in the price of the house. I read so many folks complaining about development when they don’t know that our county commissioners encourage that development by making us pay for the newcomers! It is absolutely ludicrous, but no one seems to know about it. Folks, look it up yourselves. You are paying for development whether you like it or not.
Gary Marsh, Estero
Democrat achievements
A recent letter to the editor made a statement suggesting the Democrats need to make some positive suggestions to improve America. Let’s summarize some of the actions they have taken in the past.
They secured: Social Security – 1935; Fair Labor Standards Act – 1938; GI Bill of Rights – 1944; Clean Water Act – 1948; Civil Rights Act – 1964; Medicare and Medicaid – 1965; Voting Rights Act – 1965; American Disabilities Act – 1990; Affordable Care Act – 2010; Respect for Marriage Act – 2020; Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act -2021; American Rescue Plan Act – 2021; PACT Act – 2022; Inflation Reduction Act – 2022; Chips and Science Act – 2022
Think about it. What Democrats stood for in the past were laws and programs to improve our lives. Today their efforts are to sustain these accomplishments. These efforts do not come to fruition unless they are supported and protected by law. Our current economy is rigged for the rich and powerful who have little or no interest in supporting these efforts. Unless we give power to all the people in our nation only the rich and powerful will be making the decisions. Your political party is your choice, but ask yourself what party supports you and your loved ones.
J. Porter, Fort Myers
Harm Trump has done
While I thought that Trump could not drag the standing and reputation of the United States down any further than he has already accomplished in the past 16 months, I stand corrected based on his embarrassing and crass performance at the G7 conference. I doubt that even his most fervent supporters watched this without feeling guilty about electing this sorry person as the figurehead for our country. Had this happened in the 1970s “The Gong Show,” Chuck Barris would have used the large hook to yank him off the stage.
I do not see how this country can possibly recover from the harm this guy has done in the past 16 months. From destroying the White House and Reflecting Pool, starting a foolish war to make him look tough, being pulled around on his nose ring by Putin and Bibi, causing significant economic harm to millions of Americans, causing the deaths of over a hundred school children in Iran by his and his War Department leader’s incompetence, refusing to face up to his sordid involvement with Epstein, improperly making billions off his position as president, etc. Thank you MAGA.
Donald Switzer, Naples
Disgusting
Before the images of cage warfare against the backdrop of the White House and advertising for such products as Budweiser, nicotine pouches, and cryptocurrency fade from view, it seems appropriate to call attention to another related story which has received relatively little attention.
Andrew Tate is a former world kickboxing champ who at least once fought a mixed martial arts match like those at the White House. Andrew and his brother Tristan are dual U.S. and U.K. citizens with long histories of violent sexual abuse of minors along with slightly older women to entrap them as slaves in online prostitution, pornography, and money laundering businesses. They fled charges in the U.K. to set up shop in Romania where pending charges were also filed against them. So what do the Tates have to do with us? As reported by sources varying from The Wall Street Journal to FOX News, the Tates received major investments from Peter Thiel and J.D. Vance for “content” on the Thiel/Vance backed website Rumble. Elon Musk restored Tate’s previously banned Twitter account. Donald Trump Jr. called the cases against them “absolute insanity.” On stage Charlie Kirk praised Tate’s messaging as “so powerful in combatting our society’s collapsing of the American man.” Encouraged by Donald Trump Jr. and Barron Trump, Tates pumped MAGA messaging to subscribers to their pornography sites in the run up to the 2024 election.
Disgusted yet?
Alan Keller, Naples
Manosphere gets out of hand
The manosphere and the Epstein Class are getting out of hand. They’re now oozing from under the dark web into mainstream discussion: women shouldn’t be allowed to vote; women shouldn’t work outside the home; women are on this earth for one purpose only and that is to procreate and serve their husbands. Women should sit up and take notice when JD Vance, Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan join the moneyed and powerful men (including Donald Jr. and even Barron) who have supported Andrew and Tristan Tate, scum brothers. Thanks to our current U.S. government that pressured Romania, the Tates have been sprung from confinement in that country and are now traveling freely throughout the U.S., spreading their misogynist gospel. You can read the whole sickening story in the June 15 issue of The New Yorker, “A Web of Abuse” by Heidi Blake. Blake even includes her interview with the brothers. And she has her facts from previous allies of the Tates, formerly closed crime files and law enforcement, plus a collection of victimized women, some of whom were underage. It would be easy to say that this is another freaky story of powerful and connected men getting their jollies at the expense of women. But the Tates spread their pimping message to thousands of men throughout the globe and encouraged others to violate women as they did. Their influence has already shown up in violent and murder cases here in the U.S. It could well have spread to our community.
Jennifer Walker, Naples
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Common sense wins as python handling fine dropped | Opinion letters
Reporting by Letter writers / Fort Myers News-Press
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By Letter writers | USA TODAY Network
