Learn rules of the roundabout
As a regular bicycle and car user of Crayton Road and Harbour Drive, I am supportive of a roundabout being built at this location for all the reasons given in your article of April 28 (Naples roundabout project moves forwards after pedestrian fatality).
However, I am concerned there will be more even more accidents unless we educate road users on the correct use of these traffic management measures. I also regularly use the roundabouts on Central and 8th Street and Central and 10th Street. I would estimate that well in excess of 50% of drivers do not know the correct rules (i.e. yield to the left before entering, do no yield on the circle, and indicate right or left if taking the 1st or 3rd exits respectively).
Perhaps as a public service measure, you could publish a series of articles on the correct use of roundabouts and also put some pressure on Naples City Council to install educational signage at these junctions.
Stephen Merrick, Naples
Detainee rights at Alligator Alcatraz
The Florida governor’s recent legal filing regarding the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility is a disturbing attempt to use legal jargon to deny human rights. By claiming that posting attorney access protocols constitutes “government speech,” the state is arguing that attorney access is optional.The government speech doctrine is intended to protect the state’s right to its own viewpoint, not to help it withhold legal representation for people in its custody. Providing information on how a detainee can reach a lawyer isn’t a “viewpoint” — it’s a prerequisite for due process.
Objecting to the $180,000 cost of additional phones for a facility that costs taxpayers $450 million a year is disingenuous. If the state has enough money to run a massive Everglades detention camp, it has enough money to ensure the people held there can exercise their First Amendment right to speak with counsel — especially amid reports of phone shut-offs and physical abuse. Judge Chappell’s order isn’t “court-ordered speech”; it is court-ordered justice. The governor should focus on upholding the constitutional rights of those under his jurisdiction rather than inventing novel legal theories to abrogate human rights.
Janet Testerman, Naples
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
What I miss about SW Florida
In the 40+ years that I lived in SW Florida I wrote many letters to The News-Press, mainly complaining about local issues. After I retired from teaching and after the last price increase on my homeowners insurance I moved to Ohio. Here are a few of the things that I miss.
1. Publix! Publix is by far the nicest supermarket on the east coast. Clean, friendly, and reasonably priced.
2. A modern road system with efficient traffic lights.
3. A healthy lifestyle. It seems like the two most common activities in Ohio are smoking and over-eating!
4. Of course the weather. I have decided it is better to be too hot than too cold!
5. Finally, the incredible poverty up North which is ignored by government, even worsened by state sanctioned gambling and corruption.
Sorry Southwest Florida. You aren’t so bad after all.
Steve Solak, Youngstown, Ohio
Stop ignoring period poverty
Period poverty isn’t a distant problem — it’s happening here in Southwest Florida, and we’re not doing enough about it. More than 60% of Americans don’t even realize it exists. Silence is part of the problem.
One in four women and girls struggles to afford basic menstrual products. Two in five girls miss school because of it. And federal SNAP benefits still don’t cover these essentials. That means too many are forced to improvise with unsafe substitutes — or simply go without.
This isn’t just about hygiene; it’s about dignity, education, and economic stability. Girls are missing up to 20% of the school year. Women are missing work and losing income their families depend on. The shame and stigma surrounding menstruation only make it worse.
We would never accept a lack of access to toilet paper or soap. So why do we tolerate this?
The solution isn’t complicated. Provide free menstrual products in schools, expand access through community programs, and update policies that treat these essentials like luxuries. Locally, the Alliance for Period Supplies of SWFL is already stepping up — distributing 10 million period products — but they cannot meet the need alone.
Period Poverty Awareness Week (May 11–17) is the time to stop looking away. Donate. Advocate. Talk. Demand change.
No one should have to choose between food and basic hygiene. If we stay silent, we are part of the problem.
Learn more and take action at www.APSofSWFL.org.
Dusti Beaubien, president, Alliance for Period Supplies of SWFL, Naples
Florida’s congressional district map
There sure is a lot of hoopla about the Florida congressional district map that Governor DeSantis drafted and sponsored by District 78 State Representative Jenna Persons-Mulicka.
This process of drawing a new map has been going on for a while, but the Legislature only had two days to review and debate it. We all know about President Trump’s late-night tweet where he mandated that Republican states redistrict to get more Republican seats in Congress. In a perverse political way that makes sense, but in Florida it is illegal to draw district maps to favor one party or person. The politicians tell us this redistricting was necessary due to population growth. The only way to know how much and where the population has grown is through a census. This is why the Florida State Constitution requires the census be done every 10 years (last one was 2022), and redistricting done after the census. The question we all should ask is, since there was no census what population data was this new map based on?
Now comes episode two of “Tallahassee Mania” where lawyers get hired by the state and taxpayers pay their exorbitant rates to present a case in support of the district map. But rest assured everything will be all right because the bill’s sponsor Jenna Persons-Mulicka was quoted in an August 29, 2026 AP article: “I believe that there is a likelihood that that map will be upheld against legal challenges.” But she was very tight lipped when asked about an “evolving legal landscape” surrounding the redistricting effort.
So taxpayers, once again our elected representatives are nobly spending our money on lawyers’ fees defending poorly conceived and unnecessary legislation. Meanwhile they have not done the one thing they are there for, pass a budget!
Daniel Becker, Fort Myers
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
Petty, vindictive retribution
Would like to offer our president the following advice:
President Trump, stop being petty with vindictive retribution behavior & begin attempting to be presidential. You did start a war & need to stay focused.
James Keough, Cape Coral
Weaponized against critics
The Trump administration assault on free speech is reaching a new level that should have us all very worried. If the FCC is ready and willing to yank the broadcast licenses of media outlets that employ comedians and journalists the president does not like and run stories critical of the administration, our democracy is truly dead and buried. The hypocrisy, though, is stunning. The president regularly insults entertainers and journalists who displease him by calling them “no talent losers” or “horrible” people, or “low intelligence” etc. He posted an image of the Obamas as apes. No problems with any of this, but if Jimmy Kimmel or Stephen Colbert tells a joke Trump finds offensive, they should lose their jobs, and their employers should have their broadcast licenses revoked.
James Comey is again under indictment, this time for posting an image of seashells he saw on the beach forming a design that read “86 47.” Trump and the MAGA faithful interpret this as a threat to assassinate the president. First, 86 means “get rid of” which could as easily mean “vote against” as anything resembling a call to violence. Who knows what was in the mind of the person who created the design? How can you know for certain what was in Comey’s mind? Do we need Orwell’s Thought Police to take charge?
CBS is under Trump’s thumb and he’s going after ABC. He’s talked frequently about locking up journalists. He wants to create a climate of fear where his critics are driven underground. But he’s failing. In Hungary and across Europe, authoritarianism is in retreat.
Our midterm elections will be our first step towards getting rid of the Trump agenda of chaos and brutality. Bullies love to hurl insults at their perceived enemies, but they can’t stand it when their targets return the favor. The DOJ and the FCC work for the American people; those agencies are not supposed to be weaponized against critics of the president.
Ray Clasen, North Fort Myers
The king’s speech
It took a monarch to remind us of the American “principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.” We succeed “not by the will of one but by the deliberation of many.” Is there any chance our self-aggrandizing would-be autocrat was paying attention?
King Charles spoke of his disdain for violence, his commitment to democracy, the logic of religious tolerance, the strengths derived from diversity, the necessity of an independent judiciary, the importance of our commitment to NATO, the value of our alliance with the UK, and the need to support Ukraine. He warns us not to ignore the “collapse of critical natural systems,” referring to the urgency of addressing climate change. He ended with a plea that “we rededicate ourselves to each other in the selfless service of our peoples and of all the peoples of the world.”
Aspirants to political relevance in both parties should heed his words. Are our leaders capable of the “selfless service” the king speaks of?
Kevin McNally, Bonita Springs
The Florida sinkhole
Florida has become the sinkhole of great intentions. I really must question what has or hasn’t been accomplished during the last 8 years? We’ve seen classic books being banned from schools and libraries. Moms for Liberty a far-right Christian cult pushing for alternative schools at the expense of real public education. A focus on denying gay rights and assembly and erasing any symbols of a portion of our population. Let’s paint over crosswalks! Oh, and new roads at all our colleges across Florida and highways and byways. Charlie Kirk a millionaire protagonist immortalized in asphalt. Remember your skyrocketing home insurance rates? Nothing, absolutely nothing. And talk of eliminating property taxes? Just talk. But we did get a new airport at PBI and new signs are being installed. And your local Republican commissioners, really anywhere in Florida who favor the developers over safeguarding the environment and infrastructure. The sinkhole will become a cesspool if you install another sycophant as governor in November. Go ahead. The Florida hopes and dreams will die. Oh, and to the Air Force captain who received a call from the crazed woman who wished you dead. Been there done that. Price of the First Amendment.
Laurence Jacks, Estero
MAGA movement hypocrisy
Our president and his MAGA followers are the most hypocritical group of people that have ever been in control of our nation. Their response to Jimmy Kimmel’s joke recorded three days prior to the correspondents dinner is a perfect example; let me explain:
When former FBI director Robert Mueller died, our classless leader’s words of condolence were “Good, I’m glad he’s dead.” Isn’t that enough to make Mueller’s family, and for that matter all of us, proud of our fearless leader? Personally, I find it disgusting that he can’t show a modicum of human decency.And what about his touching remarks when Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were brutally murdered, calling Rob a deranged individual? Nothing but class this guy.
Back in 2019 when Representative John Dingell died, his wife Debbie commented that John would be happy looking down and seeing the wonderful accolades at his funeral. So what did our president say? “Well, maybe he was looking up.” The implication there is clear. However, no outrage whatsoever from the MAGA world. And how about Trump pictorially pretending he’s Jesus, any outrage there?Additionally, we have Trump and his cronies criticizing the Pope and trying to school him on the Bible. Give me a break! But when Jimmy Kimmel jokes about Melania, the “expectant widow,” the MAGA world goes crazy. This joke, recorded three days earlier, reflects a common theme about Spring/Fall marriages. When I was younger, women who married much older wealthy men were called “gold diggers” because when the older husband dies she inherits everything. This joke pales in comparison to the deranged insensitive comments made by the POTUS himself. Then his communications director actually publicly called Jimmy a s**t human being for telling a joke, but we hear crickets when Trump mocks someone who had just died! Shame on anyone who can’t tell the difference between a joke and cruel vile statements which deeply hurt the people who have just lost a loved one.
Now the DOJ has indicted James Comey for posting beach artwork made of shells! Our so-called leaders have become completely unhinged. When are we going to wake up and see the cruelty and damage being done to our country by the MAGA movement?
Jim Propert, Fort Myers
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Educate road users on correct use of roundabout | Opinion letters
Reporting by Letter writers / Fort Myers News-Press
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