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
Stop Alligator Alcatraz
I am a long-time, proud Florida resident. This past Sunday, I participated in my first protest ever — to stop “Alligator Alcatraz,” a massive detention center that our state wants to construct in the heart of the Big Cypress Swamp. The news media is now reporting that building this tent prison started the next day! Our state, with support of the Trump administration, is fast-tracking this project before more people realize what a truly, truly terrible idea it is.
Surrounded by Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, this land plays a critical role in Florida’s water quality and flood control systems. Any large-scale development (a 4,000–5,000 bed detention facility with staff sounds really large-scale to me) would risk irreversible damage to this vital ecosystem. What happens to the tons of waste products from the prison? Where will the cleaning chemicals be dumped? There are other, more appropriate sites for such facilities — ones that do not threaten our watershed or contradict our state’s longstanding efforts to preserve and restore the Everglades.
The protest was organized by Friends of the Everglades, Love the Everglades Movement, members of the Miccosukee Tribe, and many others. Iconic nature photographers Clyde and Niki Butcher stood alongside us. They said on their Facebook page: “There comes a time in a free country when we must speak out to protect what we love, and for Niki and me, that’s the Everglades… If this goes through, it won’t stop there. More development, more pollution, more destruction right in the heart of one of the most fragile and sacred places in Florida.”
I urge our state leaders to end the effort to build a detention center in Big Cypress, and to instead champion policies that protect and preserve our wetlands, wildlife, and water resources. The Everglades and surrounding areas are not just state treasures — they are national and global priorities for conservation. Please stand with us in protecting the natural beauty and ecological health of Florida.
Linda Steele, Fort Myers
Can’t make this stuff up
I know it must be a joke that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s plan is to build a prison in the Everglades which will cost the state around $450 million a year to maintain and he says FEMA will pay for the majority of it. Something this ridiculous cannot even be contemplated.
First, Floridians must be out of their minds to consider even paying a penny for this; second, Uthmeier’s BFF Trump is doing away with FEMA, so James who will really pay for this? What is going on in Tallahassee? Have they all lost their minds? You can’t make this stuff up!!!!
E.A. Blair, Naples
Sands Boulevard bridge
The Cape Coral City Council is currently deliberating the future of Sands Bridge, weighing the options of removal versus repair. Following Hurricane Ian, the bridge has remained unrepaired, prompting the Transportation Advisory Commission to recommend its removal. This decision would place the financial burden entirely on the city, amounting to approximately $1.5 million. In contrast, if the city opts for repair or replacement, it could share the costs with the State and Federal Highway Administration under a 20/80 funding arrangement, provided the necessary paperwork is submitted in a timely manner. Despite a police and fire report suggesting that the removal of the bridge would not affect emergency response times, many community members believe this assessment is flawed. The bridge plays a crucial role in facilitating hurricane evacuations, fire rescue operations, and ensuring a smoother flow of traffic in the area. Its removal could exacerbate traffic congestion in neighboring communities. Furthermore, the only apparent benefit of removing the bridge would be to facilitate access to larger boats to the Gulf, which may not serve the broader community’s interests. Therefore, it is imperative to consider replacing the bridge, with a design that could serve as a model for future bridge replacements in the region over the next 10 to 20 years.
Lou Walker, Cape Coral
Concerned about safety
The Sands Boulevard bridge serves as one of two ways for over 500 families to access Cape Coral proper in their general activities. It is the way to access the posted evacuation routes, of which none run through the bridge, but it serves as a way to get to one! The bridge had been inspected after Hurricane Ian, Helene and Milton. The City of Cape Coral is looking to make a decision to repair or demolish the bridge in late summer 2025.
Questions: Are utilities running under the bridge? The cost analysis for removal vs. repairs has started. Does El Dorado still become a road that does not drain rainwater well? Are residents informed? Is the city working with the federal government for money? Are there open forums for public conversation?
If the bridge is removed, El Dorado becomes the only way to access Cape Coral. I am concerned about safety − safety for the 500 residents.
Kathleen Callard, RNBS, North Fort Myers
No Kings coverage
I noticed your front-page coverage of the “No Kings in Naples Protest” stated more than a thousand people turned out for it. Based upon Collier County census 387,681 in 2023 (USA data) that would mean one half of one percent (.005) showed up for it. I guess the other 99.5% of the population either agree with the deportations or got something more constructive to do with their lives rather than stand around on a street corner waving signs or just don’t care. Once again, your slanted, biased coverage makes the silent majority laugh.
Gary Link, Naples
Code violation reports
A recent letter to the editor of the Cape Coral Breeze complained that anonymous reports of code violations should be allowed (“Those who report code violations should not have to fear retaliation”, CCB, June 19).
I believe that anyone who seeks to invoke the awesome powers of government on their neighbor should be willing to be honest about what they are doing and to stand out in the open while doing it.
Neighbors reporting neighbors anonymously − in other words, Soviet style or Nazi style − is disgusting and is un-American in a most fundamental way. Why not do things the American way, talking directly to the neighbor yourself, and working things out?
Or, would you rather that we, your neighbors, start “making book” on YOU and reporting you anonymously for all the crappy little things that you and your family do? Let’s start with that pickup truck of yours − the one with commercial advertising on the doors − illegally parked in your driveway?
We know you use it in your business to make money to support your family, but tough patooties, Bro. (We can have the cops at your door tonight, right after you get home from a hard day on the road).
The city has passed its code, now let the city enforce it.
Larry Gillis, Cape Coral
It’s Trump at work
In 2015, an accord was reached between Iran and the United States, China, Russia, the UK, France and Germany called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The accord focused on limiting Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Its goal was to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons while ensuring its right to peaceful nuclear energy. Iran agreed to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium, reduce the number of centrifuges, and limit uranium enrichment levels. Iran was allowed for increased monitoring and inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. In exchange, nuclear-related sanctions on Iran would be lifted. The accord was adopted and took effect in 2016. In 2018, Trump, as president of the United States, withdrew from the accord and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
Now Trump is starting another Mideast conflict by going war to get something he previously destroyed. It’s Iranic. It’s Trump at work. It’s denying climate change, it’s denying the efficacy of vaccines, its removing opportunity for minorities, it’s denying women’s rights, it’s denying health care under Medicaid, it’s imprisoning immigrants without due process. It’s a loser making us all losers.
Joe Haack, Naples
Product prices and tariffs
I love shopping at my dollar store. It’s close, convenient and inexpensive. Now I realize that this store should be called the dollar and twenty-five cent store but I understood this particular increase. It was right around the pandemic time when they were forced to add the twenty-five cents. I still buy my fresh produce, meat, seafood and dairy products at my other favorite stores. There are many foods that cost more than a dollar twenty-five.
Yesterday, I was going through the checkout at my favorite dollar store and the cashier told me that their price was going to be increased from $1,25 to $1.75. I don’t know when but it will affect many products storewide. I turned to the cashier and told her that is called “The Trump Effect.” It wasn’t the pandemic or a natural disaster or even China naturally raising their prices, it is a direct correlation of Trump increasing the tariffs on China which is where many of the items of The Dollar Store products come from. You and I will pay that fifty-cent increase, not China, not the store and certainly not the government. The government will receive that tariff increase and still increase the national debt by 2 to 3 trillion dollars while cutting Medicaid and many other programs that will increase household costs to all of us except the top 1% of millionaires and billionaires who will get a tax break.
Don’t be fooled by that 50-cent increase at the dollar store, it’s only the four T’s: The Terrible Trump Tariffs.
John Mark Simon, Cape Coral
Cloud of chaos
How does one man manage to create such a massive amount of chaos?! Every month… chaos! Every week… chaos! Every day… chaos! Every minute — chaos! He’s like Pigpen, but instead of dust, there’s a cloud of chaos that follows him everywhere! Doesn’t he ever sleep? He must spend every waking moment trying to find new ways to create chaos, and I must say, he’s incredibly skilled at it!
I can’t possibly list all of the examples of chaos he’s created in the short time he’s been in office. He’s like our cat, always looking for trouble. Fortunately, she sleeps 16 hours a day, so she only has eight hours to concoct, plan, and execute her devious strategies to throw the entire household into chaos. Unfortunately, the current occupant of the White House has 24 hours a day and legions of devoted co-conspirators to accomplish his goal of global chaos!
I used to look forward to reading the newspaper in the morning while I ate breakfast. Of course, there’s never been a shortage of distressing news, but lately, it’s been chaos on top of chaos on top of more chaos! Now, halfway through breakfast, I have to get up and run to the bathroom! And, I’m sure it’s not from eating too much fiber! Needless to say, breakfast isn’t the relaxing start to the day it used to be.
Chaos to this man is like gasoline to an automobile, creatine to a weight lifter, adrenaline to a skier, pizza to Dagwood Bumstead, or maple syrup on crepes to a French Canadian!
I long for the calm, lazy days of sleepy Joe in the White House!
Jay Custa, Estero
DOGE and your data privacy
The Privacy Act of 1974 (Title 5 of US Code Section 552a), enacted into law after Watergate, protects individuals from unwarranted invasions of privacy by requiring government agencies to be transparent and accountable when managing personal data, with some exceptions for law enforcement. It is considered a “Bill of Rights for data.” In plain English, this means that if the government collects your data, you have the right to control data that is in the hands of the government: know about what data is collected, access your data, correct your data, know how it is used, know who it is shared with, and stop it from being shared without your consent. Your personal data is protected as a civil liberty.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has gained access to sensitive government databases (Social security SSA, tax IRS, health records, department of education, security clearance data) without clear oversight or consent. Officially, DOGE’s mission is to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs. The administration argues that giving DOGE “God-level” access to data will help modernize outdated systems and improve efficiency. DOGE access to sensitive data is being challenged in the courts. In March 2025, a preliminary injunction was issued to limit DOGE access to SSA records. On June 6, 2025, the Supreme Court temporarily lifted the injunction, giving DOGE access to your data: Social Security numbers, earnings history, bank routing numbers, medical and mental health records, immigration, and disability data. It is unclear how DOGE intends to use our personal data that they are collecting, or where it is stored, raising privacy and security concerns.
You have the right under the Privacy Act of 1974 to make a written request to DOGE to ask:• what data they collected about your name, date of birth and Social Security number (provided by you)• from what source the data was collected• when the data was collected• the reason for accessing the data.• with whom the data was shared• for an electronic copy of all data about you that DOGE accessed.
If you are concerned about your data privacy, send a privacy act request to DOGE; they have 30 days to respond. Subject: Privacy Act Request for Access to Records;Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE); Privacy Act Request Processing; 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW; Washington, DC 20500
Linda Lindquist, North Fort Myers
Just call it The Gulf
Since so many people are upset about the recent renaming of The Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, why don’t t we agree to meet in the middle. Let’s just refer to it as The Gulf.
Susan Klein, Naples
There would have been leaks
So the liberal Israel haters like AOC, Sanders, Omar, Nadler, Schiff, Schumer and traitor Thomas Massie are complaining that our great commander in chief, President Trump, did not seek congressional approval before bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities. You have to be kidding. If he had done so, you can betcha that some of the aforementioned would have leaked the information to the various online social media so that Iran would have been pre-warned about the attacks. And that would have been a disaster for our brave military.
Michael Adler, Miromar Lakes
Majority silent too long
I am a Florida snowbird who reads the Naples Daily News every day. More and more your paper has articles that malign our president. Even the Letters to the Editor are generally unfavorable to the actions he has taken. President Trump is putting into action the promises he made during the election process. The actions that a majority of the citizens of our county wanted him to do as evidenced by his majority vote in the Electoral College as well as the popular vote. Our people rejected the past “woke presidency” and the granting of citizen rights to illegal migrants without vetting. The wasting of taxpayer dollars being used for a Socialist ideology. No more! Enough!Pride in our country is back. Interest rates have stabilized; gasoline and eggs are affordable. Yes, there are still some left leaning citizens who are still having their temper tantrums being paid for by billionaires who offer them prepared signs, and in some cases, bricks to throw. The mobilization of companies who offer their services to picket events is a prime example of this. But they don’t represent the ordinary voter who voted for this man to clean up what others have tried to destroy.We love our country, as does he! We support him and admire his fortitude and courage. I welcome others who feel the way I do to also write letters to your paper. We are the majority, but I think we have been silent too long.
Elizabeth Pircio, Naples
Bless our president, America
Anyone in the U.S. who wants Iran to have nuclear weapons is an enemy. Hopefully the world’s chief sponsor of terror has been neutered, but the elephant in the room is Islam. If one reads the Koran (as it was spelled when I was in college) one knows devout Muslims have clear instructions about how to deal with infidels (non-believers). These instructions may make Muslims hostile to the Judeo-Christian culture of America. America has been proudly called a melting pot, but If Muslims fail to assimilate into American society, how can that diversity be celebrated?
Now we are concerned about Iranian sleeper cells that might threaten us from within, and we have Barack Hussein Obama II, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., the Democrat Party, and the U.N. open border policies to blame. Historically, this may be the worst crime ever against America and we really should dare to call it treason. The Muslim invasion of Europe is also threatening the entire Judeo-Christian Western civilization.
Obama said the sweetest sound he ever heard was the Muslim call to worship, and he also said we were no longer a Christian nation. He started bringing in African Muslims. His chief adviser was born in Iran and speaks Farsi. He removed Christian symbols including the cross from military chapels worldwide and began hiring Muslim military chaplains. He allowed billions of dollars to flow to Iran, as did Biden, while Iran was developing nuclear capability. May God judge them and continue to bless our president and America.
Col. Robert A. Strohaver, USAF, Ret., Naples
Hypocrisy on the Left
Some Democrats are calling for impeaching President Trump because of the bombing of Iran. I do not remember these same Democrats calling for the impeachment of Obama when he bombed 7 different countries – Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Syria. This is typical hypocrisy shown by many on the Left.
Ron Wobbeking, Naples
Trump and his lapdog flunkies
How can any of us believe the president knows more than the vast number of climate scientists who warn us of our planet’s decline. How do Americans excuse Trump for allowing his conspiracist anti-vaxxer, the screwy RFK Jr., to gut Health and Human Services? How do Trumpsters convince themselves that Hegseth, Noem, Patel, and Bondi, are competent and fair-minded people, the “best of the best?”
Our economy is threatened by Trump’s tariffs, his tax breaks for the rich, and his deficit spending. His use of ICE is scattershot. Trump uses his excessive executive powers, his lawyers, and his mouthpieces to bludgeon the truth, and beat back the less powerful. His cruelty to the have-nots shouldn’t go unnoticed. His unpredictability is predictable. His big, beautiful bill aims to redistribute wealth from the poor to the rich. Medicaid, SNAP, USAID, and other agencies will be defunded. Millions will suffer. If he had any integrity, maybe we’d notice it. Instead, the grifter fills his pockets selling Bibles, sneakers, watches, coins, trading cards, phones, and lots more. How about his crypto scam? His bluster and inconsistent ramblings should persuade us that neither he nor his lapdog flunkies have any idea what they’re doing. Trump’s just being who he is — a reality TV star, a charlatan, a bully, and a disingenuous loudmouth. The real disappointments are the people, in and out of government, who see him for what he is, and either happily or fearfully support and encourage him.
Kevin McNally, Bonita Springs
The plight of immigrants
It’s unfortunate that so many illegal immigrants entered the U.S. But if these immigrants, even the ones who committed crimes in foreign countries but want to change, don’t have a criminal record in the U.S., and they have a job, they should not be deported.
I imagine these people working hard, trying to support their families, and wanting to do the right thing. Then they are yanked out of their new lives and sent back to El Salvador or Venezuela where, more than likely, for the sake of survival, they will turn back to a life of crime.
Donald Trump is not taking human suffering into consideration. He should also keep in mind that Joe Biden encouraged these people to come here. So, it’s not entirely the fault of the immigrants.
I think only criminal illegal immigrants, like gang members, who are committing crimes in the U.S. should be deported. Also, if the government wants only legal immigrants, they should stop making the process so difficult. It takes as much as seven years to gain legal citizenship.
R. T. Becker, Fort Myers
Iran’s nuclear program
In President Trump’s first administration, he said he believed Putin over the U.S. intelligence community. Now he apparently believes Netanyahu, who has long favored drawing America into a war against Iran, over the U.S. intelligence community who said Iran was years away from developing a nuclear weapon. Trump contradicted his own director of national intelligence who reportedly said that Trump had read only 14 daily briefs (fewer than one per week vs Biden’s 90 in the same time period).
In any case, Trump acted against his oath to uphold the Constitution, which gives the power to declare war to Congress alone. Granted, Congress has not actually done so since 1942, but in the 1973 War Powers Resolution, Congress limited the president’s power to “a national emergency created by attack upon the U.S.… The president in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.”
The U.S. and Iran have been negotiating over Iran’s nuclear program since April, and when Israel attacked Iran on June 12, a sixth round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran was scheduled to begin just two days later, in Oman. Why commit another impeachable offense by abandoning diplomatic efforts and unnecessarily risking American lives by involving our troops in another long conflict in the Middle East?
Jean Chandler, Fort Myers
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Sunday, June 29, 2025
Reporting by Letter writers / Fort Myers News-Press
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