Letters to the editor for Saturday, August 2, 2025

Naples Pier disrepair

It is incredible to me that three years after a major hurricane nothing has yet been done to start the rebuilding of the Naples Pier. I understand there are some federal and FEMA permits that they are waiting on but there must be some way to obtain them quicker than we are. This pier could have been rebuilt twice in this time frame. My only conclusion is that maybe the Council does not want it to be rebuilt for some reason. We have a very accessible governor and congressman that can be contacted. What is actually going on here? It's starting to get ridiculous.

Gail Ruperd, Naples

Redistricting proposal

Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he is looking “very seriously” at creating a mid-decade redistricting process in Florida even though it is unconstitutional.

The Florida Constitution, specifically Article X, Section 8, addresses the census and its role in state matters. It states that the United States decennial census is the official census for the state, particularly for congressional redistricting and population-based classifications. The Constitution also clarifies that population-based acts and constitutional apportionments in Florida must be based on the latest federal decennial census.

In Florida, as with the rest of the United States, the census is conducted every 10 years, specifically in years ending in zero. This is the decennial census. The next one is scheduled for 2030, following the most recent census in 2020.

Once again the American Fascist Party (previously Republican Party) is jury rigging elections by gerrymandering congressional districts. What can we do about it? Call and write your state senator, House representative, and Governor DeSantis telling them to stop these shenanigans and follow the law.

Daniel Becker, Fort Myers

South Seas expansion

It is with a touch of amusement and a lot of disdain that I viewed the recent full page ads for South Seas Resort. Amusement that the owners are so convinced they can sway the public with glossy ads and disdain for their disregard of facts. South Seas wants to have it both ways in their attempts to build more units than allowed. When they are facing concerns about increased traffic in Sanibel they assure the public that once on property guests would not venture further than the front gates from the Eden that is promised. On the other hands, as described in their ads, “every guest who visits South Seas will spend money at our local restaurants, shops, grocery stores, and attractions, fueling businesses across Sanibel, Captiva, and all of Lee County.” Well folks it can’t be both. Either they are self contained or levitating all across the area since they assuredly won’t be contributing to an established traffic problem. The owners of South Seas bought it as is without assurances of further expansion. If they did not do their due diligence that is on them. This resort expansion should never be allowed and the public should not be subject to their attempts to dupe them into compliance.

Jane Holder, Fort Myers

Lee budget challenge

Lee County is facing a significant challenge with an $18 million deficit in its operating budget for the upcoming year, compounded by declining property values due to hurricane impacts. The current decrease in revenue sources, along side the potential for increased tolls and electric franchise fees, means residents many soon face higher costs,. Additionally, there could be a 57% reduction in human services, natural resources, technology services, putting essential programs at risk.

Several critical projects including the 10 Mile Canal, public or EMS stations and various road improvements are currently on hold. The county is utilizing part of a $25 million state loan relief following Hurricane Ian to help manage this situation. The budget deadline is Sepember 14 and it's crucial for residents to stay informed and advocate for their interests locally, which include services like animal control, parks and recreation, engineering, natural resources and public education. To protect these essential services and ensure the county's recovery and growth, residents need to contact their community representatives at both the state and local levels. Together, we can work toward safeguarding Lee County's future.

Kathleen Callard,RNBS, North Fort Myers

This is your Democrat cult

Dems banned a sitting president from Twitter, impeached him twice, jailed his supporters, surrounded his home with armed FBI agents to get classified material, but never mind Biden‘s garage, then indicted him 4 times, then said that we were fascists. The Dems and the biased Dem media attack their opponents, but cover for their own kind. They told us Biden was sharp as a tack. They were OK with $5 gas, defund the police, wars, an invasion of immigrants, including murderers, rapists, and gang members, they were fine with inflation during the Biden years, they are OK with no ID to vote, with men competing in women’s sports, military enlistments down 30 to 40% in every branch, $200 billion  sent to Ukraine after Biden let 100,000 Russian troops on the Ukraine border and a mentally impaired Biden said there would be a minor incursion, the National Guard in the NYC subways, they sued to keep RFK off the ballots, they removed Biden and gave the nomination to his idiot VP and voted for her. This is your Democrat cult.

We now have strong military, secure borders, strong law enforcement, inflation under 3%, military enlistments on the rise, lower taxes, prison reform, defunding Planned Parenthood and biased PBS and NPR, deporting illegals, destroying Iran’s nuclear program, weapons going to Ukraine being paid for by the EU, trade deals being made with tariffs bringing more investments into our country, which will create more jobs. A complete rejection of Dem policies.

Douglas Voss,  Naples

Trump on stock trading

Senator Josh Hawley sponsored a bill that would keep Congress members and the president and vice president from buying and selling stock while in office.  This is something the public has been requesting since in the past we have seen members of Congress buy or sell stocks to their financial benefit based on confidential information they had access to due to their government role. 

After this announcement President Trump went on Truth Social and blasted Senator Hawley on the inclusion of the president and vice president in this bill.  Trump ordered that the positions of president and vice president be exempt from the impact of this bill until 2029!

It is obvious that Trump is more concerned with “Making Trump Richer Again From The Oval Office”  than doing anything to improve the lives of Americans or reduce prices. 

JoAnn Stehr, Sanibel

Let's honor human dignity

In 1948, after the horrors of World War II, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) — a foundational document outlining the basic rights and freedoms all people are entitled to, regardless of nationality, race, or belief. It was drafted with key leadership from the United States, especially Eleanor Roosevelt.

The UDHR affirms that all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. It sets out universal rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and movement, the right to education, fair wages, privacy, and protection under the law, and the right to participate in government. It also recognizes our shared responsibility not to violate the rights of others.

Though not legally binding, the UDHR has shaped constitutions, inspired global movements, and continues to guide human rights protections worldwide. But today, the spirit of this declaration feels under threat. Across the U.S., and even here in Florida, we see growing hostility toward immigrants, non-Christians, LGBTQ+ individuals, the unhoused, and even political rivals. These are not just political flashpoints — they’re tests of our shared humanity, amplified by online noise and division.The UDHR was born from a global vow: never again. Let’s not forget that promise. In our words, votes, and actions, we can choose to honor human dignity — or undermine it. Let’s choose better.

Charles McClinton, Cape Coral

Truth is alive and well in Scotland

Over the years, it was expected that a politician would have his way with the truth, or just outright lie. However, there was also a time when we relied upon the newspapers or the trusted news journalists in the media to sort out what facts to be believed. 

 Now TRUTH is described as a verifiable, or undisputed fact. That was until Trump's counselor, Kellyanne Conway, introduced us to "alternative facts." This gave Trump the opportunity to constantly refer to the media as "fake news" when he was being quoted.

For the past ten years I have been in search for the Truth, or for someone to be the arbiter of the TRUTH. Instead there arose on the internet any number of websites spewing misinformation. Fox News, whose business plan must be, "don't be confused by facts, just give our audience what they want to hear." That strategy cost Fox $787 million for falsely misrepresenting Dominion Voting Systems in the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost and claimed that it was stolen.

My search for the TRUTH ended last week and of all places, in Scotland. The newspaper The National, greeted Trump's arrival with a banner headline that read "Convicted US Felon to arrive in Scotland." If that wasn't enough, a 15-year-old girl from Edinburgh protesting Trump's arrival with her parents said, "so many people loathe him, we're not divided. We're not divided by religion, race, or any political allegiance. We're together because we hate him."

Trump's mother was from Scotland and he feels right at home there. Perhaps his reception may have changed that. TRUTH is alive and well in Scotland, now that's a commodity that we sorely need to import. 

Roger W. Quagliano, Estero

Pardon for Maxwell testimony?

Isn’t it possible, maybe even likely, that Trump will pardon G. Maxwell for her complicity in Epstein’s depravity? Hasn’t Trump’s track record shown us that his need for self-gratification overshadows any thought of him as a righteous, moral, respectful gentleman. Trump has always chosen to please himself, treating women as useful but lesser people. Creepiness is a trait Trump shares with Epstein.

Ask the young beauty contest contestants whose dressing room privacy Trump felt authorized to invade. Ask the dozens of groping victims he felt entitled to touch inappropriately because of his star status. Ask E. Jean Carroll whom Trump was found liable for sexually abusing. Or maybe Stormy Daniels or Susan McDougal could share some insights into Trump’s propensities. Didn’t Trump cheat on each of his three wives? It’s not much of a stretch to think that a narcissistic playboy would take advantage of the chance to please himself with his good buddy’s subservient teens. We do not know that as fact, but it wouldn’t surprise us. We know who Trump is.

It makes perfect sense that Maxwell will achieve freedom in exchange for her Trump-friendly testimony.

Kevin McNally, Bonita Springs

Fountain of truth?

From virtual assistants to the fountain of truth? It seems like quite a leap! Navigating a summer vacation in Europe using the power of AI is one thing. Trusting AI to educate us honestly about the history of humankind is quite another.

Recently Elon Musk, the founder of X and the founder of xAi was awarded a $200 million governmental contract for its Grok application. Apparently, his company won the bid and Grok purportedly offers Americans a platform the president and his administration feel will greatly benefit Americans. Despite reports of X having had continual technical problems, it also reports X having censored specific speech while allowing specific inflammatory speech. Now, the founder's new application xAI is supposed to be different. It claims to be "designed to be maximally truthful, useful and curious.” However, despite these claims, Grok has already demonstrated having an antisemitism problem. We must remember AI is a form of technology and not a divine source. Its foundation is based on the founder who happens to be human.

As I think about the potential subjective drawbacks of Grok, I recall another extensive, expensive government funded project designed to help Americans. It came into effect in the 1940’s and was championed by the Federal Housing Administration under President Harry S. Truman. Its goal was to address the dire need for housing for G.I.s returning after WWII. The company to fill that need starting along Long Island’s North Shore was Levitt & Sons. They had perfected constructing a new house every 16 minutes and they called their cookie-cutter community Levittown! That was great news for the government and great news for a lot of veterans, just not great news for the veterans who were Jewish or black Americans. The FHA had very restrictive covenants excluding those groups from using their G.I. benefits to purchase homes in Levittown. The argument was that admitting those groups would negatively impact home values. Nonetheless, Levitt & Sons was contracted to build thousands of government subsidized homes regardless of their overt racist covenants and practices. The correlation I see here nearly eighty years later, is our government once again funding an expensive taxpayer funded project replete with prejudices and misinformation designed once again to exalt the masses and demonize countless others. Just another example of a project for “the greater good!”

Lance McCormack, Marco Island

America the bag holder

Some of the greatest hucksters have been able to pull off the unimaginable. Early on during the roaring 20s old Charlie Ponzi pulled off the greatest switcheroo using stamps to lure in greedy investors with unsustainable returns on investments. Most of us recall poor Bernie Madoff who offered more modest returns of 18% which really didn’t raise too many eyebrows until Lehman Brothers collapsed and investors wanted their money back. Bag holders, those that get screwed. And then there was Frank Abagnale Jr. who before his 18th birthday convinced the world he was a doctor, lawyer and copilot for Pan Am. And now we are witnessing the greatest con in world history save for the Trojan Horse. Under the guise of MAGA, America is being sold for parts and the Republicans are in on the scam. TACO Tuesday again, 30% tariffs on Mexico put off for 90 days, and many of the huge tariffs are on commodities, copper, steel. So just watch who’s playing the commodity futures. Scott Bessent, another filthy rich guy, says so-called Trump Accounts are a "back door" to dismantling Social Security. But the best is the Qatar 400 million dollars worth of 747 being gifted and will receive 1 billion in taxpayer upgrades and transfer to the president as his  personal plane. And not to beat the dead horse of history but the president’s successful use of debt and bankruptcy allowed his casinos to fold and close leaving a great multitude "holding the bag." America will be left holding the bag too.

Laurence Jacks, Estero

Trump's parade

He’s been trying to hold his grand spectacle parade since 2016, but the sane people beside him talked him out of it. This time there were only toadies he had to convince. As a nation, this was an embarrassment we don’t want to be remembered for. The French, Koreans and Chinese have bonafide parades with sharp uniforms and precision marching. Our poor guys, who were never trained for a show like this, wore camouflage and looked and marched like they practiced the day before.  

Of course our liar-in-chief said millions watched but the stands were half empty. The “No Kings” rally had many, many more participants which was the case all over the country. Hopefully, this will be the final parade. 

Glenn Chenot, Cape Coral