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
Alzheimer’s Walk Nov. 16
I have lived with Alzheimer’s for over four years with little adverse effect, thanks in part to the Alzheimer’s Association’s funding Alzheimer’s research like the clinical study I am part of at Fort Myers Neuropsychiatric Research Center. Early detection through a memory screening was critical for my diagnosis, which is why I urge everyone to treat memory screenings like routine mammograms or PSA tests. Alzheimer’s is present whether we acknowledge it or not. Ignoring it only allows it to progress unchecked.
An early diagnosis enabled me to make vital lifestyle changes, such as improving my diet, exercising regularly, using the best hearing aids, consistently using my CPAP machine, staying socially active, and continuously learning. Much of the helpful information I’ve gained came from the Alzheimer’s Association website.
While cancer and heart disease rates decline, Alzheimer’s cases are expected to rise by 141% in the next three years. One in three seniors will face some form of dementia. It’s crucial to take a proactive stance — Alzheimer’s is not something to hide from but something to face head-on.
Please join me in raising awareness by attending the Lee County Alzheimer’s Walk on November 16 at 8 a.m. at 13350 FSW Parkway, Fort Myers. Together, we can make a difference.
Lee Belanger, Fort Myers
Marco Council choices
As I walked our dogs early in the morning before Hurricane Milton’s arrival, I couldn’t help but notice the four campaign signs that adorn our front yard. They are the four candidates which our large Island family (and many of our friends) believe will allow Marco Island to continue to thrive, who we know will be passionate ambassadors of Marco Island and who are reasonable and measured. I then briefly think of the two candidates who will set the island back a decade or more, Stephen Gray and Tamara Goehler, aka “No Way Gray” and “Tamara I’ll Raise Taxes” who have openly declared war on the core of Marco Island, its family owned businesses, their hard working employees and those who wish to establish a new business here (in one of the appropriately zoned locations on the island).
As we rebuild from damage sustained in Hurricanes Helene and Milton, I am reminded how difficult it is to run a business on an island in the tropics with all the issues this privilege comes with, then thinking how the last thing we need are more anti-business City Council members to make an already difficult venture, seemingly impossible. They label us as the bad guys, despite the fact we provide the services and experiences their visiting families demand. We deliver the things that bring people back to Marco year after year. The family owned and operated businesses are genuine and we are involved, every single day, with the goal of sharing this beautiful tropical island with others. We define Marco’s small town charm! It is sickeningly hypocritical that these two candidates, who represent the selfish minority on this island, who found Marco through a visit here years ago, likely in a rental home or one of our amazing hotels, now want to shut it down to everyone else. I am so disgusted by this mindset. Regarding water quality, all candidates believe in clean water initiatives, as I write, the dolphins are making a splash chasing sheepshead around my dock which is a regular occurrence (and we live on one of the most inland canals). If you listen only to the activists supporting Gray and Goehler, Marco Island waterways are equivalent to a cesspool – I observe and experience the opposite on a daily basis. My perspective as a 14 year full time resident, city volunteer, parent of two amazing kids in our island schools and business operator, who has seen this activist group in action for years, and who knows the damage they can cause to our island city if they are elected, recommends and respectfully asks that you re-elect Becky Irwin and Rich Blonna and elect Bonita Schwan and Deb Henry. Stay away from No Way Gray and Tamara I’ll Raise Taxes!
Daniel High, Marco Island
People of character
Residents of Marco Island. You have received hideous postcards and seen slanderous online posts involving two candidates for City Council − Stephen Gray and Tamara Goehler. Both attacks are despicable, but I’m addressing particularly egregious comments made about Tamara and her husband, Todd.
Todd is a 28-year Army veteran − both an enlisted man and officer. He served in the infantry, Quartermaster field, and then as a Special Operations Officer. Todd is a combat veteran of the Cold War, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and multiple tours in Afghanistan, along with drug and counter-terror wars in Colombia. He was also assigned to Nicaragua for humanitarian support.
Tamara served as Special Operations Forces instructor and then as deputy for Special Operations Forces foreign language for the entire U.S. Army Special Operations community. Later, she was a contractor supporting Special Forces Operations and U.S. Marines, who were preparing to serve in Republic of Georgia.
The small group of businesses, restaurants and individuals who funded the Florida Communities Alliance attacks should be thanking Tamara and Todd for their service, instead of spewing lies and innuendos. These same entities support Blonna, Irwin, Henry and Schwan (see each candidate’s campaign treasurer report on the official City of Marco Island website). Where is the outrage from these four? Why haven’t they called out the Alliance for these horrendous attacks and given the money back?
Don’t vote for incumbents or hand-picked successors. Tamara and Stephen are people of character committed to making decisions that reflect what residents want!
Alan Myers, Marco Island
Denise Carlin for Lee schools
Success from within should be our Lee County Schools motto. We need the voice of someone who has been in/out of the classroom and someone who has exceptional leadership abilities. We need a hometown hero with 32 years’ experience to take charge of Lee County and make Lee County the best school district in the State of Florida. We need a lifelong educator to tackle the tough/difficult decisions teachers are currently facing in the classroom. Failure is not an option for my children or for your children. Success is a choice. Finally, Lee County needs Dr. Denise Carlin to be elected superintendent of Lee County Schools.
Otto Hampel MA/MS, Fort Myers
Bonita City Council choice
We have known Carolyn Forbes for over 19 years and have worked with her in a non-profit organization. We’ve come to know her not only as a friend but also as a neighbor. Carolyn is highly detail-oriented, responsible, and consistently follows through on her commitments. She is a dedicated supporter of our police and community members. One of her long-standing priorities has been advocating against development in the DRGR. Having served as Fred Forbes’ assistant for many years, Carolyn is well-versed in the objectives, operations, duties and responsibilities of the City Council. Our district faces population expansion, flood water issues, and infrastructure improvements among other important issues. In addition, Carolyn will be pro-active in attracting businesses that will be a plus for our community. She is well prepared and looking forward to working on the many issues that our community faces. In her capacity as a member of Bonita Springs City Council for District 6, we believe Carolyn Forbes will be an important asset to our community and the future growth of Bonita Springs.
Bob & Paulette Walters, Bonita Springs
Jim Blue for Florida House
Jim Blue, a candidate for Florida House of Representatives, District 76, is a grandfather today because his daughter, who suffered an ectopic pregnancy, lives in another state. She was saved from death by the removal of a fallopian tube by surgery.Fortunately, and through the skill of the doctors, his daughter gave birth last October to a healthy baby girl named Lyra who was conceived by IVF. Their care was possible because they live in a state that allows reproductive decisions by a woman, her family and their doctors.Medical doctors are fleeing Florida because they cannot assess and treat this level of emergency as they are trained to, thoughtfully, carefully with confidence that they can perform any procedure to protect the mother and fetus. Florida women with their doctors can be arrested under the state’s six-week ban (a third-degree felony is the punishment). It denies both women and their caregivers with the most extreme abortion ban in the country.Help Jim Blue to restore reproductive freedom by electing him in November to the Florida House of Representatives District 76 by voting YES for amendment 4 that will establish a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability. Restore local power.Vote for Jim Blue.
Kathleen Callard, RNBS, North Fort Myers
Vote against Amendment 1
Current Florida law impacts Amendment 1 requiring partisan School Board elections. Florida is a closed primary state. Only registered Republicans can vote in a Republican primary election; only registered Democrats can vote in a Democratic primary. Voters registered as No Party Affiliation or another party cannot vote in either primary. There is an exception. If all candidates are of one party, the primary is open to all voters. But there’s also a catch. If a person qualifies as a write-in candidate, no matter what his or her registered party affiliation, the primary is again closed to non-party members. Write-in candidates are not held to the same standards to appear on the ballot as are regular candidates. They generally have no intention of campaigning or serving; their purpose is to close the primary election to members of one party. Over the years that I have voted in Florida, I have witnessed many times that these “ghost candidates” successfully disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters. Everyone who lives in Collier County has a vested interest in who serves on the School Board, their credentials, and educational philosophy. Often the School Board election is settled during the primary. No voter should be disenfranchised. Please vote “no” on Amendment 1 to maintain non-partisan School Board elections in which all voters have a voice.
Mary Jo Nolin, Naples
Vote no on Amendment 2
Amendment 2 is a deceitful amendment. Florida citizens already have the right to hunt and fish (FL Statute 379-104). This Amendment 2 will allow cruel hunting and fishing methods such as steel jaw traps, snares, clubbing, bear hunting with hounds, and gill nets which catch and kill whales, dolphins, sea turtles and sea birds. Further, it will “open the door” for trophy hunting of Florida black bears. If you have private property and do not want hunting on your property, this amendment will give the hunters the right to trespass on your property. If you care about cruelty to animals or private property rights, vote no on Amendment 2.
Susan Carafiol, Naples
Disaffected Republican
As a lifelong Republican, I have really struggled with how far my party has drifted from its core principles. My grandparents must be spinning in their graves, watching what is going on. Let me try this theory to see if we can find a reason for what is happening.
In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy, in a speech, waved a sheet of paper at his audience, claiming that it contained the names of (205) workers in the U.S. State Dept. who were members of the Communist Party. That was later proven to be a lie. The truthfulness of that statement mattered little to McCarthy, he was on a mission and was willing to say anything to prove that he was correct about the intrusions into our government. The Republican Party saw McCarthy’s narrative of a Communist Party invasion into our government as a vehicle to regain power. So they became complicit in the movement.
McCarthy had a particular interest in purging the educational system that taught racial, multicultural and sexual tolerance. These after all were in opposition to the interests of the United States. Many people took McCarthy’s message to heart. It struck at the fears that were fundamental to many citizens. The spirit of the inquisition that had overtaken the American government was reminiscent of what had happened in Germany just two decades earlier.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Jeff Rodgers, Naples
Reproductive freedom
Women, and concerned men, if you have no other reason to vote then consider reproductive freedom for women (your wives, sisters, daughters, aunts, etc.)In some states women who have miscarriages are blamed and put in jail. They are told it’s their fault, they did something that caused the miscarriage.If you haven’t been paying attention, women are dying because they can’t get help for an abortion that is necessary to save their lives. Some states insist on no abortions no matter incest, rape or thevictim’s age.So if you have no other reason to vote, remember that Trump is proud he selected Republican judges on the Supreme Court to get rid of Roe v Wade. It’s one of Trump’s proudest moments, he says nationally at rallies and on TV.Fifty years of everything going just fine and now Trump puts his big nose in and takes away women’s reproductive freedom. Men, he’s taking yours away too.
Rochelle Holt, Fort Myers
Small-minded politics
The people who live in the state of Florida are not just members of one political party. When the tragedies that struck our state in the last couple of weeks, and the president of the United States comes to support both the residents and those who are here to help put us back together, the least the governor can do is bring together those that need the support by representing our state with the president. By not availing himself, the smallness of his political ideation came through. However, when the president announced the amount of funding the government is providing, our governor is all over it.Life is too short for this continuation of division at the worst time in many people’s lives.Grow up and respect all those who are providing help. Are you asking any of the volunteers here to help us what political party they represent?
Barbara Herstig, Naples
Vote no on Amendment 4
Proponents of Amendment 4 are currently airing emotionally charged media ads claiming that Florida’s current abortion laws make no exception to save the life of a pregnant woman with brain cancer and make “no real exception” for rape. Falsehoods like these are characteristic of the confusion deliberately being created by Amendment 4, endangering both women and the unborn.
In the immensely difficult situation of a woman experiencing a life-threatening condition at any time during her pregnancy, Florida Statutes Ch. 390.0111 clearly allows for abortion – including in order to “avert serious risk of imminent substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function” − as certified in writing by at least one physician.
If such abortions are performed during the third trimester, the physician must use the same care to preserve the baby’s life and health as he would if the baby were intended to be born, unless such care conflicts with preserving the woman’s life and health, which must be given “overriding and superior concern.”
Contrast this, by the way, with almost every Democrat U.S. Senator, including Kamala Harris, voting in 2020 against the federal Born-Alive Abortion Survivor’s Protection Act.
In the terrible situation of rape (or incest, or human trafficking), the same Florida statute allows for abortion up to 15 weeks gestation, as determined by a physician; reasonably, a woman need only provide medical or legal documentation that she’s obtaining the abortion because she’s been victimized by one of these horrors.
Another inaccurate claim in favor of Amendment 4 was made in a recent Naples Daily News Letter to the Editor. The writer encouraged a “yes” vote because women experiencing miscarriages in Florida might die if they’re not provided abortion services. By definition, a miscarriage is a naturally spontaneous abortion, having nothing to do with the abortions regulated by Florida law. Any woman in Florida suffering a miscarriage is readily provided all the medical care she needs to return to full good health.
If current abortion law in Florida is unacceptable, voting for Amendment 4 is not the way to change it. Amendment 4’s manifold ambiguities can be interpreted to allow abortion until the moment before birth, for virtually any reason, without parental consent, by “healthcare providers” who are not physicians.
Vote NO on Amendment 4.
Patricia Bucalo, Naples
Trump will save country, world
Trump voters will vote for him because they liked his policies. We were better off four years ago. We had the best economy, energy independent, and safe in our towns and homes and no wars.
The people who will vote for Kamala are voting for her because she is not Donald Trump. Her policies are Joe’s.Their policies are awful. People can’t afford the basics, shelters, food, gas, etc. two wars and on the brink of WWIII.Mostly because the people who voted for Basement Joe voted for him only because it wasn’t Donald Trump. We see how that kind of thinking turns out. Don’t make the same mistake.
You may not like Trump’s brashness. but he gets the job done. The country was better for it.
Kamala doesn’t know what she is talking about. She knows nothing about economics, foreign policy, that is why she cannot answer a simple question. Everything she says is gobbly-guk (word salad). During a natural disaster Kamala is out in Hollywood at glitzy fundraisers. Joe is at the beach again for the weekend. They are politicians who are checked out of reality and their jobs as VP and Pres.
Hatred is the cornerstone of the Democratic Party since its inception. Andrew Jackson/ aka Indian killer, slavery, Jim Crow laws, I can go on. Now they are Trump haters. If Kamala wins it’s only because of their hatred for Trump.
A vote for Kamala is a vote for the end of our country. A vote for Trump will save the country and the world.
Cathy Lopez, Berwyn, IL and Naples
Ludicrous, vicious racist lie
Are there really some American voters who are so brainwashed or so stupid as to believe Trump’s ludicrous vicious racist lie that Black immigrants are eating dogs and cats?
Robert Hilliard, Sanibel
Speak up for decency, compassion
Why do so few speak up for the immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, (and so many other places) who are in the United States legally and contributing by all accounts to the economy and welfare of Springfield. Even local Republicans in Springfield claim they are hardworking and law abiding. Yet Trump, Vance and their sycophants continue to demonize, dehumanize and spread vile, vicious and malicious lives about people who have fled from tyranny and the dangerous countries they had been born in through no fault of their own. When Hitler used the same kind of genocidal language to condemn Jews in the 1930s and 1940s, the consequences were beyond catastrophic, not just for the Jews, but for the entire world.
The Hitlerian language of Trump and Vance, claiming that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of America, comes directly from Hitler’s book of horrors, “Mein Kampf.” They are a threat not just to immigrants, but to all of us, because Trump’s and Vance’s words are directed against anyone they see as the “other” or who opposes them. Shame on the MAGA folks who refuse to condemn Trump and Vance. Shame on all of you who remain silent and do not speak out for what is decent, humane and compassionate. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Barry Fulmer, Fort Myers
Support for Chuck Work
I come from a Republican family. Although I’m a Democrat, my father was the kind of Republican I learned to appreciate and respect. As a tax and bankruptcy lawyer, he taught me that small businesses pay the taxes and are the backbone of our economy. As a student of history and a military man, he taught me why we fought World War II. He also cautioned that it was important to stand strong to deter Russian aggression; and that the personal freedoms that we have, that they don’t, are the most important reason for defending our democracy overseas and at the ballot box.
Chuck Work, who is running uphill in District 81 to represent you in the House of Representatives, has the experience to lead moderately and effectively. He was a presidential appointee under two Republican presidents as deputy administrator of the law enforcement administration. He received the Rockefeller Public Service Award. A former well-respected D.C. litigator, and the president of the D.C. bar, he’s been a staunch defender of the rule of law.
I’ve met Chuck. He’s smart, rational, articulate and ethical. His positions of support for small businesses, our teachers, our medical community’s proper care for a woman’s health; combined with his strong stance against Russia, (in concert with our allies), and his desire to protect our cherished personal freedoms here at home, would put him right in line with my father’s tenets.
Although Chuck’s running as a Democrat, my father, the Republican, would have voted for him.
Josiah Hatt, Naples
