Keep 1,100-foot buffer
The Cape Coral City Council will be voting Monday on whether to rescind the 1,100-foot eagle Ordinance they adopted about two years ago.
Eagles need our protection in the Cape. Without this quiet protection zone, the eagles will have a harder time to raise their eaglets. The adults will abandon the nest if the construction noise is too loud.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service examines everything within a 1,200-foot circumference when looking at eagle protection cases. This shows us that 1,100-foot setback is not that much out of line when it comes to a safe nesting area for them.
We asked the council people about two years ago to keep the ordinance intact and they did. I can only hope that this council will do the same.
Every eagle is precious in Cape Coral and taking away this ordinance will hinder the eagles from staying and raising their families here. We all know that our eagle cam in North Fort Myers has been viewed by over 160 million people from over 60 different countries. Prichard has become a family name in America and the world.
We need stronger environmental regulations in the Cape, not weaker ones. Please come out to the Cape Coral City Council meeting in council chambers on Monday at 4:30 p.m. and help keep the ordinance at 1,100 feet.
Carl Veaux, Cape Coral
Fools in Congress
In any competition to be named the most egregious fool in Congress, either party and either House, Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican-North Carolina, a RINO (Republican in name only) is probably leading the pack, although admittedly it is a big pack.
He is trying to get a vote on a bill to prevent President Trump from firing "Bob" Supersleuth Mueller. Apparently, Tillis never studied American history and doesn't know any young lawyers to search the matter. In 1867, right after the Civil War, Congress passed The Tenure of Office Act which purported to prohibit President Andrew Johnson from firing Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, without congressional concurrence. Johnson fired him anyway and subsequent cases have affirmed the President's constitutional power to fire any cabinet officer. Mueller isn't even a cabinet officer (efforts to remove Johnson from office through impeachment failed by one vote in the Senate).
But the shenanigans of one intellectually-challenged senator are small potatoes compared to a much larger concern. Thanks to a small army of never-Trumpsters and RINOS in the Republican Party, the party is destroying itself from within. Without getting rid of the likes not only of Tillis but also Corker (Tenn.) Flake (Ariz.) McCain (Ariz.) and others of that ilk the party cannot survive. Survival has come down to them or us.
Richard W. Metz, Fort Myers
Retail apocalypse?
Have you been hearing about the retail apocalypse in the media? Well, the reason behind that is because it has arrived much earlier than expected.
Sports Authority, Toys “R” Us are now stores of the past. Claire’s will soon join the club, as the company just declared bankruptcy. This is only the beginning of our beloved stores that are slowly disappearing. Before this year, what had been keeping these stores afloat was the continuation of refinancing.
Consumers are not only moving to only online shopping, but statistics are showing they have not been doing any clothing shopping at all. Well, not just clothing, of all items. Clothing has just been the top one. That’s why more and more department stores are closing multiple locations. Although the root of the cause is that these companies are overloaded with debt. This apocalypse will create lots of more problems for the US.
If what is happening today is already being considered a retail apocalypse, we should be afraid of what is to come.
Lena Mendoza, Fort Myers
Disciplined beginnings
The last 30 years or so has seen a dramatic change in our society, in terms of lack of respect for authority, discipline, patriotism, responsibility and general civility. Popular parenting ideas turned more toward being friends with our children, not truly teaching them respect, authority, etc.
In the past, many young people first learned about authority and respect by serving in the military. No one ever told a drill sergeant "no" and didn’t learn quickly about those traits required to survive. But we eliminated the draft.
Countries that require a year or two of military service (like Switzerland) seem to have a citizenry that is more civil. Perhaps our society needs a required, organized method of teaching respect, authority, responsibility, patriotism and civility that the military service can provide.
John Nack, Fort Myers
Census citizenship question
Mailbag contributor Martin Harris (Understanding Census Bureau, April 11) took another contributor to task for not understanding why we have a census.
The Founding Fathers mandated it to decide the distribution of congressional representation first and foremost.
It also helps in the distribution of federal funds but is not the main purpose as Mr. Harris suggests.
As far as Harris saying the question of citizenship was never a question on the census survey, well that is not quite correct. In 1950, people were asked if they were foreign born and if so were they naturalized (citizenship). It was also on the 1970 long form asking if the person was a citizen of the United States.
Harris thinks that having a citizenship question on the census would be an incentive for non-citizens not to fill it out.
I'll go out on a limb and say the majority of illegal immigrants aren't going to answer any questions from our government whether the citizenship question is there or not.
Rick Manuel, North Fort Myers
On April 9, the FDA threatened Bayer with criminal and civil penalties should it not comply with the order requiring new labeling for its Essure birth control device. This ruling comes from the diligence of thousands of women who complained that the device began triggering persistent pain and bleeding. Woman have not remained silent.
The FDA has also restricted the sale of the device to only health care providers that provide a “Patient-Doctor Discussion Checklist-Acceptance of Risk and Informed Decision Acknowledgment.” According to the order, the FDA mandated that Bayer “immediately” implement the changes, noting that the “FDA plans to enforce these requirements” with applicable “criminal and civil penalties.” We should applaud this decision as it is a step in the right direction. This, however, is not enough.
We need more and we need it now. The product has been removed from the market in every country, except the U.S. It must be removed here as well. The most important thing is no one else is harmed by this device. Patient safety should be the number one priority.
Marcus Susen, Fort Lauderdale
President Trump's attacks
"Make America great again" is President Trump’s attempt to control the future by revisiting the past. It is based, not on historical or present-day reality, but on unwarranted nostalgia for the Gilded Age, white supremacy and fascism.
As facilitator and benefactor of lies, conspiracy theories and fake news, Trump used his celebrity to become an anti-establishment populist and willing partner in a global effort by Putin to destabilize socio-economic systems and democratic institutions.
This president attacks American citizens, allies, the free press, our justice system, elections, science, education, immigration, religious freedoms, and civil rights. He wants to build his own personal Justice Department and jail political opponents and journalists. If you don’t bow to him, you’re fired; if you don’t applaud him, it’s treason. And, of course, he wants a big military parade.
Fearing Hillary Clinton, Putin played us like a balalaika. Now, Trump loyalists are undermining the Russian investigations, the FBI, national security, democracy and their own values, just to protect this president.
Frank Howe, Fort Myers
Applauding Cacioppo
The News-Press had a front-page article on the Florida Rep's board firing of Robert Cacioppo, the artistic director of the theater.
There has been a number of letters from patrons of the Florida Rep saddened by his release. My response is from working for him as an actor. I have worked as an actor with Bob at the Pirate Playhouse and at the Florida Rep. My experience has always been positive in that he was a complete director, not only with his casts but bringing everything that an audience sees, hears and feels while watching a performance.
Cacioppo is compassionate about the story, how the character development to support the end product and how the play will connect with the audience. The word "bullying" used in the news release is, in my opinion, not correct when applied to bringing the actor into his/her character. If you have not been on stage as an actor, it is difficult to understand all of the pieces that must fall into place to have the success that Cacioppo has produced at this stage.
A director, teacher, friend and a person dedicated to excellence. Thank you, Bob.
Richard Boyd
Questioning murder investigation
I am having a hard time understanding why the two shooting victims in Estero were not found by sheriff's deputies until Tuesday morning when they received a call of multiple gunshots, one driveway from the scene on Monday night.
Having been a police officer for almost 25 years, it is incomprehensible as to why a truck riddled with bullet holes, with a body inside, wasn't discovered that night. If they had driven around the immediate area of the call, they would have had to drive right by it. I feel that the sheriff's office should give some kind of explanation as to why a report of multiple gunshots, coming from an otherwise quiet residential neighborhood, would not have been more thoroughly investigated. What if one of the victims had still been alive, shortly after the shooting. This doesn't reflect well on the type of protection we are being afforded by the sheriff's department.
Martin Thimling, Estero
Political correctness?
In reference to Mallard Fillmore's comic strip of April 6, something about saying "God bless you" when someone sneezes, it's a perfect example of this silly political correct merry-go-round that we're on.
Apparently, some bleeding heart liberal who wants to be super-sensitive and do away with any word or phrase that might offend somebody gets an idea and runs with it. Now, for the most part, the average person doesn't pay much attention to it, but then some right-wing nut like Mallard or Michelle Malkin who likes to agitate gets a hold of it and makes a big deal out of it and stirs up crap.
An example is what happened with Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I don't believe most people care one way or another what we say, but the politically correct bunch on one side and the hard case right-wing on the other side have to make something out of it. Even Trump had to get his two cents in to stir the pot.
Vic Boberg, North Fort Myers