OPINIONS

CAPE CORAL BREE ZE

RAYMOND M ECKENRODE Publisher VALARIE HARRING, Executive Editor

CHRIS STRINE, Editor

2510 Del Prado Blvd • Cape Coral, FL, 33904

Phone 239-574-1110 – Fax 239-574-5693

Member Florida Press Association

‘ ... you ain’t seen nothing yet’

Count us among those who have nothing but kudos to Gov Ron DeSantis for his efforts for Southwest Florida in the wake of Hurricane Ian

He was not only here he was here often

He put both money and effort into the repair of critical infrastructure like the Matlacha bridge and the Sanibel Causeway to get us on the road to recovery much quicker than anyone expected In miracle time, in fact: Two days for the bridge leading to Pine Island, just over two weeks for the thrice-breached causeway leading to Sanibel and Captiva

He not only jabbed the feds on FEMA’s temporary housing rules but rallied state efforts to get temporary housing for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed

But count us also among those who have done more than an eye roll or two over some of his more, shall we say, political initiatives as he wades into presidential currents as fraught with below-the-surface debris as the post-storm waters off Fort Myers Beach

It’s hard to be a beacon high on the cliffs of the current political divide but like his efforts in the wake of one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the United States he’s giving it his all as his State of the State address on Tuesday attests

Opening with a term from his military background a lieutenant commander in U S Navy, Gov DeSantis served as in the Judge Advocate General s Corps as a prosecutor and deployed to Iraq with special operations duty he gave Floridians the Bottom Line Up Front

The BLUF:

“Florida is number one and working together we will ensure that Florida remains the number one state in these United States Florida is the fastest growing state in the nation

We rank number one for net in-migration

We rank number one in the nation for new business formations

We are number one in economic growth among large states

“Florida has more people employed today than before the pandemic Our unemployment rate is one of the lowest on record and it is significantly lower than the national average

And of course as many of you know in this room the last two years we ve seen the largest budget surpluses in the history of the state of Florida

And we do that with having the lowest per capita state tax and lowest per capita state debt burdens amongst all large states

“We rank number one in the nation in tourism and we just experienced yet another record-breaking year for visitors to the Sunshine State

We are number one in law enforcement recruitment and support Florida s crime rate stands at a 50-year low

We rank number one in the nation for education freedom

We rank number one in the nation for parental involvement in education

“We rank number one in fourth grade reading and math amongst all large states

“And we have the number one public higher education system in the country

We are number one among large states for the quality of our roads

And Florida has the top three cruise ports in the entire world We rank number one for space-related development, manufacturing, and flight

The bluster:

“And maybe most famously we rank number one for protections of our citizens against the biomedical security state from prohibiting jab or job mandates to banning vaccine passports to ensuring hospital visitation rights Gov DeSantis said

We defied the experts, we buck the elites, we ignored the chatter, we did it our way, the Florida way And the result is that we are the number one destination for our fellow Americans who are looking for a better life ”

And the heart of the address the introduction of real people from around Florida to put a face on state programs goals and initiatives including tougher penalties for drug dealers especially for those who target children; enforcement of immigration laws; and support for law enforcement including a bail system conducive to public safety and constitutional carry:

Stephen Soloway, a Pine Island business owner who brought supplies in to his neighbors by boat immediately after Ian He called the reopening of the bridge “a Godsend ”

Julie Wappes a fourth grade teacher at the Sanibel School who lost everything in her home and in her classroom and is now happy the school has now re-opened

Lee Countian Barbara Morgan, whose storm-damaged home was unliveable She could not get a FEMA trailer but received one through the state program created to help people like her live on their property while they repair their homes Cape Coral Police Department Officer Mercedes Phillips, who received a $5 000 signing bonus to join the agency one of many such incentives awarded throughout the state to help departments hire the additional officers they need Tax breaks ($2 billion in cuts); boosts to education including workforce training and programs for teachers, nurses and law enforcement; environmental stewardship including water quality initiatives; crime (tough on and getting tougher) and issues along the political precipice school choice, parents rights and the nexus of “political indoctrination;” illegal immigration; vax mandates and “permanent protection from medical authoritarianism;” medical treatment for transgender minors summed up with “our children are not guinea pigs for science experimentation and we cannot allow people to make money off mutilating them

Love him, like him, or dub his Free Florida policies as freedum, Gov DeSantis will unapologetically tell you where he stands His State of the State close:

“So we find ourselves in Florida on the front lines in the battle for freedom

“Together we have made Florida the nation’s most desired destination and we have produced historic results

But now s not the time to rest on our laurels

We have the opportunity and indeed the responsibility to swing for the fences so that we can ensure Florida remains number one

Don t worry about the chattering class

“Ignore all the background noise

“Keep the compass set to true north

“We will stand strong

We will hold the line

We won t back down

And I can promise you this, you ain t seen nothing yet

Thank you all God bless you

S e l l e r s m u s t d i s c l o s e p e n d i n g a s s e s s m e n t s

Last Monday the residents of Cape Coral who reside in the area which has been labeled as North 1 West received a present in their mailboxes The present was for all intents and purposes a bill for approximately $33,000 for a single-family home on a typically-sized plot of land to be paid no later than Sept 30 2023 to avoid any additional costs * An extension on payment until July 31 2024 would cost almost $3 000 more for the same single-family home If the homeowner is not able to pay the bill in full by then he/she/they would need to choose the 20 25 or 30 year amortized payment options These cost approximately $3 700$4 300 per year or approximately $300$350 per month Looking at the lifetime of the payments, this means the homeowner can expect to pay approximately $86,000$111,000 over the course of the assessment payments

Robson D C Powers

Guest Commentary

The author has been informed that residents of this area were sent a notice sometime in 2021-2022 informing them that these assessments were coming, but not providing any amount And to be fair, the assessments have not yet been fully passed there is a City Council Meeting scheduled for 4:30 p m on March 22 at the City of Cape Coral Council Chambers to put the matter to a vote At this meeting the residents of North 1 West will have an opportunity to provide their input on the matter and ultimately it will be determined whether the assessments will pass at this time However if the assessments do pass there is one particular cohort of North 1 West residents who are likely to be most caught off guard: the new homebuyers

In Florida a seller is required to disclose “any facts or conditions they know about that materially affect the value of the property If the seller fails to do so the buyer may have a claim against the seller for failure to disclose

Under certain circumstances the real estate agent who offered the property may also be liable Thus, it is important for a new homebuyer to review if their Seller s Disclosure Form disclosed the existence of the pending assessment If not the buyer may have a claim against the seller

If a seller fully disclosed the contemplated assessment to the purchaser of their home they were well within their rights to sell The problem however is that some sellers neglected to inform buyers that there was an assessment coming to the area and that they had received notice that work would be beginning in North 1 West imminently

This has left many purchasers holding the bag on a $33,000-plus tax assessment that they were completely unprepared for, or at the very least, had no idea was already scheduled to commence in 2023 Add to that the devastation of Hurricane Ian, and there are now many new homeowners whose dream has turned into a nightmare

If you received a notice regarding the upcoming assessments for the utilities expansion project (UEP) and have questions or concerns, you should seek counsel as soon as possible to discuss whether the assessment was properly disclosed or not

* This figure is based on the bill of a single homeowner provided to the authors and is only a representative sample Bill amounts will vary based upon property size and other characteristics Numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole figures for ease of demonstration

Robson D C Powers Esq is a Litigation Partner with Burandt Adamski Feichthaler & Sanchez PLLC

Letters To The Editor

Many thanks to the city of Cape Coral

To the editor: Down Syndrome Supported Living, Inc (DSSL) would like to express its gratitude to the city of Cape Coral for a Community Development Block Grant The CDBG allowed for the replacing two outdated air conditioning units and a new roof The timing of the roof could not have been more perfect as Hurricane Ian did significant damage The CDBG Grant is also providing funds to purchase new stoves and refrigerators for each side of the duplex A special thanks to the dedicated staff in the Department of Development Services for providing the services and programs that enhance community value

The ongoing success of DSSL relies on donations from private citizens, public grants and charitable organizations like the Cape Royal Community Foundation, Knights of Columbus, Kiwanis and the Cape Coral Community Foundation

Tax deductible donations can be made payable to:

Down Syndrome Supported Living Inc (DSSL Inc)

PO Box 150448 Cape Coral, FL 33903

St James Place is at 1407/1409 Academy Blvd , Cape Coral 33990

For more information please contact Marilyn Alexsy

Treasurer of DSSL at 239 997 0350

Pete Alexsy President, Down Syndrome Supported Living Suppor t the ‘Ban the Jab’ Resolution’

To the editor:

Re: the 2/24/23 article “Lee Republican Party Executive Committee passes ‘Ban the Jab’ Resolution ”

People may not be aware but because Covid-19 so-called vaccines are Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) drugs, informed consent is required from the recipient However, pharmaceutical companies and governmental agencies have withheld full information on them for over two years In fact we have been lied to repeatedly by Flip Flop Fauci on down about safety and effectiveness, so true informed consent cannot be given

In addition, per the FDA website, recipients have the option to accept or refuse the vaccine ” Therefore EUA drugs cannot be mandated Despite this it was Mandate Away! for the military airlines healthcare workers jobs schools travel and, in some states, to merely enter a business

People are pressured even without mandates, such as athletes who are threatened to submit or be benched, with disastrous consequences as many are collapsing and dying Others including young children are dying suddenly from heart attacks Banned shots=No mandates

As for banning them taking away choice: A choice for what? They do not prevent infection or transmission All risk No benefit No thanks

There are also valid concerns about spike proteins

The Florida Surgeon General has found a 4 400% increase in VAERS reports of life-threatening conditions in Florida since these drugs were introduced He also recommended against giving them to males aged 18-39 due to the increased risk of cardiac-related death

Meanwhile the CDC continues its finger-in-the-wind method of choosing guidelines while thousands flock to Florida for freedom

Let s hope the Lee County Republican Party Executive Committee s resolution meets with success in expanding that freedom Kudos to them for their bold effort to protect Florida residents from further harm

Winnie Harrison Cape Coral

‘Ban the Jab’ insanity

To the editor:

I read your article with disbelief regarding the Lee Republican Party Executive Committee passing a “Ban the Jab” resolution asking the Florida legislature to ban the COVID vaccine and the Attorney General s Office to confiscate all doses within the state

The resolution cites Pfizer s clinical data revealing 1223 deaths It doesn’t mention that the data came from post-surveillance data that counted deaths from all causes in a certain time period not necessarily deaths caused by having received the vaccine The resolution fails to cite that to date, the COVID virus has caused 1,117,856 deaths in the U S , and 6,859,093 deaths worldwide It also fails to mention that CDC data shows that the risk of having to be placed on a ventilator or dying was reduced by 90% in hospitalized patients who were vaccinated against COVID People who do not want to take the vaccine demand My body, my choice Does that not also apply to people who want to take the vaccine?

How ironic it is that to his credit former President Trump who is championed by right wing Republican anti-VAXers expended the resources to develop the vaccine against this virus that was killing more Americans than World War I, World War II, Vietnam, 9/11, and Iraq/Afghanistan combined, and took the vaccine himself I was a registered Republican for decades However when the Republican Party failed to condemn the vicious attack on our Capitol Police officers and the Capitol itself on Jan 6 2021, I changed my political party affiliation to Independent The Republican party s embracement of its embarrassing and dangerous MTG and similar members, retribution against people and companies that dare express a different opinion with political leaders, and now this local “BTJ resolution, reinforces to me that I made the right decision The Republican Party has lost sight that our government is a democracy not an autocracy and that our country and state are strong because we have a melting pot of diverse people Inclusion maintains our strength Exclusion weakens us

The opposition to the “BTJ” resolution expressed by the SWFL Young Republicans Club encourages me that there is hope for the Republican Party in the future They expressed their opposition at the risk of being labeled RINOs For the sake of the future of the Republican Party, for the future of our state, and for the future of our county, Republican leaders need to be brave enough to stop the madness within the party Barton Hershfield, M D Cape Coral

Gov. DeSantis’ policies regressive, har mful to Floridians

To the editor:

I am writing today to express my concern about the antiprogressive policies of Gov Ron DeSantis of Florida While some may view him as a rising star in the Republican Party his policies have been regressive and harmful to the people of Florida

One of the most concerning policies implemented by DeSantis has been his attacks on voting rights In 2019, he signed a bill that required felons to pay fines and fees before being allowed to vote effectively suppressing the voices of many low-income individuals and people of color Additionally he has pushed for restrictive voting laws that would make it more difficult for Floridians to vote, such as limiting mail-in voting and reducing early voting hours DeSantis has also been criticized for his stance on climate change which has been called into question as he has rejected scientific evidence and cut funding for environmental protection programs This is particularly concerning given the fact that Florida is one of the states most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and more frequent natural disasters

Furthermore DeSantis has signed bills that restrict access to reproductive health care such as requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortions and has implemented policies that harm the LGBTQ+ community, such as signing a bill that prevents transgender athletes from participating in sports that align with their gender identity Overall Gov Ron DeSantis’ anti-progressive policies are concerning and harmful to the people of Florida It is crucial that we hold our elected officials accountable for their actions and advocate for policies that promote equality and progress for all

Dave Kenney Cape Coral

Penalties for fentanyl crimes should be as dire as the drug’s impact

To the editor: Our government has closed its eyes on how to control the fentanyl drug problem Every day we are losing our youth to this drug It’s even being made here in the U S I feel one way to control the rising use of this drug is to take the profit away from the dealers by heavy fines, prison sentences, property seized, etc

It’s time to make fentanyl punishments harsher to possess deal manufacture smuggle into our country Prosecute at the federal level This would free up the lower courts from the burden of fentanyl cases Long prison sentences, no deals, just hard time Cause a death because of a sale, life sentence

Contract your local congressional representative and senator to sponsor a bill to attack fentanyl

Gary Bongers Cape Craol