Eagle Editorial

Publisher Raymond M Eckenrode reckenrode@breezenewspapers com

Executive Editor Valarie Harring vharring@breezenewspapers com

Editor Paulette LeBlanc pleblanc@breezenewspapers com

Advertising Director Laurie Ragle lragle@ breezenewspapers com

Advertising Sales Charlene Russ cruss@breezenewspapers com

Design & Layout Chris Strine cstrine@breezenewspapers com

Debbie obits@breezenewspapers

The National Retail Federation is projecting a pretty big number this year as parents break out the wallets to buy clothes, supplies and often, electronics to equip their kids from kindergarten through college for the classroom

According to a release issued last week by the NRF with data collected by Prosper Insights & Analytics, another record spending year is projected with spending “expected to reach an unparalleled $41.5 billion, up from $36 9 billion last year and the previous high of $37 1 billion in 2021 Back-to-college spending is expected to hit $94 billion, about $20 billion more than last year’s record ”

How does that break down per kid?

“Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $890 07 on back-to-school items this year, approximately $25 more than last

year’s record of $864 35 and a new high,” the NRF reports

For parents with children in college, the number is higher

“College students and their families are expected to spend an average of $1,366 95 per person, up from $1,199 43 last year, and a new record from the previous record of $1,200 32 in 2021,” according to the NRF which adds, that since 2019, back-to-college spending has nearly doubled

Budgeting for back to school is seldom easy for most of us and this year, with many still in recovery mode from Hurricane Ian, it’s even harder

But there are at least two things coming up that can provide a bit of a break the state’s b a c k - t o - s c h o o l s a l e s t a x h o l i d a y b e g i n s Monday and the annual Big Backpack Event that provides supplies for children in need has a record number of backpacks available for distribution

Letters to the Editor

The 2023 tax holiday started Monday, July 24, and runs through Sunday, Aug 6, and applies to many back-to-school necessities including clothing, footwear, backpacks, school supplies and electronics, including personal computers and accessories, tablets and book readers

There are some conditions: Clothing, footwear and qualifying accessories need to be $100 or less per item; school supplies are limited to $50 or less per item; learning aids $30 or less; and qualifying electronics must cost $1,500 or less and must be for noncommercial home or personal use

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated 24th annual BIG Backpack Event is set for 11 a m to 2 p m Sunday, July 30, at the Fort Myers Skatium

Thanks to event sponsors, including the Lee County Sheriff’s Office which donated

See EAGLE EDITORIAL, page 14 mail He apologized and said that USPS initiated a required ID verification before allowing mail to be forwarded but his office was not given any advance notice of this major change in operations He was hand canceling and applying forwarding labels to our mail and it was in transit We received our first forwarded mail on Monday, July 17, a full month after we left FL One of the pieces of mail was the notification from USPS that ID verification was required

I went to the local NH post office yesterday, July 18 Staff were in a dither because they had not received any prior notification of this huge change in standard procedures for mail forwarding and it was making for many unhappy customers To add insult to injury, PO employees were not able to scan the barcode on the USPS form letter and then said because my forward date was more than 30 days old, the mail forwarding was canceled and I had to start the process all over again!

I filled out the form again, now have to wait for USPS Central to receive that info, send their ridiculous form, go back to the PO with my ID, and then my mail will get forwarded. All of this is supposedly to prevent fraud which remains to be seen

Bobby Holloway Memorial Scholarship presentations made

To the editor:

On June 26, the Bobby Holloway Jr. Foundation held its annual scholarship presentation at Beef O Bradys Twenty-two scholarships totaling $35,750 raised through the annual fishing tournament were presented

David Bollen received the Phil Rosenberg

I T s c h o l a r s h i p a n d L i n d s e y F u n a i r w a s awarded the Richard Hagy Memorial scholarship

The foundation is still seeking applicants for islanders past and present attending or s eek in g to atten d v o catio n al / tech n ical school, heating and AC classes, plumbing or classes toward starting your own business Scholarship money is still available

We congratulate all scholarship recipients and look forward to their future success

Steve Hook Cape Coral

(The following letter was emailed to Rep Donalds and to Senators Scott and Rubio)

New mail forwarding system is a big mess

To the editor:

I wish to alert you to a serious problem with mail forwarding by the U S Postal Service We spend a couple months every summer in N H visiting our family We forward our mail from the Bokeelia PO to our son's for the time we are gone I started mail forwarding on June 16 I called our wonderful postmaster, David Moyer, on July 10 because we hadn't received any forwarded

What it has done however is make for very unhappy USPS employees and people w h o d e p e n d o n g e t t i n g t h e i r m a i l o n time The previous system was NOT BROKEN and it seems like one more attempt by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to screw the USPS employees and the general public He should be called to Congress to explain himself and he should be replaced ASAP!

Ellen Ballard Bokeelia

Preser vation of the Chiquita Lock is not environmentally friendly

To the editor:

The Breeze has previously published letters to the editor regarding removal of the