Collier Citizen Opinion

Last week’s column about the dispute between EMS and fire personnel over providing Advanced Life Support caused quite an uproar. We had letters, calls and comments from as far away as Denver, Colorado, and Wichita, Kansas. A former EMS member from Northern Florida called to complain because he lived in an area where the fire department took over EMS and he had to get out of the profession or take a 50 percent pay cut. Full story »

Naples is a wonderful place to retire or just come for the season. But, if you are a bridge player, coming to Naples will also provide a place to play your favorite game. There are many places you can play bridge in Naples.
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It was not uncommon during this election year to hear references to “lobbyists” in the media. The typical portrayal of a lobbyist is an attorney or similarly stuffed suit arguing a position on a matter strictly in line with the special interests of their clients. While that fits the definition of a lobbyist that many of us are familiar with, the concept of lobbying goes far beyond attorneys and experts parading about in front of a public board. Full story »

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you were able to enjoy the holiday with family and friends. I’ll never forget my Thanksgiving two years ago. My oven broke two days before Thanksgiving and I had 18 people coming for dinner. No repair parts were to be had, so I ran around the neighborhood asking to borrow someone’s oven. To the rescue came Nancy Markham and Carol Fries. Dinner was great, by the way. Full story »

Dear Editor: Forget the landscaping at Island Walk and Vanderbilt Beach Road. Be glad you go the traffic signal. Use those landscaping dollars for much more needed traffic signals and road maintenance elsewhere. We have too much landscaping now and those dollars surely could be put to better use.
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For a long time, Collier County has been a hot real estate market, and during the continuous spiral upward to build everything as fast as we possibly could, the cry was constant to make sure growth paid for growth as much as was legally permissible. At the same time, numerous restrictions were added to our development codes, in an attempt to provide some level of control when even the highest impact fees did not deter the staggering growth within the real estate market. Full story »

What started with pea shooters, moved to guns, and now grenades are being used in the continuing turf war between EMS and local fire departments. You’ll notice in the front page story that Collier County medical director, Dr. Bob Tober, took away the right for 45 of North Naples Fire District’s 50 certified paramedics to perform Advanced Life Support.
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A list of recent letters to the editor Full story »

My friend Victor called the night before we and our wives were due to leave on a four-day trip to New York. “What are you doing?” he asked. “I’m packing and checking off the things-to-do-when-we-go-out-of-town list,” I impatiently responded. “Well,” he continued, “don’t forget to change your clocks to standard time.”
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Time to give thanks for the faces you see at your table. Time to count all the usual, but oh-so-important blessings, like good health, a car that runs, a fairly light storm season and the fact there probably won’t be any snow here this year. But the economy bites. Real estate is the pits. Full story »

A little turkey trivia for your turkey day Full story »

At times it seems as though I’m forever saying, “thank you.” I don’t have any inhibitions about saying, “Thank you.” In fact, I hope I always remember to do so whenever it is appropriate. Otherwise, I would risk displeasing my mother, whose discerning oversight I continue to sense, although she has been gone for more than 20 years. Full story »

The lines are getting longer at restaurants, traffic is increasing on the roadways and shopping is picking up at some local stores. At the same time, we also are witnessing the demise of some long-standing businesses. Sometimes it’s a matter of having been around so long, they’ve never had to capture new sales to keep afloat. They struggle and go out of business, creating new opportunities for others, such as business liquidators. Full story »

Not too long ago, Collier County was asked to purchase the former Wiggins Pass Marina before it was turned into another high priced condominium. With a price tag that was over $20 million, the attempted purchase did not go far. At that time, planned condos potentially held far more profits for a private purchaser. Full story »

Dear Editor: History was made Nov. 4, 2008 with the election of Barack Obama to President of the United States and I’m so glad I lived long enough to be part of it. There is hope in what we have done here, this day.
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