The North Port Sun Editorials

OUR POSITION: Feeble accounting leaves boat race in rough waters. The principal organizers of this year’s Charlotte Harbor Super Boat Grand Prix did a real service introducing a new, large-scale event with tremendous potential to the area. But the audit … Find out how to read more online.

Restoring nature an acre at a time
Sat Oct 25 2014 08:30AM

Back before the advent of serious federal and state environmental regulations, the landowners who built the housing tracts of Southwest Florida were relatively free to bulldoze and fill their way across the landscape. Good for development; awful for natural Florida. … Find out how to read more online.

Slide into mediocrity must stop
Sun Oct 26 2014 08:31AM

OUR POSITION: School Board must step up immediately. Charlotte County’s school system is in a hole. Whether it’s a pothole that can easily be patched or a widening sinkhole depends on your point of view. But we think it has … Find out how to read more online.

Local charity keeping pace
Sat Oct 25 2014 08:30AM

For years now, St. Vincent de Paul has been a lifeline for hundreds of people who may have been at the end of their rope — needing food or prescription medicine. Last week, the local charity made two announcements that … Find out how to read more online.

Blueprint for future of NPPD
Sat Oct 25 2014 08:30AM

OUR POSITION: Consultant outlines an intelligent approach to improvements at the department operations. The 80-page consultant’s report on the North Port Police Department contains 18 specific recommendations for improvements, hundreds of bits of analytical data and a broad stamp of … Find out how to read more online.

John Mead for EWD
Thu Oct 30 2014 08:31AM

This year’s contest for a seat on the Englewood Water District governing board is a low-key rematch between a longtime incumbent and a well-known challenger. Phyllis Wright, 72, a former restaurant owner who works for Key Realty, has served three … Find out how to read more online.

A wonder on our shores
Thu Oct 30 2014 08:31AM

Dozens of our neighbors rise early each morning during warmer months to monitor the sea turtle nests along the Gulf shoreline. For them, especially, the latest nesting numbers should be gratifying. Preliminary reports from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation … Find out how to read more online.

Age divide over medi-pot
Wed Nov 5 2014 09:27AM

Generation gap? The latest poll from the Tampa Bay Times shows a chasm between the young and old on medical marijuana. Asked recently how they would vote “on the proposed Florida Constitutional Amendment 2 that would allow the use of marijuana … Find out how to read more online.

Vote yes on medical marijuana
Sat Oct 25 2014 08:30AM

OUR POSITION: Vote yes on Amendment 2 to legalize medical marijuana. If Amendment 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot receives 60 percent of the vote, marijuana would be legalized for medical purposes in Florida, which would join 23 other states and the … Find out how to read more online.

Rooney for District 17 in Congress
Tue Oct 21 2014 08:00AM

In the Nov. 4 election for the District 17 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican incumbent Tom Rooney faces Democratic challenger Will Bronson. District 17 includes all of Charlotte, Okeechobee, Highlands, Glades, Desoto and Hardee counties, and parts … Find out how to read more online.

Secret funding fuels campaigns locally, in nation
Mon Oct 20 2014 03:02PM

OUR POSITION: We don’t like the idea that shadowy organizations can pour millions into political campaigns with no one aware of who is sponsoring the cash flow or why they favor a particular candidate. Let’s call it for what it … Find out how to read more online.

Population surge in Florida not just baby boomers
Tue Oct 28 2014 04:56PM

OUR POSITION: The state’s economy is getting a boost from a population boom that will not slow down anytime soon. Shea O’Donnell recently moved from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale. Who could blame her, right? Well, it’s more than weather that … Find out how to read more online.

Kern for Fire Board
Sat Oct 25 2014 08:30AM

A newcomer is facing off against a long-serving incumbent for the single open seat on the Englewood Fire Control District Board this year. Both are retired firefighters, which is not unusual for this board. As such, both understand the primary … Find out how to read more online.

Ken Marsh for School Board
Wed Nov 12 2014 10:18AM

Four people started out this year in the nonpartisan race for the Sarasota School Board District 1 seat held 16 years by Carol Todd. In August, the race was pared to a runoff between the top two, since no one … Find out how to read more online.

Ballot language is misleading
Mon Oct 6 2014 08:01AM

Editor: Once again, voters of Charlotte County are confronted with a biased and unfair stacked deck regarding the vote on the proposed extension of the 1 percent sales tax. It is often erroneously referred to as “the penny tax,” or … Find out how to read more online.

Gov. Scott is ‘Sugar Daddy’
Mon Oct 6 2014 08:01AM

Editor: Florida has a new Sugar Daddy. He takes care of the Florida sugar industry at the expense of us taxpayers. He gives a whole new meaning to Sugar Daddy. It’s Gov. Rick “Sugar Daddy” Scott. Edward G. Threm Port … Find out how to read more online.

A ‘yes’ vote for penny sales tax
Mon Oct 6 2014 08:01AM

Editor: Charlotte County citizens can keep property taxes low by voting Nov. 4 to extend the penny sales tax, which has been in place since 1994. As a small business owner in Charlotte County and president-elect of the Charlotte County … Find out how to read more online.

Facts destroying best defenses
Mon Oct 6 2014 08:01AM

Editor: Republican “friends” chide me about our president’s record. Dutifully, I rush to defend. Since I am outnumbered in Punta Gorda, I must choose my order of battle wisely. Predictably, Republicans’ opening argument is foreign policy. As there is no … Find out how to read more online.

Sports Apology section is needed
Mon Oct 6 2014 08:01AM

Editor: A sampling of stories in the sports section of Oct. 1 finds the following: Michael Phelps “deeply sorry” for DUI charge; Michigan president apologizes to family and teammates of quarterback Morris for not pulling him from game when injured; … Find out how to read more online.

Stop complaining, be more positive
Mon Oct 6 2014 08:01AM

Editor: I am so tired of Americans who only think that the way they can be heard is through complaining. How often do we hear any praise for Obama? And don’t tell me there is absolutely nothing he has done … Find out how to read more online.

Support nonprofits with donations
Mon Oct 6 2014 08:01AM

Editor: My beautiful young daughter works for a nonprofit here in Charlotte County. And she was upset with me when I told her I was not going to vote for the 1 percent sales tax extension and then she asked … Find out how to read more online.

Just call county for pothole fixes
Mon Oct 6 2014 08:01AM

Editor: Last week, a reader wrote about the frustration he felt because the county had not filled a pothole. His frustration was heightened by the fact he had observed many county workers drive by the pothole. So obviously, he reasoned, … Find out how to read more online.

Heavenly endorsement: RIP, Fran and Earl
Sun Oct 5 2014 08:01AM

Editor: Charlotte County lost a great lady the other day, Philomena “Fran” Zimmerman, soon after her husband of over 67 years, Earl — Roy to everybody else. Of course, I’m in trouble now because I stated her given name, but … Find out how to read more online.

Believes experts, who don’t lie
Sun Oct 5 2014 08:01AM

Editor: The matter of what the intelligence advisors told the president regarding ISIS seems quite straightforward to anyone with a lick of common sense. Either (A), they told him and he didn’t do anything, or (B) they didn’t tell him. … Find out how to read more online.

Seek the truth, follow golden rule
Sun Oct 5 2014 08:01AM

Editor: It is totally unbelievable the number of gullible people there are in our country. The Republican Party, so as to gain support from religious groups, stopped stem cell research, would not appropriate funds for AIDS research, sponsored bills denying … Find out how to read more online.

Sat Oct 4 2014 04:30PM

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Blare of glitz overrides reason
Sun Oct 5 2014 08:01AM

Editor: Stagnation. People don’t believe in Providence, inspiration, the theme of the Old Testament, following the Lord and prospering and falling away and perishing. They believe in karma, which is another form of the same thing, consequences and judgment. What … Find out how to read more online.

Solution to end negative campaigns
Sun Oct 5 2014 08:01AM

Editor: In my world, the word politics carries a negative connotation. In my world, politicians are not to be trusted. They will tell you what you want to hear just to get elected. Yes, I truly believe that is the … Find out how to read more online.

Democrats found all around us
Sun Oct 5 2014 08:01AM

Editor: This letter is in response to the ill-advised person who wrote the letter entitled: “Endangered Species: Florida Democrats,” published Sept. 24. This is to inform him and others who think the Obamaites are now defunct, that we are all alive … Find out how to read more online.

Ignorance is bliss, stupidity is obvious
Sun Oct 5 2014 08:01AM

Editor: For those who’ve not paid much attention, the Democrats have done it again. A group of them have slyly been manipulating the Republican Party for many years now, and few have even noticed. Having witnessed the sheer ignorance and … Find out how to read more online.

Texting ban: A slow start for safer roads
Sun Jul 20 2014 08:00AM

OUR POSITION: A graduated process is necessary for public safety. When a texting ban was passed and signed into law in 2013, few proponents — and there were many — expected the impact to be dramatic. The law was something … Find out how to read more online.

Move ahead on Springs ownership
Mon Jul 14 2014 08:00AM

OUR POSITION: Time to end the stalemate at Warm Mineral Springs. Sarasota County commissioners took the most rational course of action last week when they offered to sell their share of Warm Mineral Springs to the city of North Port. … Find out how to read more online.

Wife of a friend of a friend, etc.
Sat Jun 14 2014 08:00AM

Gov. Rick Scott has touched off early fireworks with his decision to appoint a politically wired Sarasota woman to a vacancy on the Sarasota School Board. Scott recently named Bridget Ziegler to a vacancy left by the unexpected resignation of … Find out how to read more online.

Still shooting for donations
Sat Jun 14 2014 08:00AM

North Porters may be secure in anticipation of their July 4 fireworks — the annual Freedom Fest is a city function — but others in our area always feel a little queasy this time of year. In Englewood, the fireworks sponsors are … Find out how to read more online.

Mon Mar 24 2014 01:42PM

ALWAYS PRINT OUT FOR PROOF READER! Editorial Budget Tuesday, March 18, 2014 Editorials EditBB031214 Letters LetCri031114 w/CartMarlette031814 LetHar031214 LetJox031014 LetKen031114 LetLet031114 LetMas031114 LetSpe031414 LetSte031014 Columns HighCol031614 CerabCol031814 Extra Cartoon Cart … Find out how to read more online.

Dolphins’ Ross bites the bullet and covers costs
Tue Mar 18 2014 08:00AM

OUR POSITION: It is refreshing to see a professional sports team owner take money out of his own pocket to improve the team’s facilities. Miami Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross is a billionaire. And like most mega-rich owners of professional sports teams, … Find out how to read more online.

Para-police won’t make children safer
Mon Mar 17 2014 08:00AM

OUR POSITION: Arming teachers? Another step in a weird direction. As if Florida hasn’t already done enough to build a Wild Wild West reputation — Trayvon Martin and the infamous Movie Theater-Popcorn incident — a new measure moving through the … Find out how to read more online.

Fighting hunger, one grapefruit at a time
Wed Mar 12 2014 08:00AM

OUR POSITION: Local program provides nutritious food to those in need. The practice of “gleaning” dates back to ancient times in the Middle East, when farmers were instructed by the Torah to leave portions of their fields unharvested for the … Find out how to read more online.

More chum in the Void
Wed Mar 5 2014 08:00AM

Like weak stars drawn to a black hole, some of us just can’t help escape the pull of the vast Factoid-Void. Take, for example, the recent post in the Daily Beast noting the rise in gun-related baby names. The most … Find out how to read more online.

School progress, not explanations
Wed Mar 5 2014 08:00AM

Another set of state school measurements is out, another set of so-so performances by Charlotte County schools, another set of reasons why Charlotte County no longer ranks among the elite school systems in Florida. It is time for performance, not … Find out how to read more online.

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