Holiday travel ramps up

* THE NEWS-PRESS » FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2013 »
TELL MEL
MELANIE PAYNE
TellMel@news-press.com
ESTERO
El Dorado removed from plan
The ‘Old Florida’
community was
removed from Village
of Estero map
By Chris Umpierre
cumpierre@news-press.com
Insurance
change hits
pocketbook
For more than two decades Donald Wiseman faithfully paid insurance premiums on his North Fort Myers manufactured home.
When the policy renewal
bill arrived in July, he wrote
a check for $279 and mailed
it off.
In mid-November, Wiseman got a letter from
Wright National Flood Insurance saying he was ineligible for his preferred risk
policy because the property
didn’t meet the eligibility
requirements. Therefore
the company was issuing
another policy at the higher
rate, the insurance company wrote, “resulting in an
additional premium of
$666.”
An increase of more than
200 percent and more than
Wiseman could afford. He
and his wife, Judith, live on
a fixed income. The lot rent
on their home has increased
in recent years, as have
other expenses, he said.
“They priced us right out
of the market,” the 83-yearold Wiseman said.
Since Wiseman doesn’t
have a mortgage he decided
he would cancel the insurance and ask for a prorated
refund.
The company told him he
didn’t qualify for a refund
under the National Flood
Insurance Program rules.
Instead, it rewrote the policy lowering coverage on
the building from $75,000 to
$19,500 and reducing the
content coverage from
$19,500 to $5,100.
Wiseman said that coverage wasn’t worth the
money. And he asked if I
could help him get his premium back since, as he put
it, “I renewed under false
pretenses.”
Had Wiseman been told
his coverage would have
been that low, he wouldn’t
have sent the check for the
July premium. So it didn’t
seem fair that he would
have to pay for the meager
coverage.
FEMA’s complicated
rules for refunding flood
insurance premiums, however, seem to back up the
company’s assertion that
Wiseman doesn’t qualify for
refund. So I think Wiseman
is stuck with an inferior
policy.
See TELL MEL » A21
“You can’t
know the
horror tales
I’ve heard
from people.”
JOAN LAGUARDIA,
communications manager for Lee
County Department of Community
Development
Forget about gates or a security guard station. A quick drive
through this small unincorporated Estero community reveals a broken welcome sign,
several dirt roads, stilt homes
and RVs parked in driveways.
“It’s a scruffy Old Florida
neighborhood,” El Dorado
Acres resident Tripp Starnes
said. “I live on a dirt road. When
I moved here, I chose this is
where I want to live. It just
doesn’t fit with all of the other
gated communities in Estero. It
doesn’t fit with the Village of Estero.”
Estero leaders agree. The
Estero Council of Community
Leaders recently decided to
carve El Dorado Acres out of its
planned map for the future Village of Estero. El Dorado, which
has about 300 homes and 350-
500 residents, produced 186 signatures from residents saying
they didn’t want to be part of Estero’s incorporation. Estero
leaders don’t plan to alter their
proposed map again.
El Dorado, which sits on the
Estero-Bonita Springs border,
will remain in unincorporated
Lee County if Estero residents
vote to form a city next year.
Bonita Springs Mayor Ben Nelson, whose city annexed 123
acres in unincorporated Estero
and is hosting a Pelican Landing
annexation referendum in February, is happy El Dorado resi-
dents made their wishes known.
“We had suspected several
communities on Coconut Road
would not want to be part of (Estero’s incorporation),” Nelson
said. “We had been talking to
legislators about creating what
we call a narrow area of self determination. There was some
resistance to that.”
Estero leaders had planned
for months to include El Dorado
in their future city, but that
changed this month when some
El Dorado residents argued
See PLAN » A17
TRANSPORTATION
Edison & Ford Winter Estates Chief Curator Alison Giesen decorates a Christmas tree inside the main house on the grounds Wednesday
in Fort Myers. Tourism at the Estates is big business during the holidays. PHOTOS BY SARAH COWARD/THE NEWS-PRESS
Holiday travel ramps up
Those coming and going for Thanksgiving take to the road and air
By Laura Ruane
lruane@news-press.com
S
tarting today, Southwest Florida
International could get a bit busier, thanks to early bird Thanksgiving travelers.
Nationally, industry group Airlines
for America predicts Wednesday will
be the most frenetic.
However, local airport spokeswoman Victoria Moreland saw a different pattern when looking at departing passenger statistics from last
year. She found that the Saturday,
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before
Turkey Day each outpaced Wednesday. The differences ranged from 115
passengers to more than 1,000 a day.
“We’re a destination airport,” Moreland said, referring to the region’s
reputation as a vacationer spot. But
for Thanksgiving, “people leaving
here are leaving early.”
Moreland’s pet theory is that folks
who can avoid flying on the nation’s
peak travel days do, to save on airfare and stress.
Across the country, airlines expect
to shuttle 25.1 million passengers
during the 12 days starting with today. That’s a slight increase from the
24.7 million fliers in 2012, according
to Airlines for America.
One bit of good news since last
Thanksgiving: The Transportation
A copy of a photo of Edison’s children on Sanibel Island decorates a Christmas tree on the
porch of the Edison main house. About 30,000 visitors are expected in December.
Security Administration has expanded its Pre Check program to Southwest Florida International during its
busiest travel hours.
Passengers flying Delta and United Airlines and who have qualified
for the program, may now receive
expedited screening at the Concourse
C security checkpoint. On Concourse
B, Southwest Airlines is now Pre
Check ready. Starting today on Concourse D, American Airlines, JetBlue
and US Airways are offering the
program to qualified fliers.
And, for more than a year, chil-
dren age 12 and under and passengers 75 or older have been able to
leave on their shoes and light jackets
when they are screened using the
advanced imaging technology at the
airport.
Fewer on roads
On the driving side, the AAA auto
club forecast 38.9 million people will
take to the roads, and travel 50 miles
or more from Wednesday, Nov. 27,
through Monday, Dec. 2. That would
See TRAVEL » A17
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* THE NEWS-PRESS » FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2013 »
Plan
Continued from A3
against incorporation.
“I understand the
ECCL is mainly for commercial and residential
projects,” said Starnes,
whose home is on stilts.
“At some point, the Village of Estero might set
residential standards. We
don’t want any chance of
that. We’d rather stay underneath unincorporated
Lee County.”
El Dorado residents
met with Bonita Springs
officials to ask them about
the incorporation and annexation process. But El
Dorado doesn’t want to be
part of Bonita, either.
“We want to be left
alone,” Starnes said.
ECCL Vice Chairman
John Goodrich and state
Rep. Ray Rodrigues, REstero, visited El Dorado
on Nov. 10. Starnes not
only produced 186 signed
Tuesday, November 26
11:00 AM
13
Hampton Inn
9241 Market Place Road
Ft. Myers
Call to register 1-888-685-1594
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6HUYLFH QXPEHU petitions, but he also
showed them 99 ballots he
collected. Of the 99 ballots, eight El Dorado residents wanted to be part of
Estero or Bonita.
“We’re not trying to
force anybody into the Village of Estero,” Goodrich
said. “You have to take
into account the impact on
the rest of the Village as
well as the desire of the
community. When we
looked at it all, we felt that
we could honor their request and that it wouldn’t
create a huge impact.”
If Pelican Landing declines Bonita’s annexation
referendum and then Es-
Continued from A3
be a 1.6 percent decline,
year-over-year.
Tourism never stops
here, but for at least a
few days, get-togethers
between family and
friends are the focus.
Still, the Edison &
Ford Winter Estates is
decking the halls and
grounds for its Holiday
Nights that run Nov. 29
through Jan. 4.
“Edison Ford Holiday
Nights may be the only
month-long celebration
of the holidays in December in Southwest
Florida and because of
that it is attracting a lot
of attention,” said Chris
Pendleton, estates president & CEO.
Pendleton added that
tourism during the holidays “is big business for
us, attracting around
30,000 visitors in Decem-
Sprockets decorate a tree outside Henry Ford’s winter
home. SARAH COWARD/THE NEWS-PRESS
ber and helping to fund
the preservation and
education activities of
the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.”
For many businesses
catering to tourists, other holiday weekends
eclipse Thanksgiving.
“We’re full, don’t get
me wrong. But there’s
less of a tradition of
people coming for
Thanksgiving,” said
Chris Davison, general
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struck up most of the
friendships during their
previous stays at the Red
Coconut.
Red Coconut owners
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throw a Thanksgiving
dinner in the resort clubhouse, but the Bustles
and their entourage have
their own tradition.
Said Judy Bustle: “We
have our Thanksgiving
dinner on the beach. We
don’t like to get out of
our bathing suits.”
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services to El Dorado.
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El Dorado into Estero because the annual cost of
traveling for services
would be too costly.
Goodrich disagrees,
saying the City of Cape
Coral and the City of Fort
Myers have enclaves.
Two other communities near El Dorado have
expressed interest in being part of a future Village
of Estero. Michael Pelletier, president of Coconut
Shores homeowners association, said incorporation
is a good idea.
“Realize we will have
seven representatives directly responsible to us on
a city council, and they
will be paid a princely salary of $6,000 a year,” Pelletier said.
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PACKING
» Make sure your name is on
your bag: Retain the computer-printed tag from when
your luggage was checked.
» Take clean underwear,
valuables and your toothbrush in your carry-on.
» Pack in neat layers: a layer
of clothes, then electronics,
more clothes, and then any
heavier items. This will help
speed screening.
» About photo ID: You must
display it at the checkpoint.
» Think 3-1-1 for liquids, gels
and aerosols. That’s 3-ounce
containers in one clear, quartsized zip-top bag — one
Baggie per person. Limited
exceptions are made for
infants’ needs and medically
necessary liquids.
Learn more at tsa.gov.
» Arrive at least two hours
before your flight is scheduled to depart. Before heading to the airport, call your
airline or check its website or
app to confirm the timeliness
of your flight.
» Book a taxi. One-way fare
to or from Southwest Florida
International can run as low
as $20 to as high as $140 or
more, not including fuel
surcharge, tip or fee for
additional riders beyond
three passengers.
» Lee County residents might
ride a LeeTran bus. There’s no
service Thanksgiving Day, but
there is every other day.
Bring cash. Fare ranges from
$1.25 to $3.50 one-way. Get
the details at rideleetran.com.
» There are plenty of spaces,
on- and off-airport at Southwest Florida International.
» For Southwest Florida
International parking, the
daily maximum is quoted
here. Go to flylcpa.com for
the rest.
» Short-term, in garage: $16
» Long-term, in lot: $11