Bill Barnett presents NAPLES POTPOURRI

Well, it’s finally over. At the time of this writing, the city election results aren’t quite in yet, but when you receive this edition they will be. For me, the last three months have been as stressful as if I were running for Mayor or City Council. It was, by far, the ugliest city election I have ever witnessed. To sum it up and move on, it was filled with bad behavior unbecoming of our citizens of the City of Naples. The lies, untruths, and mailers made it impossible to figure out who to vote for unless you followed my prudent advice in the last three issues of Life in Naples and really did your homework. I can only hope for the longevity of our city that the right choices were made. You can wager that my May article will have my conclusions on this past city election.

Now, for some of my favorite subjects at this time of the year! Traffic, restaurants, weather, tourists, growth in the county, and the end of another busy season! The conversation about traffic comes up on a daily basis- how horrible it is and can’t someone do anything about it. The simple answer is no, and I often say it’s not the Long Island Expressway, or I-95 in the Washington-Baltimore corridor and a bevy of other examples but none of my answers make it any easier for folks to deal with. The City can’t build any more roads and with the way the growth in the county is exploding the county can’t keep up either. The bottom line is deal with it. We all know it’s going to be bad from Christmas to New Year’s week and January through the end of March. The first sign of a break will come after Easter and by Mother’s Day for the most part it is gone. I know for a fact that the City has tried everything possible to alleviate the traffic yet there is no solution.

I am always asked for my favorite restaurants and it used to be a very simple answer. Now, however, I have to ask- what ethnicity? There aren’t a lot of you here today that can remember my two favorite Naples restaurants, St. George and the Dragon and Piccadilly Pub.

Of course, they were the only two fine dining restaurants in Naples when I moved here in 1973! Back then, every time a new dining establishment came to Naples word spread like wildfire. I can remember when the first authentic Italian restaurant opened its doors here- it was called Peter Vivonetto and they were from Long Island, New York. To move the calendar to today, I’ve lost count of how many really good places to dine there are in Naples. We have so many choices from great steakhouses to awesome pizza and pasta places, that there is no way I can name an absolute favorite. However, with that being said, if asked, I can make some very good recommendations regardless of what ethnicity you choose.

The weather for February has been spectacular. I can’t remember having these warm days and cool nights for such a long stretch. I think our tourists and winter residents are loving it, and I know the hotel industry is having a banner season.

I am also asked what I think the biggest challenge that we face for the future of Naples is going to be. My opinion is: finding an electrician or a plumber or, for that matter, any tradesperson to make a house call and fix a problem. I’m not saying it will be impossible, but it will be expensive. As the housing market skyrockets, tradespeople are moving further east and north to more affordable housing. A good example today is, if you drop someone off at RSW for an early flight, the traffic heading south is almost bumper to bumper every day! I know the county is building affordable housing, but can they build enough to quell this issue?

I hope all our Winter residents had a great season and have safe travels to wherever you’re heading!

Bill Barnett, Former Mayor
I do respond to e-mails at: mayornaples@gmail.com