• Superferry is unwanted bridge
• COPE Act needs support
• Fare wars suspicious
• Saddened by rental process
Superferry is unwanted bridge
As a local youth on Kaua‘i, I am amazed at the concept of a “Superferry” making its way to our port. Are you kidding me? Do you guys even have an inkling of the long-term consequences? Sure, there will be an increase in drugs, traffic, invasive species and just plain derelicts that don’t need to be in our community. But what really bothers me is something that hits close to home. Surfing.
I grew up surfing on this island and the thought of hundreds — perhaps thousands — of “new” surfers making their way to our surf spots makes me queasy. Surfers not knowing our oceans, currents, etiquette, etc. coming by the masses will unquestionably spell disaster. It’s no secret we have some of the best waves in the world. What’s going to stop the thousands of surfers that flock to the North Shore of O‘ahu every winter from taking their rented SUVs, hopping on the ferry to Kaua‘i and posting up at Polihale or Hanalei for weeks on end? Then realizing how good we have it and telling 15 of their friends and so on and so on?
Everything is about money these days. From new hotels to real estate that locals can no longer afford, will the Superferry be the straw that breaks the camel’s back? The Superferry is basically a bridge that will make Kaua‘i as we know it no more. Think about it.
COPE Act needs support
The U.S. House of Representatives did cable customers and the travel industry a huge favor by approving H.R. 5252, the COPE Act — legislation that would establish a national franchising system for cable television.
Overall, cable rates have increased 86 percent — about three times the rate of inflation — since 1996, according to the FCC. But in the few areas with wire-based cable competition, prices have gone down. The national franchising bill will promote competition, and lower prices, by making it easier for would-be competitors to challenge the cable monopolies.
The House also was wise to reject burdensome new “net neutrality” rules. There are powerful economic incentives for operators to preserve Internet freedom. Internet users demand free-flowing content, and network operators that impede the flow risk chasing their customers into the arms of a competitor.
Now it’s time for the Senate to follow the House’s lead. I urge Sen. Inouye to swiftly deliver legislation such as H.R. 5252 to the Senate floor.
Fare wars suspicious
Does anyone else find it suspicious that Aloha and Hawaiian can match go!’s fares but couldn’t cut us a break for years. Can you say collusion?
• Joseph Lavery Kapa‘a
Supporting Brian Schatz
With the vacancy created by Ed Case’s run for the U.S. Senate, we have an opportunity to elect a true progressive to Congress who understands that:
• A pre-emptive war based on falsehoods does not make us secure from terror, but rather breeds terror;
• Our veterans need more than empty praise; they need protective equipment, health care, housing and a living wage;
• Surrendering our freedom in the form of the “Patriot Act” provides us with neither freedom nor security;
• Discrimination in any form is unacceptable;
• Global warming is a clear and present danger;
• We cannot drill our way out of the energy crisis and that even if we could, such a strategy is not acceptable for the future of the planet;
• Hawai‘i must become a diversified economy;
• We must provide quality education for all children and job training for adults;
• Healthcare is an entitlement not a luxury;
• We must care for those in our ohana who cannot care for themselves: the young, the old, the infirm;
• That none of this can be accomplished by giving tax breaks to the very wealthy and to oil companies making obscene profits.
As of today, five Democratic candidates have filed to run for this seat and another five have indicated their intention to do so. Most if not all of these candidates would be an improvement over the incumbent. However, in my view, one stands above the rest.
I am supporting Brian Schatz for congress for the following reasons:
• Brian is a strong legislative leader who actively creates and drives public policy;
• He has served in the Hawai‘i Legislature since 1998 where he has been majority whip and chair of the Committee on Economic Development;
• Other than Mina Morita, with whom Brian works closely, Brian has the strongest environmental record in the Hawai‘i Legislature. He serves as Mina’s vice chair on the Energy Committee and Ezra Kanoho’s vice chair on the Water, Land and Ocean Affairs Committee;
• Brian is the founder and director of Youth for Environmental Service, an award-winning regional non-profit organization;
• Brian serves as CEO of Helping Hands Hawaii, one of Hawai‘i’s largest nonprofit social service agencies, serving needy families, the mentally ill, retired seniors, immigrants and school children;
• Brian understands education from the grass roots, having served as a social studies teacher at Punahou High School.
Please examine the qualifications of all the candidates carefully. I think that you too will want to send Brian to Washington, D.C. as our congressman. His Web site is: www.schatzforcongress.com.
Saddened by rental process
It really saddens me to see my local friends working two or three jobs and living in substandard housing while my real estate “friends” continue to be part of a process that runs local people out of their rental homes so that they can sell their homes as vacation rentals. We have no obligation to help these “realtors” make a living.
I would like to see these realtors identified publicly in print and I would like to see their game shut down for good. This island was a lot better off before realtors started running people out of their homes. The island was better off before they came here also. I hope they leave this island — they pretend to be solid citizens while they rake in the cash. It is time to shut them down and ignore their phony arguments about how much good they do.
