• Puzzled
• Protected zones needed
• Low salary isn’t the problem
• Mahalo, Kilohana Canoe Club
• Kaua‘i wants Kaua‘i nurses
Puzzled
I wonder why the movie “Inconvenient Truth” starring Al Gore has not been playing in any of the Kaua‘i theaters. Could it be too political?
Please, please, theatre owners, do your duty to preserve and save the environment by showing this wonderful movie. We will all benefit from it.
Protected zones needed
Where have all the big fish gone, the ones the kupuna talk about that they caught 10 and 20 years ago or 20 or 30 years ago? There are areas on the other main islands that have protected zones where fish can grow big and spill over into other areas. Why are there none of these areas on Kaua’i?
I remember spearfishing and lobster- harvesting on the Kona coast right next to some protected areas and the fish and lobster were both huge!
In the old days there was someone to watch over seasonal closures of fish in an ahupua‘a, unfortunately the konohiki are gone and we do not have an agency that can staff someone to do this either. It is up to us now to protect us from ourselves.
If we have some areas that we do not harvest that are close to our favorite fishing spots, these areas will produce bigger fish that swim out and into the zones we fish in.
If we can come together as a community to figure out where the best spots to protect are, the state and feds will help us to manage these spots. We get to decide where these spots are, and how they are protected!
Some good spots to start might be where the tourists have already taken over and we do not fish much, like Ke‘e and Makua, or maybe on either side of popular fishing spots like Ho’ai (Prince Kuhio’s), or on either side of Anini around Princeville area, or near the Kilauea Lighthouse.
Protecting areas works. Fish will get bigger and our catches will increase. It has been proven all over the world to work, from Pacific island nations to the Mainland U.S. Research if you can’t believe it, or e-mail us and we can get you some good info.
It does take some time for the reefs to recover, but it’s worth the wait, and we aren’t going anywhere. Let’s show our kids that we care so that they and their families have big fish to brag about when they are kupuna! You can find info on protected areas here: www.saveourseas.org/MarineAwareness.htm
If you have some good ideas about marine managed areas, please let us know.
We have a narrow window of time for change. Norwegian Cruise Lines will add a fourth ship this fall, and will have a boat on Kaua‘i four to five days a week. The Superferry will bring over fishers from the other islands to pillage our reefs. Gill nets with illegal mesh sizes take small fish off the reef, and spearing fish with SCUBA gear at night can take the big ones. Changes must be made soon before it’s too late. Protected areas can help both fishers and the tourist industry through education and awareness.
Please email SOS@SaveOurSeas.org if you are interested in helping. We can make a difference!
- Paul Clark President, Save Our Seas
Hanalei
Low salary isn’t the problem
So our mayor, in all his wisdom (?), has decided that low salary is the basic reason we can’t find a police chief and a water department manager to head two of our county’s most important departments (The Garden Island July 9).
First, Mr. Mayor, let me refer you to a letter published in The Garden Island of June 15, 2004, from Darryl Perry, who was then an applicant for the Police Chief’s position on Kaua‘i. Among other things he said, “Money should never, ever, be the motivating factor in seeking this ‘very important position.’”
Second, we had two former police chiefs who were satisfied with their pay, did the jobs that the people wanted them to do, and yet they were pressured into retiring under suspect circumstance. And you, Mr. Mayor, had a hand in seeing that one of them had to step down.
Their retiring was not due to low salaries, so maybe you would like to explain to the people why you are asking the council to ignore the charter and the salary commission which you and the council have failed to appoint? Is it not the responsibility of the police commission and the water board to fill these positions?
Mahalo, Kilohana Canoe Club
Just wanted to thank the Kilohana Canoe Club for raking and cleaning up all the debris that had accumulated on the Waimea Beach fronting the pier.
We happened to stop by at the pier and were thrilled to see that they had taken the initiative and had turned out with their rakes and in full force to do their share in keeping the opala off the beaches. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
- Suzanne and Richard Matsumoto and Jack Hada
Lawa‘i
Kaua‘i wants Kaua‘i nurses
In response to Gaynell Panit’s letter re: Cathy Clark’s statement, the ‘replacement nurses’ have higher skill levels than our ‘regular nurses’…
That remark shows a low skill level of professionalism on the part of Cathy Clark further demonstrating Hawaii Pacific Health’s ineptitude.
It’s a diversion tactic away from the legalized neglect of patients and abuse and betrayal of Kaua‘i nurses’ labor rights because their business is exploitation of the sick and defrauding the deep pockets of insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.
Dr. Peter Kim wrote a courageous letter to The Garden Island in October of 2005 warning of breakdown in healthcare due to corporate management and the hope of healthcare returning to its intended purpose.
Corporate might want to take a look at the real facts of hospital life and realize that there’s more money to be made in health, when the patients aren’t criminally neglected due to bottom line policies and the professionals are not abused by overzealous little corporate climbers.
I witnessed this criminal neglect with my mother and others not having enough CNAs per person. It entailed moving her from place to place and filing complaints ignored by the state and abetted by DOH.
I hope Kaua‘i nurses continue to fight. I know it’s hard for them but I get kind of scared thinking about a bunch of nurses from the mainland who may be criminals in their field yet slipped through the cracks of callous corporate job interviews. Because, what kind of nurse can drop everything and run off to Hawai‘i? Makes me wonder, maybe she couldn’t get hired anywhere else.
