• When in doubt, don’t go out
• Viva la cyclopista
• The path to the future
• Protesting Roe v. Wade
• A few choice words
From a soldier to his wife
I am currently deployed to Iraq and wanted to wish my wife, Connie Castaneda, Happy Birthday on Jan. 25 and Happy Anniversary — 23 years — on Jan. 27. She is living in Kekaha with ‘ohana.
Aloha, honey, Happy Birthday! I wish I could be there in person but I am there with you in thought and feeling. May God bless you with many more. I miss you, Iesu Pu, Kaimana.
Happy 23rd Anniversary, honey. It’s another special time that we are spending apart and I am sorry for putting you through so many of these separations in the past. I have been so fortunate that God blessed my life with you as my partner. Soon we will be able enjoy each other for good with no more worries. Thank you for being the wonderful and strong woman of my life, Aloha no wau ia oe, Kaimana.
Keith Kaimana Castaneda
Path to nowhere
Ms. Rivers letter (“The path to the future,” Letters, Jan. 25) needs some serious rebuttal.
It appears that she, not those who oppose the path, has not done her research. That $50 million cost (to date) is known by all who did their research. I suggest that Ms. Rivers call our planning director, Ian Costa, or our councilman Mel Rapozo and they will be happy to verify this figure. They do their research and do not make unsubstantiated remarks.
You state that “taxpayers have not spent one dime on this project — to date.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The Federal Government has put in 80 percent of the $50 million so far and, Ms. Rivers, whether you want to believe it or not, that is our tax money. Federal, state or local, it is money that comes out of our pockets. The 20 percent local funds — soft match — are still our money and is coming from sources that could certainly be better used if we chose to use our efforts on prioritized projects.
The roads on this island were created with a bike path parallel to them but non-usage has basically left them under-maintained. If you or your 10 friends want to bike, walk or jog to go wherever you want, I say congratulations and go for it. The other 99.9 percent of us will use our vehicles to get from point A to point B and hope that our elected officials open more alternate roads to alleviate traffic.
If these paths were the solution to solving our traffic problems then don’t you think that other municipalities would have had them long ago? That $50 million figure is real and, again, we have a 2.5-mile walking path in Lydgate Park for it and, realistically, this total path from Nawiliwili to Anahola will die due to lack of money, logistics and practicality.
Glenn Mickens
Kapa‘a
Trail a pachyderm?
Responding to Loretta Rollins’ letter (“Viva la cyclopista,” Letters, Jan. 25) asking what Hawaiians might call their bike path if they ever got it rolling. Can anyone say, “White Elephant”?
Susan Straight
Waimea
A few more choice words
A reply to “A few choice words …,” Letters, Jan. 25.
“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.”
• President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
“We urge you to take necessary actions (including air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.”
• Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Tom Daschle, John Kerry, Dianne Feinstein and Joe Lieberman, Oct. 9, 1998
“We know that he has secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”
• Al Gore, Sep. 23, 2002
“We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.”
• Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sep. 27, 2002
“If left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will develop nuclear weapons.”
• Sen. Hillary Clinton, Oct. 10, 2002
“Look ma, I can find people’s quotes on the Internet too, and none of them had over 25 million people killed!”
• Joseph Vrataric, Jan. 25, 2007
Joseph Vrataric
Lihu‘e
Stop the building
What’s wrong with this picture? “Waipouli developments get conditional approval” (A1, Jan. 24) with $5.4 million pledge for traffic mitigation.
It cost $3.6 million for the less-than-1-mile extension to the Kapa‘a Bypass that just opened according to reports from Ron Wiley (KQNG Radio).
Just wondering, what exactly will $5.4 million accomplish towards Kapa‘a’s already ridiculous traffic situation?
Let’s throw in a few more developments and see how really crazy the traffic problems can get. Talk about “Stop the madness.” Hey. Planning Commission, how about stop the building already; think affordable housing, if you really need to build things.
Francine M. Grace
Kalaheo
Keep it simple
The Forum is an excellent place for folks to dialogue and comment, this letter specifically is regarding the “emergency” situation and inadequate roads and highways. Mr. Walter Lewis (author of “A better Kaua‘i,” a biweekly column), with your legal knowledge, is it realistic to develop plans to condemn potential lands where there already exists an established island-wide maze of haul cane roads which could be paved to relieve the glut?
How about getting the most out of officer Joseph Kaauwai before he retires and ask him to develop potential alternative options and coordinate with the county to implement them.
Finally, the bus system needs to work out a schedule similar to O‘ahu, doubling the amount of already established stops, concentrating on moving the public as one separate entity to the second individualized paratransit entity.
Keep it sweet and simple.
Debra Kekaualua
Wailua Homesteads
