• Government by charter? • Global warming a hoax • Facts not mentioned • No method to madness Government by charter? Michael Levine’s article (“2 commissioners resign over ethics opinion,” The Garden Island, Dec. 1) points up the central question
• Government by charter?
• Global warming a hoax
• Facts not mentioned
• No method to madness
Government by charter?
Michael Levine’s article (“2 commissioners resign over ethics opinion,” The Garden Island, Dec. 1) points up the central question in the controversy over Charter Section 20.02D: Must decisions made by elected and appointed officials be made in accordance with the charter, or are they free to disregard the charter when following it might be inconvenient?
An egregious form of “politics trumps charter” occurs when the county’s chief legal adviser delivers politically-driven opinions that either ignore the charter or twist it beyond recognition.
That’s what has happened in the case of 20.02D. Two county attorneys have issued similar opinions that have the effect of nullifying 20.02D by insinuating, but not stating forthrightly, that it has no meaning beyond what is allowed by County Code Section 3-1.7 — a blatant reversal of the principle that ordinances are subordinate to the charter.
In addition, County Attorney Al Castillo invoked a purely political argument for ignoring 20.02D. He claimed that enforcing it could have a chilling effect, causing a mass exodus of volunteers serving on boards and commissions. The argument ignores the fact that last fall the voters rejected a charter amendment that would have exempted board and commission members from having to comply with 20.02D.
As for a mass exodus of volunteers, so far there have been four resignations, two of which came from attorneys who might reasonably have been expected to understand and abide by 20.02D on their own initiative. Furthermore, far more than four appointees resign before their terms end for reasons unrelated to 20.02D.
In an e-mail exchange with Castillo posted at www.kauaiworld.com/sunshine, attorney and Ethics Board member Paul Weil identified the specious legal arguments, irrelevant political arguments, and duplicitous actions emanating from the county attorney’s office. His testimony is a must-read for advocates of charter-based governing and the integrity of boards and commissions.
Horace Stoessel, Kapa‘a
Global warming a hoax
Your recent front page article attributes the decline of the Kaua‘i creeper to “global warming” but neglects to mention the real causes: avian malaria and rats. Thanks to computer hackers, intercepted e-mails have shown global warming, man-caused or otherwise, to be what it is — a pathetic hoax.
Charlatans like Al Gore, a lap dog media and dishonest “scientists” have beaten this dead horse for years but the facts are now irrefutable.
The earth is not warming. And the insane “cap and trade” legislation, a disastrous knee-jerk response to the non-crisis of “climate change” must be stopped.
The damage already done by Obama and the left is truly unprecedented.
Cap and trade would stifle any hope of ever getting this sick economy back to normal health.
John Burns, Princeville
Facts not mentioned
In his column (“Obamacare endangers Americans’ lifespans,” Forum, Dec. 5), Nat Hentoff is accurate in some respects but wholly misleading.
It is true that under the proposed legislation, there would be government individuals making high level decisions on health care and that these decisions may have an effect on our level of care.
What he fails to point out is that everything he is concerned about is happening this very day but the people making the decisions work for insurance companies, not the government.
Now think about it. Who would you rather have doing this — a government person whose allegiance is to the people or an insurance company employee whose allegiance is to profit? We tried it one way and it doesn’t work. It is time for a different approach.
A further note about Mr. Hentoff. It’s interesting that his tagline says he is a First Amendment and Bill of Rights authority. It would be more accurate and revealing to refer to him as what he is, conservative author.
Bob Rosen, Lihu‘e
No method to madness
The county permit and zoning approval division does not sufficiently enforce county and state laws regarding permitting and when it is needed, it isn’t done.
An article indicated that the county is stockpiling permits and refuses to approve the piling of the sand to be dredged at the Kikiaola boat harbor. I don’t think that is the case.
The county has approved nearly 3,000 permits to date (see for yourself at kauai.gov). It reflects that permits were approved in less than three days on some of them, many of them were building permits which should have a little more thought put in I would think.
Having a building permit scrutiny is set forth for everyone’s safety; Kaua‘i has hurricanes, flooding and reservoirs/dams that breach. Mr. Costa and the others at the county know there are structures out there being built without permits and don’t do a thing about it.
The same goes with permits for noise, dust and other things going on in Kaua‘i; nothing is properly regulated. It’s like Mayberry, USA, anything goes, no rules.
So you tell me. No method to the madness. Permits equal money for the county. Heck, if they don’t need the money, give it to the schools so kids can go back to school and have a chance at life!
Ron Cardenas, Lawa‘i
