• They paved paradise and put up a parking lot • Concerning improved healthcare • Do the math • Stop peeking They paved paradise and put up a parking lot Ke‘e used to be a wonderful place to go before
• They paved paradise and put up a parking lot • Concerning improved healthcare • Do the math • Stop peeking
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Ke‘e used to be a wonderful place to go before the off-site parking lot allowed heavier use of the area. Now you want to spend taxpayer money to pave over land at Hanalei and build more parking for more people to use the area.
Hanalei has become over-crowded in the last few years. Added parking will just make the situation worse, ruining the experience for tourist and local alike.
“If you build it they will come.” We have seen it happen already. We do not need more parking or more commercial use at Hanalei now or ever! Leave some part of our beautiful Island experiences as they are and stop wasting money to ruin it for everyone!
We do not need to be another Waikiki. Uncrowded beaches are one of things people come here for, otherwise they would be on O‘ahu. Once it is lost, you cannot get it back. Leaders, please think about what you are really doing before you do it.
Kinohimauloa Sparks, Wainiha
Concerning improved healthcare
A recent report from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation provides some good news about health for the people of Kaua‘i, and kudos to those individuals and organizations involved with our citizen’s health.
This foundation, in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin, evaluated the health status of every county in the United States and ranked health quality on a scale from 1 to 4, with one being the highest. There were four categories evaluated — health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. In addition, morbidity and mortality were assessed.
For the final ranking, O‘ahu County received a 1, Kaua‘i a 2, Maui a 3 and the Big Island a 4. A detailed snapshot of factors that contribute to our overall health shows that there is still work to be done, particularly in the area of social services.
Due to the current economic situation, factors such as unemployment, children living in poverty and income inequality have contributed to an overall lower score.
However, in the area of clinical care the county has demonstrated steady improvement. We now have three cardiologists on the island, a cancer infusion center, women’s health units are being established, diabetic screening is satisfactory and emergency care is available at various locations across the island.
This is a vast improvement from three to five years ago. We will need to continue to recruit primary care providers, retain our specialists and address the problem of our high rate of uninsured adults.
The work performed by our hospitals, both private and state institutions, and our nonprofit agencies, such as Malama Pono, the Food Bank, Kaua‘i Hospice and many others, have placed Kaua‘i in the top position of neighbor islands. We should feel proud of the great efforts these institutions and providers are making on behalf of our overall well-being.
Douglas Wilmore, M.D. , Judith Shabert, M.D., Kilauea
Do the math
Thanks to my informative union, HGEA, I finally found a reference to a proposed temporary excise tax increase.
House Bill 2876 increases the general excise and use tax rates from 4 percent to 5 percent, the capital goods excise tax credit rate from 4 percent to 5 percent, and the refundable food/excise tax credit by $10 per exemption; takes effect on July 1 and is repealed on June 30, 2015.
With a projected deficit of $1.2 billion, a balanced approach that includes tax increases is necessary to preserve essential state services in areas ranging from education to social services.
A sensible increase in excise tax in the first place, instead of furloughs and layoffs, would’ve kept the money circulating and spread the pain and drain more evenly, and your kids would be in school on Fridays and I’d be out shopping.
If Lingle increases it now, it’s a drop of water on a very dry desert. State furloughs + layoffs = less spending = less tax revenue + more deficit + eventual consideration of temporary excise tax increase = minus zero.
Perhaps if Hawai‘i had a more supported educational system, maybe our legislators would’ve been able to do the math, before it was too late.
Donna Alalem, Kapa‘a
Stop peeking
As I was watching the 10 o’clock news on Channel 2, I heard that nine airports now have full body scanners and more airports will be having them, too.
It’s a good idea to have them because that means faster process and shorter lines. However, as the news went on to show how the body scanner’s screen looks when an actual person entered the body scanner. The screen that security looks at showed the person’s whole body through his clothing.
I don’t know if I was seeing things. I noticed that they actually blotched out the privates of the body. If that is so, I’d rather go through the longer process of checking for explosives or weapons on people.
I don’t have much to look at but I sure would like to keep it private. Wouldn’t you? (Unless one is an exhibitionist. Then it would be a horse of a different color.)
Howard Tolbe, ‘Ele‘ele
