• Anne get your gun • Bieber’s many mistakes • Mahalo 911 operator • Kilauea needs a theater Anne get your gun For this writer Anne Punohu’s article “The war against the poor” in The Garden Island’s Sunday Forum page
• Anne get your gun • Bieber’s many mistakes • Mahalo 911 operator • Kilauea needs a theater
Anne get your gun
For this writer Anne Punohu’s article “The war against the poor” in The Garden Island’s Sunday Forum page was an opening of the floodgates of issues facing our island chain.
Anne’s letter was a well-written observation from the real world of individuals who live the reality of relying upon the government for their subsistence. I truly appreciate her sharing the realities of government actions “taken against those least able to defend themselves … fear of retribution … their right(s) … taken away … a well-thought-out war plan … conceived … and being methodically carried out by government leaders and officials.” Good luck health care!
I’d like to assure Anne that this “war” with rights being taken away is not aimed solely at the “poor.” Every segment in the private sector feels that their “lives and the lives of your (their) children rest in the fickle hands of department heads who are gleefully making rules and regulations made to break your spirit, break your will, and break you.” The poor do not stand alone. Reading other Sunday papers demonstrates this concept. For instance: Star-Bulletin – “Barrel Tax would free Hawai‘i from oil yoke;” The Maui News –Viewpoint: “Focus should be on ending Furlough Fridays;” The Garden Island – “Residents: People ‘trashing’ Salt Pond.”
Each and every one of the above issues are controlled by the “fickle hands of department heads” in government incapable of finding solutions. Point in fact: Why would Kaua‘i County government ignore a $100-million-investment offer to resolve Kaua‘i’s waste and illegal-dumping issues by bringing in a new industry, jobs to our island as well as open up other industrial infrastructures? Such as the recycling of waste plastics into jet fuel, diesel, gasoline, or other sustainable products? Perhaps by just considering this offer more infrastructure could have resulted in more jobs being developed on Kaua‘i, maybe even enough to help relieve the furlough Fridays debacle of the DOE, BOE and the HSTA. The governor is willing to release $60 million that will cover DOE and HSTA definitions of “essential personnel.” We may not all agree with Anne’s thoughts and statements but to be honest about her overall premises, this writer does not feel she is too far off the mark. Do not look to government for solutions for they are the problem. What have they gotten right? Look to the private sector, especially small business, for solutions. Mahalo and aloha.
John Hoff, Lawa‘i
Bieber’s many mistakes
In his Forum letter (TGI 4/12/2010), Mr. (Glenn) Mickens presents an inaccurate premise. That premise was: “Rolf Bieber’s ‘whistle-blowing’ made him the victim in the mayoral-appointment process.” Actually, Mr. Bieber made some fundamental errors in his short career. First, a newcomer to a board/group doesn’t get his agenda passed immediately, especially if it is a minority opinion. Second, if you then go public with your agenda with media articles and letters designed to “bring pressure” (read: embarrassment) on your own board/group, your activist cheerleaders will applaud; but, the very ones you need to influence will just hate you for it. Activists think that if they publicly humiliate the “powers that be,” those “powers” must capitulate and they will end up getting their way. They support “Sunshine” style laws because those will make such an effort easier. Maybe if they actually were to run something, even just a meeting, and someone sprung an unflattering surprise on them, they would realize that this is not how things really get done, or changed.
Pete Antonson, Kalaheo
Mahalo 911 operator
Yesterday 4/11/10, my casual stroll along the beach walk, makai of the Wailua Golf Course, Marine Camp beach area became a strikingly rousing and sensational adventure. I’d personally like to thank the 911 operator whom I contacted for assistance in contacting the Monk Seal Response team. Several adventures took place this stroll-walking afternoon, including helping pull a stuck vehicle out of the sand, transporting ropes, mallets, posts and signs for the enclosure around the tiny baby monk seal and, finally, hand-in-hand, working together. Because this operator took her time to contact the rescue team for me, this mission was well-put-together and maneuvered. It is very hard to be walking on the beach, dog on leash in one hand and a cell phone in the other hand while trying to initiate some help in and out of areas where you lose your cell connections. This one call did it all.
Gege A. Robert, Kapa‘a
Kilauea needs a theater
I am writing in response to recent letters in opposition to the proposed performing-arts center in Kilauea. I heard about this project a few years ago as it was mentioned in several articles in The Garden Island newspaper. I am a resident of the Kilauea area and I am very excited and happy about the proposed project. It was a huge loss to the community when the Kilauea Theater shut down and I, for one, would welcome the chance to enjoy movies, hear music, enjoy theatrical productions in the neighborhood and not have to drive all the way into Lihu‘e for these things. For the folks that are worried about it…Relax! It seems to me that the area in question is in a commercial zone along Kuhio Highway. I’m sure many of the events that take place there will be things like halau performances, Hawaiian music and other community functions. This is a gift that I hope we, as a community, have wisdom and grace to accept.
Maren Orion, Kilauea
