• Nightmare in paradise • Roadside campaigners welcome • Public road access • Nightmare in paradise Concerned owners of the Point at Po‘ipu timeshare continue to have difficulty with their management contractor, Diamond Resorts International. They refuse to accept the
• Nightmare in paradise • Roadside campaigners welcome • Public road access •
Nightmare in paradise
Concerned owners of the Point at Po‘ipu timeshare continue to have difficulty with their management contractor, Diamond Resorts International.
They refuse to accept the fact that they were hired to work in behalf of the owners — not us working for their management salaries. The main problems are make-up of the Boards of Directors in favor of DRI with no input from the owners, and unwillingness to provide the owners with a means of communicating with each other.
Currently they control the vast majority of votes by getting the proxies and vote for themselves and put relatives and puppets on the boards, thus maintaining control of the resort. Not enough owners bother to vote and DRI gets their votes by proxy. In the past few years the five member boards were composed of three DRI employees and two owner puppets who went along with whatever DRI wanted. The boards now have two DRI employees and three owner puppets, one of whom is the mother of a DRI vice president. The owners are not represented. This group decides on dues increases, what funds are to be spent on improvements and their own compensation salaries.
We have repeatedly requested the owners list to communicate with each other. We believe most owners would agree with our grievances therefore DRI seems dedicated to preventing release of the list. We recognize there could be a privacy issue here, however there have been several recent judgments in favor of releasing the owner’s list at other timeshare resorts.
This is the perfect example of corporate take-over. Our dues are so out of control that we could rent a comparable unit for less money. We are already owners and paid “big bucks” to buy a “week in paradise” that turned out to be a nightmare. Owners cannot sell their weeks to get out from under these exorbitant fees, they get almost nothing for their investment and often pay to sell or go into foreclosure and risk damaging their credit. Welcome to the wonderful world of timeshare ownership.
The state of Hawai‘i could lose their attraction for tourists and there goes their main source of income.
Myra and Carl Orta, Los Altos, Calif.
Roadside campaigners welcome
I would like to cast a vote of approval for the practice of political sign-waving during election time.
Sign-waving has been a part of Hawai‘i politics since 1968 when a high school teacher named Charles Campbell ran for Honolulu’s city council. He and his students waved signs to physically connect with the voters and to show them a face behind the name. Shakas and many waves later, he won the council seat.
Forty-plus years later our politicians still wave signs and hang posters supporting their campaign. They smile, wave and even blow kisses (thanks Kaipo!) to the motorists. They connect with the public and help to bring the spirit of community and ‘ohana to all of us.
The cost of radio and TV advertising is beyond the reach of most candidates. The TV/radio advertising in the Mainland takes over the airwaves, can be very cutthroat, and is totally non-informative.
Sign-waving, posters and community connection is a part of Hawai‘i history, and I have always enjoyed the “pleasant distraction” along the side of the road. It is a physical introduction to the candidates and a thanks of aloha to the voters. As a part of the voting process, we can connect with their campaign and learn about their views through various fundraisers, newspaper articles, and other forums. My family has been in the islands for over 90 years, and I am proud to say mahalo to our roadside campaigners.
Denice Sheffer, Kalaheo
Public road access
In response to the Sunday letter “Necessary Project?” in regard to the pedestrian and bicycle path, I looked up the transportation projects that can be funded by the Federal Highway Administration under the Guidance for Transportation Enhancement Activities website and found a list of eligible activities in 23 U.S.C. 101(a)(35) which includes among others: 1. Provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles; 2. Provision of safety and educational activities for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The above was excerpted from the online version of Federal Guidance Transportation Enhancement Activities which is the up-to-date version including revisions through 2009.
The printed version apparently dates to 1999 and so is not up to date. It also includes provisions for converting old rail bed into bike and pedestrian corridors and habitat preservation among others.
I really did not find anywhere that excluded a pedestrian/bicycle path along the shore or anywhere else. Rather the guidelines seem to support the project. I now know there is no excuse not to incorporate pedestrian and bicycle access into every major road on Kaua‘i when they are renovated with federal funds.
The TE guidelines include a link to the Federal DOT website Accommodating Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel: A Recommended Approach at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/design.htm
I recommend this site to get an idea of what is possible to make our public roads accessible to all.
Kurt Rutter, Kapa‘a
