• More concern about killed bills • Kaua‘i Made a great program • Loves Rosen’s letters • Another productive chance discarded More concern about killed bills On Wednesday, the County Council voted down Tim Bynum’s ag bills on first reading
• More concern about killed bills • Kaua‘i Made a great program • Loves Rosen’s letters • Another productive chance discarded
More concern about killed bills
On Wednesday, the County Council voted down Tim Bynum’s ag bills on first reading (“Council kills ag-land bills on first reading,” Aug. 28). Council members Kaneshiro, Kawakami, Chang and Asing cited legal concerns and some of the bill’s details as reasons.
We are disappointed that we will not be able to discuss these bills further. A bill at first reading is not a done deal, but a starting point. Even the county attorney said that any such planning bill would have legal concerns and that the public process could address them. Now there will be no discussion, public hearing, or chance for public input on these serious issues: Should the density on Kaua‘i’s agricultural lands be the same as that of the other counties? Should public hearings be required for new ag subdivisions? Should building envelopes be limited in ag subdivisions? And, most importantly, should ag subdivisions actually be for agriculture?
If something isn’t done our prime agricultural lands will be carved up into more “gentlemen’s estates” and sold to the highest bidders, who will carry on such essential agricultural activities as planting an acre of sod surrounding their 12,000-square-foot mansions. Subdividing prime ag lands for residences drives up land values, dismantles water systems and makes real farming almost impossible. Remember when the Wootens had to fight to keep farming in ‘Aliomanu, when their neighbors didn’t like the dirt and dust? Will our friend’s father’s pig farm really be able to continue its fragrant operations if the new Kealia mauka “ag” subdivision gets going?
Daryl Kaneshiro says that he is for farmers, and defends his right as a small farmer and rancher to subdivide his ag land for profit.
Is this a conflict of interest, or is this the way all of Kaua‘i’s farmers and residents feel? What about sustainability? Maybe if Bynum’s bills would have passed beyond the first reading as bills normally do, we as a community could have discussed it.
Del and Mary Alexander, Wailua
Kaua‘i Made a great program
In reference to Mr. Rolf Bieber’s letter to TGI Sunday, August 29, 2010 (“Mayor’s Aloha Garden: salad campaign”), unfortunately I know nothing of “The Mayor’s Aloha Garden.” However, I do know a great deal about The Kaua‘i Made Program, having been a member since its inception several years ago. My small “Kaua‘i Made” business as well as many other Kaua‘i Made businesses I am aware of have benefited many fold because of the huge amount of work and effort Beth Tokioka and her able staff have put into making it a Kaua‘i County success for island businesses, with over 100 vendors.
I don’t know what Mr. Bieber means by the term “to sell the brand” and that Kaua‘i Made provides less than advertised. It is obvious to me and many others I have talked to that he does not know enough about Kaua‘i Made to be judgmental and we all wonder what slight of hand he is writing about. I am also an accomplished magician.
Several months ago I received an e-mail from a wonderful couple from Florida who found my e-mail address on the Kaua‘i Made website. We made an appointment to meet while they were on island to see my studio. They purchased three pieces while here and e-mailed me after they arrived home for a commissioned piece of considerable size. All four sculptures now reside in Clearwater, Florida. Kaua‘i Made is truly a wonderful program to me and my friends in Florida, as well as my many other customers.
Mr. Bieber, please feel free to contact me so I can educate you about Kaua‘i Made and you can enlighten me about the Mayor’s Aloha Garden; not everything is a “campaign.”
Bud Paxman, Kaua‘i Island Gifts, Kapa‘a
Loves Rosen’s letters
Every day I open the pages of The Garden Island and see some kind of weird thing happening in the world. But to no avail would I like to see James “Kimo” Rosen’s letters week after week. I enjoy listening to his pointless rants, about feeding his dog nutritious scraps infused with dirty oil and trespassing in people’s dumpsters daily. I enjoy when someone that calls himself “Kimo” simply because “James” means “Kimo” in Hawai‘i, bickers about the language spoken in Kaua‘i for generations. The Garden Island staff must get a kick out of this guy’s letters because I sure do. Maybe it’s his lifelong dream to work with you guys? Mr. (Kimo) you must have a lot of time on your hands, seeing that the government, the very one that you complain about daily, houses you and keeps you healthy enough to write your letters after your finished dumpster-diving. Mr. Jimmy “aloha,” keep up the great letters and may you read this letter with the audacity that the majority of Kaua‘i feels this way about you!
Isaac Melendez, Kalaheo
Another productive chance discarded
Sadly, Alfred Laureta (“Just like you and me,” Letters, Aug. 25) persists in his nearsightedness which neither recognizes the ongoing malfunctions of our present government nor a system that could bring about its improvement.
As we can see from his haphazard listing of county operational deficiencies and his acceptance of the administration’s strong-arm tactics to prevent our citizens from a choice to change them, it seems clear he is content with the magnificent (ugh) performance of our present county government.
So we will continue with the inefficient and non-productive system we now have and another opportunity for a better Kaua‘i has been discarded.
Glenn Mickens, Kapa‘a
