• Mayoral election • Trash collection • Make your voice heard Mayoral election In response to Sunday’s editorial (“Vote your conscience”), specifically with reference to the election of a mayor, the charter was amended in 2008. The relevant language in
• Mayoral election • Trash collection
• Make your voice heard
Mayoral election
In response to Sunday’s editorial (“Vote your conscience”), specifically with reference to the election of a mayor, the charter was amended in 2008.
The relevant language in Section 1.03B1 now reads: “In the case of the offices of mayor, prosecuting attorney, or any council members to be elected by districts, the names of the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes for these offices in the first nonpartisan election shall be placed on the ballot for the second nonpartisan election. However, if there is only one candidate for each of said offices, such candidate shall be elected.”
This language clearly requires that when there are only two candidates for mayor both their names must appear on the ballot in both the primary and the general election.
Prior to 2008 the charter provided that a candidate for mayor receiving a majority of the votes in the primary, as Mayor Baptiste did in 2006, would be elected. The apparent purpose of the 2008 amendment was to prevent a mayoral candidate from being elected in the primary when there were more than two candidates. However, the wording of the charter amendment now requires a vote in the general election even if there are only two candidates and regardless of the vote count in the primary election.
Horace Stoessel, Kapa’a
Trash collection
The location of the new landfill near Hanama‘ulu sound like a good location. Like the mayor said, a win-win situation for us and agriculture.
However, to get to the landfill will the Westsiders and Eastsiders have to travel on the main highways (Kuhio and Kaumuali‘i) or will there be another alternative (open dirt roads that will be paved or sand and coralled over) on both ways to get to the site.
The Westside was littered with trash especially between Hanapepe through the landfill in Kekaha from people hauling their trash and some county trash trucks and some other independent dump truck companies. The haulers and trucks where overfilled and at times the debris would blow onto the highway.
Can you imagine both major highway on Kaua‘i will be trashed by flying debris.
On another note, will residents (who haul there own trash, recyclables and green waste) be charge the same fee that will be charged when the automated trash pickup is in full service?
And, shouldn’t the automated service be offered only to those rich communities? They should be the only ones that have that service since they are willing to pay.
I think it’s safe to say, most of us were fine with the trash service we have and would gladly haul our own waste (trash, recyclables and greens).
On another thought, why not reopen couple of the old sugar mills to burn clean waste. The smoke will either go up or to the sea.
Howard Tolbe, ‘Ele‘ele
Make your voice heard
As an avid scuba diver, boater and swimmer in Hawaiian waters over the past 32 years I am extremely alarmed at the degradation of our ocean.
I am seeing much fewer whales and dolphins then ever. The reefs are dead and covered with algae, coral and fish and shells have disappeared.
The water, once pristine, clear and abundant with life is now green, has a slick sheen, and is mostly barren of life.
One stark example of the degraded state of our marine life is the exponential growth of fibropapilomatosis, a tumorus disease that has reached epidemic proportions among Hawai‘i’s green sea turtle population. Science documents that chemicals and pollution create pathogen-friendly environments for such diseases to flourish. There are many factors contributing to the tragic state of our oceans, I believe military practices are a part of the problem.
As America’s only island state, Hawai‘i is uniquely vulnerable to the consequences of ocean degradation and biological loss of species.
Given that Hawai‘i is an isolated state with stewardship responsibility over the largest marine areas in the nation, the U.S. Navy should be a leader in protection of this marine ecosystem. They have the budget; let’s see some stewardship.
In addition to the health and survival of protected and endangered species, Hawai‘i’s food supply, recreational activities, and economy are all dependent upon a healthy ocean.
I encourage anyone who cares about the health of our ocean and its inhabitants to submit testimony to the Navy’s Training and Testing EIS.
The EIS should include comprehensive research in how all levels of Navy sonar will affect all marine mammals, particularly cetaceans. The Navy admits “sonar exposure has been identified as a contributing cause or factor in five specific mass stranding events…”
All of these mass strandings were likely caused by three factors; panic, bubble formation and/or decompression sickness. The following points related to stranding death caused by sonar need to be included in the EIS:
1) Sonar caused panic reactions leading to strandings followed by death; 2) Sonar caused decompression sickness (the bends) followed by death; 3) The bends caused by sonar even in the absence of panic
The EIS needs to include comprehensive research on the short- and long-term effects of sonar to all marine mammals, even if sonar activity does not cause stranding or death, or any other “obvious” signs of effects.
High intensity sonar’s impact also has been shown to affect fish, giant squid and snow crabs.
Include in the EIS the effects of any Navy activity on all marine life, including cetaceans, endangered Hawaiian monk seal, all sea turtle species, all fish species, and all coral species.
Include what effect any and all discharge, poison, exhaust; blast noise and debris will have on all species and the entire biological marine ecosystem.
Visit www.HSTTEIS.com for more information. All comments must be postmarked or received by today!
Nina Monasevitch, Kohola Mana ‘Ohana
