• Red Mondays • Of cats and neighbors • Happy birthday, pop • We must move forward
Red Mondays
After reading Act 55; in my opinion it is a poorly written and extremely dangerous piece of legislation. I’m in good company! A former state Senator, a previous chair of the DLNR and our entire county council agree that this law should be repealed. No matter what the “intention” of the PLDC is, in its current form, the law does not bind them to that intent.
I like our governor, and I think many appreciated him and Mr. Aila coming to talk to us. But respect is not a one-way street. And a conversation is when both sides listen to each other.
If you agree with this view, please ‘kokua the cause’ by wearing red on Monday, Oct. 15, and every Monday thereafter, until Act 55 is repealed. They do not seem able to hear us. Maybe they will be able to see us instead.
Gayla McCarthy
Waimea
Of cats and neighbors
Walking around my ‘hood’ last night, I realized that out of the 25 homes in the Loop, I knew everyone in all except for 3 houses. My parents had lived here for 30 years before passing & now I had inherited their ‘neighborhood’ along with their house.
I have a neighbor with, I think, about 15 cats, three of whom now live in my house wearing flea collars because that was cheaper than repeatedly re-screening my lanai that they had adopted as territory. I love them. They’re all black and white, so we call them the Holsteins.
In another home on the block, I see a group of kids, now teenagers, whom I remember as infants. My own mortality looms as I watch this transition, remembering when my kids came here to grandma’s house to visit. Now it’s grandma’s house again for another generation.
It’s a quiet, gentle neighborhood and I am so grateful that the folks who made it through ‘Iniki, along with my parents, chose to stay and form this ‘ohana.
Mahalo nui loa to our friends and neighbors.
Marcia Favaloro
Kapa‘a
Happy birthday, pop
This is a happy birthday shout out to my dad Harry Boranian of Lihu‘e. He turned 90 years old on Oct. 5, and I classify him as a family, Hawai‘i and American treasure.
In the army in Hawai‘i during WWII, he came back with his family in 1957 and worked in the Hawai‘i labor movement during the 1960s. He helped start and run several labor unions, doing a lot of pro bono work along the way, including COPE (Committee on Political Education). He ended up as the executive secretary of the Central Labor Council for a couple of years before the AFL-CIO came in.
He was civil service director in Honolulu in the 1970s under Frank Fasi, and on Big Island in the 1908s for Hawai‘i County.
He’s a very fair guy, who helped a lot of people during his career. In retirement, he lived in Las Vegas for 10 years with my mom June, and did a log of RVing as well. They’ve both back in Hawai‘i, living in Lihu‘e for almost 10 years.
Happy birthday, pop, and aloha nui loa.
Thanks for all your help, wisdom and good times!
Victor Boranian
Tucson, Ariz.
We must move forward
I am a community addiction recovery specialist. I would like to comment on a story about Harold Sembrano, (TGI, Sept. 14, 2012), a repeat and convicted drug offender who is scheduled to be diverted from prison and placed in an in-residence drug rehabilitation facility.
This is part of a revolutionary program in Hawai’i. Similar programs, such as the local POHAKU effort, are yielding superior outcomes from traditional methods. Critically important today, these diversion strategies save taxpayers money.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, recently discussed a similar proposal for his state. Incarcerating a non-violent drug offender costs state taxpayers $46,000 per year with extremely poor outcomes. Diverting offenders to in-residence rehabilitation facilities costs about $24,000 per year. As outcomes are far better, and taxpayers save about half the cost, this should be a popular proposal.
Kaua‘i County Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho directs the county POHAKU program: Productive Optimism Helps All Kaua‘i Unite. She has demonstrated strong leadership in this revolutionary effort.
Eligible participants attend public responsibility classes related to Hawaiian-based values, perform cultural community service projects, and pay restitution (if applicable) instead of facing conviction and the possible punishment of fines, probation, and/or incarceration.
There have been numerous criticisms recently of Iseri-Carvalho. It’s frequently pointed out one must break a few eggs to make an omelette. People resist change; government resists even more.
POHAKU saves taxpayers’ money. Yet, money cannot be the sole factor when discussing public safety — we must be concerned about outcomes as well. POHAKU outcomes appear superior. Prison is a proven failure and society frequently picks up the tab of jailed offenders for life.
I urge Kauaians to support Iseri-Carvalho and the POHAKU program this November. We must move forward, not turn back. It’s a matter of our tax money and safety.
Scott Goold
Koloa
