The ultimate slap on the wrist
At times, when we would have political discussions, my Holocaust-survivor father reminded me of the virtues of democracy and what life is like under a different system.
“Democracy may not be perfect, but it’s much better than any other system out there,” he would say.
The impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump demonstrates what is both good and not so good about our democracy.
The citizens of the United States (and the world) have witnessed a remarkable process. The “trial” has ended as expected, with the acquittal of Trump. During this process, a number of senators acknowledged that Trump engaged in several “un-impeachable” transgressions.
And to this, some of them say, “so what?”
One of the greatest disappointments of this process is that nowhere in these proceedings has Trump been officially censured, reprimanded, chastised or even given a slap on the wrist for his questionable (bad) behavior.
In November, the voters have the opportunity to deliver the ultimate slap on the wrist and announce to Trump, “you’re fired.”
Michael Diamant, Koloa
Costco food court is accident waiting to happen
I would like to address a pedestrian-safety issue that endangers hundreds of people each day.
Right here, on our beautiful island, there lurks a catastrophic accident waiting to happen.
Each of us has probably stood in this line or sat at the provided picnic tables. The site of this potential tragedy that I am referring to is at our local Costco. The outdoor food court is the specific area of my concern.
I have personally visited this super store on other islands and the Mainland, noting that one glaring feature is missing from our Lihue store: there is nothing stopping a vehicle from driving into the seated and standing patrons at the food court.
At other similar store locations, the use of bollards is applied. A bollard is a vertical pipe or pillar planted a few feet deep into the ground, showing about four feet above ground level.
Strategic placement of the bollard prevents the intrusion of an errant driver or malfunctioning vehicle from crushing unsuspecting patrons.
Why do other store locations have bollards and not ours? I asked the local store managers and got the answer that “the bollards are not required by code.” So whose fault will it be when something does unfortunately happen at this location?
Do we need to have our Kaua‘i building code amended to require stores like this to install bollards for their customers’ protection?
Please, let’s not wait for that to happen.
It is my intention to expose this deficiency and for the store to rectify the problem. The protection of my and your ‘ohana is all I seek.
Roger Walraven, Lawai
