Take a moment and a look around
Kaua‘i has its share of problems and suffering, but for those of us who can drive around a bit, the trees that are now in bloom give our hearts a warm lift and our faces a smile.
Dr. Monty Downs, Kapa‘a
No resort on Coco Palms site
I agree with Noreen Dougherty.
We need the state and/or the county to buy this piece of property. If they are not willing to step up to the plate, it would be wonderful if Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would buy this property and give it to a nonprofit for our Hawaiian community to run.
We can’t let the Coco Palms property go back to being a resort.
Vikki Secretario, Lihu‘e
Enough rental cars already
I can’t remember what was the day TGI printed, “Major rental car agency added one hundred more vehicles to their fleet.”(Something to that affect). That means 100 more vehicles on the highways on this little island. Soon our free movement in our vehicles to travel from point A to point B will come to a slow crawl traveling on this island.
Why can’t the tourists be like the old days and travel on a tour bus? Car rentals should be only for those who’s traveling from the mainland/inter -inland/other countries doing business.
Stop the madness and don’t permit rental vehicle agencies to purchase more vehicle to their fleet!
Howard Tolbe, ‘Ele‘ele
Anti-vax people putting themselves at risk
Get smart and get vaccinated! On Kaua‘i, COVID cases are up to 34 as of Thursday, July 9, and climbing. Many of the cases are unvaccinated residents, and one of them is on a ventilator at Straub.
I have tried to speak with anti-vax friends and been met with statements like “the government is trying to kill us with the vaccine” or “the government is taking away our freedoms” or “big pharma is trying to kill us,” etc. COVID is killing people, not the government or vaccines!
We have vaccines that work and can save people from dying of COVID, and we need to avoid fearful belief systems and protect ourselves and our families. Statistics are now showing that in places like the state of Maryland in June, 100% of deaths from COVID were unvaccinated residents.
“Virtually all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in the United States are now occurring among unvaccinated individuals,” White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said at a press briefing. He said “cases will continue to rise, especially among unvaccinated people, particularly as the delta variant takes hold in the U.S.”
It is imperative that our Kaua‘i ‘ohana get the vaccine and stop believing the lies and propaganda being put forth by people on the internet peddling fear and conspiracy theories.
COVID is killing people, not the vaccine! The vaccine is free and available to all residents over the age of 12.
Michaelle Edwards, Princeville
Use tourist tax to give locals cash
On tourism — Ray Domingo in the July 9 editorial was correct with the question — do we want tourists or not?
Well, I think the real question has to do with “how do we make tourism tolerable for all of us?” The editor of Pacific Business News, Kam Napier, has been talking about a resident rebate similar to the Permanent Fund Dividend paid to Alaska residents.
But unlike funding such an effort with oil income as Alaska does, the suggestion is to do so in Hawai‘i based on tourism dollars. His editorial is here: bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2021/06/24/readers-weigh-in-on-tourism-rebates.html
The Legislature has already overridden the governor’s veto on essentially defunding the HTA through TAT and allowing counties to surcharge tourists … and keep the money. With these changes, perhaps looking at an annual rebate to residents would, in my opinion, go a long way in not only making all this tourism more tolerable, but also as a way to continue to lift those out of poverty. The stats on poverty-abatement in Alaska are impressive.
Because of the cost of living, we do worry about “brain drain” somewhat when our kids graduate from high school, go away to college — do they come back to raise a family or give their skills to the local economy? Many states, in addition to Alaska, offer incentives to move to the state, work there, or buy homes: Vermont, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Ohio — which offers to pay $10,000 of student-loan debt.
So why doesn’t Hawai‘i work to make living here more tolerable and affordable as well? The over-run of tourists is a problem, and that’s without sufficient rental cars. I’m on board with the idea of a tourism-rebate to all full-time residents. As the county builds in its surcharge — maybe give that some thought.
Cheryl Farrell, Koloa
