• Kaua‘i Hospice was there for me • Raising your taxes again • Review of candidates Kaua‘i Hospice was there for me I feel I must reply to David Bieferman’s letter of Nov. 16 and his views on Kaua‘i Hospice, “They
• Kaua‘i Hospice was there for me • Raising your taxes again • Review of candidates
Kaua‘i Hospice was there for me
I feel I must reply to David Bieferman’s letter of Nov. 16 and his views on Kaua‘i Hospice, “They weren’t there for me.”
Please believe me sir, I know how you feel losing your wife and I send you my sincerest condolences. I recently lost my husband of 63 years and the feelings of desolation and desertion were overwhelming. However my experiences with Hospice were quite different to yours.
Hospice nurses, doctors, various staff members and volunteers made regular visits. They were extremely helpful and willing to do anything to make life easier for us. I will forever be grateful to them all for the untiring, loving help they provided for well over a year. They provided a hospital bed and spent time showing us how to turn and care for him when he became confined to bed.
Fortunately for me I had a loving daughter and daughter-in-law, wonderful neighbors and friends who helped me. Hospice also provided spiritual counseling that came just when it was most needed. No one from Hospice ever mentioned Medicare or billing.
Mr. Biederman, your letter sounded as if you went through such a sad and difficult time alone and for that I am truly sorry. I only write this because I believe Kaua‘i Hospice and other readers need to read both sides of the story.
Brenda Verity, Kapa‘a
Raising your taxes again
You all know that our Kaua‘i politicians raise your property taxes every year. They do it by raising the assessment (value) of your house or if the assessment is flat, they raise the rate of the tax.
Now our Kaua‘i politicians have figured out a third way to raise your taxes. Last year, quietly and without fanfare, the Kaua‘i County Council passed into law Ordnance Number 920 and Mayor Bernard Carvalho immediately started to implement this new law.
Ordnance Number 920 changed the way income is computed to determine who qualifies for the $120,000 income homeowners exemption. Expenses you incur to earn income, whether it’s from interest, alimony, pensions or rental properties, are no longer deductible. These expenses were preciously allowed under the old law (ordnance number 836 passed in 2006 when Kaipo Asing was chairman of the Kaua‘i County Council).
As a result, many Kaua‘i taxpayers will not be able to qualify for this exemption and their property taxes will increase significantly every year unless this new law is repealed.
Call or write to your favorite Kaua‘i politician (Mayor Carvalho, Jo Ann Yukimura, Tim Bynum, Jay Furfaro or other council members) and ask them politely to repeal Ordnance 920. In the meantime, I have some good advice for our Kaua‘i politicians; Cut spending, you idiots, instead of raising taxes.
Jerry J. Sokugawa, Kekaha
Review of candidates
Your articles emphasize service to the community, but at election time you could do better.
The review of candidates come too late for walk-in voters, who number in the thousands.
Would it be possible to put out a roundup of candidates when walk-in voting starts at the annex?
I’m sure others, besides me would appreciate it, especially when there are changers to the charter.
Dave McCarthy, Koloa
