No human life is expendable
I am concerned about the resort-bubble concept for several reasons. Primarily, I hope our legislators and employers put in safeguards for the workers at the resorts.
Specifically, for full-time, part-time and casual employees, there should be significant hazardous-duty pay and paid sick leave for both them and their family members if they contract coronavirus.
If future health issues develop as a result, they should be entitled to worker’s compensation. Of equal importance, in the case of death due to coronavirus, regardless of pre-existing conditions, death benefits should be paid to surviving family members and dependents on a par with benefits provided for first responders.
Furthermore, what are the consequences regarding community spread, which will surely occur when these workers shop for food and supplies for their families?
Lastly, the notion of a resort bubble seems to benefit the resort industry versus smaller community businesses.
We must never forget that no human life is expendable and that we will get through this with integrity, intelligence, aloha and each other.
Ellen Schomer, Hilo
KIUC broadband may be solution
There are serious system deficiencies with Spectrum Hawai‘i, causing intermittent internet throughout the day and, frequently, poor quality cable reception. While this is frustrating and inconvenient for everyone, it is especially problematic for students who must attend school online and for adults working from home.
I have experienced problems with Spectrum service for many, many months. For example, a download speed test this morning registered 3 mbps at my Wailua Homesteads home. No other devices were connected at the time. That is totally ridiculous and unacceptable.
Over the months, I have purchased new routers, hoping for a different result, to no avail. I have rebooted the router trying to solve the problem. I had the cable wiring inside the house replaced to be sure that wasn’t the issue. Technicians have been to my house several times but can never identify the problem. I have found that the issue extends far beyond service to my house. My neighbors also have poor service, which apparently is due to an antiquated transmission system.
Since Spectrum is aware of the problem, the big question is why isn’t it being fixed? There has been no improvement to the service, and in fact it appears to be getting worse. The monthly fee I pay should be in exchange for a reliable level of service.
I would be interested to know if others around the island are having similar issues and if they have found a way to get Spectrum to take action and initiate a solution.
But maybe there is another solution. Several years ago, there was some discussion about KIUC, as a member coop, offering broadband service. This is done very effectively by coops in other rural areas. Is this is possible on Kaua‘i? I’d love to support our local coop rather that some far-off corporation that doesn’t seem to care about meeting the needs of our community.
Diane Zachary, Wailua Homesteads
