Stories by Gary Hooser

Four excellent choices for Kauai County Council

I recently had the pleasure of co-hosting a KKCR “Out Of The Box” radio show that featured a discussion among four candidates for Kauai County Council. I was genuinely impressed by each and every one of these individuals and found myself at the end of the show, hoping that each will be elected on Nov. 6.

Coco Palms – Time for a new paradigm

Since that fateful day of Sept. 11, 1992 when Hurricane Iniki blew across our island, the historic and venerable Coco Palms Hotel has sat derelict as a constant reminder. We are reminded daily of that powerful storm, of the numerous broken promises made by various developers and owners since then, and of the impotence of our local government to do anything about it.

Political, Judicial, Legislative = #winning

This was a good week for the grassroots on the political front. Actually it has been a phenomenal year on many levels for the grassroots citizenry working hard to protect health and environment, and to expand and improve citizen based democracy.

Kauai primary election re-cap

While I’m sure Council Chair Mel Rapozo will put up a valiant fight, the bookies in Chinatown are no doubt giving heavy odds in favor of Councilmember Derek Kawakami being elected Kauai’s next mayor on Nov. 6 in the general election.

The voter non-voter conundrum

I often find myself wondering how I can get the attention of the non-voter. Should I yell, or beg or attempt to shame them? Should I tell them their vote really does matter even though nothing ever seems to change? Should I tell them that all politicians are not crooked and many do truly care about the future of our community?

Kauai Council brings Christmas early to Rice Street

With the passage of Bill 2687 the Kauai County Council seems poised to gift millions of dollars of increased property values to a relatively small number of owners located in Lihue along Rice Street with “no strings attached.”