VOICES: ‘Let us have forgiveness’

A Petition to the Police Commission on Kaua‘i has begun to stop the rush to judgment of our Police Chief Todd Raybuck. Pono Market in Kapa’a already has more than two dozen signatures including people of a wide variety of backgrounds, typical of our island: Japanese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Caucasian.

VOICES: Landlord-Tenant disputes? Try mediation

Hawai‘i’s eviction moratorium will likely end sometime this year, and landlords and tenants will have to resolve their disputes over unpaid rent, utilities, and other monies owed. This is the time for those with impending disputes to begin looking for their preferred solutions.

VOICES: Lives at stake with Ke‘e lifeguard decision

It’s certainly appropriate that ocean safety on Kaua‘i has become a back-burner issue, given all the crises that are on the front burner: Namely the pandemic and the crushing implications it has had on so many facets of life on Kaua‘i: Devastation to businesses large and small; loss of in-person school learning and peer socializing; loss of school sports; homelessness; depression/anxiety; loneliness of our kupuna who are in care homes — to mention just a few.

HOOSER: Political labels and the man under the bridge

A “radical centrist” is how I’ve recently taken to describing myself and my politics. Needless to say, I’ve taken flack from progressive friends on the left who see centrists as the enemy, blue dogs and regressive corporatists in hiding.

VOICES: Small business looks at minimum wage increase

Businesses on Kaua‘i have weathered many storms, but none have been quite as long or as devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic. As a small island community with limited resources and significantly lower visitor counts, local businesses have severely felt the brunt of the pandemic shutdowns.

VOICES: Good journalism is not dead

I haven’t written a letter to the editor in a while, but as a journalist for many years who believes good journalism is integral to democracy, this subject is dear to my heart.

VOICES: Buy local more than ever before

Kaua‘i, I pleaded for help for local businesses (Forum, Feb. 25), and I hope this helps you understand why. If you aren’t a business owner and want to understand what is happening to small businesses, let me try to break it down for you.

HOOSER: Respecting workers, employed and unemployed

Today on O‘ahu, representatives from dozens of community organizations are gathering at the State Capitol in a demonstration of support and solidarity with workers, both the unemployed and those on the front-lines working in stores, restaurants and offices everywhere.