HOOSER: Nothing to fear except the rabbit hole
Today is a big day in policy and politics. Actually, they don’t get much bigger than this. The President of the United States is being sworn into office, and it’s the opening day of the Hawaii Legislature.
VOICES: Rep. Saiki proposal serves O‘ahu, not Kaua‘i
Dear Senator Kouchi and Representatives Morikawa, Nakamura, and Tokioka;
VOICES: ‘No Justice, No Peace’
The opening lines of a song I once wrote come to mind as Dr. King’s Life is honored.
VOICES: It’s time to open schools
To Mayor Kawakami, the County Council and school administrators; Kauaians eagerly awaited a New Year that would look nothing like 2020.
VOICES: Pay attention to the pronouns they point to culpability
In the midst of intense feelings of disgust and rage over the storming of the United States Capitol by insurrectionists on Wednesday, Janaury 6, I kept hearing the words that often pop into my head when preparing for Sunday morning sermons: “Pay attention to the pronouns.”
VOICES: The truth must be told to Trump supporters
The lengths that Trump’s followers have been willing to go to for him is beyond imagination.
HOOSER: Bigotry and violence have no place
The images of recent violence and the storming of the Capitol in Washington D.C. are everywhere and impossible to avoid. Unfortunately and very sadly, threats of future and imminent violence have also arrived even here in Hawaii.
VOICES: Defuse the nuclear arms race
January 13 will be three years since a day we remember very well. “Missile incoming. This is not a threat.” For the next 38 minutes, until the alert was called off, the prospect of nuclear destruction of our world here on Kaua‘i became real, a fact of life we carry with us.
One lesson from 2020: People need people
Among the many lessons from 2020 is this one: People need people.
VOICES: Base policy on science, mayor
To Mayor Kawakami and the County Council: Please reconsider the plan to reopen the island to tourists with anything less than the Centers of Disease Control recommended guidelines for quarantine.
HOOSER: Hawaii frontline workers deserve a raise
Pandemic or no pandemic, minimum wage workers in numerous states, cities and counties across the United States will be receiving a raise this year. According to recent news reports in The Hill: “Twenty states and dozens of localities increased their minimum wage on January 1, 2021, giving a financial boost to many frontline workers during the pandemic.”
Alternate east-west route needed now
A long-overdue alternate route for Kaua‘i’s traffic from Lihu‘e to the Westside needs to be implemented now!
VOICES: Lifeguards remain key in preventing drownings
2021 has arrived and I always try to take a moment to reflect back on the year that just happened, in particular from my perspective as an ocean safety advocate.
VOICES: An impassioned plea for peace
Oh, little spawn of Abraham, how shall we hear Thee now?
VOICES: Kaua‘i living the essence of Aloha
In the closing days of 2020 — a year like no other — amidst the uncertainty, anxiety and dislocating change that the coronavirus has brought to Kaua‘i, let us celebrate one shining fact about our island community that has been demonstrated over and over again in the past year — that we care about each other and take care of each other.
HOOSER: Use COVID cash to help small businesses
Within the next 14 days at least $21 million ($600 per person) and possibly up to $70 million ($2,000 per person) will fall from the sky and into the pockets of local Kauai residents.
VOICES: Racial discrimination a major problem in US
This is an issue that should not be an obstacle in this generation, but it is.
VOICES: I drank the Kool-aide
I drank the Kool-Aid and will continue drinking it. I do not like sweet, sugary drinks. However, if they help the country, I will overlook the bad for the overall good.
VOICES: Good grief! Just what does that even mean?
Many of us say Good Grief ! Without thinking about it. But what does it mean? Dictionaries say: sorrow, heartache, angst, etc. Please tell me … how can that be “Good”? Webster says it’s an informal phrase expressing surprise or annoyance. “He’s burned the toast.” “Good grief! Can’t he do anything right?”
EVSLIN: In a good position to open schools
Someday this pandemic will be just a memory, but I hope there will be a lasting reminder of how important our teachers, coaches, and schools are in the lives of our children and of their parents.