• Ka Leo meetings • Abstinence programs • Governor Lingle, Ka Leo meetings With all due respect to the letter-writer (Ka Leo Meetings, The Garden Island, Dec. 3) and the mayor for his Ka Leo program, these get-togethers once a
• Ka Leo meetings
• Abstinence programs
• Governor Lingle,
Ka Leo meetings
With all due respect to the letter-writer (Ka Leo Meetings, The Garden Island, Dec. 3) and the mayor for his Ka Leo program, these get-togethers once a month are a waste of taxpayers’ money. Council Chair Asing was highly critical of the way the administration funded one additional moderator position (the council previously approved two positions). Other councilmembers pointed out that the $120,000 spent on the salaries of these moderators could be better used on more critical needs. These moderators are good, qualified people, but the program itself is a social meeting to make people feel good — nothing else. Many of the meetings had just two and three people attend, and were truly a waste of time and money.
The results that are pointed to — the restricted use of herbicides on our island, the “White Elephant” bike path, the beach and mountain public access and the potholes filled in at the entrance to Kealia Beach — have all either been addressed or are being addressed now. A phone call to the proper department will get as much attention as any social get together if it is ever going to be addressed at all.
The mayor has made these Ka Leo meetings the centerpiece of his administration, but if he requests that “residents identify the problem and then work on the solution,” then why did we need to elect him to office?
The council controls the purse strings, and the administration must ask for the problem to be addressed, so why waste money on moderators to run meetings that few attend and that the public can participate on their own — as the Ohana Kauai group has demonstrated with their charter amendment?
Glenn Mickens
Kapa‘a
Abstinence programs
This week, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) released a study that proves what other research has already revealed — abstinence-only programs are irresponsible and harmful to young people. Waxman’s study reviews the content of government-funded, abstinence-only programs, and the news isn’t good.
More than two-thirds of federally funded abstinence-only programs distort information and mislead young people by giving them false information about contraception, particularly about the effectiveness of condoms.
Abstinence-only programs that give too little or wrong information to young people can have life-threatening effects. And they are out of line with the values of average Americans. It’s time to raise our collective voices and let our government know the truth — real sex education saves lives.
Urge your representative in Congress to decrease funding for programs that distort the truth, and call for an investigation into programs that provide deceptive information.
Geri Gallagher
Lihu‘e
Governor Lingle,
We have visited Hawai‘i on business and on vacation for many years. In February 2005 we plan, with another couple, to spend two weeks in Po‘ipu. This will be our fifth vacation visit and our fourth island vacation in five years.
Our expenditure for lodging alone on the upcoming trip will total $4,200, of which $430.56 is payment of Hawai‘i state taxes. Substantial additional taxes will be paid for rental cars, meals and food, travel and recreation activities, and other events in the state.
We have recently read in USA Today, and heard on MSNBC, as well as in other media, that the Lihu‘e Airport, which is state owned and operated, turned passengers out of the building late at night after their United Airlines flight was canceled. One article said, “…a state employee declared the airport closed for the night and wouldn’t let the passengers stay in the airport.” As hotels in Lihu‘e were filled, passengers were reported to have spent the night “on the grass and sidewalks” outside the airport. This incident evidently happened a couple of months ago, but was just reported in the national media.
We now wonder what might happen to us in Lihu‘e on February 25, 2005 if an unpredictable delay might cause these “public servants” to act again to lock out the public when we leave for home?
We just wanted you to know that your friends who are your customers and rely on the traditional Hawaiian hospitality on all the islands have noted this act, and are worried by this story. Please work to implement contingency plans and policies that mercifully treat your visitors instead of herding them out of the buildings when closing time comes with nowhere to go.
John P. Killoran
Eagle River, Alaska
