•Keep it clean • Keep it horse accessible • Time to choose • History and reality Keep it clean I made a quick trip to upstate New York this week and have driven on hundreds of miles of highway. The
•Keep it clean
• Keep it horse accessible
• Time to choose
• History and reality
Keep it clean
I made a quick trip to upstate New York this week and have driven on hundreds of miles of highway. The most startling difference between these roads and our roads on Kaua‘i is the lack of litter.
The driving population is at least 50 times greater than on Kaua‘i, which makes the comparison all the more troubling.
Unfortunately, the people who throw garbage out of car windows or let stuff fly out of pick up trucks could care less. It’s up to the rest of us to pick up after them or call the police whenever we see a violation occur. If we don’t — then the title “Garbage Island” is the badge of shame we deserve.
Keep it horse accessible
In response to the July 6 The Garden Island front-page article concerning equestrian usage of a small portion of the 21.8-mile pathway from Nawiliwili to Anahola, I also find myself in disbelief and anger.
I can’t believe that the issue of access by horses and riders is even being questioned at this point.
Ms. Iseri-Carvalho asked in the article why the stretch between Kuna Point and Anahola was being targeted for use by horses, and why planners had not considered putting equestrian pathways in other parts of the coastal project.
The reason is because horses have been using the existing pathway in that area for decades. It’s a glorious place that local people and visitors have been enjoying peacefully for years, whether walking, riding a bike, or a horse. Common sense and courtesy has prevailed there among all users, in my experience.
Further, equestrian usage of the entire 21.8-mile pathway was proposed from the get-go, but it was felt by some that having horses in a park area, or in town would not be proper; therefore, horses and riders would be relegated to the open spaces of the three miles between Kuna Point and Anahola. That was bad enough, but now we are threatened with being cut off from one of the most spectacular trails in the state of Hawai‘i. This pathway enables a horse and rider to travel all the way to Anahola without encountering busy roadways. You sure can’t take the highway today.
Kaua‘i’s identity as a rural island, and its Paniolo heritage beg for places that provide its residents the opportunity to enjoy our way of life in a natural setting, whether it’s on foot, on a bike, or on the back of a horse.
What is offensive to one is heaven for another.
- Gordon “Doc” Smith, Roberta McBride
Kapa’a
Time to choose
I was deeply shocked to learn, at a recent presentation by a team from Hawaii Superferry, that construction of the first ferry ship — costing $90 million — is about 80 percent complete, and that an Environmental Impact Statement is not necessary. We were assured that environmental issues had been addressed and that the ferry would be a wonderful resource for the state.
Having talked to environmental scientists and considered the potential consequences, I have realized that this is a serious abdication of responsibility. We all understand the impact of large numbers of additional cars arriving daily on the island, some undoubtedly carrying ice for sale. We know about the consequences for young people, for fishermen, for neighborhood security. We are learning rapidly about the devastating consequences for whales and other sea mammals.
Why then have our elected officials failed to require an EIS? Do state officials and HSF care about the impact on the lives of the people who live on Kaua‘i? Do they care about the impact on the host culture? Do they care about marine life and or the plant life of the island? Or do they care about commercial interests? An HSF newspaper campaign has begun, aimed at convincing us that the Superferry is a wonderful thing for families and businesses. Will we accept this without question? Will we accept that large-scale business is the best judge of what is good for Kaua‘i? Or will we exercise our human right to be consulted and to make our views known?
- Anne Thurston
Princeville
History and reality
In response to my letter published in The Garden Island on July 31, Professor Noah Evslin, in his letter titled “Apples and grenades,” provided some information on the Jewish-Arabic conflict mentioning events from the past few thousand years. His letter is a good representation of Israel’s official position, which we hear frequently through the official U.S. and Israeli media, and which is quite biased, because the position of the Arabs is hardly ever published in our newspapers objectively.
My “localization” of the events in Lebanon by comparing them to a hypothetical paka lolo raid and reprisal was not a trivialization of the sad events. It was meant to symbolize the disproportionate response of Israelis. It would be unfair to talk about the 800 victims of Hezbollah’s actions without mentioning the many Palestinian children and civilians killed by the Israelis in Palestine.
I had two major points. First: The Israelis presently using a strange Jewish arithmetic in Lebanon — a thousand eyes for an eye. And that’s collective punishment, punishing mostly innocent people. If we go back to historical claims, we should hear the Arabic side with the same compassion as the Jewish one. What if the American Indians tomorrow destroyed 10 buildings in America for each wigwam burnt by our ancestors and killed 1,000 Americans for each Indian killed by our settlers during the past 300 years? Second: Why do the American taxpayers have to pick up the tab for this and other foreign wars?
And to answer Professor Evslin’s question as to how many more innocent people have to die or be threatened before it is acceptable for Israel to respond, my answer is none — both the Arabs and the Jews have to learn to live in peace with each other.
