• Super is good • Watch out for land sharks, Part II • Happy Costco’s here • Land sharks will have their time • Island residents don’t have choices Super is good I’ve been around long enough to know that
• Super is good
• Watch out for land sharks, Part II
• Happy Costco’s here
• Land sharks will have their time
• Island residents don’t have choices
Super is good
I’ve been around long enough to know that anything with Super in front of it is good, whether it’s Superman, Supercenter or Superwife.
My Superwife told me that bigger is better. The last time I disagreed with her, I lost. That was sometime during the last century, if super-memory serves me correctly.
I reside in a Super Nova condominium known as Sun Village. It is a tranquil place of Super Senior Citizens where seldom is heard a discouraging word, partly because of faulty hearing aids, and partly because they frequently are turned off.
One reason for the prevailing bliss at Sun Village is because of its super-neighbor, Wal-Mart.
During the last 11 years, Wal-Mart has provided us with super-low prices and super service. Wal-Mart allows us to use its shopping carts to take home the products we buy.
But better yet, Wal-Mart provides some of the more frail of our residents with a company super associate who not only takes our goods home for us, but places them in our cupboards.
Now that’s Super Duper Service.
But, perhaps surprisingly, Wal-Mart has not been perfect. The company has not provided us with super selections of groceries and other goods.
Fortunately for us, Wal-Mart finally has discovered the error of its ways. It wants to provide us with a Supercenter.
Because we at Sun Village are such super people, we are willing to share our Supercenter with the rest of the island.
If, in its infinite wisdom, the Kaua‘i County government wants to deny the rest of the island a Supercenter, because of the possible harm lower prices and better services may bring, please do not deny it to Sun Village.
If Sun Village is denied a Supercenter, please be cognizant of the fact that some of our residents are no longer able to drive.
Because of that, the least the county could do would be to build a monorail from Sun Village to Costco.
The county could finance such a project by the money it presumably would save by denying the Supercenter.
I thank the county government for wanting to save its constituents from addictive frenzied shopping. After all, is that not the purpose of government?
Lihu‘e
Watch out for land sharks, Part II
Thank you, Alice Monaghan, for your warning about land sharks. Unless the county moves quickly to enact better coastal and environmental preservation legislation, development along Kaua‘i’s coast could make California look like a garden spot. At least California has an active Coastal Commission and Sierra Club, along with municipal and state restrictions, which now prevent or limit coastal development. In Kaua‘i, the Waipouli Beach Resort in Kapa‘a and Ka‘iulani of Princeville (a large-scale luxury townhome development that underwent abundant tree removal followed by massive grading along the ridgeline above the ‘Anini Stream), are two recent examples of non-organic, environmentally offensive developments that should have fallen under far greater environmental scrutiny. Garden Island? That may soon be an oxymoron.
Princeville
Happy Costco’s here
I believe having Costco on the island is fantastic. Look at the crowds of people that signed up for the membership.
Living on Kaua‘i has become very expensive for a lot of people especially the locals and it’s about time Costco came here.
The gas stations dropped their prices when Costco got here. That means the local gas stations were ripping us off. They could have given us at least a few cents off but, no, they didn’t.
High cost of houses, property, food, etc. People are tired of paying too much for everything. Costco is affordable and I am happy that they are here. They provide employment for our community.
Lihu‘e
Land sharks will have their time
In response to Alice A. Monaghan’s letter referring to land sharks, I strongly agree in how sad it is to watch Kaua‘i be viciously consumed so rapidly.
These land sharks, being developers, overpriced condos/timeshares, and aesthetically unappealing housing like Kealia Kai — which obviously does not prioritize the people of Kaua‘i due to the millions it costs to own a pathetic 1.5-acre lot — are the reasons we are losing a piece of the Garden Island each day.
But in time, those who really care about this island and not about how much money can be milked out of our land, know that ‘Iniki will pay us another visit. Stronger than ever, she will eventually swallow these land sharks in one enthusiastic bite. When the time comes, we won’t be handing out tissues for those wet cheeks due to the tears for the millions lost, but jump for joy knowing that nature and our people can breathe once more.
Anahola
Island residents don’t have choices
Re: Gary Saylin’s letter of Oct. 25:
Yes, Gary, Davis is a great, small college town with maybe 100 miles of bike paths and a great farmers market in the park on Saturday morning. You have narrow, tree-lined streets, small, quaint stores and restaurants. But within 15 miles in any direction you have large housing, apartment and condo developments. You have Wal-Marts, Home Depots and just about every big box store you can imagine, including a new, soon-to-open Costco.
The residents of Davis do not live on an island. They may choose to drive downtown, on narrow streets filled with bikers and traffic and hope to find a parking space. They may also choose to drive out of Davis, to the closest Super Center, park in acres of parking, shop, see a movie and have dinner.
Yes, Gary, keep the big box stores out of Davis. But remember, we on Kaua‘i do not have the choices you and the residents of Davis have.
Your idea of a hurricane might work to keep tourists and developers away but you have no idea what it does to the people who live and work hard here, to call this place home. I don’t think you would have said “No one was hurt, it well might be worth it in the long run.” if you had been here after ‘Iwa and ‘Iniki.
‘Ele‘ele
