Letters for Friday, December 1, 2006

• Press has a duty

• A place to call home

• Is this happening to everybody?

• Furtado fiasco over?

Press has a duty

The editorial about attacking the press over disclosure of secrets had some points in their favor, but it ignores the responsibility of the press not to disclose secrets that would endanger our country. There is a fine line that many cross in this controversial area. My thoughts are that the reporters are not qualified military experts nor trained in intelligence matters or diplomacy.

They think a personal decision in this area is the sole judgement of them and their editors. I dispute this. Such disclosures as have been made in the last several months would have brought charges of treason during World War II, and rightly so. Unfortunately many of the major news sources don’t acknowledge we are at war. In spite of the absence of bodies and carnage in our streets we are at war. Disclosure of classified material without approval is a felony offense and the leakers should be prosecuted and reporters should be required to reveal their sources as the leaker is a criminal.

Kalaheo

A place to call home

I have done some research and have found the perfect place for those who want to reside in a tropical paradise like Kaua‘i, enjoy a rural lifestyle, be free from big-box stores and a superferry, and have government decide what is best for its citizens: Cuba.

Lihu‘e

Is this happening to everybody?

Over the last three months, I’ve collected all of my recyclable containers to do “my part” for the environment. When I went to redeem them yesterday, I decided to help out some friends who had been saving their bottles and cans for a while. In the past, I had taken recyclables to Garden Island Disposal up by the bulk-sugar building. I always suspected that I was not getting the 5 cents per container that I assumed we were supposed to get. So, the last time I took my items there, I had a real close count of the number of items. My suspicions were correct. So this time, I took my items to Reynolds Recycling in Nawiliwili. I had been told that they actually paid you the 5 cents per container if you had the items all counted and tied up in plastic bags. Together we had accumulated a total of 850 containers, all plastic and aluminum. So off to the center I went assuming that I would drive out of there with $42.50. When we got there, we were told that they only pay by the weight. So we had to un-bag all the containers and place them all in plastic trash cans. The man there weighed them and we ended up getting a total of $29.30.

According to information that I found on a Web site, in the month of December 2005, there were a total of nearly 56 million containers recycled in Hawai‘i. Remember, this is just one month. If everyone who redeemed those containers had the same experience at the same rate that we did, then there is an extra $870,000 that is in someone’s pocket out there. That $870,000 came out of our pockets. Again, remember, that is just one month. If each of the months since the program began in January of 2005 were the same, then up to this month, there would be a total of 23 times that amount, or over $20 million in someone’s pocket.

We need to do something about this, and we need to do it now. As for me, I am sending this same information to the governor’s e-mail address, governor.lingle@hawaii.gov. and to the recycling coordinator for the County of Kauai, Allison Fraley, afraley@kauai.gov.

Kapa‘a

Furtado fiasco over?

A huge congratulations and bravo to Carol Furtado for her exoneration in the “witch hunt” that cost her more than a year and a half of personal expense and frustration in an ordeal that should never have taken place.

Obviously there are very few people anywhere who would have had the guts and fortitude to have gone through what this lady went through and all to be in a voluntary position on our police commission. In a contested case hearing she didn’t have the financial means to hire an attorney so she defended herself and won against our county attorney and outside legal counsel whom we paid $100,000 or more — amazing.

Again, she went through all of this including a long “grilling” process before our County Council to get reappointed to the police commission for no monetary gain — simply to fight for a principle she believed in.

And, did this gutsy lady just thank everyone for finally exonerating her and go back to doing her job? Of course not. She said she wasn’t relieved that the investigation was over because she didn’t think it had merit to begin with. She said, “I’m still very disturbed that it even got started. It took over a year and a half of my time and my effort to defend myself against something that never should have gotten this far.”

When there are so many people in positions to know of wrongdoings taking place, but for fear of job loss or retribution they fail to speak out. Ms. Furtado’s actions and words show character far beyond what is today’s norm.

Since Judge McConnell found that the charge of breach of fiduciary duty against Furtado to be without merit (the last of the “charges”) and the BOE accepted his recommendations in mid-October, why didn’t they release that decision until Nov. 14 which only caused more undue agony to Ms. Furtado?

And what was the taxpayers cost for legal fees for this debacle that should never have happened? The mayor’s office said, “According to the County Attorney’s Office, litigation costs for ongoing cases, such as Carol Furtado’s case, are confidential.”

However, Ms. Furtado said, “The letter (from BOE dated Oct. 19) states it is a done deal. There should be no further litigation in this matter.” So why are the facts (costs) being withheld from the people unless the gross incompetence of this administration is again being hidden?

Now that the Furtado farce is over, and her case was a small part of the big picture, shouldn’t an investigation be done on that part of the equation? Obviously the target in this whole conspiracy had been K.C. Lum and those in any way associated with him were just collateral victims — Mike Ching, Carol Furtado, and officer Ron Venneman. All these dedicated people were used as pawns by the “power” to get Chief Lum to retire and make sure he didn’t move to another position of authority, the County Council. No one should ever forget the phony case the “power” tried to make against K.C. Lum about the forging of his retirement document.

Amazing how that lie was dropped and the truth was never told.

Since Ching and Venneman were basically accused of the same impropriety that Furtado was, and Furtado was exonerated, shouldn’t the total story be told and let all those involved in the “plot” also be exonerated?

Of course, this whole sordid mess will go before the judicial system and probably cost us taxpayers a few million dollars — proving again the gross incompetence of our government.

Kapa‘a