• Get the pathway, pavilions completed • Islam’s record is beyond belief • Drug testing is to keep a child safe •Supports bike path but … Get the pathway, pavilions completed How proud Kaua‘i should be of the pathway planned
• Get the pathway, pavilions completed
• Islam’s record is beyond belief
• Drug testing is to keep a child safe
•Supports bike path but …
Get the pathway, pavilions completed
How proud Kaua‘i should be of the pathway planned between Nawiliwili and Anahola. The path provides an invitation to a healthy lifestyle of walking, biking, jogging and greeting folks and, as importantly, it makes a huge statement about the value Kaua‘i puts on maintaining access to its oceanfront for the use of all.
I now read that some politicians have found reason to cause a complete work stoppage and are suggesting that much of the construction to date be demolished. Shocking. Where were these same — experienced — politicians when the planning started about four years ago? Where were they to offer guidance and input when various presentations were made for funding; when the pathway and pavilion plans were presented or when the construction commenced? Why did they wait until millions were spent before they discovered that there was something wrong?
An opinion was voiced that government should be as subject to ‘zero tolerance’ as anyone else. That statement is self serving and those making that statement should be ashamed of themselves. You have been elected with the expectation that you will equip yourself with knowledge or staff to provide PROACTIVE guidance and due diligence on behalf of the county of Kaua‘i. Instead, your delayed reactive approach; use of zero tolerance as a scapegoat and threatened demolition is counterproductive and fiscal suicide. Sadly it indicates a gap in council of cohesive working conditions and pre-emptive guidance; this has no benefit to the people of Kaua‘i who elected you.
Please stop being an embarrassment, get the pathway and pavilions completed in the most common sense, efficient way possible and return the beaches and bridge areas to the public in safe and usable condition.
NOW — start applying this same concern and energy to the proposed widening of the Wailua cane haul bridge (etc.). Become involved and knowledgeable so that this project will benefit from proactive guidance, regulatory conformance and fiscally responsible planning. I understand this project too will take about four years. If council is diligent perhaps then we won’t be shamed by political wrangling over a pathway which should be allowing Kaua‘i to bask in the pride of a vision dreamed and accomplished.
Syd Jacobs
Kapa‘a
Islam’s record is beyond belief
Mr. Morita’s letter of March 27 is both troubling and wrong in his main points.
To state that the world would be better off without any religion is simply erroneous. Evidently he still has the crusades on his mind.
The only so-called religion that promotes killing of nonbelievers is Islam. They promote killing of what they refer to as infidels, with the promise that jihadists will have 70 virgins waiting in heaven. With the record Islam has for human rights and its treatment of women to say we should leave them alone to practice their killing and degrading of women is beyond belief. The recent incident of blowing up small children to get by checkpoints shows the extremes muslims will go to in killing innocent men, women and children. Promotion of the idea that if we just treat them nice and allow them to do whatever they want and they will leave us alone is ridiculous.
The muslims want world domination just as Hitler did. If the muslims want us to respect the so-called moderate muslims, let their clerics condemn these terrorist killings, let them in mass state these terrorists will not be meeting the virgins but will be going straight to hell. I have never heard that condemnation and doubt I will. To believe that freedom means you can do anything you want is not rational thinking. Whether Islam will ever tolerate Christians and treat them as equals is in my opinion not believable.
Bob Yount
Kalaheo
Drug testing is to keep a child safe
Children are getting addicted at very early ages. One out of five children will huff a household clearner by the 7th grade. One out of five children have been drunk by 5 years old.
Student drug testing is not to punish a child, it is to keep a child safe. It can notify a parent of early use. If a child starts using drugs early, they can become addicted very rapidly since their body is still growing.
Student drug tesing has proven effective in the transportation industry and in the armed forces.
Why not in our schools…
Ginger Katz
www.couragetospeak.org
Norwalk, Conn.
Supports bike path but …
Regarding Ms. de Mello’s letter on the lack of progress of bike path (Letters March 26). As I have indicated previously, I support the concept of a Kaua‘i bike path. Having ridden bike paths all over the Mainland and a few in Europe, I understand their value. I also support having as much of Kaua‘i‘s coastal areas in parks as is possible.
I believe that there are two reasons the current project has ended up in confusion and on hold. The first reason is the lack of clarity over what the project is really about. I believe that the supporters of the bike path project really want a park and are using the path to accomplish this. However, they are not being clear about that to the local community, the County Council, and perhaps not even with the federal government, who is the major financial supporter. Most of the current issues are related to structures that are not necessary to have a functioning bike path. (This path is the most elaborate I have ever experienced). The second reason is questionable competence in design, planning and budgeting, monitoring and perhaps execution. Put these two problems together and you have a recipe for confusion, truth-stretching and a disaster.
Where do we go from here? The structures in question should be modified or removed so that the current project can be completed in the near future. This would allow those of us who have used this area for years to do so again and open up the area for new users.
On the equestrian issue. I used to ride a bike path in “Horse Country” Virginia that had an accompanying horse path. While the horse path was co-located, it was positioned well away from the bike path. From that experience it is clear that bicyclists and horse riders who have ridden near each other know that the two do not generally mix well at all. In the current project it would be like allowing horseback riding in Lydgate Park. To adequately address this issue will only delay the path longer and should thus be considered a possible add-on.
I think that the County Council should in parallel continue to pursue the questions of the goal of the overall project and the competency to achieve it. Under no circumstance should the County move forward with other phases until these issues are sorted out. I think that the desire by several Council members to treat the problems as simple mistakes and sweep them under the rug is deplorable.
David H. Stewart
Kapa‘a
