• Not the roofs again! What about the traffic? • The battle is almost over • Iraq oil production 101 • School staff should just do their jobs Not the roofs again! What about the traffic? Oh please, not the
• Not the roofs again! What about the traffic?
• The battle is almost over
• Iraq oil production 101
• School staff should just do their jobs
Not the roofs again! What about the traffic?
Oh please, not the dreaded pavilion roofs again! Can we just issue the new permits and get this project done?
Perhaps the County Council can concentrate on something more important — like traffic problems?
Several suggestions: Duh, the planning process is reviewed and hashed out before the project is built.
Then, while it is being built, it is probably more than wise to inspect the job at least weekly and red tag any problems before they occur.
Is there anyone in the County government who is responsible for inspection?
Send them out to do their job. And it wouldn’t hurt to have the Council drive around and see what is going on in their county. They might even learn something.
Maybe they should be forced to drive through Kapa‘a during a busy time, might see what the rest of us are enduring. Thank you!
Robin Voorhies
Kapa‘a
The battle is almost over
For me, the most important issue for the lawmakers on our County Council right now is one that could permanently change the very character of Kaua‘i that has drawn so many people here over the last hundred years.
Soon, the proposed “TVR Bill” (Bill 2204) will be finalized by the Council’s Planning Committee and passed on to the full council for final passage. “TVR” stands for “Transient Vacation Rentals,” but I prefer to use the term “VR” (Vacation Rental) instead.
At the Council planning committee’s meeting on June 13, there was an awesome visual presentation by Council Chair Kaipo Asing.
In addition to a PowerPoint presentation of various historical and legal aspects of the issue, Chair Asing presented a stunning display along the side wall of the council chambers.
There, on four large aerial photos of the North Shore, Mr. Asing had superimposed a graphic demonstration of how VRs have taken over that part of the island.
The jaw-dropping sight of how extensively these VR commercial businesses have permeated every North Shore neighborhood paints a clear picture of how Kaua‘i has become an “Investors’ Paradise” rather than the Garden Island Paradise — all at the hands of mostly absentee owners.
It is not only the North Shore that has become a VR enclave; the problem is widespread across the island.
Some councilmembers have hesitated to stop this corruption of the island because of threats of lawsuits from current VR owners and from the Kaua‘i Board of Realtors.
However, I feel that for once it is worth the risk of litigation to take a strong stand and take back the island. Otherwise, ordinary citizens must prepare to see Kaua‘i changed forever, not for the benefit of the culture and lifestyle of Kaua‘i but strictly for the benefit of those who came here, saw the island’s natural beauty, and proceeded to capitalize on it — not caring that by doing so, they were destroying the very thing that they claimed to love.
If Bill 2204 passes, those who currently operate vacation rentals will have a monopolistic stranglehold on the most beautiful portions of the island, locking in their monopoly forevermore and forevermore locking out anyone else who might want to open such a business in the future.
The VR owners and realtors want this bill to pass, because it would permanently seal into law their means of profiteering from this beautiful island. And the Kaua‘i that Kaipo Asing and many others grew up on would be turned over to people who could never appreciate it.
Barbara Elmore
Lihu‘e
Iraq oil production 101
A good way to learn more about oil production in Iraq is to start with a map of Iraq.
You will notice that the southernmost tip of Iraq is cut off from the rest of the country. This is Kuwait, which was created when the British reconfigured the geographical borders of the middle east.
The oil wells that were cut off from Iraq are now British Petroleum (BP).
Is it any wonder that UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, gave the U.S. unquestioned support in the Iraq war, after George Bush senior saved his bacon by driving Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in the first Gulf War?
Anyone who would like to know more about Desert Storm and how it came about should Google April Glaspie, who was the American ambassador to Iraq at that time.
Harry Boranian
Lihu‘e
School staff should just do their jobs
I am an incoming freshman at Kapa‘a High School, and I would like to bring up the topic of the Kapa‘a Middle School principal controversy.
While I attended that school, it was the best years of my life, but I continuously heard about how the teachers would butt heads with the principal.
Us students, we were there to learn, but knowing that the teachers disliked the principal gave us the thought that our school was slowly falling apart.
My fellow classmates started to hear things that went on and were choosing sides.
Were we on the teachers’ side or the principal’s side?
Considering that the new principal had only been there for a couple of months, and that we have had our teachers all along made most of the students go on the teachers’ side.
The thing is that we didn’t have all of the details. Now, I am not on anyone’s side, but seriously, the teachers are there to teach, and the principal is there to guide everyone into the right path of life.
So the staff of Kapa‘a Middle School, just remember why all of you are there.
You are supposed to be helping us out, but it seems as if everyone is caught up in this controversy. Just do your jobs because you want to help the future, not because you want to start more trouble.
And now that there is going to be a new year with new students, you should start off fresh, and just be there to encourage your students.
Don’t be giving the new students the wrong idea about the school because that school has a lot of good things happening at the same time.
We have a lot to be proud of. Thank you for your time.
Tonia Gamarra
Kapa‘a
