• Chicanery of trumped-up Lum charges • Show me the money • Imagining, too • Give them higher tax rate Chicanery of trumped-up Lum charges After reading the viewpoint by Horace Stoessel (“Smearing of K.C. Lum now a little clearer,”
• Chicanery of trumped-up Lum charges
• Show me the money
• Imagining, too
• Give them higher tax rate
Chicanery of trumped-up Lum charges
After reading the viewpoint by Horace Stoessel (“Smearing of K.C. Lum now a little clearer,” Forum, July 25), I can only say, “Bravo, Horace, bravo.”
In my opinion, and in the opinion of many others who this dedicated man served as Police Chief for two years, K. C. Lum did his job and did it exceptionally well. If the dots are connected that Mr. Stoessel so factually laid out, the case is clearly made that a conspiracy was in the making to first get K.C. Lum removed as Chief and then to drum up phony charges to tarnish his reputation to keep him from getting a seat on the Kaua‘i County Council.
Remember that under his watch, statistics prove that crime was down, drug busts were up, which was further proof of his effectiveness as chief.
Initially there was a lot of false controversy that Chief Lum was chosen for his position due to some trumped- up charges that two of the police commissioners who appointed him used improper methods in their voting. One of these commissioners, Michael Ching (a volunteer citizen who served five honorable years on the commission), was forced to step down from his position and the other, Carol Furtado, is still serving after many efforts to get her to leave. At a public hearing the phony charges against Furtado were ruled without merit and all charges were to be dropped.
And in the efforts of the conspirators to make their case that Lum was falsely appointed as chief, it was never brought up that four of the five commissioners chose him over the other candidates — only that two of them were somehow partial to Lum. One commissioner was ruled by the same judge that he attempted to solicit support for chief Lum. However that attempted solicitation did not taint the selection process.
Also, I requested and was given a chance to read the affidavit written by the Attorney General’s office. The information from Chief Lum’s attorney in Honolulu who stated the error happened in his office in Honolulu, was clearly missing. The e-mails to Gary Heu, Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s administrative assistant, and to the County Council showing correction of the errors was also missing from the affidavit.
I am not a lawyer, but as a citizen looking at this from from the outside and seeing very relevant information missing from the affidavit, I would have to conclude that if the information mentioned above were included, no judge would have signed and authorized a search warrant into Chief Lum’s house. The two-page error that was at the heart of the AG’s reasoning to allow the search of Lum’s house was made in Honolulu so how could there be justification for invading someone’s privacy on Kaua‘i?
The right against unreasonable search and seizure without probable cause was violated. By omitting factual information which will negate probable cause was an intentional violation of our Fourth Amendment.
Yes, Horace, you are so right that it is “extremely difficult for the public to call to account those who abuse or misuse the powers delegated to them as a public trust.” But I still believe that Chief Lum will have his day in the sun and a lot of people including the Attorney General will be sorry that they ever tried to defame this very quiet, principled man.
Glenn Mickens
Kapa‘a
Show me the money
After having read both Mr. Carl Imparato’s and Leina‘ala Pavao’s differing sides of the Hanalei boat controversy I would like to suggest a third view.
I have been visiting this lovely island for more than 40 years, sometimes I stayed a month sometimes a decade, but always I have been awestruck by the beauty and majesty of Hanalei Bay. When I first visited I was fortunate to meet several ethnic Hawaiians, long since passed away, who lived in Hanalei, when the “Black Pot” was really the “Black Pot,” and they all told me that “Hanalei was God’s country.” They didn’t go to church, they were in church. Which leads me to the boat situation.
There is only one motivation behind this controversy and that is, in its purest sense, the making of money for Mike Sheehan and Napali Explorer. Which Hawaiians, ethnic and citizens, would want to take a chance of harming this delicate and unique valley and its bay, unless motivated by money. If allowed to continue, this will only be the beginning for Mr. Sheehan, once that foot is in the door it’s all over. As for Napali Explorer, they are a successful company already operating on the Westside, they hardly need the money. But I really can’t think of any other motivation. There is no boat operation in the world, no matter how clinical it looks on paper, that doesn’t pollute to some degree.
James O’Keefe
Princeville
Imagining, too
In response to Michael Wells’ letter (“It Could happen,” Letters, July 30) I too have imagined this island an incredibly sustainable, beautiful ecotopia if you will. If we as a human race are to survive on this planet we must put this plan to action immediately for there is no more time to waste. It is my belief that if the sustainability movement that is growning in numbers and ideas can couple with the Native Hawaiian sovereignty movement then perhaps we the people of Kaua‘i who love and respect this ‘aina and its culture could actually make great steps toward a new and brighter sustainable future. We must clear a path through the destruction and greed that currently fuels this world. Our current mode of governing has proved inept for the health of the land and its people. We all know this and feel this in our core. Projects like Greenlight, the farm incubator program and the Greening of Guava Kai are setting the stage for a new way on this island and the world throughout. Get involved, get passionate about the future before it’s too late.
Jen Viets
Anahola
Give them higher tax rate
Vacation Rentals on Kaua‘i help keep rental cost for locals up.
It’s very simple.
Using homes for Vacation Rentals means fewer houses on the rental market for locals.
Fewer houses available to rent allows owners to rent out houses for a higher price.
So Vacation Rentals are making locals pay more for rent, and having less for savings or every day needs.
Vacation Rentals are about greed and nothing else.
Allow people to use their houses for Vacation Rental, but charge them a much higher business tax rate.
Dennis Chaquette
Kapa‘a
