• In defense of the parking • More than bargained for • Superferry: It’s not over yet • Own island not point In defense of the parking I am a tenant of the Jaspers’ in Anchor Cove. I’d like to
• In defense of the parking
• More than bargained for
• Superferry: It’s not over yet
• Own island not point
In defense of the parking
I am a tenant of the Jaspers’ in Anchor Cove.
I’d like to take a moment to share with the people of Kaua‘i why the new parking plan was implemented as it might help end both the misunderstanding and the negativity.
Anchor Cove has only so much parking for all of the shops and restaurants it services. On boat days and weekends, the parking lot has little available parking. The problem doesn’t lie with the patrons of Anchor Cove, the problem lies with all the people who use Anchor Cove’s parking lot to go shop or eat somewhere else, or to go to the beach.
The system is pretty straight forward: If you shop at Anchor Cove, which you prove by showing a $10 receipt from any of the stores or vendors, parking is free. If you park at Anchor Cove to shop or eat elsewhere, you have to pay a nominal $2 fee.
Does that sound particularly unfair?
If you still want to complain about paying for parking, you should be complaining about having to put money in the parking meters in front of most of the state and county buildings. These are parking lots that we as tax payers already paid for, and yet they still want more money out of us.
Kaua‘i, in closing, I think we have a lot bigger problems in Nawiliwili and on this island than a disputed and misunderstood $2 parking issue.
Noah Evslin
Waimea
More than bargained for
Hey, “Kimo” Rosen (“Best lunch deal,” Letters, Aug. 6) … Good thing you didn’t “sample” the canned chili at Costco. I read that a person might have been made ill from it at Maui Costco. Botulism was feared.
Jane Taylor
Kapa‘a
Superferry: It’s not over yet
Joe Callen’s informative letter (“Superferry or super folly,” Letters, Aug. 4), clearly summarizes the reasons why the Hawai‘i Superferry is a potential disaster for Kaua‘i: drug trafficking, crowded beaches, parks and bumper- to-bumper traffic, etc., (not to mention harm and slaughter of whales). He calculates that for every 10 vehicles we send over to O‘ahu, they will send “120 vehicles our way, in exchange.” Sounds likely, but I differ with you on one point, Joe. It is not over yet.
You ask why: “Kaua‘i, didn’t we as a community speak up while we still had a voice?” It seems that the Hawai‘i Superferry got fast forwarded through the state Department of Transportation (DOT) without an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) because the DOT received big federal bucks by calling it a commuter route (known as H4, from O‘ahu to the Neighbor Islands). It remains to be seen if the future failing Superferry will become a military transport as researched and presented in TGI by Juan Wilson (Island Breath, A5, July 29). To sum it up Joe, this “behemoth” was a done deal by the time we found out about it. It’s shocking and infuriating to discover how government has railroaded the Superferry through — without an EIS. (Honolulu or Peking?)
Once the secret was out, we as individuals, legislators and groups did speak up. A grassroots group, “The People for the Preservation of Kauai (PPK)” formed a year and a half ago, has educated people about the perils of the Superferry and is now launching litigation to demand an EIS. That is one thing Kauaians have done and here are some other actions we can take:
• Boycott the Superferry. Follow the lead of Sen. Gary Hooser and Rep. Mina Morita, and don’t take it.
• Educate your friends and relatives here and on O‘ahu about the harmful effects of the Superferry offloading on Kaua‘i and also potential damage to whales. It is understandable that people can’t wait to escape from the city and don’t think about the harm they will cause elsewhere.
• Educate the general public on O‘ahu by writing letters to the editor there. People can change.
• Donate to the legal fund of PPK : “1,000 Friends of Kauai” (tax deductible).
• Attend the community meeting put on by concerned Kauaians who have formed a group called “Hui-R.”
• Help plan a peaceful “Unwelcome Party” for the first commercial landing of the Superferry. Community planning event open to everyone, Aug. 18, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the War Memorial Convention Hall (Peace & Freedom Hall), Lihu‘e.
Joe, it’s not time to cave in. Join in with others who are as concerned about the harmful effects of the Superferry as you are. Please, don’t give up. It’s not too late. See you at the community meeting Aug. 18.
Gabriela Taylor
Kapa‘a
Own island not point
I can only shake my head in disbelief when I read letters from adult humans such as Steven Martin, (“Get your own island,” Letters, Aug. 6) who thinks no one should “butt in” to his “business.” Then he says, “If I want to rent my house out to locals or vacationers, or free to a stranger it’s my business. Everyone on this island is going to do whatever it takes to make ends meet.”
This is a glaring example of the “property rights” mentality. Just because someone owns a piece of land, he is not free to do as he pleases there. I’m sure Atlanta Falcons player Michael Vick owned the land and the dogs on his property; and (according to Steven Martin) no one was supposed to “butt in.” If a man is molesting children on his land, dealing in child pornography there, dealing drugs there, you bet we have a right to put a stop to it.
So, Mr. Martin, I for one am not buying your thinking that no other person should “worry about his own affairs and realize it’s none of his business what I or anyone does on their property.”
I definitely take issue with the idea that “everyone is going to do whatever it takes to make ends meet,” implying that committing illegal acts is okay if the money from those acts is “needed” to make ends meet. Acceptable ways of making ends meet would include cutting back on unnecessary expenses, riding the bus rather than driving, moving into a less expensive home, stopping harmful and expensive habits such as smoking, drinking and doing drugs, taking on a second job, etc. — not operating an illegal vacation rental.
Those who agree with Mr. Martin should follow his advice: “get together, break out your checkbooks and buy an island together. That way you can have everything the way you want it and the best part, no one else can move there.”
Barbara Elmore
Lihu‘e
