• Saved our home • We say, ‘Emission levels not so OK’ • Bynum viewpoint cogent • To Mayor Bryan Baptiste Saved our home This letter is to thank the Kauai Fire Department. Wednesday, a small fire erupted in a
• Saved our home
• We say, ‘Emission levels not so OK’
• Bynum viewpoint cogent
• To Mayor Bryan Baptiste
Saved our home
This letter is to thank the Kauai Fire Department.
Wednesday, a small fire erupted in a field next to my house. It was a hotspot from a fire the day before and within minutes of its initial discovery the fire had expanded from a minor spring to a full on swell of flooding flames. My girlfriend and I sit on our couch now, in the comfort of our own home, writing you a letter of thanks to the immediate service of our Kauai Fire Department. From what we heard from our friends and neighbors the fire departments all over the island have been increasingly busy and we would just like to say thank you.
Your hard work is treasured by all those around you.
Rian Jeong and Danielle Davis
Kalaheo
We say, ‘Emission levels not so OK’
Niumalu residents have been working with Rodney Yama at Department of Highways for more than a year. I’ve not met the state’s Mr. Robert Tam yet, but will address some of his statements from The Garden Island’s Sept. 10 article, “State says emission levels ok.”.
“Basically, there were quite a few below detectable limit readings,” he said. “The highest was 3.19 parts per billion … which is nothing really to do anything about. If the area is impacted by exhaust, the sulfur should be there.” Neither he nor Rodney have been out in our community when we are getting sore throats, splitting headaches or several times when residents have either sealed their houses, or — as in my case — simply left.
Tam said fuel samples collected from Hawai‘i cruise ships have shown sulfur content ranges similar to levels burned in Mainland ports. Not the ports that require ships to burn diesel while in port. Cruise ships here burn bunker No. 1. All we have recommended (so far) is switching to diesel fuel.
“It could be related to any fuel combustion source … such as other ships, barges or diesel trucks,” he said. “They still have heavy vehicles going in and out there.” Is he suggesting it is a coincidence that the complaints occur when ships are overnighting? We understand that we live near a harbor and there will be the associated noise and even the short spurts (federally allowed) of excessive exhaust. Harbors have people and goods moving constantly in and out. However, when cruise ships began allowing overnight stays, using the ships as coastal hotels, an EIS should have been required (using existing triggers in Chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes).
Gary Craft
Lihu‘e
Parking woes foreboding
So let me get this straight: First we had the Aloha Center in Nawiliwili charging overnight cruise ship passengers $10 for overnight parking in their lot. That would make sense, because they probably had to hire security guards to protect the integrity of their building and provide some sense of safety for the passengers.
Then we had Anchor Cove charging to park in their lot.
And now I see Harbor Mall is bringing in trolleys; I’m guessing to shuttle passengers off the cruise ship to their shopping center.
This is all in the spirit of keeping Kaua‘i rural and the sleepy little vacation island it’s known for.
If it looks like O‘ahu and traffic is as bad as O‘ahu, doesn’t that make it a mini O‘ahu?
Just in case people from the Westside haven’t noticed, the traffic is now backing up in Kalaheo too …
Francine M. Grace
Kalaheo
Bynum viewpoint cogent
Councilmember Tim Bynum’s “Guest Viewpoint” of Sept. 10 in The Garden Island is one of the most cogent responses to the “Superferry” issue. Will it be considered by our mayor and governor? I doubt it. It appears that the ferry is going to be imposed upon the citizens of this island whether we like it or not.
And why didn’t the theft of rocks from Maui by passengers of the ferry make the front page of our newspaper as it did the Honolulu Advertiser? Could it be that we are to know as little as possible about what is already happening as a result of the ferry on other islands?
If the politicians will not heed our wishes, then we are left no choice but to continue public protestations at every embarkment of the ferry.
Lee Hill
Lihu‘e
To Mayor Bryan Baptiste
I was with the group of citizens who visited with you Wednesday afternoon and asked you to use your influence to halt the sailing of the Superferry until an environmental assessment has been completed.
You stated that you were unwilling to take a stand on the issue and that you could best serve the community as a mediator — you could talk to both sides impartially.
I think you are correct in your assumption that there are many people on Kaua‘i who favor Supeferry service to the island — just as there are many who believe that its negative impacts are likely to be greater than its benefits.
I also think that the vast majority of your constituents believe that an environmental assessment should be carried out before the ferry is allowed to visit our shores because it is what the law should have required (Supreme Court decision) and because it is in the best interest of protecting our island.
By not speaking out you are actually taking the side of the Superferry. By taking a stand in favor of conducting an environmental assessment you would be taking the middle path. The ferry’s future would be determined by the results of the assessment. (In my opinion, the ferry will be allowed to come but only after new measures to protect our island have been put in place.)
Finally, by not taking a position of leadership, I believe that you are putting the health and possibly the lives of some of our youth at risk. They are also part of the “environment” and deserve your consideration.
Andrew F. Bushnell
Kapa‘a
