• No special session • What other ‘good ideas’? • It’s about fairness • Not Obama’s time No special session I am deeply concerned as to why the Superferry should get special treatment. The environmental issues concern all of the
• No special session
• What other ‘good ideas’?
• It’s about fairness
• Not Obama’s time
No special session
I am deeply concerned as to why the Superferry should get special treatment. The environmental issues concern all of the islands. The outer islands which you are governor of also are reaching their saturation points in overdevelopment and it is just time to start saying “No” and at the very least, uphold and even strengthen laws which protect the environment, long range or short range. I feel if you keep pushing to allow the Superferry to run during the EIS that you are setting a bad example for any future business endeavors to just run all over us no matter what the consequences. We should know from hindsight by now that things get overdone or wrongly done in the whole world. Island places are even more fragile and susceptible to injuries and damages that would be beyond repair.
I think the sad fact is that you, along with other political persons of O‘ahu, really are only showing regard to the people of O‘ahu. You lived on Moloka‘i, you lived on Maui, you know the outer islands are different and not yet as crowded or developed as O‘ahu, and that the very reason people from O‘ahu like to visit the outer islands is because of the ruralness and peacefulness, comparatively speaking. The same goes for tourists who have been flooding our Garden Isle newspaper with letters of sadness and disbelief of how much is being allowed to go on here. Some have commented on the Superferry and how much potential damage it could bring. They don’t understand why the Superferry was exempted from an EIS in the first place.
O‘ahu says nasty things about us on the news, but they are forgetting or not realizing not only the impact issues, but the fact that a big business and our own governor are pushing for them to not abide by the law which was set in place to address the issues of our fragile environments. Why would you condone a big business to evade the law and go ahead with their project when they had plenty of time to do the EIS these past few years? Why would you want to encourage and set such a precedent that will cause other businesses to view us as an easy target or an easy kill because our government will fight its own laws to allow for greed and profit with disregard of the bigger picture?
Please Governor Lingle, I implore you, do not try for this special legislative session. It is just so wrong and sends the wrong message about our beautiful islands and the way we govern them. Please, please, please understand what is at stake, so that people can call you Honorable Gov. Linda Lingle
Debbie Friedman
Kalaheo
What other ‘good ideas’?
In regard to the Superferry: If, as Judge Joseph Cardoza states, “State law clearly requires the acceptance of an environmental review prior to the project going forward,” has the governor not broken the law by supporting its passage?
The governor stated that she thought the ferry was a “good idea.” What other good ideas does the governor have in mind which, transcending the law, she will support?
If the judge’s decision ‘sink’ the ferry, costing taxpayers … that’s you and I … millions of dollars in unused harbor improvement, how do we, the taxpayers, respond?
The governor has said she may convene a special legislative session that could “pave the way” for the Superferry to resume operations.
What does she plan to do? Change the law to suit her whims? Fire the judge? I do hope taxpayers see something wrong with this picture.
On the bright side: We have at least one honest judge who cares about the law, several environmentally concerned lawmakers who care about the people, and thousands of anti-Superferry protestors. We can thank our law-breaking leaders, George and Linda, for waking up a sleeping giant: the American people. On Kaua‘i, armed with surfboards and bodies they faced the guns on the bows of the Coast Guard zodiacs and armed men in uniform on the land. They defied the ridiculous fines for their outrageous behavior… 10 years in prison, $25,000 in fines … and, in open Forum, as the world watched, they spoke out … and talked back … to the governor and her crew.
Bettejo Dux
Kalaheo
It’s about fairness
We all heard it. During the County Council’s consideration of the Big Box Bill, proponents repeatedly said, “It’s not about Wal-Mart.” They were welcome words to nearly 400 Kaua‘i residents who work at Wal-Mart and thousands more who shop at our store. We value our jobs and Wal-Mart’s low prices and high quality merchandise.
Now, the county has the opportunity to live up to those words and to its previous approval of Wal-Mart’s plan to expand the Lihu‘e store.
Long before the Big Box Bill was even introduced, let alone adopted, Wal-Mart had already submitted an application for a permit to move ahead with expansion. The master plan for the site that was approved by the County when we first built the store included the expansion Wal-Mart now requests. The Planning Department is trying to back away from the earlier approval, which would stop us from adding a full discount supermarket to our store.
Our customers have told us they want us to offer a full line of discount groceries. An SMA Research poll showed that a solid majority of island voters — 56 percent — support expansion of the store. The county has already approved the expansion and it will not add a single big box to our island. It will just allow us to sell discount groceries.
All of us who work at the Lihu‘e Wal-Mart are proud of the services we provide to our friends and neighbors. Our customers tell us every day how much they appreciate our efforts and we want to continue to improve our services to meet their needs. But we can do this only if the county lives up to its word regarding the long-planned and approved expansion.
We ask only to be treated fairly and within the law.
Janie Whitehead
Store Manager, Lihu‘e Wal-Mart
Not Obama’s time
Barak Obama seems to be a very nice gentleman. He is professional, somewhat knowledgable, good personality, etc. But I would not vote for him.
Why? Because the man has not a shred of foreign affairs and what with the state of this world today we need someone who has extensive knowledge on foreign leaders and their countries to find peace. Should someone get into the White House without this knowledge, those countries would walk all over us and we would be in a worse state than we are now.
To vote for someone just because he was born in your state is like voting for someone just because you like the color of his socks. How dumb that would be.
Maybe in four years or more Mr. Obama will be ready and we hope so, but not now.
Hope J. King
Kilauea
