• Vandalism as protest? • Oprah for president • Heartening to see KIUC candidate choices • Restrictions for dogs on path, not a ban Vandalism as protest? After reading the front page article “Developer beefs up security,” A1, March 6,
• Vandalism as protest?
• Oprah for president
• Heartening to see KIUC candidate choices
• Restrictions for dogs on path, not a ban
Vandalism as protest?
After reading the front page article “Developer beefs up security,” A1, March 6, I realized how very ignorant these protesters are that have been fighting the removal of the monkeypod trees.
Do all of you really think by vandalizing the developer’s equipment they will give in and say, “Oh, OK we’ve changed our minds and we’re not going to take the monkeypods down now and we’ll stop all our plans for the project you win?”
For one thing the developer works for the land owner. You aren’t hurting the developer that much, you are hurting everyday working people like you and I. You are probably the same people that went down and protested the Superferry and the same people that sit in on all the Planning Commission meetings and waste all our time. I bet if you were the project owner and wanted to do what the Knudsen Trust is doing it would all be fine. If you wanted to put a fence up or do anything on your own property and had someone breathing down your neck at all times telling you how wrong it was, I’m sure you wouldn’t like it one bit.
You need to realize there is change every day. Many of us don’t like change but it’s a fact of life. Either go hide under a rock and live your life like that or leave everyone else alone and just live your life peacefully.
Anne Brookstone
Kapa‘a
Oprah for president
What a remarkable letter with uncanny foresight (“I can dream can’t I,” Letters, March 6). The genius of making Barack Obama president of the United States and Oprah his vice president. Why didn’t the rest of us think of that? Why don’t we take that one step further. I think Oprah would make the best president. She has years of seniority and experience over Barack. We won’t have to be embarrassed any more when people ask us, “Can you name one thing he’s actually accomplished?”
Millions of people worship her.
A wise old sage once said, “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgement.”
Oprah clearly has the most experience here. Let’s vote Oprah for president and Barack for vice president. Our children’s future depends on it.
Gordon Oswald
Kapa‘a
Heartening to see KIUC candidate choices
It is heartening to hear so many of the KIUC candidates voicing their ideas regarding the need to wean ourselves from fossil fuel and develop renewable energy strategies.
It seems agreed that this is the best long-term strategy for holding the line on and even reducing our electrical bills. I couldn’t agree more. That is why I think it is so exciting to have two of the most informed and sober-minded advocates of green energy strategies on Kaua‘i tossing their hat into the ring.
Ken Stokes, a Stanford MBA economist, has been a leading thinker in sustainable strategies on Kaua‘i for decades, and in recent years has consulted with top companies across the state. Given his education and background, he is uniquely qualified to wade through the dense complexities of electric utility costs, pricing and regulatory hurdles to find the most cost-effective strategies for KIUC as it moves into what can safely be characterized as “challenging times.”
We have entered into a period of rapidly rising fuel costs on the one hand, and rapidly evolving renewable energy production and storage technologies on the other. Who better to help us understand the risks and opportunities than a trained economist whose professional career has been focused on analyzing and understanding just these sorts of issues? And as past president of the Kapa‘a Rotary, Ken has a great understanding of our Kaua‘i community and how important lowering costs are to us all.
And then there is Ben Sullivan, who has been a calm and informed voice for the community in energy issues for years now. The workshops he has hosted and the courteous and respectful dialogue he has prompted between the responsible “activist” community and KIUC staff has been a model of forward-thinking and collaborative community involvement with our co-op. He would bring a patient, thoughtful and informed voice to the board.
To control costs, I think KIUC is going to come under increasing pressure to “go green” sooner rather than later. This is not an area we, as an island, can afford to get caught “behind the curve” on (like American gas guzzlers relative to their Japanese hybrid counterparts). Having two of the nine board members who have proven track records in clear thinking and community mindedness seems like a tremendous opportunity both for the board and the community at large. If change is inevitable we should embrace the opportunities, not fear the uncertainties. We should elect them before they change their minds!
Bill Chase
Kilauea
Restrictions for dogs on path, not a ban
Just read Pete Antonson’s letter on the bike path (Forum, Feb. 20) and couldn’t agree more. Now I know I’m not the only one that thinks every thing is over-regulated in the first place.
All that controversy, time and money spent on the bike path, and people are still grumbling about it. It’s built already so let the people who want to use it use it. I mean think about it, really. The majority of the people I’ve observed walking their dogs on the path look like they’d be responsible enough to pick up after their pets and have them under proper control.
Yeah, I know. There will always be the few who do not. But it makes no sense to me to keep restricting path use to a certain small group of users. I would love to walk my dogs on the path. But I won’t risk being fined or hassled for doing so.
How about this: Allow dogs if the owners meet certain requirements like a leash no longer than 5 feet and all dogs must have a current tag. Make it a $50 fine per dog per violation. I bet most dog owners who would love to use the path would gladly accept that level of responsibility.
Enforcement requirements should be no different that an outright ban. I gotta think that there is a true compromise to be found. All it takes is for everyone to open-minded, flexible and understanding that there will always be people who don’t care about other path users. But I think we should not limit its use based on those few to restrict the many. Come on, Kaua‘i, let’s work this out for everybody’s benefit.
Stephen Shioi
Kapa‘a
