• Hold special election on county manager system • My husband’s wish • The grand conspiracy Hold special election on county manager system It is now time for the Charter Commission to respond to the requests of thousands of Kaua‘i
• Hold special election on county manager system
• My husband’s wish
• The grand conspiracy
Hold special election on county manager system
It is now time for the Charter Commission to respond to the requests of thousands of Kaua‘i residents over the past several years who have placed voting on a county manager system of government as their number one priority.
The commission, for what appears to be purely personal and political reasons, has said they need more information and more time to study the issue. But they have been given many documents and heard much testimony on the pro’s and con’s of the issue over four years.
However, it is not up to the commission to decide if they like the idea for their personal agenda. It is their duty, having read and heard the evidence, to respond to the voters’ request to have the people decide by placing it on the ballot.
Walter Briant, a member of the Charter Commission, placed before the commission a bill to put this question to a vote of the people. Again, they deferred to act.
Today (Friday) Walter Briant passed away after a lengthy illness. His wife writes: “He worked so hard on it as a Charter Commission member, even though he often was too tired to walk up and down stairs. I wish that somehow that could be passed and that he might know it might happen.”
It could be no greater honor for his tireless service to the county than to place this issue before the people in a special election in 2009.
• Fred Wells, Kapa‘a
My husband’s wish
As many of you may know my dear husband Walter Briant has been fighting a rare cancer called multiple myeloma (cancer of the stem cells) for almost five years. His doctor in L.A., James Berenson, is considered the expert through most of the world.
Recently Walter was hang gliding in Sylmar California where he goes every three or four months and he had an accident where he was pretty cut up and lost a lot of blood. The accident evidently caused his cancer to go crazy and it is now out of control. On Oct. 23 we went to California to visit friends and family and to see his doctor. Walter began to bleed internally. He has required multiple blood transfusions and platelets to keep his blood levels up. We spent time in the hospital 4 times in California and the most recent time was in Ceders-Sinai in the Beverly Hills area for 8 days. The doctors could not discover the source nor the reason for the bleeding though they knew it was in the stomach area and outside of the stomach. They finally said that they could do nothing more. I began to make arrangements to get him home to the place he loves, Kaua‘i. He was unable to fly on a commercial plane so with the help of his brother in law, who is VP of Trader Joes, we found a Gulf Stream 4 executive jet which we flew him home on Tuesday (it came complete with oxygen, a nurse and cute blond stewardess and two pilots and a bed made specially for him in the back).
Linda Rozelle, my friend and head nurse at our local hospital, arranged everything for our arrival and he was admitted to Wilcox for the night where he was transfused and given platelets for the final time. The love and care he received at Wilcox was such a contrast to the understaffed impersonal though excellent Cedars facility.
Yesterday day we brought him home to spend what will probably be the last 3 or 4 days in his own bed. Last night friends and family gathered, including his only granddaughter who arrived from Honolulu, and we had a celebration. Walt was up and enjoying every moment of it including drinking a glass of wine which he has not been allowed to do for a month. He had fun talking windsurfing which was his favorite sport with windsurf buddies Ranny and Howie.
I noticed a letter in the paper today (Thursday) from Horace Stoessel mentioning the county manager issue which was near and dear to Walter’s heart. He worked so hard on it as a Charter Commission member, even though he often was too tired to walk up and down stairs. I wish that somehow that could be passed and that he might know it might happen.
• Carol Ann Briant
The grand conspiracy
Editor’s note: This letter appeared on Wednesday’s Forum page and due to an editing error a sentence was altered. It appears here in its entirety as its author intended.
I think it is time to look at the reality of flu shots, superferries, bank bailouts.
How long will we continue to walk around with a “kick me” sign taped to our backs? We are being manipulated for the greed of some.
A flu shot is like a stab in the dark. The best defense against the flu is eating correctly and proper exercise. The Superferry controversy is the misunderstading of the millennium. The question that has never been posed about the Superferry is “Do you think corporations (Superferry) should be able to buy and hire our elected officials to supersede the laws that protect us and our island?”
This is very dangerous. This is what has happened, hence the need for the “special session” to change the laws they already violated. Crazy. If you have ever traveled to places where environmental laws are ignored, dirty water, dirty oceans, dirty living, you know what I mean. Meanwhile our government packs up a present full of money for the criminals on Wall Street.
The money is not being used to help people in mortgage crisis, no, it is being used for bonuses and buying other banks. So basically we the people, after being knocked down, are being kicked. I encourage you to seek out the truth behind our failed news media.
The news media works for our government to perpetuate misinformation. Sometimes the truth hurts but it is better to know than not know.
• Todd Anderson, Lihu‘e
