• Support Senate Bill 456 • Tie timeshares to density • Police not doing enough • Build more roads before more resorts • Invest in an organic food system Support Senate Bill 456 I would like to send out huge
• Support Senate Bill 456
• Tie timeshares to density
• Police not doing enough
• Build more roads before more resorts
• Invest in an organic food system
Support Senate Bill 456
I would like to send out huge mahalos to the many people that have helped to support efforts by our group, the Kaua‘i Fair Housing Law Coalition to get a law written, introduced and accepted at the state level to prevent housing discrimination against Section 8 Choice voucher holders and others in the state that use various supplemental income legally derived to help pay for their rent.
The largest mahalo clearly needs to go to state Sen. Gary Hooser and his executive assistant, Carl Miura, who have tirelessly worked for this effort.
Currently, SB456 has passed first reading. The bill is scheduled for the Consumer Affairs committee first, then the Judicial Committee. Testimony can be sent to the consumer affairs committee chair at senbaker@capitol.hawaii.gov and vice chair at sendige@capitol.hawaii.gov.
It is available online at Hawaii.gov. It is an excellent bill, and will make Hawai‘i the 14th state to have such a law. There are literally dozens of others to thank. You know who you are. Friends, media and supporters from all over Kaua‘i, as well as governmental agencies and community groups.
Now, the real work begins. We need letters of support for the bill. You do not need to attend the sessions at the state capitol to do this. It can all be done online, now. Just click on the “submit testimony” button on the site, by the information on the bill.
Please read the bill first, before writing testimony. Please also include personal stories of your experiences with discrimination while looking for housing.
We will also require community support for a resolution from council supporting the bill.
• Anne Punohu, Kaua‘i Fair Housing Coalition
Tie timeshares to density
Here we go again. Some timeshare owners from Auburn, Wash., are offended by printed comments by Princeville residents who are questioning the need for more timeshares.
Perhaps, the residents have a good point. Kaua‘i already has more timeshares than any other island yet restaurants and retail establishments are going out of business at an alarming rate. Perhaps, we do not have enough timeshares. Would Coconuts and Blossoming Lotus still be with us if we had 1,000 more units? 5,000 more units? What is the formula for success?
The truth is that timeshares are not created to enrich the community, only the developers. With the exception of a parking lot in Waikiki, there is probably no more profitable use of real estate in Hawai‘i than developing a timeshare resort.
It is difficult to conceive of yet another large timeshare resort on Kaua‘i at a time when we have not solved our landfill problem, cleared our highways of traffic jams, built more power generation facilities and found adequate clean water sources. And do not be confused by the semantics from Jeff Stone, the Princeville developer. A “fractional” is a timeshare both legally and in actuality. The fact that it is “higher end” and is sold in blocks of time greater than a week is irrelevant. If it quacks like a duck….
I am, however, not picking on Jeff Stone for whom I have the greatest admiration. As a Princeville homeowner for almost 12 years and as a former timeshare executive, I support Mr. Stone’s proposed timeshare development along the Prince golf course with one condition. The zoning change he is requesting should be granted with the stipulation that for each timeshare unit in the resort, he has to forego building an already zoned residential unit elsewhere around the Prince course, thereby creating no increase in density.
• Paul McDonald, Princeville
Police not doing enough
Our police force is a sad one. It always surprises me how our police respond to situations where they are needed. It seems like protect and serve is more like neglect and give attitude.
“KPD Blue” was a glimpse into how corrupt and indecent our police are. Some might say were, but it seems like nothing has changed and when I say nothing I mean literally nothing.
People get arrested or citations for drinking and driving, reckless driving, no insurance, no registration, but you don’t get arrested for running someone over on the beach. They want our help in finding these lawbreakers, but will they do anything about it?
A perfect example is how they handled the incident at Kitchens — no arrest and no citations. I won’t be wasting my time or cell phone minutes.
• Anneke Merkins, Anahola
Build more roads before more resorts
We have been spending at least six weeks a year for 12 years in the Waipoli area near the coconut groves.
We love the island and the people and our time here. But as we see more and more development added to this area without any road or transportation improvement, we fear for the lifestyle that has existed and is why people love to live here.
The long, choking lines of traffic are awful for tourists but I cannot even imagine how bad it must be for locals trying to get to work and home every day. Before anymore construction happens here in this area, please use some common sense and do not put more cars on this highway without a major road improvement.
New coconut trees can grow and be lovely. We watch the trees planted after the hurricanes grow taller every year. But we also see a decline in the ability to enjoy the beauty of this island because of clogged roads.
• Mary and Jerry Kerns, Tigard, Ore.
Invest in an organic food system
With unemployment, food scares and demands on food banks all up, the time is now for an organic revolution.
President Obama and Congress are currently considering a massive financial stimulus package to rescue our economy. Absent from the discussion has been any reference to supporting a sustainable and organic food system.
Our economy and national security depend on relocalizing our food system, shifting away from chemically dependent industrial agriculture and assuring that the food system supports living wages for farmers, farm workers and other workers in the supply chain.
Redirecting the billions of dollars in farm subsidies away from corporate farms and industrial biofuels toward a just and organic food system is a solid long-term investment in America’s future.
• Tom Lieber, Kilauea
