•Fix the potholes •Transforming attitudes •Taxes are killing us •Why spend time creating ‘Islam Day?’ Fix the potholes I hope that this letter will encourage the county Public Works Department to patch the potholes that are between the entrance to
•Fix the potholes
•Transforming attitudes
•Taxes are killing us
•Why spend time creating ‘Islam Day?’
Fix the potholes
I hope that this letter will encourage the county Public Works Department to patch the potholes that are between the entrance to Anini Vista and the old Princeville Airport.
These potholes have increased in number and have also increased in size. The quick patch jobs aren’t working and it has become a treacherous stretch of road.
Often on my commutes to Princeville from Kapa‘a I see motorists traveling on the shoulder completely out of their lane. We seem to have had a lot of accidents on our highways in the last year and I think it would be a good idea to encourage motorists to drive in their lane rather than drive off the road to avoid potholes.
I commute to work five days a week and it would be nice to know that some of that money that is taken out of my paycheck is going to fixing the roads.
Also, Kalihiwai Road could use a lot of help too. I sometimes wonder why it takes seven to eight county workers to fill one pothole and yet the large patches of road that need fixing get no county workers.
Jamie Rays, Kilauea
Transforming attitudes
Mason Chock’s column in The Garden Island’s Business section Sunday, “Affecting positive organizational change,” is great advice for everyone, especially in Hawai‘i.
Mason’s advice is sound for business and even more so for people in Hawai‘i where an entire culture and society has been subjected to, in terms of history, rapid change that has no precedent.
Chock says “Let us remember that the first step in order to succeed at this feat (bringing change) is that we must first be open to the change that can possibly occur.”
He further states, “All significant change involves giving up something of yourself and all losses must be grieved.”
Chock concludes: “Retaining a positive attitude to organizational (or cultural) change will be imperative in the success of any institution (or people).”
I was a mentor in Chock’s program for disadvantaged Hawaiian children and have seen first hand how he and his associates’ efforts transformed children’s attitudes and abilities.
Rev. Ray Holmes, Kapa‘a
Taxes are killing us
To protect the jobs and benefits of state government workers, the Legislature proposed a General Excise Tax increase of between one half of one percent and one percent.
This is in addition to tax increases on income, hotel rooms, fuel, conveyance of property, motor vehicle weight, cigarettes and tobacco.
Hawai‘i is the only state in the union that has a GET and not a sales tax. The GET is on all levels of goods and services. If we had a sales tax the effective rate would be 16 percent. Hawai‘i is the most taxed state in the union.
When will people say enough is enough? When will the legislators realize the people are fed up with taxes and are rebelling? Didn’t the legislators realize the TEA parties were a result of their spending and taxing?
State workers’ pay and benefits are 70 percent of the budget. When are the state workers’ unions going to give up some of their raises and benefits just like the rest of us had to.
It is time to call, write, e-mail or fax our state legislators and say your taxes are killing us — cut the budget.
JoAnne Georgi, ‘Ele‘ele
Why spend time creating ‘Islam Day?’
Regarding the resolution passed by Hawai‘i legislators proclaiming Sept. 24 “Islam Day,” I ask why?
Trust me — I am not an Islamophobe — not even. I am about as liberal as they come and do not dispute the importance of Islam or its contributions in the U.S. or elsewhere. Nor do I dispute the notion that Americans would benefit from a better understanding of Islamic faith and culture.
The fear-mongering and racial profiling of Muslims and Arabs in the U.S. that was fomented during the Bush years and continues today is shameful.
What I am wondering is why are Hawai‘i legislators spending time to create a special day for one particular religion?
Instead of promoting understanding or respect of Islam, this resolution will play into the hands of the fearful and make them feel threatened and defensive.
If we have “Islam Day,” why not “Sikh Day,” “Evangelical Christianity Day” and “Zoroastrian Day” too?
It seems strange that Hawai‘i lawmakers would pursue this matter at this time. Do you suppose lawmakers in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Egypt are planning to introduce a resolution proclaiming “Aloha Fridays?”
Jon Letman, Lihu‘e
