• Mahalo from Wawae Road • Move the landfill • Invest in higher ed • Sustainability, a new idea? • MSNBC laughable Mahalo from Wawae Road For far too long drivers have been speeding down Wawae Road, a narrow, twisting
• Mahalo from Wawae Road
• Move the landfill
• Invest in higher ed
• Sustainability, a new idea?
• MSNBC laughable
Mahalo from Wawae Road
For far too long drivers have been speeding down Wawae Road, a narrow, twisting roadway in Kalaheo, endangering joggers, walkers, pets and even other drivers. ParaTransit buses have been forced to brake and back up to avoid accidents. Speeding increased when the roadway was paved — paving was badly needed.
In September we decided to do something about it. Enlisting the aid of neighbors, we drafted a letter to the county engineering department requesting speed limit signs for the lower portion of the roadway. We then collected signatures from others who live along Wawae Road — and got them!
In a letter dated Oct. 28, we were informed that the signs were indeed necessary for the safety of everyone along our road. And the first week of November the neighborhood woke up to find new signs being installed from Wawae Place to the highway, with new speed limits and cautions and clearly marking the blind curves.
The Friends of Wawae Road wish to thank the county Engineering Division, and especially Mr. Kudo, Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Fujimoto, for their prompt attention to our concern. Well done, guys!
Susan Campbell, Friends and Neighbors of Wawae Road, Kalaheo
Move the landfill
Mayor Carvalho, do no take prime farm land (southeast off Halewili Road) and near existing homes (Brydeswood Terrace) to build a landfill.
Why not use one of the valleys on the Westside foothills? Some of the states in the Mainland do this. The landfill would be on unused land and away from existing homes.
Howard Tolbe, ‘Ele‘ele
Invest in higher ed
As the cost of a college education keeps going up in the United States, excluding more and more middle class students, the socialist countries such as Cuba keep churning out doctors in every discipline including medicine.
In a recent international medical crises, little Cuba offered 2,000 medical doctors to ease the pain.
I am not advocating socialism as a solution in America. I do want to point out a simple truth. Our free way of life is not free from the financial oblation required to sustain it. There is no free lunch.
Who benefits from the contributions of our college graduates to our economy, and society in general? All of us, especially our largest corporations. With the job life of the average CEO at five years, the idea of contributing financially to higher education is not the most important thing in his life.
The obvious solution falls with the Congress. The billions of dollars that we are pouring into two stupid wars could educate a lot of deserving Americans, but once these end, as they eventually will, there is little hope that the best Congress that money can buy will live up to its responsibility to fund higher educating as a means of contributing to a healthy economy.
The president is the only force that I can think of that can hold Congress’ feet to the fire on this question.
Harry Boranian, Lihu‘e
Sustainability, a new idea?
I came across a fascinating little book in the library the other day titled “World War II on Kaua‘i” by Tim Klass. A description of food production is so enthralling it bears quoting in full.
“Food production eventually encompassed a majority of Kaua‘i residents. Local produce was eventually sufficient for both military and civilian resident needs plus considerable exports to Honolulu. In 1944 the food production office estimated that ‘victory gardens’ alone were meeting fully half the local civilian vegetable requirements. Hundreds of acres of cane lands were given over to production of food crops. Children were often released from school one day a week to work these truck farms [furlough Friday anyone?] and it was common for them to plow their earnings back into war bonds. School and community gardens flourished.”
What a far cry from our situation today where it is estimated 80 to 90 percent of food is imported to the Garden Isle. The book goes on to mention that prison labor prepared 120 acres of territorial land near Wailua in 1943 and this yielded 500,000 pounds of vegetables by year end.
We have the land, the water, the climate, the precedent, and the knowledge to do this again, and to keep doing it. All that is needed is the will.
Richard Spacer, Kapa‘a
MSNBC laughable
Want to have some fun?
Turn on MSNBC and see how long it takes to convince you that they are “fair and balanced.” In times like these, we could all use a good laugh.
Bob Clemmons, Kapa‘a
