• Walk the Talk Story • Time to take action • Where is the Community Plan? • Hard work appreciated Walk the Talk Story Mahalo to Talk Story Book Store owners, Ed Justus and his wife. They walk the talk.
• Walk the Talk Story • Time to take action • Where is the
Community Plan? • Hard work appreciated
Walk the Talk Story
Mahalo to Talk Story Book Store owners, Ed Justus and his wife. They walk the talk. They have put in personal energy and effort to make Hanapepe feel welcoming.
Ed, your clarity and positive suggestion and action is what community is about.
Arius Hopman has such a charge on denigrating art! Have you checked his photo gallery? Unquestionably beautiful. But if the photos are digitally enhanced, is it in a purist sense of art?
Namaste.
Ray Holmes, Kapa‘a
Time to take action
Thank you for your coverage of the County Council’s deliberations over the proposal to tighten the state’s solar water heating law so that it accomplishes its stated purpose and fulfills the Legislature’s stated intention.
Even before the law was passed, solar water heating accounted for 5 percent of the state’s energy sources (while oil accounted for 80 percent+). Potentially, we could probably accomplish another 5 percent fairly easily with solar water heating. When you look at the capital, cost and time it will take to provide other reliable (firm), renewable sources of energy to the level of 10 percent, solar water heating is by far the “lowest hanging fruit.” The technology is well-established, and the capital and time requirements are the lowest, especially when solar water heating is incorporated at the time of design and new construction.
I want to clarify that even as amendments are being considered to tighten the provisions allowing a variance or exemption from the requirement, two variances remain unchanged: Under the first variance, if solar resources are poor because one lives in a constantly rainy or cloudy area or in a deep valley, the homebuyer will not be required to install solar water heating. Under another variance, where a renewable energy source is proposed for heating water, that will be allowed in place of solar.
The variance we are suggesting for change is the provision that allows on-demand gas if there is another gas appliance in the house. Our proposal is that the variance be available only to the end user who will have to pay the energy bill. An on-demand gas water heater may be cheaper to install than a solar water heater, but one will have to buy gas for the life of the gas water heater, and with the rising cost of oil, the life cycle cost of the gas heater will be far greater than the life cycle cost of a solar water heater whose bills will end in 5 to 7 years when the solar water heater is paid off and the sun’s heat will be free for the rest of the 8 to 10 years of the solar water heater’s life.
Everyone talks about the importance of getting off of oil. It’s time we took action. This action of amending the state’s solar water heating law will not only move us toward energy self-sufficiency; it will lower the cost of living (reduce household energy costs by 30 percent to a savings of $15,000 over 15 years) for our families.
JoAnn Yukimura, Council Vice Chair
Where is the Community Plan?
After reading the TGI Oct. 29th cover story “Planning Commission Confirms Dahilig”, the elephant in the room became obvious. Why did the newly elected Planning Director, in his delineation of future goals, entirely omit any reference to the Kapa‘a/Wailua Development Plan Update? The first update since the 1970’s.
The plan has cost over $400,000 of taxpayer money since 2006 when consultants Wilson Okamoto, county planning staff and the Community Advisory Committee first came together to officially launch the East Kaua‘i Development Plan. Update process which was to be competed by 2008. . Isn’t it about time to see some results?
In February 2010, at the Mayor’s Community Meeting at the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center, the previous Planning Director announced that the draft Development Plan would be rolled-out for public review by summer. More recently, the Mayor’s office confirmed that the draft would be released September 2011. Nothing, so far!
So, when the new Planning Director steps up to list his goals and doesn’t mention the Development Plan Update, we have cause for concern because apparently it’s not on his radar.
This does not speak well for the future objectives of the Planning Department nor the new Planning Director.
Marge Freeman, Wailua
Hard work appreciated
Many thanks to the Kapa’a High men’s soccer team and their coach, Kevin Cram. We couldn’t possibly have cleared the beach at Lydgate ponds without you. Cleaning out the wood that was still floating in the main pond was a bonus that was much appreciated and will save us work in the weeks to come. We can’t thank you enough for your hard work, and it was also a joy being around you.
Christine Queen, Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate, Kapa’a
