• Photovoltaic • A grateful church • What about airlines? • Facts really matter • Stone’s development Photovoltaic I would like everyone to know who is thinking of installing a photovoltaic system at their residence that you will be forced to install the
• Photovoltaic • A grateful church • What about airlines? • Facts really matter • Stone’s development
Photovoltaic
I would like everyone to know who is thinking of installing a photovoltaic system at their residence that you will be forced to install the new smart meter when KIUC hooks you up to the grid.
The old-style analog meters work just fine with PV systems, but KIUC flat refuses to allow you to use them.
Going “greener” and saving money on electric bills is great, but the way KIUC forced the new meter on us is a classic case of strong-arm tactics.
Bob Seaver, Kapa‘a
A grateful church
There isn’t much on the Kapa’a Bypass Road — just cows, goats, and Calvary Chapel Kaua‘i, including the Bible College.
One might think that a church wouldn’t have much traffic, but it isn’t just a “Sunday place.”
The Men’s Group has Monday Night meetings. Tuesday is rehearsal for Saturday night and Sunday morning services.
We had a full rehearsal for the Easter play on a Wednesday night, plus the service by the college kids, Thursday hula classes and many more activities. The Kaua‘i Bible College was evacuated and the students were hanai’d out all over the island. The road was closed indefinitely.
Then BAM! The state Department of Transportation (DOT), District Engineer, Department of Public Works, staff and road crews worked through the night (or maybe found Menehune?) and the deep washed-out culvert was fixed. For this kokua, the church is very deeply grateful.
Robert Hallman, Kapa‘a
What about airlines?
Don’t be too quick to blame only the security at the airport. Yes, the guard was rude.
However, if the area according to Homeland Security states that it should be a secured area after hours, then the guard was just doing his job.
Of course, we all agree that he/she could have called his/her superiors and let them make the decision. I understand that the people’s (tourists’) flight got canceled because of the bad weather.
So why didn’t the airlines find a place for their paying customers to spend the night? Maybe all the airlines that share Lihu‘e Airport should purchase some land near the airport and build a small motel to house paying customers when flights are canceled for any reason. This motel can be helpful for those who missed their flight. It’s sad that those tourists from the canceled flight experienced a sore spot with security. But it is more a sore spot that the airlines abandoned their paying customers.
Howard Tolbe, ‘Ele‘ele
Facts really matter
In a The Garden Island Media Forum editorial on March 11, entitled “Left-wing hypocrisy,” the letter’s author states, “Here’s a 30 year-old law student who wants taxpayers to pick up her tab for The Pill.”
My question is, have you read Sandra Fluke’s testimony? I have (and you can by Googling “Sandra Fluke testimony”), and nowhere does she say she wants taxpayers to pay for her birth control.
What her testimony actually talks about is the tragic story of her friend who lost an ovary.
“A friend of mine, for example, has polycystic ovarian syndrome and has to take prescription birth control pills to stop cysts from growing on her ovaries. She never got the insurance company to cover her prescription, despite verification of her illness from her doctor. Her claim was denied repeatedly on the assumption that she really wanted the birth control to prevent pregnancy.”
Her friend told her, “I will have no chance at giving my mother her desperately desired grandbabies, simply because the insurance policy that I paid for, totally unsubsidized by my school, wouldn’t cover my prescription for birth control when I needed it.”
Let’s work from facts and move our country forward with reality-based thinking.
The fact is, that if a Republican wins the presidency and control of both Houses of Congress, then women can count on being second-class citizens, whose needs, rights, and basic health don’t matter very much.
American women deserve a lot better.
David Thorp, Koloa
Stone’s development
As a North Shore resident for 40 years and a lifelong bike rider, I feel a need to comment on the The Garden Island article regarding one of Jeff Stone’s ideas for an adventure at the Prince Clubhouse. He mentioned renting bicycles with “small motors” on them, sending people (mostly unsuspecting tourists) down the hill to Hanalei, and the thought of that makes me shudder.
As we all know, from Hanalei Plantation Road ( just past the fire/police station) there is basically no shoulder all the way to Ke‘e. If anyone has ever encountered a bike rider along the way, (which could have been me 25 years ago), we all know the game you’ve got to play, waiting for the opportunity to race around them. Sometimes it’s safe, sometimes not so safe.
Now if Mr. Stone would like to create a bike path, possibly through some of Princeville Ranch lands, I think that would benefit everyone and truly be a fun adventure. I’d love to do that. But with our current road conditions, I’m afraid that that would only be a disaster waiting to happen.
Annette Surles, Princeville
