• Praise for KPD • Good Friday should not be holiday • On GOP and civil rights • Bad timing Praise for KPD So often the Kaua‘i Police Department is criticized for their performance or behavior. After working with them
• Praise for KPD • Good Friday should not be holiday • On GOP and civil rights • Bad timing
Praise for KPD
So often the Kaua‘i Police Department is criticized for their performance or behavior.
After working with them following an incident in our store, I am here to tell you that I found the police officer and the detective to be professional, responsible and efficient.
On Friday, March 16, a local man came into our store while our sales associate was working with other customers. He noticed that a lock was broken on a showcase and took advantage of the situation by opening the door and stealing a pearl necklace.
Luckily, with our surveillance cameras and the attention of several individuals on site, we were able to identify him.
I called KPD to report the incident, and Officer Ramson responded to make a report. He took statements and viewed our surveillance videos. The officer was very thorough and respectful.
Within a short time, I had a call from Officer Ramson asking that I come to the Lihu‘e station to identify the jewelry. Detective Kapua interviewed me, and then she and Officer Ramson presented the retrieved necklace. I was amazed to see it so soon after its theft.
Both officers behaved in a fashion that represented the best of what law enforcement can be. We are continuing to work with KPD to prosecute the offender and look forward to our interaction with the department.
Although the theft was troubling, KPD’s response has made those of us concerned feel better about the care and protection that the Kaua‘i Police Department provides.
Robert James, Kapa‘a
Good Friday should not be holiday
Once again, the Lihu‘e Public Library (and, I’m sure, other government offices) will be closed on April 6 in observance of Good Friday.
I object to this abuse of public taxpayer money.
All tax paying citizens of this county fund the operation of the public libraries.
For the library to close down for a sectarian religious holiday is a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The only reason for closing on a specifically Christian holiday is to promote Christianity and endorse religion. It clearly provides an advantage to Christians so that they may observe their religious holidays (at taxpayer expense), while those of other religions must use annual vacation days in order to observe their religious holidays.
In violation of Supreme Court rulings (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971; County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 1989), Hawai‘i is one of the few states that designate Good Friday as a state holiday.
As Thomas Jefferson said, “But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
This endorsement of a Christian holiday picks the pocket of every non-Christian taxpayer in the state.
Brian Christensen, Lihu‘e
On GOP and civil rights
John Burns’ letter (Letters: April 1) on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is misleading. There is a vast difference between a Progressive and a Democrat.
There are many members of the Democratic Party who are “Blue Dogs,” who hold philosophies much closer to that of Republicans than a true Progressive.
Dennis Kucinich is a Progressive. Barak Obama is not. Joe Lieberman is hardly even a Democrat. Hawai‘i’s Democratic senators are not progressive.
It is true that a greater percentage of Republicans voted for the Act than Democrats, but it is also true that more Democrats voted for — and against — the bill than Republicans. There weren’t that many Republicans in Congress “in the olden days.”
Back in 1964, the Democratic Party was the party of the South. When looking at the regional votes, only one Southern senator and seven Southern representatives voted for the bill. President Johnson recognized that passing the bill would cause the Democrats to lose the South, but he chose to do the “right thing.”
Nixon’s Southern Strategy used the animosity toward the Civil Rights Act to win the presidency.
Reagan also capitalized on civil rights strife by starting his campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi — you recall the movie “Mississippi Burning” — about the torture and murder of three civil rights workers?
Now the South is solidly ‘red.’ What happened to Trayvon Martin demonstrates how racism is still alive in the South — and now — in the Republican Party.
Claims that Republicans brought us civil rights are disingenuous.
John Zwiebel, Kalaheo
Bad timing
It would seem that the State Department of Transportation would be hard pressed to find a more inconvenient time for North Shore residents and visitors to close the Kalihiwai bridge than 5 to 7 p.m. today and Wednesday.
The 5 to 7 p.m. time window encompasses the time when North Shore residents who work further south, such as on the Eastside and Lihu‘e, are on their way home and just about to cross the bridge. It also encompasses the time when North Shore workers who live further south would be crossing the bridge on their way home.
Couldn’t the Department of Transportation schedule the work much later at night and use floodlights to illuminate the work area?
Peter Nilsen, Princeville
