• Thanks for the hearty belly laugh, KIUC • Get more energy from the sun for less money • I had a dream Thanks for the hearty belly laugh, KIUC I would like to thank the Board of KIUC for
• Thanks for the hearty belly laugh, KIUC • Get more energy from the sun for less money • I had a dream
Thanks for the hearty belly laugh, KIUC
I would like to thank the Board of KIUC for providing me with a hearty belly laugh. I literally spilled my coffee Sunday morning reading the “Open Letter.”
The audacity of the KIUC Board of Directors, demeaning member concern and participation, pushes vexation into the sublime. In the end, you can only laugh at their hubris.
Other than some Third-World banana republic, what brand of elected leadership believes that the one and only input from constituents is on election day?
Our board should be celebrating and embracing those members who find the time and motivation to consistently attend meetings and share information and ideas with directors.
Instead we get this condescending letter whining about how under-appreciated they are and what a great job they are doing.
Yeah. They are doing such a great job of interacting with the members that I had to go to the extreme length of the legal system just to get them to answer my repeated correspondence.
While we’re at it, let’s look a little more closely at some of their other claims and see who deserves a pat on the back.
1. They have done the research and are satisfied that smart meters are safe. They are going to put them on their own homes. Go for it. When I was attending Oregon State University, as part of a pest control class we watched a film clip of a professor in the 1960’s demonstrate the safety of DDT by eating a big bowl of it like it was corn flakes. Sure, acute toxicity was very low, but fortunately we know a lot more now.
2. Their blueprint for hydroelectric? Oh what a short memory. Their “blueprint” for hydroelectric involved hiring some pirates from the Mainland to use federal powers to lay claim to Hawai‘i’s sovereign waters. This claim jumping was so audacious that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission severely chastised KIUC for inappropriate use of federal law (See FERC Order of Oct. 20, in which FERC accuses KIUC of “claim-jumping”). Now, after they were prevented from stealing our agricultural waters for their control, they refuse to purchase any electricity generated by that irrigation system. If the rules don’t tip the game in your favor you just take your ball and go home.
3. Transparency? You’re kidding, right? You cannot receive any written information from KIUC without first signing away your rights. It is far easier to suffer a full body search at the hands of the TSA to board a flight than it is to engage in the “transparency” of KIUC. And how about allowing us to actually hear from our elected board members regarding votes. Even the Supreme Court finds wisdom in publishing a dissenting opinion when votes are not unanimous. There is no strength in hiding behind a facade of unity.
4. KIUC renewable energy projects? Thank you to the hundreds of individual home and business owners who have invested their own money in PV and wind to reduce the load on the grid and our consumption of fossil fuels. Thank you to the landowners for the space and the tax payers for subsidizing our KIUC PV systems. Thanks to A&B, Green Energy Hawai‘i, Hawaiian Mahogany, and Pacific Light & Power for assuming the risk and investing your own money in generating sustainable energy for us. Thank you to all the good employees at KIUC that keep the lights on. Thank you KIUC Board for continuing to purchase and burn fossil fuels with member money.
5. KIUC as good neighbors? My neighbors don’t spy on me with electronic equipment. My neighbors don’t take my farm water to run an air conditioner in Po‘ipu. My neighbors use their own resources to solve their own problems. My neighbors share my values and listen to my concerns with sincerity. Me and my neighbors share humble pie everyday.
It is pathetic when our Board of Directors must stoop to belittling member efforts at communication, such as this letter, and offer only their own propaganda (e.g. Currents) as an alternative.
It is arrogant and unprofessional to treat members with such disrespect. Shame on all directors that signed on to that letter.
But thanks for the laugh.
Adam Asquith, Kapa‘a
Get more energy from the sun for less money
On Sunday, this newspaper published a letter to the editor titled “Now is the time for solar.”
The author had it right, but I would like to be more specific.
If you heat water with electricity, it is best to first install a solar hot water system, then after you see your bill come down by more than 40 percent, you can install a smaller, less expensive photovoltaic system because you have already taken care of 40 percent of your needs.
By doing them separately you save between $7,000 and $12,000. That is because hot water panels are much more efficient at heating water than PV panels are, in fact; it takes 10 to 12 PV panels to do what two hot water panels can do.
Another advantage to doing them separately is that you qualify for separate state tax credits; $7,250 instead of $5,000
When installing solar, it makes sense to get the most for your money.
Mike Lyman, Lihu‘e
I had a dream
I had a dream that county Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho was campaigning inn Kapa‘a Town with a sign that read, “Just say no to rice cookers.”
Justin Kollar, Iseri-Carvalho’s opponent, was in the next block with a political campaign sign that read, “Justin time, vote for me by default.”
Councilman Tim Bynum had a sign that read, “If Jay Furfaro is the chair, I want to be the couch.”
Talk Story Bookstore owner Ed Justus had a sign that read; “And Justus for all.”
It should be an exciting election year, I am looking forward to seeing the local politicians do what they do best, waving at passing cars!
James “Kimo” Rosen Kapa‘a
