• Bees and big boats • The truth about cats and more cats • Kaua‘i Marathon • More Kaua‘i Marathon Bees and big boats So here on Kaua‘i we are aware of the plight of the honeybees and we are
• Bees and big boats • The truth about cats and more cats • Kaua‘i Marathon • More Kaua‘i Marathon
Bees and big boats
So here on Kaua‘i we are aware of the plight of the honeybees and we are trying to figure out what we can do to protect the bees.
Here is a clue. Get rid of Monsanto, Pioneer, Syngenta.
It has been proven the biggest threat to the bees are the pesticides used on the plants. Roundup is one of the major culprits.
When Monsanto was implicated as a cause for the bees decline, they just bought the research firm to prevent any negative news being made public. That firm was Beelogics, the world’s leading research firm.
Poland has outright banned GMO foods and told Monsanto to take a hike.
Come on people, its called common sense, but it is becoming all too uncommon.
Funny how people will protest a big boat that wants to bring people from other island but are quite content to let corporations contaminate their island home.
Robert Reynolds, Lihu‘e
The truth about cats and more cats
Moksha McClure’s column in Sunday’s edition of The Garden Island makes a plea for people to get their pets spayed and neutered to address the pet overpopulation problem.
Unfortunately, trying to appeal to people’s common sense is absolutely not going to work to solve this problem. The calls to have pets spayed and neutered have been going on for years. It seems to be having very little effect.
Too many people either don’t think about it, don’t think it is important, or don’t believe it is right to deprive these animals of the ability to procreate unchecked.
The only way you are going to be able to get rid of this problem is to get the force of a strong and comprehensive law behind it. There are a number of things which must be done:
1 — Make it illegal to breed cats and dogs without a license.
2 — Make it illegal to sell or give away cats and dogs which have not been fixed.
3 — Make it illegal to advertise the sell of unfixed cats and dogs in newspapers, bulletin boards, or any other medium.
4 — Make it illegal to have cats and dogs (if not all pets — which have not been registered with local authorities. HRS 22-10.5 already requires dogs to be licensed. I doubt that the majority are. However, the Humane Society appears to license dogs which aren’t fixed. This should be possible only if you are a licensed breeder.
5 — Make spaying and neutering a requirement for registering a cat or dog.
6 — Make the financial punishment for violating the rules very steep.
7 — Empower multiple groups, including the Humane Society, to enforce these laws.
We can no longer count on people to police themselves or be responsible in regards to pet ownership.
We have ample evidence, over many years, to show that this simply does not work.
The county is currently overrun with stray cats in particular.
Considering the number of dead cats along our roads, and the number of animals put to sleep at the Kaua‘i Humane Society, it is beyond time to get serious about this problem and put an end to it.
Michael Mann, Lihu‘e
Kaua‘i Marathon
Hanalei Civic Canoe Club just completed their 32nd annual Ha‘ena to Hanalei run/walk race event.
A record participation of almost 700 competitors raced this year. The racers came from all over the Hawaiian Islands as well as from other states and countries.
This popular event is organized and run solely with volunteer help from members of the club, community, and local businesses.
Next month the Namolokama Canoe Club will hold their 6th annual open water swim race in Hanalei Bay. This popular event attracts several hundred competitors from all over as well. The swim race is also organized and run with all volunteer help.
Unlike the Kaua‘i Marathon, these two canoe club fundraiser events receive no financial support from the county or any government agency.
So, why doesn’t the county take notice of these two examples of outstanding, self-supporting Kaua‘i Island athletic events and stop spending our taxpayer dollars on the Kaua‘i Marathon?
Peter Nilsen, Princeville
More Kaua‘i Marathon
Thank you, Rick Bundschuh, for your fine letter, “How to spend $85,000.”
Your bullet points on what this “give away” by our administration and five members of our council could do for so many needed issues on Kaua‘i instead of the marathon was well thought out.
But the $85,000 will only be used for the 2013 Kaua‘i Marathon, whereas the county has already given this event $230,000 for the 2009, 2011, and 2012 years, totaling $315,000.
Can you imagine what this third of a million dollars could have done if properly allocated?
For those of you who haven’t followed this issue, a private Mainland enterprise has put on The Kaua‘i Marathon since 2009, and will hold it again in 2012 and 2013.
Our county has granted tax money to this Marathon which shows a net loss of $356,234, and without our tax dollars the loss would have been much greater.
This race should be paid for by entrance fees and sponsors who benefit from the event and not by those who get no financial gain from it.
Glenn Mickens, Kapa‘a
