• The cost of “free” is great • County should settle suit • Idealists, it’s time to face reality • Nothing is what it was The cost of “free” is great So we’re giving up beautiful Wailua Beach just because
• The cost of “free” is great • County should settle suit • Idealists, it’s time to face reality • Nothing is what it was
The cost of “free” is great
So we’re giving up beautiful Wailua Beach just because the Feds are paying for it? Hey, free bike path, let’s take it.
If we Kauaians had to pay that $1.9 million, there’d never be a bike path installed on one of our beloved beaches — it’s unthinkable. But hey, it’s free.
Let’s just hope the Feds don’t find out their pricey path isn’t for “transportation” as the funds mandated, but for recreation. It doesn’t join urban centers so people can use bikes instead of cars, but will lead you from Kapa‘a to Ahukini Landing then around to Nawiliwili, just where you want to go.
If the Feds found out about this ruse, they might have to come and take the path away from us, and that could get interesting. Especially when they try to put back the beach, or look into exactly where their money went (plenty of deep pockets when government millions are floating around).
Stop the path project at Wailua right now.
We can’t afford to fix it after big storms, nor continue to debase the host culture more than we’ve already done. If the mayor won’t protect sacred Wailua, at least the rest of us can.
And, by the way, won’t the mayor’s re-election prospects be somewhat dimmed after his desecration of one of Hawai’i’s most revered historical sites?
Wendy Raebeck
Kapa‘a
County should settle suit
In the case of Kathleen Ah Quin v. County of Kaua‘i Department of Transportation et al, which began December 10, 2008, one must wonder and be dismayed why after four years it remains unresolved.
The Kaua‘i County Attorney at the time, Matthew Pyun, asked the council for $50,000 to hire an outside attorney to respond to her lawsuit against the county. After a lot of protesting from council members Iseri Carvalho and Mel Rapozo, the $50,000 request was amended to $20,000. And though the funding was approved, neither Iseri Carvalho or Rapozo voted for the approval.
And now our council is being asked for another $15,000 to enable special counsel’s continued representation of this case.
It may be that we should continue the representation of the county by special counsel, but the county should investigate why our county attorney’s office cannot provide competent counsel to represent the county in a case like this and save our taxpayers money.
And the people certainly have the right to know how much money has already been spent on this case and why there has been no resolution after four long years.
Glenn Mickens
Kapa‘a
Idealists, it’s time to face reality
Aloha Kelly (Ball, Jan. 24, “The wings of birds”), I appreciate your comments, debate is the heart of democracy. First, the headline above my writing claiming protesters are communists was written by The Garden Island. My head was “Wake Up Kaua‘i.” You are correct about the constitution clause on “Common Good.” What it refers to is equal rights, not the right to be made equal.
I’ve gone past the stage of wearing tie-dyed shirts. In fact, my entire room in a communal environment had tie-dyed sheets on the walls and ceiling. I learned there is always someone too important to wash the dishes or clean the toilet. I was a member of the Young Socialist Alliance, a part of the Students for A Democratic Society, SDS. I still have their original manifesto hanging in my office. It reminds me of how stupid I was to believe in that crap. I learned why it doesn’t work when I got a job with the government going to homes monitoring welfare. Most people were taking advantage of the system finding ingenious ways to cheat. In general, when you give people something for nothing, they do nothing.
I want to thank all the people who have acknowledged my writing as facing the truth. Research does not prove GMO products to be dangerous to one’s health. And in time we will need GMO in order to feed our growing populations. Read Malthus. I like your idealist thinking, time to face reality.
Bob Bartolo
Kapa‘a
Nothing is what it was
It seems everyone and their brother has a blog, including yours truly. It seems everyone has a cell phone capable of taking photos. Everyone has become a writer and photographer.
I was a professional photographer for 35 years and am glad I am retired from the field. Don’t get me wrong, I love photography, but everything has changed. No more film, darkroom fun or filing negatives; no FedEx-ing to the magazine your freelancing for; just a simple click of the mouse and not near as much money in it today as there was when I was practicing.
Writers also seem to be suffering as there are thousands of blogs and websites within all the search engines to answer everything about anything.
I guess it’s OK. Restaurants didn’t go out of business with the advent of frozen prepared meals. Radio did not go out of business with the invention of the TV. Movie theaters did not go out of business with the advent of the VCR and DVD. The compact disc didn’t go out of business with the advent of live streaming.
Marriage did not go out of business with the advent of same sex marriage, but what did happen is nothing is what it was, and nothing will ever again be what it is today.
All we can do is go with it or turn into crotchety old men and women who start every sentence, “I remember when …”
May I say, I remember when The Garden Island newspaper had no commenters commenting on every Letter to the Editor and article. Those were the days!
James “Kimo” Rosen
Kapa‘a
