• Texting and driving • Change is needed • Lucky we live on Kauai Texting and driving Dan O’Flaherty writes that the cell phone ban has caused people to text more, and he predicted this before the ban went into
• Texting and driving • Change is needed • Lucky we live on Kauai
Texting and driving
Dan O’Flaherty writes that the cell phone ban has caused people to text more, and he predicted this before the ban went into effect.
I wonder if Mr. O’Flaherty’s letter will be met with the same nonsensical comments about “watching the road” as mine did months ago when I stated that the cell phone ban wasn’t even being enforced, and that it was easy to see it wasn’t being enforced if one just bothered to scan the other drivers (i.e, practice defensive driving). I doubt it, because Mr. O’Flaherty is arguing that the ban shouldn’t exist at all, which appears to be the far more popular refrain.
People were texting before the ban — it’s part of the reason the ban was enacted. I can only wonder where Mr. O’Flaherty is getting this idea that texting has actually increased with the ban. Where are the stats? Do KPD’s statistics bear this out? I guess we’ll never know, since the ban is not really being enforced. KPD’s statistics: 2,725 citations since May 23, 2010 — three years and eight days as of this writing. That’s 1,103 days, or an average of 2.47 citations per day island wide (for the math challenged among us).
Bang up job, KPD! I can totally see why people would be so incredibly frightened of getting caught talking on the cellphone that they would text instead. You’re almost certain to be caught if you live in your car and drive it all over the island continuously while using your handheld.
Michael Mann
Lihue
Change is needed
The two conflicting letters to the Forum (5/21) by Albert Laureta and Ken Taylor were extremely interesting and I applaud the Garden Island for printing them and letting the public stay informed of the way our county government is or is not functioning.
In all of Mr Laureta’s arguments (past and present) he seems to be in complete denial that our system with all its political appointees and hires is really broken and all we need to do is vote in “better” people, not change the system.
Every time the words “county manager” are used Mr. Laureta seems to emerge from his hibernation to offer his shopworn theme that all is well with the county and no change is “desirable.”
Indeed, Mr. Laureta did not even bother to read carefully Mr. Lewis fine editorial of May 17 in which he suggested that the people should be given the choice to decide whether they wanted a council – manager system and the better way to allow such a decision would be to use a citizens petition rather than relying on the Charter Commission. Apparently Mr. Laureta mistakenly thinks that the only way the choice could be brought to a vote is through the commission.
Mr. Laureta seems oblivious to the many mismanagements of county affairs that have occurred.
Does he really believe that the Kilauea Gym roof leak problem for 18 years; the GasBoy scandal with 14,000 gallons of gas unaccounted for; the daily traffic problem with no new roads being built; our deteriorating infrastructure led by our roads; the absurd $5.2 million per mile being overspent for the path to no where — $2 million for 1,000 feet along the Wailua corridor; and the $750 per square foot cost for a “barn” to keep our fire trucks in at the new Kealia fire station are not examples of great enough need and desire to meet our charter requirements?
Other than suggesting changing the people to solve these problems Mr. Laureta offers no other solution for moving this island forward.
We absolutely need a change in the way our government operates and this system offered by Mr. Lewis and Mr. Taylor is certainly worth putting on the ballot for the voters to decide.
Glenn Mickens
Kapaa
Lucky we live on Kauai
We will have lived on Kauai 39 years this September, and when something like this happens, it just reinforces how lucky we are to live here.
We raised two children here, Koloa School and Kauai High, and are lucky enough to have one marry and live here with his beautiful wife and two great children.
We usually have them over for dinner on Tuesdays and Fridays, and typical of young kids, our grandchildren are picky about what they eat. One of their favorites is Teri chicken from Mark’s Place. I picked some up last week, and a couple of days later his accountant called me and said I had been overcharged, that she balances the books every night and found the error. I had paid cash, so was really impressed how she found the error. I had thought it was a little high, but I am NOT a math person. My son took all the math gene’s out of me.
Anyway, Mark should know he has a great accountant, and I doubt this would happen on the Mainland. She mailed me the balance.
With much Aloha.
Tish Hunt
Koloa
