• What is best for everyone? • Kauai chickens are beautiful • Mayor, please sign Bill 2491 • District is not more conservative • Oppose marriage bill What is best for everyone? As one of the thousands of supporters of
• What is best for everyone? • Kauai chickens are beautiful • Mayor, please sign Bill 2491 • District is not more conservative • Oppose marriage bill
What is best for everyone?
As one of the thousands of supporters of Bill 2491, I thank our Kauai County Council members and staff. They listened to hundreds of community members testify at meetings lasting over 12 hours and clearly researched the issue. The commitment to the democratic process was impressive. Whether one supports the bill or not, one cannot fault the council for their dedication in serving our community.
Mayor Carvalho Jr. also put in his time at the last two hearings and deserves a huge mahalo. He has the power to veto this bill and may well do this. He has said that he wants to do what is best for everyone and indicated that he believes that this means the bill should be voluntary, rather than legislatively enforced.
Bill 2491 requires disclosure and enforces buffer zones around schools, hospitals, roads, waterways and parks. The reason this legislation was introduced and passed is due to the fact that the biotech companies would not disclose their restricted pesticide use and it is unlikely that they will do so unless it is required by law.
I learned a lot at the hearings on Bill 2491. On the westside, doctors are reporting heart birth defects 10 times the nation’s average. One out of six children in the U.S. have neurological damage. I think we can all agree that what is best is to limit the amount of harm to our keiki. It may never be proven that restricted-use pesticides are the cause of these alarming health statistics, but it is best to err on the side of caution. However, we all need to reconsider our use of environmental toxins. They do not go away and can harm keiki and others far from the initial use and for some time – DDT is still found even though it was banned worldwide in 2001.
Another area of consideration is Kauai’s tourism industry. People come to the Garden Island because we have a reputation of a clean, healthy environment. Over 40,000 people signed a petition saying they will not come to Kauai if the biotechs continue to poison paradise. If Mayor Carvalho Jr. vetoes this bill or if the biotechs sue over its enactment, these numbers are sure to grow.
Angela Flynn
Kilauea
Kauai chickens are beautiful
I loved Darin Moriki’s article (TGI, Oct. 20), “A Chicken’s Paradise.”
Kauai chickens are wonderful. Our chickens are a tourist attraction. I have a vacation rental at Poipu and my guests really enjoy them. They are the most beautiful chickens in the world.
They eat bugs in my yard (haven’t seen a centipede in several months), they enrich our soil and they are beautiful to look at. I have always used chicken fertilizer in my garden. Chicken fertilizer is much better for the soil than chemical fertilizers.
Carol Ann Davis
Koloa
Mayor, please sign Bill 2491
Mayor Carvalho,
No doubt you are charged with the ultimate responsibility and power to run our county for the betterment of our community. I voted for you because I believed you to be the better person to do this challenging, stressful and time-consuming job. On your desk before you is Bill 2491, which is an extremely important bill for our future and the future of our grandchildren, and their grandchildren as well. I am asking you to sign this bill into law. As you love and adore your moopuna, I also am a kupuna, and I stand for all children to have a healthy life because without health nothing else really matters. Please sign Bill 2491 into law for the future of all our island children; and by doing so, show Kauai to be a powerful Pacific crystal, beaming hope to all others who wish to sustain or create a nurturing and healthy environment for their children.
Carmen Legacy
Kalaheo
District is not more conservative
This is a response to the letter by David Schwartz and Chris Spinosa regarding Rep. Tokioka’s intention to vote against the marriage equality bill. Mr. Tokioka’s claim that 70 percent of his constituents oppose extending equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples is a ridiculous fabrication.
His district is not “more conservative than places like Georgia and Texas,” but he is. Reason does not work with an elected official who makes up his own figures.
So, the best way to deal with Mr. Tokioka is to get someone who is a little more in tune with the district to run against him in 2014.
Linda Estes
Koloa
Oppose marriage bill
In response to a letter to the editor dated Oct. 20, “Let reps know your stance on marriage” I would like to thank Rep. Jimmy Tokioka for his stance to represent his constituents and to vote “their wishes.”
I agree 100 percent with Mr. Tokioka, that I come across even a greater number of people who oppose the “same sex marriage” bill than his “informal poll” had indicated, myself included, as I also oppose this bill.
In 1998, the people of Hawaii spoke loud and clear, in that they overwhelmingly rejected this bill. Today, we are faced with it again, but this time the governor wants to remove the rights of the people to have a say in the matter, to deny the people’s right to vote on it in an attempt to influence the legislators to push this bill through. I disagree with this method of governing most adamantly.
Again, I am thankful that we have a representative who understands that his position and opinion, in matters pertaining to his district, is of the people, by the people, and for the people he represents.
Thank you, Mr. Tokioka!
Moki Okami
Lihue
