• Smart breakwater needed on Westside • Mayor shows courage • People have the power • Mayor made mistake Smart breakwater needed on Westside Now is the time for a smart breakwater on the Westside of Kauai. We have
• Smart breakwater needed on Westside • Mayor shows courage • People have the power • Mayor made mistake
Smart breakwater needed on Westside
Now is the time for a smart breakwater on the Westside of Kauai.
We have an opportunity to be a world leader in wave and current energy that also has the desirable side effect of sand replenishment. The situation in Mana regarding sand erosion has drastically worsened in a very short time period.
Even if you don’t live on or spend much time on the Westside, the entire island is going to collectively pay the price for the cost of moving roads, cemeteries, harbors and property.
How much does it cost to keep building the dumb breakwater higher anyway?
Rather than just being known globally as ground zero for GMO experimentation, the Westside of Kauai can be known as the world leader in ocean energy technology and sand replenishment.
There are multiple examples of currently operating smart breakwater designs globally:
Follow the YouTube links and see for yourself. Then contact your local and state representatives and let them know you think it’s time for a smart breakwater, too.
Tom Kloss
Jason S Nichols
Stu Burley
Sydney Yamane
Mayor shows courage
Our government is based upon the principle of separate but equal branches, and it seems like these activists and some council members are forgetting that.
I am glad to see that the mayor takes his duty seriously, that although there will probably be the votes to override his veto of Bill 2491, he still is entitled to his voice, and our community should thank him for asserting his position.
Regardless of what happens, taking the step of a veto shows the mayor has courage — a leadership quality I want in a mayor.
Eric Braden
Kilauea
People have the power
It is never the people that should fear politicians but politicians that should fear the people.
Wake up. Get up. Rise up. We are the people. And we are legion. We are Kuaaina. The back of the land. Without us, you can’t walk.
We are the eyes of the land, the Makaaina. Without us, you cannot see, and are in the dark. We, the people, are the body politic. You are just the vessel we chose to operate it for us.
Bill 2491 is the people’s bill, brought forward by people of this island who lobbied for it. Gary Hooser and Tim Bynum were the two council members who agreed to do the will of the people, right the original bill and fight for it to pass.
This bill is our legacy. Now, we have the mayor and a council member who want it to somehow get killed off, so they can make the people’s bill their bill, so they can take credit for it, and at the same time not do the will of the people.
Let’s show the career politicians of Kauai the meaning of “registered voter.” Oh, and also, we will not be recycling any of our former, old politicians either. If you already had the shot at public office and served, it’s time for you to move over and let others in. Don’t be greedy. Keep that nice legacy you all think you have. Also, nepotism is over.
We are all sick of it. I don’t care if you are my own flesh and blood, if you aren’t going to do the will of the people, I’m not going to vote for you anymore. Pau.
The people have had it up to here with this patronizing attitude from our elected officials. Now you just don’t get elected again. Welcome to humble pie. Grab yourself a huge chunk sit down and watch while the rest of us clean up the mess you made. And here, wipe your chin. You’re drooling.
Anne Punohu
Kapaa
Mayor made mistake
Aloha Mayor Carvalho,
Let me address the points you made in your letter, “Mayor Carvalho vetoes Bill 2491,” dated Oct. 31, 2013.
You claim your first justification for vetoing Bill 2491 is your concern about preemption. You state preemption assumes these are “implied” powers assigned to the state or federal government and that these implied powers prevent the county from “enacting its own pesticide laws” to protect the people who live on Kauai. This is an unreasonable claim and it defies common sense that anyone would suggest or imply that local citizens on Kauai have ceded their right to control their own safety to others who do not live on the island.
Your second concern focuses on the Right to Farm Act. The citizens of Kauai are not obstructing farming nor are we “declaring such farming operations a nuisance.” We are simply demanding buffer zones between ourselves and known carcinogenic chemicals, deadly poisons and conditions that are unsafe for human beings. In addition, GMO is not consistent with generally accepted agriculture and management practices. The practice is contested across the nation and around the world.
Your third concern focuses on separation of powers. The legislative branch has always retained the power to assign duties to the executive. The executive maintains the authority to determine how best to implement the assigned duties, but the Legislature provides both the funding and the project scope. The council is justified to assign regulatory duties to OED if that is the will of the people.
While you are correct that you are sworn to uphold the laws that bind us, you are also ethically bound to protect your ‘ohana and this land. This should be your first concern!
