• Lack of leadership • Be knowledgeable of cell phone law • Many questions about meters • Dogs doing their job Lack of leadership After reading TGI’s first 2014 edition quoting the mayor and council member’s thoughts and plans for
• Lack of leadership • Be knowledgeable of cell phone law • Many questions about meters • Dogs doing their job
Lack of leadership
After reading TGI’s first 2014 edition quoting the mayor and council member’s thoughts and plans for 2014, please all citizens, get out and vote out a large majority of our supposedly public servants.
Take councilwoman Yukimura, pointing out “the need to accelerate the county’s landfill diversion efforts, such as recycling and composting … to extend the life of our existing landfill.” Not going to happen; too expensive! Kauai doesn’t need a new landfill. The technology and money is out there that can take care of all our waste, tires, plastics, medical, other islands waste, and turn it into cheaper electricity. This would result in thousands of jobs! It is out there waiting for the right leadership.
Mayor Carvalho: “The county is working on two ordinances that will require commercial businesses to recycle more of certain materials …” Yours and past administrations and the council have been “working on” ideas for 20 years and still no new landfill or site!
Kauai doesn’t need to depend on landfills. A technological proposal and the money are just waiting to be invested. Cost? For a portion of the tipping fees, no cost to CoK taxpayers. Within 10 years, the CoK could own the facility to collect money and carbon credits for taxpayers. But nobody will walk to us.
Kauai needs leaders who work for the people, not campaign financial backers. Stop the “puppet talk.”
John Hoff
Lawai
Be knowledgeable of cell phone law
I had just heard a story about a lady getting a cell phone ticket while being parked in a parking lot. I thought no way! So I called Kauai police and a very nice lady explained that your car has to be turned off and the keys removed from the ignition while talking on a cell phone in the driver’s seat. Just thought I’d pass this along. Hope everybody has a safe and Happy New Year!
Linda Bothe
Kalaheo
Many questions about meters
All the bickering and the coming vote are clouding the real issue. KIUC wants to be able to charge more for our use of electricity during prime time hours. Charging more for non-smart meters is just the tip of the “charging more” phenomenon at KIUC.
KIUC has not made clear the real reasons for wanting smart meters. First, I hear via the coconut wire that the grid that they provide is insufficient to handle peak loads for parts of the island. They reason that if they charge more for peak usage, then people will use less at that time and they won’t have to install more capability on the grid. When will people with smart meters see this extra charge?
Other questions too arise with the ability of KIUC to “charge more.” The cost of smart meters was offset by a federal government grant. Who is paying the balance of the cost of these meters? Did KIUC actually lay off people who were previously employed as meter readers or are they still on the payroll? Does it really cost $10.27 per month to read a meter? How much does it cost to collect data via smart meters?
I called the KIUC and asked how the information got from the smart meters to my bill. At first I was told it went by wire but when questioned about what wire was used, I was told it went wirelessly to the wireless tower. I’m not aware that KIUC owns wireless towers so they must rent time from a company that does. Further, I was told there is a computer that collects the data at midnight on a revolving schedule, that then the information gets relayed to KIUC for the billing. Who pays for the use of the wireless towers and who pays for the computer to collect the data and for the programming that makes all this possible? In short, who pays for the overhead of managing the smart meter system?
If we look at our bills, we are already being charged a “customer charge” of $10.58 and a resource cost charge of 53 cents. What are these fees for?
Let’s solicit some ideas from the public before decisions are made on how to solve the real problems. There are solutions to the grid problem and if KIUC will just ask, we can all submit possibilities to them.
Marjorie Gifford
Princeville
Dogs doing their job
Not that many years ago, our residential neighborhood consisted of full-time residents. We knew all our neighbors. When I was hit, the neighborhood came together, sharing food, comfort and support. It was like family. Over time, old folks passed on or decided to move to Honolulu to be closer to family-kamaaina owned properties, some occupied by several generations of the same family were sold — primarily to absentee owners. Soon, many of the new owners began renting their homes to vacationing visitors, even though the practice was illegal. Illegal TVAs became so widespread in some neighborhoods they exceeded permanent residents. To “fix” the problem, our council set up a process allowing scores of illegal rentals to become legal — mixing incompatible uses on small lots separated only by a boundary line was tantamount to mixing oil and water. Visitors using these accommodations focused on having a good time have become regular victims of car break-ins and vacation rental burglaries, which occur down the street or next door to kamaaina homes. Some of us have acquired dogs to keep the bad guys at bay. Movement nearby causes the dogs to bark, which is why we have them. Guess who’s now complaining about barking dogs? Seems like we’re coming full circle. Kamaaina dogs should not be put on bark meters.
Lee Sam
Koloa
