Letters for Feb. 1, 2015

• Cannabis, lava could help provide needed state money • Rumors surround Stone, Omidyar developments • Invitation to Netanyahu a mistake • Green waste poses a problem for ‘Mr. Home Grown’

Cannabis, lava could help provide needed state money

The most aloha way for the state of Hawaii to earn lots money would be simple: Legalize it!

How about cannabis and viewing the hot live lava? Let people take guided tours or something, entrepreneurs will solve the liability issue. Let that blimp go up and take tourists to see the lava, hang up there and have a drink and snack and love Hawaii!

Let the tourists come and sample good Hawaii buds; the medical healing cannabis centers would be world class. This would add to the healing properties of Hawaii. Since cannabis is a respected commodity, let’s be cutting edge.

Sara Steiner

Pahoa

Rumors surround Stone, Omidyar developments

Great article (Jan. 26) regarding Stone and Princeville. However, in my opinion he did not exactly get it right. While not directly involved with PCA now I was the president of the association when he bought out the Japanese owners. My first take was it was a good thing for Princeville but that soon proved to be wrong.

Here is another rumor and that is the St. Regis Hotel has been sold to Chinese investors. Its ownership has been the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association that bought it from Stone just after he purchased the resort from the Japanese in 2005.

No proof, but a strong rumor also that Pierre Omidyar’s development on the bluff overlooking Hanalei may also be under consideration for sale or transfer to the same company that will be operating Stone’s private club.

John H. Gordon

Princeville

Invitation to Netanyahu a mistake

The Speaker of the House, John Boehner, has invited the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to speak before Congress.

Unlike previous invitations extended to a foreign head of state, this was not coordinated with the president of the United States who has the constitutional responsibility of presenting a single foreign policy to the rest of the world. Boehner’s invitation and Netanyahu’s acceptance is a violation of established protocols and an insult to the president and the American people.

Boehner’s reason for this invitation is to scuttle negotiations between Iran and the United States urging Iran to abandon its efforts to build a nuclear weapon. Netanyahu’s reason is the Israeli elections that will be held two weeks following the speech. If the U.S.-Iran talks fail, Netanyahu will feel free to bomb Iran (perhaps with an Israeli nuke) dragging the United States into another war in the Middle East.

I encourage everyone to call their congressional representatives and ask them to boycott Netanyahu’s speech.

John Zwiebel

Kalaheo

Green waste poses a problem for ‘Mr. Home Grown’

We here on Kauai were burning our green waste up to the late 1990s. Then, they came out with the no burn law. Soon there will be a charge to dump our green waste in the landfills around the island. The following story is true and the name has been changed to protect the innocent.

There was this man. I’ll call him Home Grown. He always used to burn his green waste in those days that it was allowed. Now, Mr. Home Grown is too old and cannot drive to haul his green waste to the dump. So now, his green waste lays in his yard approximately knee-deep or more. His green waste poses a fire hazard for his property and people around him. Point is, if Mr. Home Grown was allowed to burn his green waste in a barrel and controlled in his back yard, there wouldn’t be this problem of it posing a fire hazard.

Someday we all will be in that situation of piling our green waste in our own yard, posing a fire hazard for ourselves and neighbors. Especially when we can no longer afford to dump our green waste at the dump for a fee.

Howard Tolbe

Eleele