Letters for Oct. 7, 2015

Letters for Oct. 7, 2015

‘Mom ‘n Pop’ stores of the past

“Kauai Reflections” by Rita De Silva (TGI, Saturday, Oct. 3) sure brought back many memories of the past. The past for me started in the 1930s and ‘40s, in Waimea, where I was born and educated.

Of course, for Waimea town, this was the birthplace of the famous Kawakami Stores in 1947. There was also “Ako Store,” now the site of Wrangler’s restaurant. Both stores served our family on very personal bases. Example: “Ako Store” would keep paper chits and add them up at the end of each month. Then we paid off the chits with cash. For out-of-towners, it was cash and carry.

On the other side of the island, Hanalei, where we spend summers at our Hanalei beach house, there was only Ching Young Store. They carried everything, from fishing gear, hardware, to fresh foods and min-can foods. Funny thing, mini-cans were a joke: 2-3 oz. You’d have to buy four or five cans to make up a normal can. Mr. Larry Ching and his father kept house keys for many Hanalei beach houses in his office. You’d never find this kind of service now with bigger stores; and an old-fashioned hand-pump for gasoline.

Luckily, we still have Ishihara Store in Waimea, with the best poki on the island. It was very sad, the day that Kojimas closed.

Look around. You can still find small, old places like Pono Market in Kapaa.

I feel so happy to read, and re-read Rita’s “Reflections.”

Alan Fayé

Princeville

Move forward and be respectful

As my life progresses into marriage and additional responsibilities to my family and my community, I feel the need to address the comments stemming from the unfortunate incident regarding Rep. Tokioka’s recent legal problems. It shocks and saddens me to read the various accusations being flung around, and it is unfortunate that Nolan Ahn chose to pull me into the discussion via a letter to the editor in The Garden Island newspaper on Sept. 16.

While to this point I have refrained from getting involved, I feel that it is pertinent to add my thoughts to conversation now that others have put words and actions forth as mine. To be clear: I do not condone witch hunts of politicians or their supporters on social media or via rabid bloggers, but I do support truth. I do support two individuals looking at the same issues facing our community and coming up with different answers/solutions to the issues facing our community. Disagreeing is not slander. It is what the political arena is all about.

Being a victim of such witch hunts as a child of a politician and as a candidate, they leave me with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Especially when being used as tools to manipulate facts. The facts are simple and clear. Rep. Tokioka filed a false campaign spending report and failed to report over $27,000 in donations, mostly from off-island donors. Conveniently, this happened in a timeframe that hid these donations prior to the primary elections.

While this was disappointing, the bottom line is that it is over and done with. The judge has ruled, and the incumbent has admitted his actions and complied with the court order. Let’s all move on for the sake of our community. I personally would prefer we talk about relevant issues facing our community here and now and how we can solve them by working together.

That’s the beauty of politics. People enter the arena, put it all out there, and let the people decide. While I might not be happy with the election results, I am more than happy with the outcome that allowed my team and I to grow in so many ways. It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. And I’m proud of my team for working endlessly to ensure they did the best they could in a pono way.

Dylan Hooser

Kalaheo