• Tim Bynum leaves lasting legacy • Story was good because it included real people Tim Bynum leaves lasting legacy Tim Bynum’s legacy was the making of a great county park, Lydgate Park. Five pillars were the foundation of this island gem:
• Tim Bynum leaves lasting legacy • Story was good because it included real people
Tim Bynum leaves lasting legacy
Tim Bynum’s legacy was the making of a great county park, Lydgate Park.
Five pillars were the foundation of this island gem:
• A community built Kamalani Playground in the wake of a devastating hurricane. Created in 1994.
• The first island bike path morphed into Ke Ala Hele Makalae.
• A “fantasy” bridge, Kamalani Kai, 2001.
• A working campsite and picnic for visitors and locals with an awesome pavilion.
• Soccer and playing field nearby.
For my grandfather Jim (1854 to 1922), the purpose of having roots is to put forth branches. Tim Bynum was a planter of life, joy and love on this island, a builder of the paths on which we dwell.
“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of ancient paths with Dwellings.” — Isaiah 58:12
John Lydgate, Wailua
Story was good because it included real people
I was recently vacationing on Kauai and picked up the Garden Island each day. I had the chance to read several of your stories, but wanted to commend you for one in particular: “Hawaii among states with largest increases in homeless people.”
This is a well-written, well-reported story on many levels. You successfully humanized a subject that is so often glossed over with stats and quotes from officials lamenting the problem and vowing to make things better. And you did it all under a tight deadline, I’m sure. Your story was much better than the Star Advertiser’s version, which just jumped into the numbers and quoted public officials. That story lacked essence and any real meaning. It could have been written by any journalism school graduate.
But yours was different.
Your anecdotal lede brought the reader in and provided a compassionate, yet unbiased, look at a problem not only affecting Kauai and Hawaii, but much of our country. It would have been easier and more comfortable to sit inside the newsroom in front of the computer and knock out some copy, but you chose to hit the streets to get at the core of the story. This is what journalism is all about.
As you know better than most, local newspapers like the Garden Island play a crucial role in informing the public and, to a greater extent, protecting the pillars of our democracy. Journalists across the country are constantly under attack — now more than ever. The work you do is important. Keep it up.
Doug Morino, Los Angeles, Calif.
