Thankful there won’t be dairy
Thankful there won’t be dairy
Just want to thank the anti-dairy folks for the foresight in not allowing a dairy on Kaua‘i.
Please refrain from future efforts to design this island to your Disneyland-like vision.
James Powell, Kapa‘a
Reconsider council housing bill
I‘ve attended town meetings to discuss the General Plan Updates for ‘Ele‘ele, Kalaheo and Koloa over many years.
Affordable housing was always a topic of discussion, sometimes very emotionally. Many are unhappy or fearful their children will not be able to live here due to low wages paid to tourist industry workers, and the cost of a home.
I really wonder when reading about Bill 2774, which will allow developers to NOT PROVIDE affordable housing for workers for 10 years and allow them to build as many expensive homes as they like.
Since so many young people are having to leave the islands to be able to afford a home, my real burning question is who are we building these homes for? Rich people who don’t live here yet? I’m not convinced we need to do this now.
We do need housing for our local people. This bill needs serious reconsideration. I appreciate that our council is taking time. We have written many letters to them, too. Please, let’s do the pono thing for the young Kauaians.
Sincerely,
Jo Amsterdam, Kalaheo
Stick around James, they will eventually disallow something YOU want! It’s what they do!
Hey Pete if your animus toward “activists” is due to folks getting involved in stuff just to agitate–like it’s maybe not any of their business–how do you explain YOUR long involvement supporting a project that would so damagingly upend the livelihoods and environment of folks that live far from where you do? And for the record the issue wasn’t about being anti-ag or anti-dairy–it was about finding a suitable, less impactful location and executing responsibly. If the lessons of the O’Okala dairy disaster fall on deaf ears like yours then yeah, stick around, we’re in for more.
…Thanks for the nod, James.
My animus is reserved for the dishonesty of the emotional appeal. This includes: right wing activists on FOX trying to convince you that rioters are out of control everywhere and more important than Covid-19, the idea that you can smell things 5 miles away, the notion that a Ferryboat could singlehandedly destroy Kauai, the outright lies told to push Westside Industry off the Island and the scary way smart meters will slowly kill everyone!
People who embrace dishonesty for their cause, lose their integrity and cannot be trusted.
All those anti dairy people are now pro farming. Farming has run off too. Next phase is pro tourism.
Affordable Housing = Taxpayer Subsidized Housing (Higher taxes)
The thought process in Hawaii is undeniably ridiculous. Why would we raise everyone’s taxes to provide “Affordable Housing” for people that cannot afford to live in Hawaii???? There are not monsters and dragons on Mainland USA, nor any other country on the planet. You move to where you can afford to live……however you define that.
95% of working stiffs on these islands, if asked, “Do you support higher taxes so people can remain in Paradise, if they cannot afford to life here”? , would say “no” without hesitation. Stop the madness!!
Jake; Well put. Couldn’t agree more.
If Bill 2774 allow developers to build expensive houses for the rich and our younger generation leave the island(s). And furthermore, we the older generation will be bought/force out of our homes and become homeless until we die. There will be no more locals/Hawaiians left on the island(s).
There will be no reason to call it the Hawaiian Islands.
We must stop this Bill 2774 from moving forward and stop the greedy developers from buying land here on Kauai. (and the other Hawaiian Islands).
Should we build any new housing of any kind until we improve our infrastructure? Why do we keep packing our over-stressed roads with more traffic by building more homes? We need to solve our traffic problems first before building any new homes. Let’s get the priorities straight.
Kauai is the middle of another Citizen Swap. People have been migrating to Kauai for a long time as it is such a wonderful place to live, starting with the Marquesans. (Not sure how they felt about the swapping out to the Tahitians?) Skipping ahead a few hundred years I believe the next migration will be the wealthy. Wealthy have passive income. Tourism is something they see as a inconvenience and they would like to see them go away. In fact the malahini wealthy have already employed lobbyists on Kauai to promote their agenda. Unfortunately the current population mostly relies on tourism for income on Kauai.
High density, low cost housing and tourism are the working class’s only chance for staying on Kauai. Until we can find some diversified economy we need tourism. Our zoning laws are obsolete.
James Powell, Its a great thing there is no dairy. No biting flies, no poop run-off going into the waters, no smelly Koloa town.
Your ability to smell things 5 miles away should land you an interesting job!
I agree with Jo Amsterdam, build the economy for the people of Kauai, not for the investor who is just building their portfolio.
Patrick Flores, Wailua Houselots
In regards to the gentleman who was celebrating the environmentalists win against the proposed dairy at Maha’ulepu. So many people are against the dairy, but fail to TRULY realize the precarious position Kaua’i is in regarding food security. Effluent from the site can be managed, but if the barges can’t come for whatever reason, we’re out of luck. Shipping refrigerated products at least 2500 miles has to be harder on the environment than moo poo.
I would urge anyone who can, to plant a ‘victory’ garden, and if you are unable, please support all the hard working farmers ON ISLAND who do! Aloha to all
Few problems have simple solutions. It is hard to disagree with the proposition that people should live where they can afford to be. However, the reality is that many service jobs currently do not pay enough, even when one is employed full time, to live at “market rates” in highly desirable locales. This is true of Hawaii, as well as Manhattan, and many other places. At what point do the wealthy, who can afford these places, find themselves scrubbing their own toilets, tending to the needs of their own children, maintaining their own lawns, and serving themselves on paper plates from buffets when they want to eat out? The free market may eventually lead to change, but once the lower paid labor force is gone, it will take a long time for workers to return. . . especially to an island.