Letters for Friday, August 15, 2008

• Yes, on blank votes as blank

• Try building in Po‘ipu

• The blame game

• Outrageous rates

Yes, on blank votes as blank

Regarding The Garden Island story “State definition shelves charter amendment” on A1, Aug. 12:

The group of “nitpickers” that vocally testified against resolution 2008-33 in the council chambers were happy and satisfied that it was received — meaning that it was killed. We mainly didn’t want to see our charter changed to be in line with the state charter making blank and spoiled ballots count as no votes — this is ridiculous. Let the blank votes be recorded as exactly that — blank votes. They should not be counted as no votes any more than they should be counted as yes votes.

Counting them as no votes would make it impossible to pass a charter amendment taking away the will of the people to have a say in the running of their government.

Councilwoman Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho did an excellent job showing a PowerPoint to the viewing public of why this resolution should be received and we salute her for all her efforts.

Glenn Mickens

Kapa‘a

Try building in Po‘ipu

You have to be the unluckiest guy in the world. How is it that you bought the only property in Ha‘ena that contains bones How is it that bones are only on your property but no one else’s Your neighbors have no bones on their property You followed all the rules, got the neccessary permits, jumped through all the hoops, have your property overrun with tresspassers, work stopped by a misinformed police chief, and you are in the wrong And now some illegal camper whines to the planning director and now they want to investigate after permits were already issued How about investigating the illegal camping How about that Is it any wonder that this county is always involved in some kind of lawsuit You must remember that common sense is all too uncommon in our county government. You should build in Po‘ipu, if you can find room. They will let you build a mega-mansion down there.

Roger Olsen

Lihu‘e

The blame game

I didn’t know this local versus visitor thing would go this far. It’s not really about taxes, it’s not about speeding tickets. It’s not about skin color. It’s all about respect. The lack of respect when it came to the wise old construers of our general plan update. Developers invested in property that our wise forefathers put forth for our island’s future, zoned it for maximum return and the investors dug up the land. Planting bathrooms and bedrooms instead of sugarcane, papayas, bananas and forests. They made an investment based on zoning promises put forth by our leaders, without taking into account densities for roads, sewage or even storm drainage. If the rains ever come back again we will be in deep kimchee.

Should we blame the visitor who spends $3,000 a week for his vacation in paradise because he knows nothing of our culture and lifestyle. Should we expect him to conform to our hours, our music, our cadence, our lifestyle The animosity is not neighborly, because we have no true neighbors.

So whom do we really have to blame for the lack of planning, the lack of organization, the lack of forethought Does that really matter Let’s jump ahead to solutions because the past is just that. We cannot bring it back, but we can certainly fix the present and plan properly for our future. We are small enough to dictate our own fate. Especially on a Garden Island.

Our economy still rests on a healthy visitor industry, an industry of vacation rentals, timeshares and resort experiences and activities of wellness and of natural beauty. We need to be good hosts to survive. To be so we need to present the proper experience. One with less congestion, one with well groomed beach parks, proper parking, excellent bathroom facilities, clean oceans, and a gracious attitude of welcoming. None of that can take place without the proper leaders in place who appreciate all these concerns and problems.

The attitudes toward this important industry can only change as the planners and zoning and updates for our island reflect what is needed for a peaceful co-existence. Forget all the lobbyists that reside on each side of the fence. It’s time to tear down the fences and do things right. We need leaders who understand the current problems who know where our island should be, how to repair it, and how to prepare for our future. Those who have guts to tear apart the general plan for our island, restructure our zoning and taxes, and infrastructure because our island and all our residents deserve it. That’s why we live here. So ask these candidates on our island hard questions and listen to their answers and then by all means get up, get out and support them at the polls and vote for the moment that we secure our future.

Andy Melamed

Hanalei

Outrageous rates

I would like to thank the many people who have contacted me expressing the same frustration that I brought forward pointing out the outrageous electricity rates.

Everyone asked me the question “What can we do”

The answer is that we need to find out how our co-op is operating. Do they purchase their fuel from the cheapest sources Do they give their 1,200 employees a large discount How much does each director get paid Why do they contribute to questionable charities while charging us so much Do they elect the right people to run this utility

Most important of all: What exactly have they done to develop alternative energy by not using oil

Bottom line is that we all need to get involved and stop these spiraling electricty costs so that we can pay for our food and shelter.

Go to their meetings. Ask your County Council people if they are trying to help us or just ignoring our plight.

In November elect only those who have a plan to help us out of this burden of high electricity.

Thanks again to all of you who share my goal to lower our electric rates.

Robert Nesti

Princeville