• Property tax hike makes no sense • A pine tree for Palestine • Get even, vote for newcomers Property tax hike makes no sense I recently moved on island full time, although I have owned property here for nearly 10 years. I
• Property tax hike makes no sense • A pine tree for Palestine • Get even, vote for newcomers
Property tax hike makes no sense
I recently moved on island full time, although I have owned property here for nearly 10 years. I have been reading all the articles in this newspaper from the concern citizens regarding the outrageous property tax increase. I really had a hard time believing that property taxes were increased as much as being claimed in these articles. Well, I just received my property tax bill that was forwarded from my old Mainland address … wow … a 76 percent increase. That doesn’t even make any logical sense. I cannot understand how our elected officials could ever justify that type of increase, especially in a weak, recovering economy. The added insult is that my property value is still below what I paid for it. I have been reading the excuses from the elected officials who voted for the property tax increase. Sounds like a typical politician! They should have thought about the negative consequences before, not after, they pass this property tax increase. If our elected officials don’t act immediately to repeal this outlandish increase before the tax is due, they should be replaced by those that are concerned about their constituents
David Hill
Princeville
A pine tree for Palestine
This afternoon I planted a 2-foot-tall Norfolk pine tree. I had been ruminating on matters of this latest war on Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip. Seventeen days of fighting have left so many young ones dead and wounded. Trapped in an open-air prison they cannot escape.
I decided to do the one thing I always do to honor those who have passed on, which is to plant a tree, shrub or flower to remember the Palestinian children. They will never have a Christmas, never have a reunion with family and friends, never sing their songs or recite their prayers for a brighter future. At Christmas time, I will decorate this Norfolk with their names and offer my wounded apologies for the suffering and trauma they endured.
My government supplies the money that feeds the war machine that unleashes the wrath time after time. And we watch this global bullying in silence. How strange, we talk and deal with bullying in our schools but when nations do it to other nations, our rhetoric becomes one of complacency.
Today, my wounded heart plants a tree for the Palestinian children. Maybe trees can be planted for the entire nation of Palestine. If we can’t halt the brutality, we can remember the victims. You, too, can join this campaign.
La Paz,
Blu Dux
Kalaheo
Get even, vote for newcomers
In a recent letter to The Garden Island newspaper, Kathy Barretto hit the nail right on the head when she said that Kauai County hurts residents with tax hikes and refuses to reduce spending. However, she misses the target when she pleads with the Kauai County government to wake up and smell the roses; we, the ordinary citizens, are hurting financially.
Kathy, Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and the members of the Kauai County Council could care less about you and the other taxpayers on Kauai. All they care about is to hoomalimali (flatter) the big unions and big businesses like Grove Farm and Alexander and Baldwin so that they can get re-elected.
Don’t get mad. Get even. Throw the bums out. In November, don’t vote for Bernard Carvalho Jr. and the current members of the Kauai County Council. Instead, vote only for newcomers.
Jerry Sokugawa
Kekaha
