They don’t care They don’t care ADVERTISING This is an open letter to Mr. Edward Hoapili Kaahu Jr. (Tribune-Herald, Your Views) and the rest of the Big Island community. To answer your question: Who knows? I personally do not expect
They don’t care
This is an open letter to Mr. Edward Hoapili Kaahu Jr. (Tribune-Herald, Your Views) and the rest of the Big Island community.
To answer your question: Who knows? I personally do not expect the council or the mayor or department heads to worry, as long as the income stream is coming in. It is more important to pass life-altering legislation like the tent bill, the bag bill and — who could forget? — the “no smoking in cars with someone under 18 present.”
The budget is a mess, the county is a mess, and there are furlough days and waste everywhere you look. The oversight there is ineffectual at best. Do you think politicians worry about anything other than being re-elected?
To quickly solve the public transportation problems, let’s pass a law that makes it mandatory for the mayor, council and all county executives and staff members to use the Hele-On bus system. I would bet the schedules would be fixed, as well as shelters. It would also allow them time to work on the people’s business, as they would not have to worry about driving, and there would be no need for a fleet of county cars or gas for them as well.
I wonder, with all the people who have pulled papers to run, if they would dare to answer this and give the voters their vision?
Kevin J Bradley
Hawaiian Paradise Park
Hawaii stuck in past
I often read the newspaper with dismay over the state of affairs in our islands. There is one thing, though, that really amazes me, and that is how frequently people comment that one should “go home” if they don’t like something.
How can this attitude still exist in an age when people are moving all over the nation and business is conducted globally? Do people in Hawaii still think that they are isolated and untouched by the world around them? In addition, grievances are usually warranted and should be received as a basis for improvement.
The reason why so many of our children don’t return home after graduation is not so much because of jobs, but because the mind-set here is stuck and inert. Can we start by eliminating such narrow-minded comments to people who have moved here from away? Everyone needs help when they first arrive in a new place, and the minute you start paying your rent and buying your food here, you ARE home.
Time for Hawaii to wake up.
Maile Walsh
Hilo
Paper vs. glass
You recently published an article about (Dominic) Yagong’s proposal to pay people to recycle paper. With the present HI-5 recycle rate around 75 percent (Oahu, June 2010 to June 2011) there should be money in the system to offer a refund for non-HI-5 glass containers. Weigh ’em and pay ’em.
Since the purpose of the recycle program is to keep useful stuff out of the landfill — and especially since glass is reused locally — it seems like a no-brainer. (Oh, and by the way, paper degrades a lot faster than glass!)
Fred Fogel
Volcano
