Noise pollution
Noise pollution
Imagine a beautiful sunny morning on Hilo Bay. There is a lovely onshore breeze. There are many visitors in Lilioukalani Park to admire the view and the well-kept park. This should be an idyllic moment that creates a lovely lasting memory.
But wait! Horrors! What is this deafening noise overhead?
When you look up, you see the belly of a large war plane directly over your head. The plane circles low over the park, then over the bay and the oceanfront residential neighborhoods, then circles back over the park for hours on end. Add to this the noise of the various helicopters, the commercial flights going in and out of the airport, and possibly the din of landscape maintenance, and the resulting noise pollution is truly disturbing unless you are very deaf. The resulting memory may be more of a war zone than of a beautiful place one would wish to return to and to tell your friends about.
Air traffic noise has become very intrusive in Hilo. It is almost impossible to escape from it for even a few minutes all the way from Paukaa to Puueo to downtown Hilo to Keaukaha.
In my opinion, the worst offenders are the military planes which surely could find another route on this large island and vast ocean, and the Hawaiian Airline jets which also fly directly over our roofs, perhaps shaving a microsecond off their flight time.
Noise complaints to the airport are useless.
The situation can only get worse as tourism increases.
Hopefully the Banyan Drive hotels will finally be improved, Volcano House will reopen, and more mainland flights will land in Hilo. Cruise ship arrivals will also go up since they are avoiding Mexico and they will really go up if the antiquated Passenger Services Act is scrapped and if gambling is allowed on board. More visitors equals more air traffic noise so it is time now to plan some damage control.
Adrienne S. Dey
Hilo
Learn from Abel
“Ua mau ke ia o ka aina ika pono.” The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
What could be more pono than an old Hawaiian man planting taro on land stolen from the Hawaiian people? Sustainability is all you hear today and that is what Abel Lui teaches. That is all he knows.
Instead of evicting him from his land at Kawaa because the law does not recognize his rights as Native Hawaiian and bulldozing his home and gardens, he should instead be given back his land and a house built to county standards with tractors and tools in a shed to work the land. And children from all the schools should come one week a year to learn from him and learn to respect the land, themselves and each other. There is no one else more qualified to care for that place. And he should be paid for it, too. That is what has to be done Mr. Mayor. That would be the pono thing to do, like you promised.
We don’t like seeing our kupuna evicted off there land. Stop stealing from Hawaiians! Don’t support racism and genocide against anyone. Stop state-led domestic terrorism against Hawaiians.
Michael Trask
Hilo
Fighting injustice
Mahalo to Hawaii Island state Sens. Russell Ruderman and Wil Espero for visiting the too long-incarcerated Roger Christie and calling out the federal government on what is clearly a gross miscarriage of justice.
While the Hawaii senate judiciary committee advances a ridiculous proposal to ban wild bird feeding because some Pearl City neighbors have a problem they can’t resolve without legislation, and Honolulu city councilmen spend too much time considering a measure to ban smoking on Oahu’s beaches, it’s nice to see Big Island lawmakers taking an interest in more important matters like safeguarding the liberty and civil rights our citizens.
With more than 52 percent of Americans now actually supporting the legalization of marijuana, surely we should at least stop treating it like meth, heroin and other more harmful controlled substances. Did you know that pot-prisoners cost taxpayers about a billion dollars a year? The drug war is a prime example of Federal over-reach and it needs to end.
Free Roger Christie. Or at least grant him the speedy trial he’s entitled to under the Constitution.
Sylvia Dahlby
Hilo
Easter aloha?
My wife and I were returning from Honokaa Easter afternoon and encountered a policeman sitting off the road, aiming his radar device at oncoming traffic. This particular stretch of road has been posted as a construction zone for several months, but all work was completed several weeks ago, yet the 45 mph construction signs remain.
This stretch of road, at the 39 mile-marker between Hilo and Honokaa, is one of the straightest and now safest on the Hamakua Coast, but is now serving as a speed trap for hard-working commuters, tourists and locals, who see that the work is finished, but the penalties remain.
Is this the kind of Aloha we want to share with those who come the Big Island?
Let’s save the traffic penalties for what they are intended to do … discourage dangerous driving.
Dougas Ball
Laupahoehoe