To the 26
To the 26
Thank you for your article recognizing the 26 men and women who successfully completed their correctional officer basic training. My only disappointment is that you failed to individually identify each of them.
I think it is very important to recognize people when they step up to the plate and take on responsibilities most of us would never consider to do.
This letter is to personally thank all 26 of you for your commitment and dedication. I pray that God will protect all of you as you work so bravely to keep our community safe.
Samuel Kalua III
Hilo
Hippies and hysteria
On June 14, writer Elaine Munro of Hilo posed three very good questions concerning the current GMO litigation facing the County of Hawaii (Tribune-Herald, Your Views).
In the first question, she asked: “Where was the legal advise to the County Council members before they acted on this (GMO Bill 113)?” Short answer: No legal advise was given!
In an article from the Tribune-Herald, posted Nov. 19, 2013: “While the state Attorney General’s Office has declined to give an opinion, county Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida has said the county has the legal authority to enact the law.” Of course, the council has the right to debate or enact any laws concerning the people’s business. However, would Bill 113 stand up to legal scrutiny? It appears that question was not asked.
In Ms. Munro’s second question she asks: “Did they, (the council), even ask legal experts if their proposed law might run into constitutional doubts?” Again, the short answer is no. See the above quote from the Tribune-Herald.
Of Ms. Munro’s inquiries, the third is the most significant. She writes: “Were they so focused on pseudo-science and hysteria that they ignored the legality issue?”
Yes, the council did ignore the principles of good law-making. In the council’s rush to enshrine its slavish subservience to the shrilled hysteria from an army of aging hippies living in Puna, and other assorted anti-GMO “know-it-alls,” the council, seeking to embrace junk science, at a hearing Sept. 23, 2013, declined to hear testimony by GMO experts from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and instead allowed Mr. Jeffery Smith, “a self-styled expert on GMOs with no scientific credentials,” 45 minutes to present unsubstantiated dribble. Mr. Smith’s description is from the New York Times, Jan. 5, 2014.
So, it appears once again the wisdom and expertise of our county government is called into question. What is very distressing is that most of these questions are valid.
Arthur Warren
Keaau