Bill, not Bernie ADVERTISING Bill, not Bernie Hats off to Sara Steiner (Your Views, July 6) for hitting it right on the head: There is often more to an issue than meets the eye. In this case, Shipman President Bill
Bill, not Bernie
Hats off to Sara Steiner (Your Views, July 6) for hitting it right on the head: There is often more to an issue than meets the eye.
In this case, Shipman President Bill Walter’s tentacles have been exposed. Steiner correctly states Walter enjoys private frontage to a white sand beach.
What she does not say is that his expansive Shipman compound is gated and off-limits to the public. This is not where commoners reside. If common folk want to access the white sand beach, it is a long hike, perhaps 2 miles over uneven terrain.
So, when a seemingly egalitarian good neighbor speaks about community spirit, sharing, public access and a level playing field — be careful because this is not the likes of Bernie Sanders speaking. It is Bill Walter.
Richard Dinges
Hilo
Ige’s baffling veto
Seems to me the example of Gov. David Ige’s veto of Airbnb tax collection points out how out of touch the governor is in today’s business world.
Maybe do a Google search of Airbnb to get an idea of what it is and what short-term rentals are on sites such as Airbnb. Or, make a conference call to almost any American governor who celebrates Airbnb’s collection of state taxes pouring into their coffers.
Certainly, the head of Airbnb’s global policy and public affairs, who is “really puzzled” by Ige’s veto, would lend some insight for the governor to consider. Seems Ige would rather go on about “facilitating illegal rentals.”
I can’t help but assume the governor does not understand what short-term occupancy rentals are, and I contend the only thing Ige is facilitating by vetoing Airbnb’s collection of Hawaii’s due share of taxes are the scofflaws (owner operators) who aren’t paying the tax, which in many cases is figured into the daily rate collected.
Governor, wake up and smell the tax money all Hawaii residents entrust the state Legislature to dutifully and legally collect for the benefit of the state and its people.
Bob Smith
Pepeekeo
Beware Couchsurfing
As a Hilo resident, and probably the state of Hawaii’s most experienced Couchsurfing host, I was fascinated by your front-page article about Couchsurfing (Tribune-Herald, July 3). I began hosting in 2009 and welcomed more than 2,000 Couchsurfers, as many as 15 in one night.
I continue to host travelers but no longer support Couchsurfing. There is now a safer nonprofit alternative. It is BeWelcome.org. BeWelcome is much newer and has fewer users, but the response rate is much better.
When I joined Couchsurfing in 2009, I saw it as an alternative to the commercial, thin and often fraudulent cyber-socializing then developing on Facebook and elsewhere. I felt, and continue to feel, that social networking was displacing real social activity. Couchsurfing offered the opportunity to use the internet to actually meet and hang out with interesting people.
Couchsurfing was originally a nonprofit, founded in 2003, and staffed entirely by volunteers. Its founders, Casey Fenton and Dan Hoffer, promised repeatedly that it would always remain nonprofit. But in 2010, they broke that promise, accepted $22.6 million of venture capital and became a for-profit corporation.
They also associated themselves with Facebook and began a recruitment effort that drew in many undesirable and/or unresponsive users. I saw the character of the user population change negatively, with many new freeloaders interested only in being hosted while seldom hosting and, unfortunately, also many ethics-free men on the prowl.
By not properly moderating their own forums, Couchsurfing allowed itself to become known as a “hookup” site rather than a pure exchange of goodwill. As a consequence, it is now a less comfortable and less safe place for women traveling alone.
Couchsurfing, in its original, nonprofit identity, changed my life in a very good way. But it now has transmogrified into a commercial entity that I did not sign up for and no longer support or recommend.
BeWelcome.org remains an ethical, democratic nonprofit and is a better and safer alternative, especially for women traveling alone. Please help it grow.
Robert K. Lee
Hilo
