No tax hikes
This is regarding Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce President Mike Kaleikini’s editorial regarding the tax increases proposed by the current administration (Tribune-Herald, Their View, May 16).
Mike’s numbers and comments are spot-on. Government spending is increasing at an alarming rate.
Raising taxes to pay for this is what government always does to balance the budget. For our local businesses, the current economy looks good and appears to be getting stronger. But we just started our minimum wage increases and if we add in the county’s proposed tax hikes, many small businesses, which are vital to our island, will not be able to survive.
As Kaleikini mentioned, the county needs to adjust its budget to where there is no need for a tax increase.
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii stands behind the HICC in not supporting the tax increases.
We hope Hawaii County understands the position of the people and takes this into careful consideration. Thank you very much.
Russell Arikawa
President, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii
Rat lung questions
Although we have been told that heat, chlorine and salt are the only things that reliably kill the rat lungworm larvae (“the bad guys” that slugs, rats, etc., carry around), and we have been told to use chlorine on surfaces but not on foods, we still are left with three key questions.
1. How hot must the food get and for how long must it stay that hot? We can always be careful and leave things to boil a long time, but are people safe cooking a quick stir-fry at home?
2. Should we disinfect surfaces with full strength (3 percent) chlorine products such as household bleach, or dilute it by a certain percentage? Does the chlorine solution need to stay wet on the surfaces for a few minutes, or can it be used as a disinfecting wipe-down?
3. Should salt be used directly or in a solution with water or vinegar, etc.? If so, at what solution? How long does the salt (solution) need to be in contact with the food to kill all of the larvae?
It would be great to get some clear answers because so far what we’ve been told has been horribly incomplete: “look for snails” and “wash carefully,” etc.
Meanwhile, the larvae are trailed behind the slugs … and can survive in a moist place for a month and a half, making the very catchment water many citizens will use to “wash carefully” a vector for the disease.
Like herpes, this mismanaged health crisis is caused by unscientific and grossly negligent advice.
Please, at least answer these three key questions!
Carl Oguss
Hilo
