Absences explained
Thank you for your coverage of the Hawaii County Charter Commission’s meeting Nov. 9 at the West Hawaii Civic Center.
I am writing because of my concern about a statement in the article that the “commission didn’t vote … because five of the 11 members had drifted off or were absent as the clock approached 6 p.m. on a Friday before a Monday government holiday.”
First, no commissioner “drifted off.” Three excused absences were noted before the meeting began and two other commissioners noted they would need to leave in the late afternoon because of family commitments that evening.
Second, a quorum for conducting the commission’s business was still in effect. It was because of the diversity of opinion among commissioners (noted in the article) that a vote to continue the dialogue regarding the proposal at the December meeting was taken.
The county’s residents can be proud of their friends and neighbors who agreed to serve as volunteers on this commission that reviews the county charter every decade. They care about the details, they worked hard to understand current and proposed charter language and they committed themselves to give the time necessary to complete the mission appointed to them.
I am grateful for their efforts, talents and passion.
Douglass S. Adams
Chairman, Hawaii County Charter Commission
Feline solution
It is indeed the law that your pets, including your cats, cannot roam away from your property unless they are on a leash and under your control.
Cats do catch rats and mice, and therefore provide a worthy service in limiting the diseases they carry, but they are not permitted to do so away from your property.
Cats raised in the wild do not usually make good pets. They are unlikely to bond with humans (although some might), and they very often are emotionally upset by being confined.
Most wild cat populations of any size in the county are being fed by caring humans. While these cats still do hunt for pleasure, they hunt birds as well as rodents.
The best answer might be to establish large (i.e., many acres) fenced cat facilities, where free-roaming cats can be relocated and still allowed to live as they would like. Birds would choose to live elsewhere, and no humans would be exposed to cat waste.
Carl Oguss
Hawaii Dog Psychology Center
Retraction, please
An apology, retraction and correction to the article about Jennifer Ruggles (Tribune-Herald, Nov. 8) is in order.
It is treasonous to publish false information concerning the Hawaiian kingdom’s struggle to exist under the belligerent and illegal occupation of the United States.
Malama Robinson
Koloa, Kauai