SIC’s bleak future
Sandwich Isles Communications has been the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ exclusive voice/data provider since 1995. The FCC then issued an order on July 3, 2017, voiding SIC’s exclusive license to service Hawaiian homestead areas statewide.
Sandwich Isles’ ability to service DHHL areas since then has come into question due to ongoing litigation on several fronts.
Their ability to reliably provide service really took a hit this week when the FCC finalized the $49 million administrative penalty against them for abusing the Universal Service Fund program. This, coupled with the bankruptcy of their sister company Paniolo Cable, and the ongoing lawsuit by USDA’s Rural Utilities Service seeking the recovery of $138 million in outstanding loans, makes SIC’s future especially bleak.
The individuals, families and business living and operating on DHHL lands will be the only ones that will suffer if SIC is unable to continue provide voice/data service.
This is why other providers, such as Spectrum and Hawaiian Telcom, should be allowed to provide service on DHHL lands, especially since the fate of SIC remains unclear.
Aaron Stene
Kailua-Kona
For the patriots
Most of us agree that what has largely made America great is our democracy, which gives each of us a voice in choosing who represents us. Our democracy also gives us the right to voice our disagreements, which we do like crazy even as the world watches our country become more polarized.
But I’d like to argue that now is the time to set aside our differences and agree on a few core principles as Americans.
We the people should choose our representatives, not an unaccountable judiciary.
Every voting citizen has a right to be counted.
No one is above the law.
Those who bravely risk their lives fighting for their country are patriots; those who disparage them have no honor.
My grandfather (who fought in World War II) and my uncle (who fought and died in the Vietnam War) are not losers. They are my heroes. They had the courage to fight and die defending our democracy.
The least I can do is have the courage to stand up and speak out against attempts to destroy it, regardless of whether those threats come from within or outside the country.
I urge all my fellow citizens to get out the vote, and to make sure your vote is counted.
Sandra Margriter
Kurtistown
Cartoon got it right
“Cartoon got it wrong” was the headline for the letter by Allen Russell, (Your Views, Tribune-Herald, Sept. 23).
The cartoon by Catalino (Sept. 22) showed President Trump and the GOP dancing on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s grave.
The cartoon was a reflection of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
The president and the GOP were celebrating what came next — the opportunity for Donald Trump to nominate his third justice to the Supreme Court.
Abolghassem Abraham Sadegh
Hilo