More Hilo flights
It’s great that Southwest Airlines will be flying more flights to the mainland, but they’re all from Kailua-Kona.
I’d like to ask Southwest why they don’t depart from Hilo, too? The last thing I wanna do after a six-hour flight from Phoenix is to have to drive two hours home from Kona.
Please consider Hilo departures from Phoenix.
J. Ingman
Hawaiian Paradise Park
Food safety
It is my hope that our state and county leaders will learn from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of major concern is the fact that we cannot depend on tourism to be the backbone of our economy. Being isolated, we are vulnerable when travel and shipping operations are disrupted.
It is important for us to look at developing agriculture to feed our people. Food safety is more than an ideal — it is a necessity.
This is the time to change what we do, how we do things, and how we perceive the future. Let us not return to the status quo, which is life before the pandemic.
Let’s learn and move forward.
Muriel Mililani Hughes
Kurtistown
Needs a good wash
Perhaps one of the most hardest things to control around Hilo is the ever presence of mildew accumulation upon residential and commercial buildings, especially upon roofs.
With an average rainfall of about 140 inches per year mainly on the Hilo side, it can be cumbersome to stay on top of the maintenance by keeping the mildew growth away.
If there is one particular building that is in bad need of a good power-washing, that would be the Central Fire Station in downtown Hilo. This historic building, established in 1938 on Kinoole Street, has served as the main hub for our brave first responders for 83 years.
Next time you’re driving down Ponahawai Street, look at the mauka side of the station. Totally infested with mildew, along with the sides and front. It seems that this building was not cleaned and/or repainted for many, many years.
Our first responders — fire, paramedics and police — certainly deserve much cleaner facilities, and not continue to look like buildings seen in Third World nations.
Mayor Roth, we beseech you. Mahalo.
Rick LaMontagne
Hilo