Letters for Sunday, January 2, 2022

Fireworks displays more wasted money

I wish I had the money spent on fireworks for the New Year’s celebration!

Kaua‘i has a population of 73,000, and if 10%, 7,300, spent $50 on fireworks, that’s $365,000.

If you factor in the illegal fireworks that would cost more but fewer people would buy, the amount spent would probably double to $730,000. That’s $230,000 more than what was wasted on the last election.

Wasted money is surely what happened.

This spectacle in celebration of the New Year brought us air pollution and a sound that resembled a war zone, ill health and violence.

In the end, the rain washed the litter to the ocean.

Mark Perry, Lihu‘e

Ka Loko still needs repair

Ka Loko Dam (reservoir) is apparently still unrepaired after it broke in 2007 and resulted in seven deaths.

So owner Jimmy Pflueger was sentenced to seven months in jail in 2014 and legal requirements did not require him to repair the dam that he had tampered with, resulting in seven deaths.

And now that Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan have purchased the property, those same legal requirements apparently do not include repairing the dam. So please clarify the status of Ka Loko Dam, which is still not repaired and obviously unsafe. Apparently, there are no legal requirements to repair it. Is there anybody out there who is required to repair it at any time at all, ever?

Sylvia Partridge, Princeville

Elected leaders need to step up, stop virus spread

To the esteemed members of the Hawai‘i state Legislature and mayors/councils of each county:

I know that many of you read my posts, and I hope to see some comments.

I humbly ask that you, collectively, STRONGLY URGE the administration to do the following:

• Immediately implement mandatory pre- and post-travel testing for all arrivals in Hawai‘i;

• Make home-testing kits available for everyone;

• Immediately reinstate gathering restrictions for both indoor and outdoor events on all islands;

• Require teleworking for all that are able to do so;

• Immediately prohibit future cruise ships, planned to start in January, from docking in Hawai‘i harbors;

• DO NOT reduce quarantine time to five days, as recommended by the CDC;

• Allow the state Department of Health to do their job by setting mandates in place in the interest of public health and safety. DO NOT stand in their way;

• Allow parents to make the decision whether to send their children to school or not, without fear of punishment.

We need you all to stand up for us. You are our voice, and we hope that many of you will answer the call. We cannot continue with the “wait-and-see” attitude that our governor and lieutenant governor have chosen. Please help us.

Mel Rapozo, Kapa‘a
Source: The Garden Island