JAIL TO BE BUILT ON MAUI?

(The following letter was sent to the mayor, County Council and state legislators.)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a question. Why did the state close down Kulani Prison and now want to spend $235 million to build one on Maui? Start time next year? Completed in two years? Sounds like some back-room deals going on!!!

Can someone enlighten me, because this just doesn’t make sense!

What’s wrong with the Kulani site? All of a sudden it’s pilau?

There has been a serious lack of information given out to the public on this, and I would like some answers on it.

Remember some years ago when a prison was suggested for Maui — in Haiku I believe — and there was a public uproar? It was dropped.

Now, the federal, state and county governments are crying, “We no mo money,” and they come up with this idea? 

Back-room deals are evident. What the hell is going on?

I’m just a concerned citizen at the moment.

GORDON C. COCKETT, Lahaina

SCHOOL APPRECIATES COMMUNITY’S SUPPORT

On behalf of Princess Nahienaena Elementary School and Principal Kaipo Miller, we would like to extend a great big mahalo and show our appreciation to all of our donors who helped make our school start off on the right foot and make our students’ learning path a better one.

Mahalo nui loa to Rotary Club of Lahaina President Rick Nava and members for donating to the entire third level students brand new dictionaries for them to keep and take home. Along with that, they also donated from their club and their own pockets a generous monetary donation for student lunch loans.

Mahalo to Old Lahaina Luau, Aloha Mixed Plate and Ho‘aloha Productions staff and associates members for their generous donations of school supplies, and Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas staff and associates for their generous donations of school supplies. The Wishing Well Foundation, Lahaina Complex After-school Enrichment Tutoring Program, and Judy Gibbs and Whalers Realty also contributed school supplies.

Last but not least, we would like to extend a great big mahalo to our hardworking staff and faculty members for making our Open House a successful one.

We would like to take time to acknowledge PTA President Tehani Villalobos and her team of PTA members for helping with the scheduling of the session visits, running the bell schedule, signing up new members and promoting “The 3 for Me” program.

Mahalo to First Hawaii Title Corporation Escrow Officer Julie Arruiza and husband Romeo Arruiza, Bank of Hawaii Service Manager Lisa Frances and daughter Melissa Frances, Teller Supervisor Edna Romero, Teller II Marylou Cabading for a successful Pride Apparel T-shirt sale at the Open House, and Parent Volunteer Rose Hodgins for successfully signing up parents to volunteer, encouraging them to visit the school and be more proactive in their child’s studies.

It was a great night that ran smoothly. Parents and family members, thank you for showing up and supporting your children and their academics. To all of the community members mentioned above, mahalo for your support and interest in our school. We are so grateful for all of your continuous support throughout the year and hope to have the same effect and interest for the years to come. Mahalo nui loa, everybody, and you may be blessed with prosperity and peace for all of your good deeds for our loved ones in school and everywhere.

SARA KANEMITSU, PCNC Facilitator, Princess Nahienanena Elementary School

MAHALO FOR DONATING SLIPPERS FOR CHILDREN

A big mahalo goes out to Dennis Elms, president of West Maui Lions, Lion Tamer Ron Larsen and Secretary Cheryl Bularon for donating 47 new pairs of slippers to the Health Room at Princess Nahienaena Elementary School. It is greatly appreciated by the number of students who are in need of new slippers.

CHARLAINE AMINE, Lahaina

SHARK TOURS BANNED

Safe Waters for Hawaii wants each and every one of you to know you have created positive and lasting change in the ocean waters of Maui County that honors our kupuna and looks toward making sure the waters of Maui County are safe for our family, friends, neighbors and our keiki in the future.

The Maui County Council UNANIMOUSLY PASSED the Shark Viewing Tour Ban Ordinance on Sept. 4. What was a proposed ordinance shall now become law in Maui County. This is awesome news. Your e-mails, calls and testifying at the Maui County Council made an enormous impact.

Mahalo to the Maui County Council for having the vision and wisdom to see how important it is to not have shark viewing tours established in Maui, Molokai and Lanai, out of respect for the cultural beliefs of our Native Hawaiian community and for the ocean safety of all our community members.

Mahalo to Kihei Canoe Club for taking the lead on this issue for Maui County, and Councilman Wayne Nishiki, who introduced the proposed ordinance.

Nishiki’s office has communicated to Safe Waters for Hawaii that they are willing to work with Hawaii County and Kauai County on a similar ordinance. If there are community members from either county who would like to see this type of ordinance in their county, please let Safe Waters for Hawaii know.

The Safe Waters for Hawaii grassroots community continues to grow — our newest groups to join are the Maui Sierra Club and the North Shore Renegades Canoe Club Maui. Let us know if you know of any organizations who would like to join the efforts of Safe Waters for Hawaii (www.safewatersforhawaii.com).

E kaupe aku no i ka hoe a ko mai. Put forward the paddle and draw it back. Go on with the task that is started and finish it.

Mahalo to all of you for your continued support of the Safe Waters for Hawaii statewide movement.

SAFE WATERS FOR HAWAII

HARD TIMES? NOT FOR BUREAUCRACIES

The ability of government to insulate itself from the economic hardships that families and businesses across the nation have been forced to grapple with over the last 20 months is both astounding and frightening.

It’s astounding when you consider the fact that any entity — public or private — could possibly keep its workforce intact during such a steep, sustained economic downturn. But it’s also frightening when you consider the lengths to which these taxpayer-funded bureaucracies have gone in order to protect their fiefdoms from harm, while the rest of the nation — which has to pay for all of those government salaries — continues to hemorrhage jobs.

Since the beginning of the current recession in December of 2007, the private sector has lost nearly seven million jobs. Also, the vast majority of these layoffs came after politicians in Washington spent hundreds of billions of dollars on “stimulus” efforts, which were nothing more than bureaucratic bailouts in disguise.

How many jobs has the government sector lost over that same time period, you may ask? That’s easy… NONE.

More than just a chilling reminder of the degree to which government will cannibalize the free market in order to protect its own interests (remember, several generations of American workers are going to have to pay back all of that bailout cash), this expansion of the public sector workforce at the expense of private sector jobs also underscores the danger of turning over our nation’s health care system to a government-run market.

Isn’t it obvious at this point that government “gamed the system” in order to insulate itself from cuts at a time when the rest of the nation was taking it squarely on the chin? What, then, is to prevent it from doing the same thing with respect to the health care industry? Or any other industry, for that matter?

Long before a single vote was cast in favor of America’s recent debt-exploding government bailouts, free market advocates warned the leaders of both political parties in Washington, D.C. against trying to “spend their way” out of a recession. They were also told in no uncertain terms that pouring money into inefficient government bureaucracies, new agenda driven spending and unsustainable entitlement programs did not constitute a “stimulus.” Sadly, Washington refused to listen.

Meanwhile, the worst is still yet to come for taxpayers, who after being placed on the hook for the cost of an unprecedented government intervention, are still awaiting relief from astronomical unemployment rates and frozen credit markets.

Government has always had a problem living within its means during any budget climate, but its refusal to do so during this recession is creating a much greater hole for America’s depleted workforce to overcome.

HOWARD RICH, Chairman, Americans for Limited Government