CHURCH SETS CURFEW TO LESSEN NOISE

As the senior pastor of Lahaina United Methodist Church, I would like to extend my deepest apology for the noise disturbance caused by a segment of our church membership, which was reported in the Nov. 24 Lahaina News.

Due to this reported concern, I have set a new curfew for the church community of 9 p.m. to be effective immediately. My desire is to have the entire fellowship of the church community honor this curfew.

I ask, however, two dates be allowed exceptions to this curfew. The first is Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve), and the second is Dec. 31, so a New Year’s Eve Watch Night Service can be celebrated.

Should the community ever find this curfew is not being honored, I ask our neighborhood to contact me personally at 661-3320 or 661-0420, so I can quickly resolve this matter.

REV. PAUL TANGONAN, Senior Pastor, Lahaina United Methodist Church

MAHALO FOR THE GIFT OF UKULELE

This sincere mahalo is sent to J.D DeLoria from the George Kahumoku Ukulele Kidz Players.

Goodness comes from the heart, and we were truly warmed by your generosity.

Your very kind donation of four ukulele to our keiki in memory of your daughter, Sophia DeLoria, has brought music into our lives.

In your tragic loss, you have shared with us the special love you have for your daughter, and we will cherish this always.

In return, the George Kahumoku Ukulele Kidz Players, with pride, will dedicate our practice hours to Sophia in honor of her passion for life.

GEORGE KAHUMOKU & UKULELE KIDZ PLAYERS

TEACHERS AND PARENTS: UNITE DURING THE HOLIDAYS!

Students are rejoicing winter break is upon us! NO MORE HOMEWORK!

That may be true, but learning does not have to stop. Here are some ideas to keep education going, even though your child is not in the classroom. This goes for all ages.

Math lesson: by rounding each product in your shopping cart, estimate what the total will be at checkout… maybe a prize for the person closest? If you are buying more than one of something, use addition or multiplication to know the total cost.

Social studies: where is this product from? How many of the things you buy come from the same place? Why does this product come from this location?

Science: what is the main ingredient? What are the nutritional values? How many of the products you are buying list the first ingredient as water or sugar?

Reading and advertising: What is the title of the product you are buying? Why did they name it that? Who are they targeting to buy this particular product? What advertising made you buy this? Did you see it on TV?

And one of the most interesting lessons I taught this year: how many people and technologies did it take for a product to end up at a store so you could purchase it?

For example, for a can of corn, who grew the corn? What was needed to grow it, pick it, husk it, put it in a can and bring it to the store? It’s amazing when you think of it… and it’s on sale for 99 cents.

The ways parents can continue to educate their children are endless. Need some hints just ask a teacher!

Happy Holidays keep on learning!

KAREN TWITCHELL, King Kamehameha III Elementary School

CHEMTRAILS ARE DANGEROUS

These chemtrails over the Napili area are deadly to those with asthma, pulmonary disease, cancer or other life-threatening disease. I have asthma and have had so many bad days over the past three months. I have taken more than my usual amount of Advair along with my inhaler.

Along with this problem is the burning in my throat, eyes and on my skin, and the terrible chemical smell – especially late at night. This has got to stop. It is also affecting our animals and the beautiful, clear Maui air we used to breathe here on West Maui in Napili.

I hate waking up to this smell in the middle of the night, only to gag on the stench of chemicals.

TERE PATTERSON, Napili

LINGLE COMMENTS ON MONK SEAL PLAN

A recent proposal by the federal government to make 4,787 square miles of land and water in Hawaii a federal critical habitat is another example of government overreach and insensitivity to the concerns of the people of this state.

I am calling upon the federal Department of the Interior to postpone this action until such time as the economic and social consequences to the people of Hawaii are fully understood and addressed.

While I support efforts to protect and preserve endangered species, such as the Hawaiian Monk Seal, these efforts should be carried out with a sensitivity to the people and activities they impact. And they should be based on extensive public input and solid economic and scientific data.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is proposing to designate almost the entire coastlines and surrounding waters of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau and Kahoolawe as a critical habitat for monk seals. The designation would include the shorelines up to 16 feet inland and the oceans out to a depth of 1,640 feet. The total area would cover 4,787 square miles. To put this into perspective, the entire State of Hawaii is 6,459 square miles. The habitat would be equal to almost 75 percent of the size of our State.

NOAA published their proposed rule last June in a federal publication that few citizens read (The Federal Register). They gave the public only 60 days to respond to a proposed rule that could last for over 50 years. Only after receiving letters from elected officials who were alerted by concerned fishermen, native Hawaiian groups, and community activists, did NOAA agree to reopen the public comment period.

As the former governor of the State of Hawaii, I am concerned about the potential adverse impacts this rule could have on such important activities as clean energy projects (such as wave energy, ocean-thermal energy, and seawater air conditioning), aquaculture, fishing, military activities, harbor improvements and near-shore construction (including airports modernization and highway reconstruction). NOAA’s economic report acknowledges that insufficient information currently exists to measure the financial impacts on these activities.

NOAA also acknowledges the monk seal population has been declining in those areas where the critical habitat designation has been in place for over 20 years (the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands), but the seal population has been increasing where no designation is in place (the main Hawaiian islands).

These proposed rules are yet another example of the “one size fits all” approach from the federal government in Washington, D.C. I believe it is essential that we put People First and find solutions that allow the seal population to increase without adversely harming humans.

Given the large size of the proposed habitat designation, the extended length of time it could be in place, the fact that the seals are doing better in the main islands without a habitat designation and that most of the economic impacts have not been quantified, I am calling upon NOAA and its parent agency, the Department of the Interior, to postpone action on their rule-making until such time as the economic and social consequences to the people of Hawaii are fully understood and addressed.

LINDA LINGLE, Candidate for U.S. Senate