Vote for better representation on the council

The deadline to register to vote is coming up fast (Oct. 8). I recently registered to vote because I think it’s important. Not because of Obama vs. Romney, but because my interests aren’t being represented here on Maui.

Neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney would make a motion to remove Honolua’s Lipoa Point from preservation; that was Maui’s own Mike White, with Mike Victorino, Gladys Baisa, Joe Pontanilla and Danny Mateo supporting him in this shameful maneuver. I expect a better solution to the problem from those who represent me.

What they have done by making this motion is create a lose-lose situation for everyone but Maui Land & Pineapple, “the corporation.”

There is no guarantee whatsoever that this will ensure the pensioners get all of what is owed to them for the rest of their life, and we the people lose any protection that has been fought for over the past five years. Does our council remember MLP lobbying for entitlements at Kapalua Mauka? They got their entitlements, and yet they still shut down farming operations and laid everyone off. The same is slated to happen at Honolua.

This is the beginning of real change – organizing, informing, educating and becoming engaged in important issues.

Also, we need to vote on an OHA trustee that will represent for water rights and state representatives that will repeal Act 55, which created DLNR’s Public Land Development Corporation arm. Developing Hawaii’s public lands for private profit? Grand theft ‘aina!

GEORGE KAUALANI VIERRA, Napili

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A solution to preserve Honolua

When I talk to people about Honolua (all day every day), people say that preservation means just that. Most people want Honolua to stay the same, as it is. Keeping Honolua in preservation in the general plan would downgrade the zoning from agriculture to conservation for the next 20 years. (At my age, 20 years goes by pretty quickly.)

Conservation zoning can be changed, and you can still build one house per TMK in a conservation zone.

To me, the best way to keep Honolua the same would be a conservation easement on Field 53.

This can be created by purchasing the development rights from the landowner, to be held in trust by a third party like the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust, as was done right across from Honolua at Kainalu Ranch on Molokai. This is as close to “forever” as anything.

In that transaction, state “legacy lands” matching funds were used. The more complicated and expensive way would be for the county to purchase the whole property and then create a new land trust, requiring an endowment.

Most people do not want to see Honolua become an “active” county park. (Mayor Arakawa is a proponent of concessions in county parks.)

Out on the surfers’ access road, there is a small green sign that says “No Snorkel Access.” This is at the end of the Marine Life Conservation District, and beyond it is active (and legal) pole and spear fishing in summer and surfers’ parking in winter. Liability of an active park would end up forcing the creation of stairways out on the point that most people don’t want.

The surfers usually jump off Miloiki Point, the boogie borders off Puiwa Point, both avoiding the reef. If there were stairways, the tourists would be entering the water by walking on the reef backwards with their swim fins.

During the last round of negotiations (when myspace was THE social media), the landowner was willing to trade park credits from already approved projects for Honolua. Now, since the property has been used as collateral, they will probably need at least some cash to unencumber the property.

Let’s think out of the box. We know Mr. Arakawa’s priority is the Pali to Puamana Parkway. Maybe we could use the park credits from Kapalua Mauka to buy the “p2p” and the cash he was going to use to buy the development rights to Honolua. Perhaps we could trade park credits and resolve the TVR issue at Kapalua Mauka for Honolua (there are new laws that clear the way for this to happen). There are options, and I am still optimistic.

In the early 1970s, Honolua was eyed as a great place to build a boat harbor! We stopped this idea by making Honolua a Marine Life Conservation District. There was only about a dozen of us at those public hearings. At least nowadays, more people are paying attention!

It is a complicated and sensitive issue that needs to be addressed. If not now, when?

LES POTTS, Napili

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Move if you don’t like cane smoke

Someone recently said you should blame your realtor who sold you the property because he didn’t warn you about the cane burning. The letter writer was absolutely right.

HC&S is the last sugar plantation in the state. All others have shut down for one reason or another, but I think it was because they couldn’t show enough of a profit.

Did you know that the sugar plantations were responsible for bringing thousands of immigrant workers from Asia to work the fields? They were the reason we have such a diverse ethnic population here – and we all get along nicely.

Did you know that children of this diverse ethnic population were members of the famed 442nd Battalion, who fought valiantly during World War II? They also fought in wars of the more recent years, but I know you get the point I’m making.

And then there are those who complain about the cane smoke until it becomes redundant. HC&S Co. employs something like 800 workers, who would be put out of work if it shuts down.

Another form of harvesting could make it less profitable to keep operating. So, the only suggestion I can give is to go live in an area where the wind doesn’t blow the smoke toward you, whether that be Huelo, Keanae, Ohio or Timbuktu.

They are choices only you have to make, but you must stop trying to shut down the livelihood of 800 people who only know the job they’re doing now.

Then came the complainers, and you don’t have to guess where they came from.

Complaints about traffic gridlock on Honoapiilani Highway and wishes for more lanes. There was a man from Long Island who warned us about more roads, because that’s what they did back there. That only caused more building with more people and more cars, causing the same gridlock they had before. So, more roads were built only to cause more development and then the same gridlock.

So many of you came here that there were a number of developers who followed you here and built a few thousand homes everywhere for you to come and buy, because Maui was such a beautiful place.

But it’s been overdone, and now you’re complaining and have no idea that you are part of the cause.

Stay if you like; go if you don’t. The choice is yours to make, but stop the B.S. because we don’t want any six-lane highways here.

I went to school in Omaha and rode the greyhound to the West Coast several times. The odd thing is that there was no cane burning along the way. Ring a ding?

GORDON C. COCKETT, Lahaina

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Why would candidate insult his party?

Although I am a part-time resident, as a lifelong supporter of the Republican Party, I felt compelled to show my contempt toward Chayne Marten’s letter to the editor, only because I find it unbelievable that a G.O.P. nominee would publicly dismiss and distance himself from our party and our ideals in a public forum.

Maybe I should be glad he has publicly disavowed being a Republican, because quite frankly, all I have read from him is nothing but negative rants. Not only is it embarrassing that he is bringing in that type of campaigning to Maui from the continental U.S., but he hasn’t shown me any ideas on how he could do better than the current guy in getting state action in the cul-de-sac that is West Maui (which he seems to be doing quite well, given all the work I’ve seen on the roads on this side).

In the other races in Maui, the Republicans are running positive, idea-driven campaigns focusing on bipartisanship and fiscal responsibility, while Marten has distinguished himself by running a campaign that, as far as I can see, entirely consists of rambling philosophy banners and attack letters in the paper.

I would hope that as the Republican nominee for this office, Marten would use his space in the paper to set out some positive ideas that will truly embody the party of aloha. I would hope that the other Hawaii Republican candidates, especially our standard bearer for the U.S. Senate, Linda Lingle, will stand by the party and distance themselves from this person, as it does not reflect well upon the spirit and messages of their candidacies.

Since Marten has gone to great lengths to remind voters that he does not support the Republican Party, as evidenced by his statements that he desired to run as an independent instead, I would hope that the Republican voters of the 10th District will, in light of these proclamations, extend the same level of support to him.

GORN ELLISAR, Kaanapali

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Negative political campaign run through letters

Well, today I received the 9/27/12 issue of the Lahaina News, and for the fourth week in a row, candidate Chayne Marten for State House District 10 continues to run his negative campaign against his opponent, Rep. Angus McKelvey, via this newspaper’s letters section.

Candidate Marten states, “I will serve no more than two terms in this office.” Really… so if by chance he makes it to Honolulu, does this candidate expect to be greeted with open arms and blank checks for funding to correct West Maui’s problems that he lists in his communication by the Oahu delegation of the State Legislature?

And furthermore, all this he will have accomplished in four years! There was a fictional character who lived in a never-ending dream world; his name was Walter Mitty. I feel candidate Marten has the same thought processes as good old Walter.

Get away from your computer keyboard, candidate Marten, and get out there and meet the West Maui voters like your opponent does. Stop using letters as your bully pulpit.

It is refreshing to see that Rep. McKelvey has not lowered himself to this type of a negative campaign.

SCOTT DONOVAN, Lahaina

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Dog owners should be responsible

I salute Marishia Hannemann and the Shark Pit neighborhood for coming together to clean up the area.

Over the last 40 years, I’ve had the pleasure of surfing there on too many occasions to count. Many times early in the morning, I’ve had to step over and around people sleeping on the beach, encountered people drinking to excess, etc.

One of the overlooked situations on that beach is the amount of dog poop on the beach and above the high tide mark.

Yes, there are plastic bags provided; and yes, some residents/visitors clean up after their animals. Not all of them; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked down to surf and dodged copious amounts of poop.

I would hope the residents of the neighborhood watch will keep an eye on this also. It really ruins the beach.

RICK SODEN, West Maui