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LETTERS for October 10 issue

By Staff | Oct 10, 2013

Washington bureaucrats acting like spoiled children

I am writing this because I am truly sick and tired of the way that the politicians in Washington, D.C., are behaving in regard to shutting down the federal government. Why the hell don’t you do your jobs, like you were elected to do? All the politicians are misbehaving like a bunch of spoiled children.

They are acting worse than my grandchildren behave. If you can’t represent the public, then be a grownup and get out of the office.

First of all, you are way overpaid, and you don’t do what you are elected to do.

Second, you all realize that you have found a cash cow and don’t do anything special to collect your pay.

Third and finally, look at the medical coverage you have. Maybe you would like to swap insurance coverage with me for a few months?

You should ALL be ashamed of yourselves. Start doing a decent job or get the hell out of office.

Mahalo for listening.

ROBERT POTTER, Lahaina

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Papers should report conditions for projects

A large-scale development in Kihei was recently approved by our Planning Commission, and I wonder where we locals are supposed to sit when they do this. Another project that we don’t need is what I’m talking about.

Remember, each unit times two is what the number of cars will be added to our roads. If this keeps up, we’ll need more roads and more roads and more roads and look like Honolulu on the TV morning news. And I mean roads that WE will have to pay for, because the developer is long gone to someplace else and took his profits with him.

We are not told what conditions were laid out for him, so we just have to guess, or whether or not he had to leave some money behind. But we’re not told with whom it was left, so we just have to sit and wonder.

New development means more water needed. Kihei gets their water from the Wailuku system, I believe. Upcountry already has severe problems and is asked for conservation every time we turn around. When are these people going to fix problems before creating more of them?

As I’ve said before, “This is an island in the middle of the ocean, and people who came from someplace else are trying to sink it.” And I’m including some people who already live here.

In closing, I would like to ask the newspaper reports to include conditions imposed on the approval of any development, so we can pretend to be a little bit more informed.

GORDON C. COCKETT, Lahaina

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Lifeguard station bears Ron Cassidy’s mural

(The following letter was sent to Mayor Alan Arakawa.)

Thank you for your time and consideration. On Oct. 8 or 9, the lifeguard station at D.T. Fleming Beach Park is scheduled to be demolished.

This station in particular is an icon in our small West Side community. It bears a mural of a beloved longtime resident who passed away in 2007, Ron Cassidy, and was built by local contractor Doug Pitzer in 1998 at no cost to the county. This may not seem an important issue to you in the big scheme of things, but to people who frequent this location and live in our community, it is.

All we ask is that you make a small adjustment and allow Pitzer, a licensed general contractor on Maui, to get in there and repair this existing lifeguard station using community resources, local businesses and personal donations, once again at no cost to the county. Pitzer is willing to construct a letter stating that his company will bear the burden of the repairs. I think this may be a financially prudent decision, seeing a new station will be a tremendous expense to the county.

Please help us accomplish this task. Thank you once again, Mr. Mayor, for your time and help.

HEATHER HIRSCHSON, West Maui

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Project’s impacts not addressed in EIS

The EIS for the Kahoma, Stanford Carr proposal states that all of the schools are overcrowded, but that building in excess of 200 homes will not have a negative effect on the schools. How is this possible? As a current substitute teacher at all of these schools, I can assure you we need relief, not added congestion. Clearly, whoever wrote that there will be no effect is in no way familiar with the problems of congestion at these schools.

The EIS states that the homes will have no effect on the medical situation in Lahaina; however, a state Certificate of Need has been issued due to the need for better medical facilities on the West Side. Due to economic considerations, the hospital has not yet been built. How can it be – if it is already shown that there is need, and if 200-plus homes are built with a presumed occupancy of three persons per home – that the projected 600 residents will have no effect on the medical situation?

The EIS states that it will have no effect on the public enjoying Baby Beach, but the fact is that Baby Beach goers have traditionally parked on the Weinberg property to go to the beach. The developer has installed eight no parking signs, telling people to no longer park on their land. It is presumed that if they no longer park there, then the development will not have a negative effect on the beach goers. The fact is that their action already has a negative effect. They have stated that the people can park on the street, but there is reduced street parking across the street. It should be presumed that the people already have a de facto prescriptive easement to park on that property to visit the beach.

The EIS states that there will not be a negative impact on the traffic. Presuming that there will be three cars per household, and that there are already tie-ups of traffic at Kapunakea Street at Honoapiiliani Highway and Front/Fleming (which are the logical streets upon which to turn north), how is it possible to not have a negative effect? Also, interestingly, the only direct way to get to Keawe Street is through the Longs parking lot. This is not a roadway; a roadway is needed. Further, there are traffic tie-ups at said driveway and Front Street every night due to luau traffic. How can the addition of 600 cars have no effect? Next, there is no adequate provision for bike lanes, which should be built on each abutting street and highway.

Further, there are multi-time daily congestions at Papalaua Street and Honoapiilani Highway. On a normal basis, it takes two cycles to turn makai coming from the south onto Papalaua. The added cars MUST add to this congestion. I believe there have been numerous complaints about this area, including Wainee Street.

Next, the EIS is suggesting that the requirement for parks be reduced. It is expressly requested by the Maui County Veterans Council that this money be set aside specifically for the projected West Side Memorial Parks (Graveyard) for veterans and civilians. There is a large need and demand for this Memorial Parks system.

There has been no mitigation of flows to ocean drainage. Scrubbers should be installed at each drain. There has also been no tsunami mitigation.

PAUL LAUB, Lahaina