Opposed to more hotels in Kaanapali

I was deeply saddened to see plans to carve up the Kaanapali Golf Courses and build more hotels. I thought the new Westin Nanea was the final piece of the resort master plan, but apparently I was wrong.

Open space is vanishing, and we are beyond a critical housing shortage in West Maui, especially for working class people. Here are my suggestions:

Leave the remaining beach near the Maui Eldorado alone. An oceanfront restaurant and condo would destroy the last quiet place on the beach.

The remaining coastline should be permanently protected by a moratorium on building. Instead of a landlocked hotel adjacent to the highway, developers could build employee housing on the location where the pro shop and driving range currently sit.

Rental apartments for hotel workers would generate revenue for the state pension fund. It would create a permanent income stream. It would reduce traffic. It would help stabilize the employment force in the resort and provide employees with a better quality of life.

Developers were once required to build at least some workforce housing as a concession for permitting hotel units. A great idea in theory, but one I have rarely seen happen in my nearly 45 years as a West Maui resident.

It is entirely possible that one day there will be no working people who can afford to live here. Then what will the hotels do for employees?

KIRK BOES, Lahaina

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Slow traffic on the Pali is nothing new

Some things just don’t change. Here is the entry dated July 1, 1905 from the diary of Arthur Waal, who was Lahaina’s postmaster from 1898 to 1916:

“Mr. Dow has made the trip from Lahaina to Wailuku in one hour and fifteen minutes though it usually takes a little longer. His car was made by the Ford Motor company of Detroit. Mr. Dow will soon buy a larger machine.”

THEO MORRISON, Executive Director, Lahaina Restoration Foundation

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How the U.S. can remove Trump from office

I, like many folks, would like to see His Royal Hinny Trump removed from office post haste. He has become an amusement ride no one can afford. Our founding fathers must have anticipated future voter angst when they excluded any provision for recall of the Executive or Legislative branches of government.

There exist two ways to rid the White House of a president, and those are through impeachment by Congress, and by invoking and using the 25th Amendment. That amendment addresses a grave illness of the president such as stroke or heart attack. The vice president can also declare that he or she feels the president is unable to continue, and that morphs into a congressional trial.

Mike Pence just opened his own PAC without fanfare the other day. What’s up? Cataclysmic Incompetence is not a condition – or up until now – that has been included in reasons for removal from office.

The ability of the electorate to recall a president or member of Congress would first require that the issue be placed on a ballot for an up or down vote during an already scheduled election, or the inclusion of a special election addressing only the recall issue, or perhaps another amendment to the Constitution. Any and all of these options could be prohibitively costly in terms of both time and money. By the time recall becomes law, a fellow like Trump could easily have killed our dream.

We, as a species, have always had difficulty with our perception of time. We cannot seem to recognize that the impact of an action we take today could gravely influence our lives in the future. I am certain that those souls who voted for Trump did not think past the election. They did not know that he would began burglarizing America by refusing to divest himself from his businesses, by ignoring the emoluments clause in the Constitution (Trump is not allowed to profit from foreign states through any of his properties), and by orchestrating his presidency as if it were just another one of his businesses.

A case in point: without seeking counsel, The Donald has through daily behavior declared Mar-A-Lago the southern White House. It is proffered that he will spend more in his first year as president on travel, security and family inclusions in the business of the presidency (violating nepotism laws) than President Obama did in eight years. This man’s ego is unparalleled except for two of his heroes: Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin.

Of all the damage and danger he can impart on America’s citizens, his fetid desire to modify the ACA will result in the murder of tens of thousands of our young and poor and our aged. If Trump and the Republican Congress succeed, very real and premeditated murder will be caused by removing many of the newly insured 24 million Americans. To espouse that money is more important than a lifesaving procedure is crap in the first degree, especially as the $600 billion-plus projected savings profanely squirms into the pockets of this nation’s one percent. The ACA has some housekeeping and custodial problems, but none that rise to the need to change the basic healthcare bill known as Obamacare.

When Trump ordered the attack on Syria’s airfield in response to Bashir Assad’s chemical attack on his own people, nothing was accomplished. Fifty-nine of the Tomahawk cruise missiles (at a base cost of $800,000 each) killed the dirt surrounding the runways and other import buildings. No real harm was done to the airfield. Nevertheless, the strike was touted as a success by the those looking for any bright light in this increasingly dark world.

Trump is evil incarnate, and he needs to be excised from the hope and the dream that is uniquely American. Perhaps his son-in-law – with no military experience, or having ever distinguished himself in any way – can save the day. These are times when we really need to question what we hope for!

DAVID HAYDEN, Lahaina

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Shutting down the meat industry

This past Sunday, animal rights activists shut down the 146-year-old Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus after years of effectively exposing them for animal abuse. Can the meat and dairy industry be far behind?

The shift toward plant-based eating is everywhere. Fast-food chains like Chipotle, Quiznos, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell and Wendy’s offer plant-based options. Parade, Better Homes and Gardens, and Eating Well are all touting vegan recipes.

Indeed, Global Meat News reports that nearly half of consumers are reducing their meat intake. Beef consumption has dropped by 43 percent in the past 40 years.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt views replacement of meat by plant protein as the world’s #1 technical trend. The financial investment community is betting on innovative start-ups, like Beyond Meat, or Impossible Foods, while warning clients about ?death of meat.?

Even new Tyson Foods CEO Tom Hayes sees plant protein as meat industry’s future. The industry needs to transition to plant-based foods, or shut down like the Greatest Show on Earth.

In the meantime, every one of us can shut the meat and dairy industry out of our own kitchen by checking out the rich collection of plant-based entrees, milks, cheeses and ice creams in our supermarket.

LESTER NAITO, Lahaina

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Improve your health through a vegan diet

You can’t be “fat, but fit.” That’s the conclusion from University of Birmingham researchers who analyzed data showing that overweight people are more likely to die from heart attacks or strokes, even if they are “metabolically healthy,” meaning that their blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels are in the “safe” range.

The study, involving 3.5 million people, suggests that obese individuals are 50 percent more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease than people who maintain a healthy weight. They also have a seven percent greater risk of cerebrovascular disease, which can double one’s risk of heart failure or lead to a stroke.

If you want to be thin and fit – and reduce your risk of life-threating diseases – exercise and eat tasty vegan foods, which tend to be low in fat and calories. They’re also often high in fiber and complex carbohydrates, which help boost your metabolism so you burn more calories.

Research shows that, on average, vegans have lower body mass indexes, or BMIs, than vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, and vegans are considerably less likely to suffer from diabetes and other obesity-related diseases. See www.PETA.org for more information and a free vegan starter kit.

HEATHER MOORE, PETA Foundation