Bryan Poland (left) and Capt. Paul Watson of the renowned Sea Shepherd Society talked during the “Stringz n Finz” Conservation and Education Benefit at Lumeria Maui on June 17. Poland noted, “In 1982, the Japanese harpoon ship Shonan Maru 2 was tied up in Honolulu Harbor with two others. The ships were boarded by Greenpeace activists, and skull and crossbones flags were tied to the masts of the ships. My ship was the Shonan Maru 2, but I couldn’t put the flag where I needed to go, so instead I climbed up to the top of the radar tower, amongst an enormous cacophony of shouting and swearing from the Japanese crewmembers. Thirty-seven years later, that same Shonan Maru 2 was in the Southern Pacific Ocean harassing Captain Paul Watson’s vessel on a mission to protect the whales. This is the pirate flag from the Japanese ship.”

Hirono offered no solution for healthcare

The recent letter by Sen. Mazie Hirono expressed concern that the replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would leave those with pre-existing conditions without coverage. The problem is that the ACA itself does not and will not have a reasonable amount of funds to provide that coverage, largely because there are not enough people enrolling in the plan before conditions occur to provide the funds needed to sustain the plan.

Last month I submitted a letter presenting a possible bi-partisan solution for this of having coverage for pre-existing conditions be time limited, like for one year, or compromised in some way so as to encourage enrollment in the plan before conditions arise, like insurance works. This then would provide the larger amount of funds needed to sustain the plan and provide coverage when conditions do occur.

This would put responsibility on both individuals and government, but there would be coverage. Those who did not join the system early on would still not be left without care as the senator warns, but could still use the present safeguard of guaranteed access to hospital emergency departments with salaried staff, on-call caregivers and follow-up. Those would then could be reimbursed directly by the government, bypassing the much more expensive “middle-men” of the insurance companies.

People would not have to be coerced into joining the plan but could still self-ensure, join another plan or obtain insurance coverage themselves, which should then be more competitive and lower in cost than now.

DR. GEORGE S. LAVENSON, Lahaina

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Bypass needs to skirt congested areas

I would like to know when the route of the Lahaina Bypass changed. I have lived in West Maui for over 46 years, and I remember being told that the bypass would go from Launiupoko to Honokowai. Now, all of a sudden, I am hearing that it is heading the other way toward Olowalu. That totally defeats the purpose of a “bypass!”

The definition of a bypass is as follows: A road passing around a town or its center to provide an alternative route for through traffic (synonyms: detour, alternate route, alternative route, diversion, shortcut).

The bulk of most of the problem is the congestion of Lahaina Town and Kaanapali. It is true that we do need an “alternative” route when accidents and slow pokes are over the Pali and in Olowalu. But, we need the originally planned Lahaina Bypass to truly bypass Lahaina.

Let’s get back to what was promised to me and multiple others in West Maui.

SU CAMPOS, Napili

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Cell transmitters can make you sick

I live in Kihei off Ohukai Road. I have been battling symptoms of microwave radiation sickness ever since I moved here from Haiku. I did not know that a building nearby had more than 30 cell transmitters mounted on their roof. It was not disclosed to me.

Cell transmitters produce microwaves, and I have been suffering BADLY from microwave poisoning. Symptoms are: extreme headaches, heavy eye pains, heart palpitations, ticking in my ears, disruptive sleep, brain fog, rashes, nausea, tiredness and fatigue, along with many more symptoms.

I have spent thousands of dollars trying to shield my home to at least provide me a safer place to sleep. My home is so radiated that I cannot work in my kitchen, eat at my dining room table, sit in my easy chair, watch TV, work in my home office, sleep in my bedroom or be anywhere in my home without feeling all the excruciating pains from microwaves that are pounding my brain and body daily 24/7. This is criminal trespassing at its worst.

I have lived on pain meds daily just to get by. I feel deep stabbing pains in my head and eyes almost every area of Kihei now, and especially anytime I get near any towers or transmitters. Kihei is oversaturated with transmitters.

With 12 more transmitters recently installed, there are over 42 transmitters mounted in a two-block area. If you live anywhere within a few miles of this area in North Kihei, are you feeling any of these symptoms? Was there any notice or public input about approving the new installations?

Also, Wi-Fi is another BIG source of radiation. So many homeowners not only use it but leave it on 24/7, radiating their entire family and neighbors. I have over 20 neighbor Wi-Fi signals invading my home constantly from uneducated owners.

It won’t do you any good to complain to the FCC – the government agency that was supposed to protect us. That agency has been owned by the cell industry for years, thanks to Obama. I called, and they said they have no agents in Hawaii, and they let the cell companies police themselves – free rein of course.

It also won’t do any good to call Rob Parsons at Maui County, as he does NOT return calls.

If you need a doctor, or have wasted tons of money already trying to find the causes of your headaches, eye pains, etc. – good luck! I have yet to find a neurologist that cares to understand or have any knowledge or training to diagnosis my condition known as EHS: Electro hyper sensitivity.

My constant pain and suffering have now reached debilitating conditions; I have to abandon my home and move out of Kihei. Most beaches and recreational parks are also inundated with heavy cell microwaves and Wi-Fi pollution.

You may not feel the radiation as I do now, BUT your exposure is damaging your cells and can make you sick. Cancers are happening at an ALARMING rate everywhere, and YOU and your family are NOT immune.

If anyone has any knowledge that can help, please contact me.

RON SCHRANZ, Kihei

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Trump cuts critical services to pay for wealthy tax cuts

Why would President Trump so cruelly threaten the care of millions of Americans by drastically cutting Medicaid in his recently released budget? Sadly, there’s a simple explanation: he wants to give huge tax cuts to big corporations and billionaires like himself.

It’s been widely reported that President Trump’s proposed budget would steal trillions of dollars from services that working families rely on, including Medicaid, Social Security and public education. What makes the cuts even more outrageous is that they’re being used to pay for Trump’s massive tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. So much for his populist promises from the campaign trail.

Trump’s proposed budget would cut $4.3 trillion overall over ten years from a full spectrum of vital public services, including education, nutrition, medical and disability insurance, NASA, national parks, environmental protection and medical research.

Trump’s budget would take away tax credits from low-income workers and parents. He would make it harder for students to afford college, families to put food on the table, seniors to get nursing home care and injured workers to support themselves.

At the same time, Trump is preparing a tax plan that could cost $6 trillion (based on the proposal he put forward last year during the campaign), mostly to the benefit of the wealthy and huge corporations. He claims the tax cuts will pay for themselves through greater economic growth, but that would defy all historical precedent and basic arithmetic. No reputable experts agree with the administration’s claim.

So, Trump and Republicans in Congress will really be paying for their high-end tax breaks by taking away services that working families and seniors rely on.

There are numerous examples of this terrible tradeoff – cutting services for ordinary people to fund tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy – throughout Trump’s fiscal plans.

For example, Trump would cut $2.5 trillion over ten years from services directed at low- and moderate income families. This would essentially pay for a $2 trillion tax cut for the “pass-through” business income of hedge fund managers, corporate lawyers and real estate developers (like Trump). This tax break is such a personal financial boon for the president – his business is composed of more than 500 pass-through entities – that it’s been rightly dubbed “The Trump Loophole.”

Trump’s budget would cut $610 billion from Medicaid, which provides health care coverage for more than one in five Americans – nearly 69 million people. Medicaid pays for half of all nursing home and other long-term care. Yet Trump wants to let tax-dodging multinational corporations off the hook for $600 billion in U.S. taxes they owe on profits they’ve stashed offshore.

Trump proposes slashing $192 billion over the next decade from nutrition assistance (food stamps) that 42 million people need to keep from going hungry. Yet Trump’s plan to abolish the estate tax would give away $174 billion to millionaires and billionaires. The estate tax only affects the richest one in 500 families – those couples with fortunes of $11 million and up.

Millionaires, billionaires and rich corporations do not need more tax breaks – they need to start paying their fair share. Any attempt by the president to slash public services essential to the health and well-being of America’s working families to pay for these tax breaks must be stopped. The lives of millions of people must not be put at risk.

FRANK CLEMENTE, Americans for Tax Fairness