Proposed cell tower too close to neighborhoods

I just attended a meeting at Kapalua in regards to the Verizon tower that is being proposed for location in Napili. It will be located right across from the Napili Fire Station, Honoapiilani Highway and close to the school. When I attended the meeting, there were only five other people there from our community.

I had not heard of this meeting until my friend who lives in Napilihau Villages received a letter from the engineering company representing Verizon. I live in the original Napilihau Community, and I was unaware of this issue. Nothing was in the local newspapers either.

This is what always happens when developers want to destroy our neighborhoods without proper notice and community meetings. Sneak it in the back door – no one will notice! It’s sort of like the windmills on Oahu… too late; built already!!

Here we go again. Developers sneak around, building stuff that is unneeded and unwanted in our backyards without our knowledge. The location of this tower is too close to the school and our neighborhoods. There is much research showing the harmful effects from these towers.

Someone at the meeting suggested putting the tower smack dab in the middle of any Kapalua golf course or by the million dollar homes in Kapalua… not a bad idea. Or why not put the tower up in the West Maui Mountains on Maui Land & Pine property?

I asked the gentlemen there, “Why are you building this, when our Verizon reception is just fine?” Bottom line, it’s all about the money and beating all the other cell phone companies to access to more economic opportunities.

I am sick and tired of seeing my beautiful island destroyed by these companies. Leave us BE!

Please, neighbors, have your voice heard. Call our West Maui Councilmember, call the Mayor, write a letter. We can stop this before it happens.

SU CAMPOS, Napili

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Letter writer shows anti-American bias

As always I read the Lahaina News due to the excellence of showing fair and impartial letters and articles that affect our quality of life on Maui.

Particularly taken by the words of a letter writer, Dr. Lawrence Wittner, regarding his assumption and opinion that there is increasing inequity amongst the rich and the poor, I take strong dislike to his bias.

Apparently Dr. Wittner is caught up in his old 1970s liberal/radical and skewed dislike for our wonderful Republic and the tremendously beneficial benefits brought about by President Donald L. Trump over the past two-and-a-half years. Jobs, jobs and jobs!

The problem with Dr. Wittner’s argument is that he refuses to admit that the indoctrination of our youth over the past 55 years has failed to bring about the idealist Socialist, Marxist propaganda dream that his ilk want, in order to give power to a control type government where the citizen has to follow dictates as opposed to the American dream – a Republic under Democracy with the right and privilege to work hard, and succeed, as well as be supported by our great society.

Over the past 60 years, I have dealt with so-called educated and naive people. In my opinion, he is much like the Water Underground fools that professed radical violent resistance activism. When will these anti-American people begin to see the light. Get a grip on reality!

Let’s get these radicals out of our educational institutions.

RICHARD BODISCO, West Maui

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Solving our cat crisis

To create an actual cat overpopulation solution, we don’t have to look very far. Lanai is part of Maui County but is miles ahead when it comes to a solution. With very limited resources, no humane society and no on-island veterinarian for many years, Lanai is the only Hawaiian island to solve their cat crisis. It’s amazing! How did they do it? They followed effective TNRM (trap, neuter, return, monitor) strategies and utilized a dedicated and united volunteer force of local residents.

Besides operating their sanctuary, Lanai is also able to fix and manage most of their outdoor colony cats. They have reduced the breeding cycle dramatically. No more unwanted kittens. They have also reduced overall cat numbers island-wide and have almost completely eliminated the perpetual cycle of dead and dying cats and kittens that Hawaii is shamefully known for. Their cat sanctuary ranks as one of the top tourist attractions in all of Hawaii, which should give us all a pulse of the nation.

Unfortunately, here on Maui, only a very few dedicated volunteers exist. They are often misunderstood, completely overburdened and are always searching for more help and more resources. The tiny amount of volunteers compared to the staggering number of outdoor Maui cats can only create short-term minor success.

While many others and I have witnessed great changes since I began volunteering in 2006, it often seems like Lahaina is on the verge of collapsing back to the daily tragedies we all endured when I first arrived.

To make a huge, sustainable impact toward actually solving this tragedy, more local volunteers are urgently needed now.

Check us out at SaveMauiCats.org or e-mail us at SaveMauiCats@gmail.com. Please spread the word. Even a little help can make a big difference.

Save a Cat. Save the Island.

MICHAEL WILLINSKY, Lahaina

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Pardon a turkey on Thanksgiving

This week, President Trump will take a break from watching his impeachment hearings to pardon two turkeys. Every one of us can exercise our own pardon power by choosing a non-violent, cruelty-free Thanksgiving observance.

The 244 million turkeys killed in the U.S. this year were raised in cruel conditions. Consumers pay a heavy price, too. Turkey flesh is laced with cholesterol and saturated fats that elevate risk of chronic, killer diseases.

Now, for the good news. Our supermarkets carry several delicious, healthful, oven-ready, plant-based roasts.

This Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks for our good fortune, health and happiness with a life-affirming, cruelty-free feast of plant-based holiday roast, vegetables, fruits and grains. An Internet search on “vegetarian Thanksgiving” offers more options and recipes than we could possibly use.

LESTER NAITO, Lahaina