Respect each other and enjoy Maui

We as locals are the luckiest people to get to enjoy our beaches — all to ourselves.

Why do people with dogs think that the leash law is no longer in effect? Why do they think they can do what they want without thinking of the rest of us trying to enjoy the beach?

We are also the luckiest people to have the roads empty of rental cars.

Why do people think they can now speed and drive recklessly? Again… more selfish people!

People, please respect each other in this time of crisis and be thankful every day that we live on Maui.

SU CAMPOS

Napili

End voting at polls

Voting by mail should replace voting at the polls in its entirety. The two institutions that can definitely be trusted are the county Office of Elections and the United States Postal Service.

The money saved by eliminating the need for poll workers could be used to offer free postage on the envelopes used to vote by mail.

The person voting also has more time to consider what they are voting for and would not be confined to the hours of the polling place.

It would also prevent unwanted entry to schools and churches from anyone trying to harm someone. In addition, the voter would not be harassed by someone trying to place unsolicited campaign literature into their hand.

The additional revenue would boost the Postal Service and perhaps keep it afloat until we, as a country, are able to vote online.

Voting by mail would solve the registered voter problem and guarantee safe passage of the ballots to the county. It might even prevent further spread of the COVID-19 virus.

JOE BIALEK

Cleveland, Ohio

Support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act 

Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin recently shot an unarmed Black man seven times in the back in front of his young children. Jacob Blake is still in the ICU, paralyzed and fighting for his life, and protestors are in the streets calling for an end to police brutality.

Once again, we are marching, chanting and pleading for accountability. It’s time for this cycle to end.

It’s time to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and tackle the extremely difficult problem of police violence, racial bias and the lack of transparency and accountability in law enforcement.

The act will require law enforcement to wear body cameras, outlaw chokeholds and no-knock warrants, create a national registry of police misconduct, and restrict qualified immunity for officers who betray their oath to protect and serve.

My Democratic colleagues in the House have passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — but Mitch McConnell will not let the Senate consider it.

Will you join me in calling on Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to vote on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and bring forth the significant and meaningful change Black communities have been calling for to address systemic racism and bias to help save lives?

It’s not enough to just say #BlackLivesMatter. We must confront systemic racism head on.

For Jacob Blake, for Breonna Taylor, for Ahmaud Arbery, for Philando Castile, for Michael Brown, and for the countless others who have fallen victim to deadly racism — we owe it to them to take action now. We cannot wait for the next tragedy.

On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. In his speech, he reminded us “of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy; now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” 

Fifty-seven years later, the words spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. are just as relevant. 

It is past time to take real, meaningful action.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO

Unions at the heart of political corruption

I say don’t de-fund the police departments, but reform them because we need them. I also say to get rid of the unions, who are only in business to support their own political agendas while lining their financial pockets. Cut out the middle man, in other words.

The unions in Hawaii have become so political that they have literally encroached themselves on the rest of the community by invading our political system with their propaganda that they believe we should all follow.

Gone are the days of Hawaii’s figureheads being appointed for us. Unions have been around since the early 1800s — long before computers ever existed.

So I ask, why pay a middle man dues from your hard-earned money when you can keep that money for yourself? And can you be assured that your retirement money (that the unions invest for you) will be there when the time comes? With so many financial experts out there, why rely on a union to decide how to invest your money?

If you or other employees have an issue with an employer, then hire an attorney and file a class action lawsuit.

Basically, what unions can do for employees today, employees can do for themselves. If we want to stop all the political corruption in Hawaii, we first need to get rid of the unions, which are no longer serving their union members, but rather serving the interests of political candidates.

Think about it — if the unions spent as much money and time on their members as they do on their political interests, then there wouldn’t be thousands of people waiting in line for food, and/or thousands still waiting for their unemployment checks… correct?

Where are the unions now? And where have they been through this entire crisis?

LISA MALAKAUA

Hilo