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LETTERS for the Sept. 24 issue

By Staff | Sep 24, 2020

Best leadership needed at the County Council

For the past two years, we have had a council that faced serious issues and worked very cooperatively together.

Four of the five Ohana Candidates elected in 2018 — Councilmembers King, Paltin, Rawlins-Fernandez and Sinenci — secured the cooperation of very experienced members Mike Molina and Alice Lee to pass major legislation on affordable housing, food security and assuring and providing water to all users.

Significantly, all six of these council members voted to place seven charter amendments on our November ballots.  

One measure will limit any mayor to two four-year terms in office, and another will limit councilmembers to five two-year terms.

Another amendment will upgrade Maui County to a county manager system similar to that used by a majority of U.S. cities and counties our size.

Citizens have advocated this step for ten years. It will make county government more professional, eliminate turnover between administrations, discourage cronyism and save money.

Another amendment will create a separate county Department of Agriculture. Fires and water shortages across the West and floods in the Midwest endanger our distant food supply.

This amendment provides leadership and direction to the food security issues critical for our future.

With the visitor industry on a long pause, the next two years will test Maui County to the max.  

When you vote, choose wisely. Our best choices are to vote for the seven Ohana Candidates and vote “yes” on all seven charter amendments.

MARK SHEEHAN, Haiku

A West Maui water shortage with no visitors here?

Makes one wonder about the recent request to ration water in West Maui. There are no visitors here, and hundreds of gallons of water are not being used by them.

What if there was no pandemic and West Maui was filled up with its many visitors right now?

Would that mean we would run out of water altogether?

Doesn’t that mean that we have overbuilt and it has to stop?

And, for people’s knowledge that don’t know, Kaanapali has its own water source because many, many years ago, they built trenches and diverted water from Honokohau Falls illegally!

SU CAMPOS, Napili

Appreciate bats in October

Bats got a bad rap because of the Coronavirus pandemic — and undeservedly so.

Humans sold and slaughtered bats for food, as if they were soup ingredients and not individuals who didn’t want to die.

Rather than killing bats, we should appreciate these shy, gentle animals for helping to pollinate fruit and control invasive insects. 

This October, Bat Appreciation Month, let’s acknowledge that bats are fascinating animals who deserve compassion and respect.

There are more than 1,300 species of bat in the world, and while most avoid humans, they do form lasting friendships with other bats.

They are the only mammals who can fly, and when left alone in their natural habitat, they can live for around 30 years.

According to “Animalkind,” the new book by Ingrid Newkirk and Gene Stone, some bats can see daylight colors and even ultraviolet light.

These nocturnal animals emit a spectrum of calls and can detect subtleties in their environment that humans would dismiss even in daylight.

To learn more about bats and other animals, check out “Animalkind” or watch the virtual book tour on www.PETA.org.

HEATHER MOORE, PETA Foundation, Norfolk, VA

Can we turn Hawaii into a purple state?

It’s been great to see all the Trump supporters in this mainly dominant blue State of Hawaii that many of us call home.

I understand that going straight to being a red state is unrealistic and quite ambitious, but is it at least possible to finally turn this blue State of Hawaii into a purple one?

There is no question that many of us are in search of dire change and a political party/candidates able and willing to uphold the rule of law impartially.

Those who don’t want change clearly demonstrate that sentiment through the use of their middle finger or a thumbs down when passing by peaceful Trump supporters.

I really wish that these folks would stop and talk to us about their view points, rather than showing off their I.Q. level while cowardly cruising down the road.

If we are ever going to unite our divided community, then it needs to start with communication.

We know we can’t get this sort of cooperation and transparency from our leaders, but we sure as heck should be able to get it from one another.

It’s time to show our inept elected officials that we can unite as a community without their help, as we have shown that to be true over and over again.

#Drain the swamp next election!

LISA MALAKAUA, Hilo