Tackle Lahaina’s vital issues

(The following letter was sent to state lawmakers.)

Aloha and congratulations to all.

We have many challenges facing West Maui. You need to hit the ground running.

The vital issues for me and many residents are the following:

The next phase of the Lahaina Bypass; to use the excuse of lack of rental car fees is a feeble excuse. This has never been mentioned in any public address in the last five years. I am positive with all of the federal funding available, we are able to skip the studies and begin the building process.

Homeless camps and abandoned vehicles at Cut Mountain and Mile Marker 13.5. We cannot ignore the elephant in the room. We need to clean it up. It is a start.

I am hoping with a new year and new session, you are able to tackle issues that are key to the success of Lahaina

May the New Year bring you wisdom and the voices needed to make Maui the best she can be.

BUFF WEAVER, Sea House Restaurant at the Napili Kai

County should act on permit investigation

(The following letter was sent to West Maui County Councilwoman Tamara Paltin.)

Please take a moment to review the letters below which the council has had in their possession for almost a year.

“The Main home permit B2020-0448 was designed and reviewed under 19.14.050 of H-1 Hotel District standards as noted on the cover page of the approved plans.”

The hotel building plans were stamped and approved after an employee signed the director’s name on the Single-Family Residence SMA Exemption.

You have known this information since I presented a report on June 5, 2021 as a staff member of the Office of the Mayor.

Thereafter, I was ordered by the mayor’s chief of staff to stop responding to the citizens’ complaints and concerns over the Brown Development.

Six months later, Planning Director McLean admitted the citizens were right on their allegations about violations of zoning and SMA.

With a team of attorneys in Council Services, these findings should have led to an immediate committee report that concludes the structure was approved in violation of the Maui County Code and the SMA Rules, and therefore, the permits were invalid. Once the Stop Work Orders were issued, you had a ethical obligation to support the residents’ efforts.

Blaming others for the dishonorable manner which you have conducted the Resolution to Investigate the Department of Planning and Department of Public Works is unfair and raises serious questions about whose interests are being served.

To clear your name from the forthcoming citizens’ complaints, I request you impose your will upon the OCS attorneys to provide the conclusions of law in response to our prior communications sent to your attention and Committee Vice Chair Kelly King.

The proof of violations of law by Developer Brown and Planning Director McLean continue to sit idle in your possession.

CHRIS SALEM, Napili

Four threats to democracy

Daggers to the heart of democracy have not been delivered exclusively by Donald Trump and his minions, or Nancy Pelosi and hers, depending upon your orientation. Here are my dark horse nominations for the four horsemen of the American political apocalypse.

Consider the newspaper killers in our society — cost-cutting, profit-maximizing robber barons who deliberately destroy local news capacity in favor of nationalist reporting.

Consider Congress with its massive dereliction of Constitutional duty to do things like make laws and impeach people who usurp or impede lawmaking.

Consider the Supreme Court of the United States, which has abandoned its mandate to find legislative intent and gone over to the dark side of partisan decision-making.

Consider our one percent class, with its puppet members of both parties in tow, asserting the inviolability of all its money, no matter how ill-gotten the gain.

KIMBALL SHINKOSKEY, Woods Cross, Utah

NATO must do more to stop Putin

It is appalling what is happening in Ukraine. We are global witnesses of a true devil incarnate: Vladimir Putin. The world has not seen such evil, in one person, since Hitler.

This devil’s sick plan, short of using atomic, chemical or biological weapons, is to kill all the people of Ukraine.

To the nations of NATO, I ask: “Where is your proof that my statement is wrong? When a merciless, blood-thirsty warmonger deliberately destroys non-military civilians, homes, businesses, churches and hospitals, isn’t this the ultimate definition of total annihilation?”

Allow me to explain my reasoning for mentioning NATO. The research that I have conducted about NATO tells me that it was formed by several nations in order to defend each other if one or more of these nations are attacked.

Granted, Ukraine is not a member of NATO and is not assured protection by NATO nations.

Let me first say this: I was not in the U.S. Military, so I never was put in “the-line-of-fire.” I don’t wish any soldiers of NATO nations to be put in harm’s way.

However, the more merciless and blood-thirsty Putin is allowed to become, then his power of evil could become unstoppable!

TIM BLEDSOE, North Augusta, South Carolina