Letters: 5-20-17

Don’t let poisoning become routine

In the May 2 West Hawaii Today there was news about a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to broadcast baited rodenticides; chlorophacinone and diphacinone, on a 34-acre parcel of federal land in the PTA area. While this test may have “insignificant” environmental impact, given the size of the test area, it is for the purpose of advancing the method of managing our wildlife using poison.

These baited poisons are being tested for the purpose of aerial broadcast on a larger scale. Since the USFWS mission is to preserve native species, the protection of other naturally existing species will not be of much concern. Species related to the cultural and historical values and resources of Hawaii will be diminished by direct or indirect consumption of baited poisons. These poisons kill by causing internal hemorrhaging in rodents, and other species. Ground feeding birds and pigs will consume the bait, as well as slugs that accumulate the toxins, which are eaten by birds.

Owls and hawks may eat sick rodents. There is no way that our wild game resources, wild birds, and raptors will be protected from large scale broadcast of these rodenticides. Our natural rodent predators will die back, and the management of our wilderness will become dependent on rodenticide.

Do we want our local hunter to worry their meat is tainted and dogs poisoned? Do we want our public lands to be managed with routine showers of poison? You can read the draft EA at www.fws.gov/pacificislands. Please send your comments to: PTA EA Comments@fws.gov, or via mail to: Attn: PTA_EA_Comments, USFWS-Pacific Islands Fish &Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Blvd, Ste.3-122, Honolulu, HI 96850 by May 26.

Nani Pogline

Keaau

Taxes don’t reflect services

In a recent WHT front page article, Mayor Kim announced his plan to raise property taxes, the fourth hike in five years (over 40 percent in overall increases). We are paying an increasingly large share of our income to the county. The news wouldn’t be so disheartening if the level of services reflected the inflating costs. That’s not the case. Consider, for example:

1. Almost half the county’s fleet of buses are broken down, and the county’s Hilo garage is in disgraceful squalor. It’s so bad that we pay private companies to partially cover the service the county cannot provide.

2. Over half the water wells servicing the Kona area have been down for months. It makes you wonder if the same people maintaining our buses are also responsible for the wells.

3. For a decade, we’ve had an expensively prepared plan for improvements to Old Airport Park. Yet nothing is underway. Of course, it doesn’t matter, because the county surrendered the park to its homeless population, reneging on the pledge to clear the park, returning it to the public.

4. Perhaps Mayor Kim could take a break from planning tax hikes, and instead drive along Alii, Queen Kaahumanu and Kuakini highways, and through the Old Airport Park/Kona industrial area. What he’d see is a burgeoning population of homeless and panhandlers, plus expanding trash heaps. Despite constant hand-wringing, West Hawaii is going backward instead of reducing meaningfully this needy and vulnerable population.

Beginning in July, our public servants will enjoy wage increases negotiated by the state, a major reason we face tax hikes. Mayor Kim, rather than apologizing for the latest in our near-annual tax increases, please spend some energy ensuring our county employees earn their wage increases. Maybe then we won’t feel so abused.

Daniel F. Knox

Kailua-Kona

Trump’s mental stability a real issue

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month. People are generally sympathetic about others with physical ailments, but not so much those with mental health issues. More often that not, mental health issues are regarded as character flaws, i.e. the fault of the victim.

A petition started by John Gartner, PhD., stating that Trump is very likely mentally ill, and needs to be removed from office, has already been signed by over 50,000 mental health professionals, who stated their name, address, email, and mental health degree. If you are a mental health professional, and want to sign the petition, go to https://www.change.org/p/trump-is-mentally-ill-and-must-be-removed

Mental health victims, including Trump, should be regarded with the same compassion as anyone with a serious physical condition. However, they have no business running our country, with their finger on the nuclear button.

Don Lofland, PhD.

Ann Lofland,

licensed clinical social worker

Kailua-Kona