Letters 9-23-12

College

Parcel limitations
quash a dream

WHT fails us by printing stories like the one printed in the Sept. 20 edition without doing more research or at least trying to uncover the motive for the event covered by the story. The bold print on the front page states: “Council gives positive nod to four year college request,” which may be true but next to impossible to accomplish in our lifetime.

To make my point, let me remind you that when Palamanui offered the land to build the West Hawaii campus, the West Hawaii County Council members radiated with pride and glee in their ability to forge the deal. During that same period of time, Councilman Pete Hoffmann had the council majority engaged in his effort to craft and shove the infamous plastic bag bill down our throats. Simultaneously, the council accepted the donated land to build the campus with much fanfare while complimenting themselves on a job well done.

The state moved very quickly and began the planning process for the 73-acre parcel. Preliminary plans were brought before the Hawaii Island Burial Council and it was determined that of the 73 acres, only 23 acres were available for the building of the facility. The few buildings, limited open spaces and parking lot for a two-year campus quickly filled the limited acreage. The rest of the acreage was set aside as not usable because of ancient burials and a huge lava tube. The burials and lava tube were obstructions already recognized prior to the land being donated with the information available to the council.

Today, we have this 73-acre parcel with only a parking lot size segment available upon which to park a compact car and Councilwoman Brenda Ford, through Bill 289, with her majority, wants to build a four-bedroom house on it. However, if the public never learns of the limited space that remains available to build on, it sounds as though the East Hawaii Council members are again trying to screw us West Hawaii residents, and the state is being unreasonable.

The fact is, some Council members must have been asleep or daydreaming (putting it kindly) during the approval process with Palamanui. This failure to learn the extent of limitation associated with this parcel of donated land will have a lasting impact on the students of West Hawaii seeking a higher education for many years to come. The positive outcome of this incident is that the whole island is blessed with the successfully crafted and passed plastic bag ban.

This whole story may not be over yet because there is still more land available to build a four-year college but it will not be built adjacent to the chosen 73-acre donated parcel.

Could Bill 289 be another, hastily designed, free, “vote for me” pitch?

Leningrad Elarionoff

Waimea

Honolulu rule

County issues
should be under
county control

Many years ago, the sugar barons wrested a monarchy from a dysfunctional dynasty. Hawaii became a republic, a territory and ultimately a state, but the plantation mentality still rules. The elite in Honolulu make the decisions for the “savages” on the “outer islands.”

A statewide sheriff’s department that does not trust the Hawaii County office to repair a vehicle until some bureaucrat in Honolulu who has never seen the vehicle approves.

Some of the worst schools in the nation are run by a top-heavy statewide bureaucracy in Honolulu.

Highway speed limits are fixed by a bureaucrat in Honolulu who has never seen the road, much less driven on it.

And then there is the DLNR, I won’t even get started. Letters are supposed to be less than 200 words.

Since Honolulu won’t secede from Hawaii, the least the Honolulu government could do is cede county issues to county control like all the other states.

Ken Obenski

Honaunau