Letters | 8-16-13

KULANI

Reopening correctional facility a bad idea

The Kulani Correctional Facility is scheduled to open in July 2014. Please do your part to stop this foolish waste of our tax dollars. West Hawaii Today reported the facility will house 200 inmates and employ 76 people. That is 2.6 inmates per staffer; this is a better ratio than most five-star hotels. America has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and crime statistics illustrate America’s incarceration policy does not work. We have 10 times the incarceration rate as Canada and three times the rate of China.

We do not need additional prisons, they waste tax payer dollars, do not produce productive jobs and do not reduce crime.

Scott Smith

Holualoa

COURTHOUSE

Look beyond the excuses

If there is one thing I have learned in my time on Earth it is that if somebody really wants something they will do whatever it takes, and likewise if someone is against something, any excuse will do.

It does not matter if we are talking about a junkie needing his next fix, or a courthouse needing a location. Any excuse will do to block something, and the excuse is safest if it is remote from the real reason. If the powers-that-be want it done, it’s done.

Witness: Ane Keohokalole Highway. If the powers-that-be have a different agenda, then a single tree makes 80 acres unbuildable.

Come clean, what’s the real reason. Who stands to make a killing if the county has to acquire the land.

Ken Obenski

Kaohe

DEM APPOINTMENT

Ford’s lawsuit akin to bullying in schools

West Hawaii Today’s headline article on Tuesday unintentionally reveals personality traits along with dysfunctional actions involving the characters involved. The debate on the qualification or lack of qualification stemming from Mayor Billy Kenoi’s nomination for Hawaii County’s Environmental Management director position ended with the County Council’s vote of approval. (Or so we thought)

The appointment passed with the approval of six council members, however, one of three dissenting voters, Councilwoman Brenda Ford, decides that she alone knows what is best for the County of Hawaii. To prove her point, she files suit against the county and asks that her constituents foot the bill to prove her point. I suspect that the other two dissenting voters, to their credit, did not join in the suit understanding that in council votes, the majority rules. Council members, in most situations, vote their conscience then move on. One has to question the motive of Ford who being so adamant about being right, took the step alone but when questioned by the reporter, “referred questions to Matsukawa” her attorney. Why would an elected official chose to hide behind her attorney after taking such a strong stand?

The council rules allows for a minority of three members to put off a vote on the matter and have public hearings throughout the island to get public input. Public hearings would have given the council members relevant feedback on what the public perceived the county charter phrase, “an engineering degree or a degree in a related field” to mean. This would have been the preferred route to settle this question in an amicable way.

The filing of this lawsuit implies one of two things: Either Ford cannot accept being in the minority or she harbors some clandestine animosity toward Kenoi’s appointee. Whatever the case, this situation is similar to the “bullying” we see going on in our schools among children.

Leningrad Elarionoff

Waimea

DEM APPOINTMENT

Difficult to understand
how officials, county
justify appointment

Congratulations to Brenda Ford, Karen Eoff, and Margaret Wille for fighting to uphold the rule of law in our county. On the issue of the position of director of the Department of Environmental Management, there is no doubt that the mayor’s pick is a capable woman. However, the county charter has changed since she last held the post.

It is difficult to understand how the mayor, corporation counsel and a majority of the Hawaii County Council could convince themselves that English and law degrees are “an engineering degree or a degree in a related field.” Unless of course, they had a desired result and did not mind ignoring that pesky charter and the will of the people.

A previous letter writer did an admirable job comparing the study requirements for science and engineering to those of English and law. I will turn the argument around, as a hypothetical question for Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida, former Deputy Corporation Counsel Leithead Todd, and Mayor Kenoi, all attorneys:

If the county charter were to require that the head of the office of Corporation Counsel have a degree in law or a related field (this is hypothetical, as the charter actually says otherwise), would my engineering degrees qualify me for the job? Would you argue that the charter is “ambiguous on the issue” and that the council should decide?

Rod Hinman

Kailua-Kona

MAPS

Use more graphics
with stories

I was pleased to see a map regarding the Kaloko business area. I would like to appeal to you to use maps in your stories much more often. I have lived in Kona for eight years and find it very difficult to read your stories and relate the subject geographically. A map would be very informative if used much more frequently.

Bob DeVore

Kona