It is not over folks, till it is over!
What is Gov. David Ige thinking by relaxing travel restrictions on July 8, just when the Delta variants are infecting vaccinated people.
Doesn’t he read the international news and see what is occurring in Israel? There, about half of adults infected in an outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19 were fully inoculated with the Pfizer Inc. vaccine. This has prompted the government to reimpose an indoor mask requirement and other measures to contain the highly transmissible strain. This is not the time to put tourist dollars ahead of the health of our population. About 80% of Israelis of age 16 and above have received two doses of the vaccine that was developed by Pfizer BioNTech SE and yet they are now reimposing some coronavirus restrictions.
This is not the time to get lax on restrictions. This week, I walked out and left a full cart of products at the checkout line at the Healthways II store in Waimea because the cashier didn’t see fit to enforce their 6-foot standing distance in their waiting line. When I asked the other customer to stand back so I could safely place my products for checking out, he wouldn’t move. What is worse, the cashier sided with that customer who was standing at the end of the conveyor belt, as I was trying to upload my groceries there. He should have been standing on the 6-foot yellow circle designated spot. Why have rules if you don’t enforce them? I called to complain but no one has followed up with me, so I guess I will have to make Amazon even richer.
Seriously governor, and the owners of Healthways II, do you think that this is the time to let our guard down when 40% of the COVID cases in Israel are already vaccinated people who are living in the country with the best vaccination rates in the world? Now they are contracting the Delta variant because of a traveler bringing it into their country and it is spreading fast there. This is the worst time for Hawaii to let our guard down.
Marian Hughes
Waimea
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Mahalo for the coverage
Thank you for WHT’s continuing coverage of our opposition to the Alii Drive five-story condo at Ala Ka La. Our adjacent small condo project will suffer the greatest impact if this abomination is approved, but the whole of the Kailua Village to Keauhou Beach Road, now Alii Drive, will be impacted if SMA 21-000078 is approved as proposed, thereby setting precedent for continuing conversion of available open space to high-density vacation rentals.
We appreciate your editorial focus, and Nancy Cook Lauer’s succinct writings on this community issue.
Mahalo nui loa from the entire Ala Ka La ohana.
George Smith
Ala Ka La AOAO president
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Paying for homelessness
Why are we — the local taxpayers — paying for more homeless housing. The picture that went along with the article, “KukuiOla homeless village yet to begin construction,” shows a homeless camp with a “Keep Out” sign. This camp appears to be at the entrance to the Old Kona Airport Park, a mere couple hundred feet away from the small shelters that we, the local taxpayers, paid for. These same homeless will probably not live in the new homeless village that we — the local taxpayers — will pay for.
Jill Faust
Kailua-Kona
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