Homeless and drugs
The “Our View” article in the June 8 Honolulu Star-Advertiser misses the root of the fentanyl issue.
The majority of the illegal drugs in the U.S. come through the open southern border via China and the Mexican cartels. The U.S. must secure all borders and points of entry into the U.S. This will slow down the drug traffic.
Illegal drugs must remain illegal. Those transporting, selling and using illegal drugs must be incarcerated and punished to the max. There should be zero tolerance for these law-breaking people on the streets.
Don’t waste my tax dollars on these fools who use drugs. Their use is their choice. The consequences are the drug users’ and dealers’ choices — whether it is incarceration or death.
And, yes, I have had relatives and close friends die from fentanyl. It was their choice. It is each individual’s choice to destroy their minds and their bodies.
I want all illegal drugs off the streets before they end up in our food and water. Regardless of what the authorities say, the majority of the homeless are drug addicts and junkies. We must get them off the streets.
Does the ACLU have a clue? Has anyone in the ACLU had to step over human feces or watch addicts urinating in public? I have — just come to the Kona Pier any morning, or walk along Ali‘i Drive in Kona.
Government adheres to the philosophy that one must create a problem before one can address the problem. But addressing a problem is not solving a problem. If you do actually fix it, the tax dollars will dry up.
In Kona, there are numerous areas to create space for homeless squatting away from the public. Examples are: Kmart parking lot, courthouse parking lot, or areas by the police station.
These spaces are not meant to be comfortable — after all, these law-breaking individuals are living on the streets and sidewalks now. These spaces would be used to control the illegal actions by the homeless junkies and to protect public health.
Because of five drug users in a Waikiki hotel room, the Honolulu City Council introduced Bill 28 requiring local businesses to carry Narcan at their own expense to save those who overdose.
Let them be. Don’t waste my tax dollars.
Henry Zendar
Kailua-Kona
Foot patrols needed
After reading the “Regarding the sweeps” letter to the editor in the newspaper, I can understand the author’s frustration when she had called the police countless times for help, nothing gets done, and the situations persist, actually getting even worse.
Sometimes, in order to combat a current problem, conceivably it’s best to go back to the past viable methods of enforcement that worked before but were discontinued, in order to effectively tackle this decadeslong, lingering mess.
A while back, I had suggested that there should be a reimplementation of some sort of a foot patrol program by the police department in the Hilo downtown area, but this was never considered.
I remember as a foot patrol officer pounding the beat during the midnight shift in the Hilo downtown area back in the day, clearing out the riffraff, nipping it in the bud, before it got out of hand like it is ongoing today.
A classic example of reinstituting effective foot patrol presence is in the Chinatown area on Oahu, where it is now a cleaner and safer place to conduct business and visit.
Let’s be honest here. Downtown merchants drinking a cup of coffee with motor patrol officers and talking stories just won’t cut it, and will not solve the current eyesore crisis happening in our once-beloved Hilo downtown area.
Think about it (again).
Prentiss Moreno
Hilo