A failure to communicate
Your article, “Council postpones action on Ethics Board nominees,” (WHT, Jan. 23) called to mind the line from Paul Newman’s movie, “Cool Hand Luke” that observes, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
Today, in Hawaii County what we have here is a “failure to execute” good government, a government that ensures critical boards and commissions are staffed with citizen volunteers so that the peoples’ business can be conducted.
This is what the executive branch fails to do: execute good government. To illustrate, last week the Committee on People With Disabilities did not meet because a quorum could not be mustered. This committee has at least two vacant seats.
On Oct. 25, I submitted an application to fill one of the vacancies on the Committee On People With Disabilities. Remember, this is the same committee that didn’t meet on Jan. 20 because it lacked a quorum. I am retired, a veteran, and have disability parking privileges. I serve on the board of a local charity, volunteer with Community Alliance Partners to eliminate island homelessness, and volunteer with AARP to prepare free tax returns for the elderly. I have the time, experience, and motivation to do additional volunteer work.
But my application sits somewhere on the desktop of a faceless bureaucrat on Aupuni Street. Perhaps it’s with applications from others who are willing to serve, but is dead-ended by the county’s continuing “failure to execute.’”
But from what I see, I don’t think it is possible to shame or embarrass the county to do any better. County officials know what needs to be done, but do not do it. Maybe that is why people are so disgusted with government and why Donald Trump’s kick butt philosophy is so popular.
And as for me, now that I’ve written this, I suspect that my chances of being called to serve are less than zero, but that’s the risk I’m willing to take so I can shed some light on a very dark situation.
Richard Dinges
Hilo
Rid island of mosquitoes before it gets worse
It is good that the paper provides us with the count of dengue cases and tells us whether or not the victims are still able to pass the fever on to the mosquitos.
The answer that we never get is how long after a mosquito bites an infected person can the mosquito then give it to another person. For instance, if a mosquito bites a victim on the last day they can infect the mosquito, is that mosquito dangerous for a week, a month, six months? What about larva of that mosquito? Can the larva start infecting people when they get to the flying stage? If so, is that for weeks, months, until the next wet season? I would like the health department to come out with this information and pass it on to the paper for all of us to see. If they do not know the answers they need to find out.
Also, it is the same Aedes mosquito that carries dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and the horrible disease of Zika that causes birth defects that is rampant in Brazil. That makes me think that we could have an outbreak of any of these diseases at any time as easily as dengue got started. So isn’t it time for the state to get rid of the mosquito? Seriously irradiate the mosquito before Hawaii becomes a place that the residents and the tourists can get any of these diseases.
Connie Neish
Captain Cook