Lawsuits just ridiculous
I read your article about BIDR and HIHS lawsuits and counter suits and had to shake my head at the absurdity of these two organizations.
Aren’t they both supposed to be all just for saving the animals?
Who cares which group is responsible for shipping the dogs to the mainland as long as it gets done and animals are saved from being euthanized? Lawyers are the ones making money in the end when both parties should just be putting their joint efforts together to save more animals.
Colleen Miyose-Wallis,
former HIHS volunteer
Kailua-Kona
Mayor’s tale a bad civics lesson
Kudos to County Councilwoman Margaret Wille, who called for a reprimand and leave of absence for Mayor Billy Kenoi. Auwe that other council members blocked Wille’s attempts, when they should be removing Kenoi from office.
Mayor Kenoi has earned a lot of well-deserved aloha. But if he wasn’t caught, would he have run up charges he could never pay back?
We all make mistakes. But this was repeated behavior, using $30,000 of taxpayer money, continuing despite repeated warnings, followed by five years of cover-up. If a county clerk did that, would they still have a job?
Our County Charter calls for treating everyone in an “impartial manner.” [section 14-4.] Mayor Kenoi should be treated the same as a clerk.
The charter also says “All public property and equipment are to be treated as a public trust and are not to be used in a proprietary manner or for personal purposes without proper consent.” [section 14-4.]
And noncompliance “shall constitute a cause for suspension, removal from office or employment, or such other penalty as the council may prescribe by ordinance.” [section 14-6.]
Kenoi is drawing a full salary. But he’s not fully carrying out his duties, because he’s hiding to avoid criticism. Could a county clerk get away with that?
The right path would be to resign. Not easy for this rising star, but arguably showing the public a better side of his character than trying to dodge the bullet.
Instead, the drama keeps dragging Kenoi’s name through the mud, along with his family and our island. It’s consuming time, energy, and money that is sorely needed elsewhere, as the County Council and Ethics Commission sit with hands folded.
This is a civics lesson our young people do not need.
Cory (Martha) Harden
Hilo