What happened to Kailua-Kona?
Up and down Alli Drive are pockets of homeless. Every corner homeless. Behind the bushes homeless. Down to the sea; more homeless. I offered them food, but that was refused. They wanted money. Turn off Alli, in the direction of Target at night and homeless abound walking like zombies amidst the glow of all the homeless cats. Why has this been allowed to happen?
All the travelers who make it there have spent a lot of time and money to get there and they have brought their families to enjoy their precious vacation time making priceless family memories amongst a pack of drug addicted homeless, which is very unnerving to say the least. But why, has this been allowed to happen, let alone continue? All these people are defecating outside and it is disgusting. They leave their trash all over and are constantly looking into vehicles in the parking lots. In one week, we saw three drug transactions occur in plain slight.
Why is nothing being done yet the numbers are increasing?
Suzanne Richards de Perez
San Marcos, California
Consider the ‘Kenoi machine’ when voting
When most people think of Billy Kenoi, they think of the guy that has been indicted for charging $130,000 on his county credit card for lapdancers, surfboards and bikes, leaving about $100,000 still un-repaid.
When I think of Billy Kenoi, I don’t think of the person. I think of the machine. The “Kenoi machine.” The job of the Kenoi machine is to make it possible for Kenoi to take as much as he can from public coffers and get off scot-free.
The Kenoi machine is comprised of a so-called “Ethics Board,” who are actually five finely honed cogs that have been programmed to delay the hearing of Kenoi’s case until after he leaves office.
The Kenoi machine is also comprised of a battery of judges, so embedded in the machine that each and every one of them found it necessary to recuse themselves from hearing the felony trial of our fallen king.
The Kenoi machine is also comprised of nine human widgets that sit in the County Council, ready to accommodate any desires of King Billy, such as the unanimous passage of a gigantic $100 million bond, waived obediently from any scrutiny by the Finance Committee. The bond is digging the county deeper into debt, in order to fund such harebrained projects as the $22 million Pahoa park complex sited in the path of a lava flow; the multi-million dollar ball park on Manono Street in Hilo sited adjacent to another ball park that is so dilapidated and ill-maintained that it is barely usable; and another unnecessary multi-million dollar ball park in Kukuihaele that is so unwanted that residents are suing the county.
The Kenoi machine has been terrific for the construction industry that financed Kenoi’s election. But it’s terrible for the people. It has disabled the judiciary and legislative branches in the service of the king.
Now, the Kenoi machine lives on. The construction industry is pouring big bucks into the election campaign of Wally Lau, Grand Duke of the Kenoi administration.
Flip the “off” switch on the Kenoi machine and vote for Harry Kim.
Gwen Ilaban
Waimea