Hirono needs to back up big talk
Dear Ms. Hirono,
I’m sure you will lead the effort to rename Honolulu’s airport because late Sen. Daniel Inouye is an accused sexual harasser. I will not “shut up” till this is done.
I believe Ms. Megan Bailiff because she is credible.
And do tell, are you a kettle or pot?
Ray Takeda
Waikoloa
Kitten dumping inexcusable
Once again, unfortunately too frequently to mention, several kittens have been dumped anonymously at different feeding stations on the west side of this island.
What is wrong with you? These are living, breathing, sentient animals.
With all the free neutering animal rescue groups and even the humane society, which is not a no-kill shelter, anything is better than flagrant, insensitive dumping!
Once again, in this I’m-not-responsible-society, it becomes someone else’s kuleana to look after your negligence.
To knowingly have un-neutered animals, feral or not, on your property is inexcusable. There are solutions — free solutions. So please get a backbone and a conscience and neuter your animals and your neighbor’s animals and stop the dumping.
Le’s work to put the rescue groups and the humane society out of business.
Gwyneth Wrixon
Waikoloa
Property taxes belong to county, not state
The most important issue on this year’s ballot is a proposed amendment to the state Constitution, giving the state of Hawaii rights to collect real estate taxes, the primary source of counties’ local revenues nationwide. Proponents use the guise of improved education as their moral reasoning, yet nothing promises a penny of the windfall to be paid to teachers. The union would be the big winner.
I cannot think of any other state where the counties do not oversee the educational system. In Hawaii, the broadly based excise tax is the major source of educational funds. Both tax collection and administration of statewide schools are headquartered in Honolulu.
This leads to a much larger issue. History teaches us that nobody likes being ruled from a distance, whether it was Bostonians sinking tea, Indians under Mahatma Gandhi opposing British rule, or the residents of the Island of Hawaii putting up with Washington and Honolulu baloney.
Nowhere in the United States is there a population this large, living in such geographical isolation. In order to become a state, the U.S. Constitution only requires a population of 60,000 (Article I, Section 2), but a new state cannot be carved out of another state (Article IV, Section 3). Perhaps Hawaii Island should qualify for an exception, much like West Virginia.
Returning to the issue of the newly proposed property tax, matters get worse for the counties. If passed, there would be other consequences. The most significant, immediate impact would be on the value of county-issued bonds. With lower ratings, all counties would face higher interest rates on future debt. This unintended consequence would adversely impact county budgets for decades.
Even if you rarely vote in November elections, please help make sure that this dangerous precedent is not set.
James Donovan
Waikoloa