I just received the Wall Street Journal dated for the March 23-24 weekend from a friend on the mainland who, like me, loves this island paradise. The rail line received front page coverage with a full page story on page 10.
People of Hawaii really need to stand up as our politicians have bungled this project so badly that we are front page news in New York and everywhere the Wall Street Journal is read — really, a big audience.
This state cannot continue to be hit with this type of news as we are still in recovery mode from all the bad press from the natural disasters we suffered in 2018. Numbers are down across all sectors of our economy and all our politicians can think of is increasing taxes and adding more people to the payroll in addition to giving themselves hefty raises.
Are you kidding me, Mr. Kim? Maybe you are so involved in your dream of appeasing the anti-telescope people that you’ve lost focus on the every day issues that the tax-paying public face? I’m not really sure who you are anymore. You clearly are not the person who ran on lower taxes and restraint of government.
Mr. Mayor, you are just one of the many in a long list of under-achieving over-promising leaders we have elected to public office.
The leaders on Oahu have been the worst for as long as I have been on this island but until this debacle they were for the most part harmless to us on the Big Island. Except for maybe stealing us blind with their extraction of our transient accommodations taxes.
No more!
I urge everyone who can read and write to start screaming their bloody heads off and demand answers and accountability. I often thought that California politicians tried to be the dumbest, but Hawaii wants to be No. 1 at something so they’re really giving California a run for the money. Think about California high speed rail as an example and then look at us. See any similarity?
At least Hawaii messed up so badly that there is now a federal grand jury looking into it and hopefully, under the microscope, our public officials will be held in check.
I ask everyone to try and read the Wall Street Journal article, so you can educate yourselves on the severity of this issue. Sadly, we will be paying for this the rest of our lives and you can bet our children will be saddled with this long into their futures as well.
Hold your breath as our public officials move onto the federally mandated sewer projects for the islands! Excuse, me maybe just pinch your nose closed as I can bet you the stench will be overwhelming.
Thank God for our beautiful sunsets and great weather as that, and our friendships, will be needed to sustain us.
Bob Johnson is a resident of Kailua-Kona.