One sad Jack
Am I the only one who thinks that the owners of Waterfront Row in Kona should spruce up the old wooden statue of Captain Jack?
The once proud Captain looks so sad and uncared for and such a poor image for the shops and restaurants there — not even selfie worthy for visitors.
Perhaps there could be a local art contest to see who can create a more glorious Captain Jack to be a better representative for our historic village, or at least a fresh makeover of paint?
Janet Harris
Kailua-Kona
Keiki over coral every time
Collen Miyose-Wallis’ letter regarding sunscreen doesn’t take into consideration the humans who could contact skin cancer and die of melanoma.
Which is more important? Your child or relative dying or a coral head?
Dick Peterson
Kona
When in Rome … think of Kona
In the recent West Hawaii Today article “Tourism still taking a hit,” take a lesson from a story out of Rome, Italy: “Romans revolt as tourists turn their noses up at city’s decay.”
“A pile of rubbish bags and boxes discarded by nearby restaurants. The rubbish will be cleared by the time the tourists have breakfast, but not before they have taken note,” a story reports. Our rubbish may not be restaurant rubbish, but we have plenty from homeless camps for tourists to see.
There are more quotes and comparisons.
“Potholes, scrappy parks and medieval buildings marred by graffiti and buses that either never come or occasionally combust.” We don’t have medieval buildings with graffiti, but our parks are not well maintained. There have been other letters to the editor about beautifying the area with flowers and plants, but nothing has changed. As for the buses, we have the same problem!
“Visitors are now starting to rebel, with many begrudging having to pay the tax for spending a night in the city only to get scant services in return.” Hawaii taxes are on the rise, but some of these do not affect visitors who stay in vacation rentals because many do not charge tax. Only when visitors stay in hotels do the TAT and GET affect them.
So why stay in a hotel? Looking at some vacation rentals around Kona, many have bookings up through a year from now. I guess the tourist information people don’t take vacation rentals into consideration.
“Rome’s beleaguered mayor, Virginia Raggi, a politician with the Five Star Movement, the party governing nationally alongside the far-right league, is often blamed for the city’s woes. That visibility has prompted calls for Raggi to resign.” Sound familiar?
“But as the politician’s squabble, tourism operators fear the impact on a city that already struggles to attract repeat visitors.” Our leaders don’t squabble, they do little for us except dictate how to raise taxes or our services will crumble ever further.
Ted Johnson
Kailua-Kona