Vacation rentals make money for most, not all
It is obvious the vacation rental business is a money maker! The county, real estate people, and home owners are all making money. The people who live in the residential neighborhoods have to suffer.
Melanie Denzler
Kailua-Kona
Stop diddling and show leadership
Addressing a Sept. 23 letter to Gov. David Ige requesting the state’s plan to provide hunter access to the eastern portion of the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve, DLNR Chairperson Suzanne Case indicated twice in her Oct. 18 response it was the “Mauna Kea TMT protesters” that were responsible for the current blockage of the Maunakea Access Road. The access road leads to Hale Pohaku, the forest reserve’s eastern access point.
A subsequent visit to the subject road blockade yielded a different story. The civilian “protesters” stated they had no problem with hunter access. It was the DLNR enforcement personnel (DOCARE) manning the barricades that prevented hunter access, stating they were acting under orders of Gov. Ige and Chairperson Case.
Over the past four months of this senseless public road blockage, both state and county leaders have demonstrated a pathetic lack of understanding of the word, “lead,” pointing fingers at everyone else, diddling around and hoping the protesters go home before the TMT financiers give up and head for greener pastures. Meanwhile, Ms. Case acknowledges the blocked road presents some “inconvenience” to the public.
Article XI, Section 1. of the State Constitution states, “All public natural resources are held in trust by the State for the benefit of the people.”
The people can’t benefit from public lands when the state “inconveniences” them by preventing them from getting there. Stop the diddling. Show some leadership and open the road.
Richard Hoeflinger
Keaau