Letters to the Editor: 02-12-20

Mahalo, 5-0

A great, big mahalo to our Hawaii Police Department

Last Tuesday, I lost a set of keys at Honokohau Harbor and presumably a nice person was kind enough to get them to Officer C. Russell. After a bit of sleuthing detective work, she determined who owned them, namely me.

But it did not end there, she had a nice police officer come to my condo here in Waikoloa Village to verify I had in fact lost a set of keys. Unfortunately, I did not get his name but he was kind and professional. This officer gave me the case number and telephone number to contact Officer Russell, which I did the next day.

I made an attempt at humor claiming my keys got arrested and I wanted to bail them out. A bit corny and I hope this poor attempt at humor did not diminish my appreciation to Officer Russell and the rest of the Hawaii Police Department. We are very fortunate to have such fine professionals willing to serve us the public.

We should be sure and thank them at every opportunity.

Ron Wolfe

Waikoloa

All you need is love

Given that a national election, a virus and Valentine’s Day are all approaching, we might do well to remember the lyrics of the song “Love” that Yoko and John sang.

HAPA ended their recent program at the Kahilu Theatre with “Love is real, real is love, Love is feeling, feeling love, Love is wanting to be loved, Love is touch, touch is love, Love is reaching, reaching love, Love is asking to be loved, Love is you, You and me, Love is knowing we can be, Love is free, free is love, Love is living, living love, Love is needing to be loved.”

Vivian Green

Waikoloa Village

Busy women welcome AVR

Want to make a woman happy? Help take one thing off her never ending to do list. Women typically hold many different responsibilities in our society. Giving busy women easier access to voting by supporting Automatic Voter Registration (AVR), which reduces red tape and saves them a few steps on the road to being able to cast their vote, benefits them and our entire community.

The Zonta Club of Hilo is an organization that is dedicated to empowering women through service and advocacy. That mission is especially important this year as we mark the 100th year of women’s suffrage in America. That gives added significance to two bills that are currently advancing through the legislature that propose the enactment of AVR in Hawaii. This initiative is particularly timely as Hawaii moves to an entirely Vote By Mail (VBM) System. To make sure your voter i is current so that you get your ballot in the mail visit https://olvr.hawaii.gov.

By complementing VBM and ensuring that voter rolls are updated promptly, AVR could do much to encourage women voters to become more fully engaged in our democratic processes. That is something our lawmakers, many of them women, should embrace wholeheartedly.

AVR will not require everyone to exercise their right to vote. When you obtain or renew your driver’s license or get a state ID, you can decline to have your updated information transmitted electronically to the Office of Elections. AVR simply cuts out needless duplicate paperwork, minimizes human error and saves all eligible voters and the state time and money.

Please tell your senators and representatives at the state legislature to make AVR a reality in Hawaii. Women need it. We all need it. Please advance SB2005 and HB2119.

Heather Kimball

Advocacy Chair, Zonta Club of Hilo

Editor’s note: Kimball is also a candidate for County Council District 1 in the upcoming election.