Letters to the Editor - Hawaii Editorials

State Sen. Gary Hooser's idea to use the Hurricane Relief Fund to keep our teachers in school is a good one.

[willie]

"Use relief fund to keep teachers"

Sure Bruce. While they are at it why not collect taxes for a "just in case we may need it someday" fund that they can raid rather than reduce costs or wastful spending?

What a moronic idea, use funds from a fund designated and collected for ONE reason. If they don't need it anymore..GIVE IT BACK to the taxpayers rather than just throw it down that rathole called BOE to fritter away.

[mel padello]

Raiding the Hurricane Fund is a bad idea!LEAVE IT ALONE FOR ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE.......COVER THOSE MANY WHO ARE UNABLE TO BUY HURRICANE INSURANCE......

Hooser is political...and running 4 Lt Governor....definitely a vote stimulator.......he certainly WILL NOT GET MY VOTE ALONG W/ MY SILENT MAJORITY FRIENDS!!!! melp

[Auntie Tutu]

Ursula Retherford
Kailua wrote:

"...It is about the commercialization of our residential neighborhoods, the negative impacts on the quality of life of residents and the social health of the community. It is about zoning and planning policies, housing for our people, social policy, and the rights of people who bought into residential communities but now find themselves pitted against commercial interests."

This pretty much sums it up. It really comes down to a choice between mindless petty politics or good public policy.

It would be nice to see the City Council choose the latter and follow the recommendations of the County Planning Commission and address the issue through the established planning process rather than end run the eight Development Plans that are in place and which should have been used all along to determine the proper commercial zoning for B&B's/TVUs. Clearly residential zones are not the place for any commercial activity, regardless of its genesis.

[Savage Honesty]

Bruce Savage offers common sense. Formerly unanticipated, but now pressing needs, require shifting priorities.

So too does this apply to the Rail tax revenue.

Our State Legislators should immediately raid ALL of the rail road job on us revenue.

It is a make work project for the politically connected owing donations allegiance to outgoing "cut, run and bail" mayor Hanneman, master of deception, half-truths and out right lies.

So, yes, Mr. Savage. By all means, please encourage our Legislators to do the right thing.

RAID THE RAIL ROAD JOB ON US FUND TOO.

[Fisherman]

Bruce, you are asking the politicians to:
"keep politics out of this"-
what a sense of humor you have.

[Jim Morrison]

I don't see any problem legalizing pakalolo.Actually I don't remember being born, it must have happened during one of my black outs.

[Just another voice]

Savage Honesty wrote:

Bruce Savage offers common sense. Formerly unanticipated, but now pressing needs, require shifting priorities.
So too does this apply to the Rail tax revenue.
Our State Legislators should immediately raid ALL of the rail road job on us revenue.
It is a make work project for the politically connected owing donations allegiance to outgoing "cut, run and bail" mayor Hanneman, master of deception, half-truths and out right lies.
So, yes, Mr. Savage. By all means, please encourage our Legislators to do the right thing.
RAID THE RAIL ROAD JOB ON US FUND TOO.

If the legislature does raid the fund, remember, it is only Oahu tax payers who paid into it ( the Neighbor Islands chose NOT to create such a special tax for their specific islands); therefore, the revenue from the OAHU rail tax should only be spent on OAHU schools, teachers, and students.

[Jim Morrison]

Lets view it this way with drug legalization. In these dire economic times where we're all "Riders on the Storm" man, we need to take a long holiday and let the children play. State revenues increase with weed, meth, reds, whites and coke being taxed. Keep the kids in school and eliminate furloughs. I will due my civic duty to help the cause to balance the state budget. I like any reaction I can get with my music. Just anything to get people to think. I mean if you can get a whole room full of drunk, stoned people to actually wake up and think, you're doing something for the greater good of society as a whole.

[Stumpy]

When you take money for one purpose and use it for something else, it's called "swindling." People go to jail for doing it, and yet our polititians can openly do it?

[alice]

mel padello wrote:

Raiding the Hurricane Fund is a bad idea!LEAVE IT ALONE FOR ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE.......COVER THOSE MANY WHO ARE UNABLE TO BUY HURRICANE INSURANCE......
Hooser is political...and running 4 Lt Governor....definitely a vote stimulator.......he certainly WILL NOT GET MY VOTE ALONG W/ MY SILENT MAJORITY FRIENDS!!!! melp

very true..Hooser is a joke on Kauai and is a shibai. leave the fund alone,.

[Hawaii 96782]

Leave the hurricane fund alone. Give it back to those who paid if it's not needed. Raiding the fund is like imposing a special tax on certain people "just because." Remember ... the hurricane fund was paid for by taxpayers who had homes - forcibly. I didn't want to pay into the fund, but it was included, I had no choice. Remember, not everybody paid in, only homeowners.

[geeee]

use it for teachers, use it for others. nobody made any move to have LL negotiate any settlement. now it is too late

[realist]

Get real Mr. Savage. The furloughs during school days is just a BOE, DOE, and HSTA trick to get people like you to pull money out of taxpayers pockets. The BOE, DOE, and HSTA should take their budget cuts out of the central office of DOE and if furlough days are needed; take them on holidays.

[Joe The Vice President]

Fisherman wrote:

Bruce, you are asking the politicians to:
"keep politics out of this"-
what a sense of humor you have.

Hey, You voted for me, so no joke.

[Von]

"Regulate and tax marijuana sales"

I know it is taxable under the IRS and the State of Hawaii follows the IRS. In fact if you can't find a state tax form then it's fine to send in an IRS form to the state tax office as they tell me. So yes marijuana is already taxable, but like everything else it's not being enforced.

Gambling and prostitution is also taxable. I know because I applied for the prostitution enforcement position, but I was turned down. They said I was overqualified

[alice]

The so-called "teachers" here perform at a very low level. Most are grossly overpaid as it is. If they had any courage and commitment to children they would have stayed on the job. The children deserved the best. These teachers are far from the best.

[geeee]

now its okay to raid the fund to help HSTA. then it's also okay for the other unions to expect help also

[waimea jim]

Stumpy wrote:

When you take money for one purpose and use it for something else, it's called "swindling." People go to jail for doing it, and yet our polititians can openly do it?

Or, if you do it on a scale that Bernie Madoff did, they call it a Ponzi scheme.

[waimea jim]

We need a petition to get a proposal for a con-con on the ballot next year.
The State needs to get rid of these career politicians.
The State should also impose a licensing fee for all the career politicians. Barbers, real estate agents, plumbers, electricians, lawyers, insurance agents,cosmetologists, and I don't know who else, are licensed professionals, shouldn't politicians be too?
That way they would have to follow a code of ethics, and answer to a board, as their vows of upholding the Constitutions of the U.S. and State don't seem to be enough to stop them from violating their oaths.
The foxes are in the henhouse, and the only way to get them out, is to burn the henhouse.

[Bernie Madoff]

waimea jim wrote:

<quoted text>Or, if you do it on a scale that Bernie Madoff did, they call it a Ponzi scheme.

The richest one percent of this country owns half our country's wealth, five trillion dollars. One third of that comes from hard work, two thirds comes from inheritance, interest on interest accumulating to widows and idiot sons and what I do, stock and real estate speculation. It's b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t. You got ninety percent of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. We make the rules, pal. The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, the price per paper clip. We pick that rabbit out of the hat while everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it. Now you're not naive enough to think we're living in a democracy, are you buddy? It's the free market. And you're a part of it. You've got that killer instinct. Stick around pal, I've still got a lot to teach you.