Maui hotels, golf courses should heed drought, too

Due to severe drought, water use restrictions have been implemented in Upcountry Maui with $500 per violation fines. This even applies to those who irrigate orchards and other crops. Yet, hotel grounds and golf courses, the majority of which are situated in the traditionally driest parts of the island, continue to fully water their grounds.

Most Maui residents welcome the tourists. However, aloha does not translate into having to provide them with an artificially lush bubble of protection from the effects of climate change.

There is much talk of promoting agriculture and also of attracting certain types of tourists. Water allocation in the face of climate change is an area we could combine the two.

Most tourists — the ones we should desire — would understand somewhat dry hotel grounds or measures. such as not having daily sheet changes, when it’s explained that water needs to be diverted to residents, particularly farmers.

Frances H. Tully

Kula, Maui

State park fee would be small price for tourists

The core issue in Hawaii is that it is pretending it has an infinite amount of a precious commodity, namely the natural resources, especially beaches. Basic economics say that demand will increase without limit. The way to address this is to adjust the price for the commodity.

One straightforward way is to require park pass purchases (as many other states already do). Charging $100 per person for unlimited park/beach access (residents not charged) would raise several hundred millions of dollars and would provide a means of appropriately pricing the resource. Demand will follow that curve.

Note: $100 per person could be too low. A one-day pass to Disney World is about $120. Even at just a $100 for a state park fee here, 10 million visitors is equal to $1 billion! Imagine what we could do with that money for infrastructure at these state beach parks, and the roads leading to them.

Visitors have still come, often paying upwards of $150 for a negative COVID-19 travel pretest. So even with that, if you implement a state park fee, they will still come.

Hal Koyama

Haleiwa

Have employers require vaccines as part of job

By no means is this coronavirus surge unexpected, largely, as we know with the unvaccinated. It does not take a genius to see this coming.

So, how do we get people — the outliers in the smallest rural areas, the naysayers, uneducated, misinformed and uncaring — to get vaccinated? The uncaring are the scariest, they are thinking only of themselves and not people they may be around.

We need to develop an aggressive plan: 1. Take the vaccine to them, directly; people cannot always get to the vaccine even when just down the road a few miles. 2. Continue and increase awareness that the vaccines are safe for them and people around them. 3. Last and hardest, encourage employers to start making vaccination required for continued employment, especially in the service industry.

Turn up the speed on these initiatives. We need to keep things open and people safe.

Clifton T. Johnson

Ala Moana

On seals and wildlife, educating visitors is key

Regarding the recent occurrences of visitors touching monk seals, may we conclude that the guilty parties simply didn’t know any better? They may regard Hawaii as one big friendly petting zoo, completely unaware of what is permitted and what isn’t.

The answer is education, most logically provided en route to the islands.

Pam Chambers

Kakaako

Satirical proposal: Touch a tourist, instead of seal

Regarding the article on the latest tourist compulsion to interfere with a resting monk seal (“Do not disturb,” Star-Advertiser, July 15): With a nod to Jonathan Swift, I offer the following modest proposal introducing a new attraction called “Touch a Tourist,” in which a $15 fee entitles you to approach any resting tourist on the beach and pat him or her on the head for as long as it takes until the tourist snaps at you or gets up and walks away.

Perle Besserman

Kakaako

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