Two storms back-to-back. Property owners of residences along Halawa Stream will be on alert for rising waters. It got pretty close with Darby. Will we be lucky again?
When FEMA placed our properties in a designated flood zone, the informational meeting conducted was more along the lines of, “You’re in a flood zone. Buy insurance.”
It’s been a decade or two since proactive and preventative maintenance has been done and the neglect is obvious. We teach our children to be responsible. Is that too much to ask of those who have begged for our votes with promises of working to improve our communities?
Lynn Wong
Halawa
Cut deal with websites featuring vacation rentals
Regarding vacation rentals, there is a very simple solution to the potentially unenforceable parts of Act 204 and the concerns surrounding House Bill 1850.
Pass a bill similar to HB 1850 that requires hosting websites to adhere to the principles laid out in Act 204 if they want to participate. They would agree to be responsible for ensuring that both the transient accommodations tax and the general excise tax ID numbers are posted for all listings in Hawaii, or be held liable for fines. In exchange, they would get to collect the taxes on behalf of the landlords.
Everybody wins, except for the illegal landlords. The worst case is no websites agree and we remain where we are now, with Act 204 enforced on only the landlords.
Michael Lung
Kailua
Voters have a right to fraud-free elections
I strongly support nationwide required proof of identity and right to vote.
Why? Common sense. Every program any government has devised that enables people to get something such as Medicare, or the vast variety of welfare programs we have, experiences fraud, costing billions of dollars. Other federal laws will influence what we do or how we do it.
In Hawaii, we get two U.S. Senate votes and two U.S. House votes on federal legislation. There are 531 other votes in Congress on federal legislation that will affect us in Hawaii. I am entitled to be certain all of those other votes were by people legally elected to their office.
Jim Pollock
Kaneohe
Public always invited to make views known
Kathy Leong is misinformed about the various public hearings that have been held on the approval of a project to build a tower on the corner of Atkinson and Kapiolani (“Variances for tower don’t smell good,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 29).
On June 3, a public hearing was held by the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting.
The Council’s Zoning and Planning committee held a hearing on Aug. 25 and the resolution will subsequently be on the agenda of an upcoming full Council meeting.
Members of the community are encouraged to contact Council members directly at any time and also are afforded the opportunity to testify at any public hearing.
Neighborhood-specific transit oriented development plans, including the one for the Ala Moana community, are intended to provide flexibility in redevelopment while retaining community character and incentivize the revitalization of our communities.
The TOD plans allow for increased heights and densities that provide the framework for increased utilization of these properties.
Trevor Ozawa
Council member, District 4
