Breaking News

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Planet to be taken over by soulless machines?

Most people cannot be expected to know that we have discovered and have been using only one-third of the nature and potential of electricity. The electrical manifestations of the universal energy available, as mysterious and astonishing as they are, will pale in comparison with what may be discovered in the future. Science’s great sin is that its morality has failed to keep up with its curiosity, inventiveness, experimentation and intelligence. It is common now to criticize science for following the path of “If we can do it, we should.” Whether it is a more destructive bomb, a ...

Letter: Plan Thanksgiving to include compassion

Thanksgiving may still feel far away. For the turkeys destined for Thanksgiving tables, it is not. The turkeys many plan to eat on Thanksgiving have just been born. Long before families write shopping lists or debate who is bringing the mashed potatoes, millions of turkeys are being raised by an industry designed to turn living animals into holiday products as quickly and efficiently as possible. They are only a few weeks old and they will be slaughtered before they’ve lived even six months. By Thanksgiving, their story is already over. But ours does not have to follow the same ...

Letter: Paia residents have seen this road before

I lived in Lahaina, and I sat in that traffic. I moved away after the 2018 fire. I then lived in Pāʻia for four years, and sat in that traffic too. I now live in Wailuku. I am writing because I have seen this road before. Maui County Planning Commission spent two hours on the EC Pāʻia Town Project last Tuesday. Commissioners asked about water, wastewater, the aquifer, archaeology and process. Nobody asked how 170 households get out of Pāʻia during a wildfire. That question has not been studied. The traffic analysis in the record measures congestion at the Baldwin Avenue and ...

Letter: Original quarantine law should be reimposed

Prior to former Gov. Linda Lingle’s term, Maui and Hawai‘i in general, had no pet problems like current negative issues. The four-month-long quarantine period imposed deterred mainland owners from bringing (and later releasing) dogs, cats and exotic birds into the state. Hawai‘i’s own fauna was able to survive and thrive. Po’i dogs on island were valued as working ranch dogs for herding and hunting, and stayed with their owners for life. But next the governor, without public input, dropped the quarantine, allowing for the current invasive problems. Why she was ever allowed ...

Letter: Scientific progress matters if patients can access it

This August, the FDA cleared PrecivityAD2, a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease that can be used in adults as young as 40 who are showing signs of cognitive decline — the youngest age threshold of any FDA-cleared Alzheimer’s blood test to date. Previous tests were limited to patients 55 and older. That lower age threshold matters. Alzheimer’s is not only a disease of the very old, and here in Hawaiʻi, where many of us live in multigenerational families, an earlier diagnosis can give families more time to understand what is happening, explore treatment options, plan for the ...

Letter: Letter to elected officials opposes extermination

We have a serious issue with feral cats versus native wildlife. The state Department of Land and Natural Resouces wants to kill any cat or dog that enters state-owned lands. This is unacceptable. This is not the Aloha Spirit. A coalition letter, entitled A Collaborative, Humane Approach to Protecting Hawaiʻi’s Endangered Wildlife and Managing Community Cats,” went out last week to all the elected officials in Hawaii, along with hundreds of signatures. There are solutions. It’s time we come together to help this serious situation on Maui. Killing is not the answer. The ...