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Letters to the Editor

Quiet, casual lifestyle here seems no longer possible

I am a 72-year-old woman who lives in Kula in the burn area. Last Sunday, I was talking to a friend in the far corner of my home. I looked up to see a man standing by the dining room table in my living room. He yelled hello in a very fake, friendly manner and ran. By the time I chased him through my house, I saw him peel out of my driveway, stealing my 1999 Toyota Tacoma pickup. Sometime during my evacuation of my home for a month, either this same person or another thief came into my home and stole all of my jewelry. Both times I called the police. Nothing has come of either ...

Tax dollars should’t be used for workforce development

Wealthy developers have been dragging their feet on Kilohana Makai, a project that shouldn’t be built in the first place. Now they want over $4 million for it because of rising prices. I’m sure they have a profit margin in place. If all the proposed units are sold, why don’t they have the money themselves? Is the county going to give me money to make a cottage on my property to sell or rent to a workforce person? These developers begging for tax dollars is a joke. Don’t give them a penny. Nate Holmes Kula

Biofuel does not make sense for Maui?

Regarding the newly awarded project to build a biofuel generation plant near the Pulehu landfill, the argument for biofuel is that it is carbon neutral so it does not contribute to global warming. The problem with that is it is still emitting CO2, so it is locking us into current levels rather than reducing CO2 levels. But the bigger problem is that biofuel crops require lots of water and land.  Corn is a common biofuel crop in the U.S. and one acre of corn requires 600,000 gallons of water to grow it to maturity. That one acre of corn will produce about 13 megawatt hours of energy, ...

Should have sent team in entirety to Super Bowl

I just read the Feb. 7 article about the Lunas being invited to the Superbowl and I’m very disappointed. Not one of the coaches or the players invited, mentioned anything about the rest of the team. If one gets invited, the whole team should be invited. Hawaii talks about doing what is right, but nothing about this is pono. If I had the money, I would pay for the whole team to go as a team. To me, this doesn’t shed a good light on Hawaii. We should send the whole team. Christopher Mark Damore Kihei

Antisemitism claims used against Palestinian lives

False claims of antisemitism are being weaponized worldwide to silence Palestinian lived experiences. Film screenings hosted in communities and on college campuses have been particularly targeted by this tactic to shut down any media giving voice to Palestinians or to Jewish community members critical of the Israeli government. The Hawaiʻi Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, representing a diverse group of Jews across our islands, is a co-sponsor of a film series hosted by Seed of Love Hawaiʻi, that has come under attack in a recent letter. As Jews, we unequivocally reject any ...

Members of our Hawai‘i State Legislature have introduced four bills to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 percent. As the mother of a 19-year-old who was killed by a drunk driver, I support this change. My daughter, Hannah, had so much life ahead of her when she was taken from us. Please take a moment to step into my shoes as you read this. We need our legislators to take a stand lowering the alcohol limit. Not only will it reduce drinking and driving, it will also stop repeat offenders. Nothing can bring back our daughter, but we can ...