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Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

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  • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

    So who's for splitting the island into two counties? East side vs West? Just no drivebys ok?

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    • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

      Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
      It's almost like living on two different islands with different cultural attitudes on what's best served for each side.
      And from what Tim and Burl are saying, it would appear the “keep the country, country” rural attitude of the residents who live on the West Side weighs strongly on why they lack the infrastructure.

      We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

      — U.S. President Bill Clinton
      USA TODAY, page 2A
      11 March 1993

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      • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

        Originally posted by joshuatree View Post
        So who's for splitting the island into two counties? East side vs West? Just no drivebys ok?
        That would be very difficult at this point for this reason cited below.

        http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart8.html

        CREATION; POWERS OF POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS

        Section 1. The legislature shall create counties, and may create other political subdivisions within the State, and provide for the government thereof. Each political subdivision shall have and exercise such powers as shall be conferred under general laws. [Ren and am Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978


        In other words, I highly doubt 18 out of 25 State Senators or 34 out the 51 Representatives from Oahu would vote for splitting Hawaii County. The fact is Oahu is the big cheese now and for the forseeable future. The Oahu legislators don't want to create a precedent that Kailua or Kapolei on Oahu try to create their own counties separate from C & C of Honolulu.
        Last edited by Konaguy; June 16, 2007, 11:35 PM.
        Check out my blog on Kona issues :
        The Kona Blog

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        • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

          Originally posted by TuNnL View Post
          And from what Tim and Burl are saying, it would appear the “keep the country, country” rural attitude of the residents who live on the West Side weighs strongly on why they lack the infrastructure.
          Yes admittedly there is a NIMBY element in South Kona and North Kona who block needed infrastructure. But like I said that is not the reason why we
          are in this mess. It is due to the Mr. Magoo like planning done by previous county and state administrations. Plus there was only voluntary impact mitigation, which most developers circumvented through graft and greasing the wheel of past politicians.

          The results of that voluntary impact mitigation are self evident today.If there was a concurrency ordinance (Which thankfully the council passed
          recently) implemented 20 years ago, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in today.
          Check out my blog on Kona issues :
          The Kona Blog

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          • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

            Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
            The traffic problems aren't that bad (coming from Honolulu originally) and I accept that I'm part of the problem so I won't complain. But...Friday afternoon while trying to get from Waimea to Kailua on the Queen K highway at around...oh...3:30pm I realized the West side has a major traffic problem and the widening project is taking a friggin long time to complete! I mean it's a Friday afternoon and there is no activity going on the construction side of the highway! How long does it take to add a couple of lanes on land that has nothing on it right now? This has been going on for a few years now and everytime I travel this highway, it looks like nothing has been done.
            As far as my discussions with HDOT, Phase I of the Queen Kaahumanu widening is on schedule. It is supposed to be completed by March 2008. (Phase I will be from Malulani Gardens to Kealakehe Parkway).

            Phase II should be starting around the time Phase I is completed. Phase II will be from Kealakehe Parkway to Kona Int'l Airport.

            On a related note, the next month will be a very critical time for the Hokulia Bypass. Legal decisions made during this period will decide if this road will ever be completed. There is going to be court hearing Monday and the trial will start on July 2, 2007.
            Check out my blog on Kona issues :
            The Kona Blog

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            • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

              The delay in traffic on friday may have been because a a brush fire.
              Listen to KEITH AND THE GIRLsigpic

              Stupid people come in all flavors-buzz1941
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              • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

                Originally posted by Konaguy View Post
                That would be very difficult at this point for this reason cited below.

                http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart8.html

                CREATION; POWERS OF POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS

                Section 1. The legislature shall create counties, and may create other political subdivisions within the State, and provide for the government thereof. Each political subdivision shall have and exercise such powers as shall be conferred under general laws. [Ren and am Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978


                In other words, I highly doubt 18 out of 25 State Senators or 34 out the 51 Representatives from Oahu would vote for splitting Hawaii County. The fact is Oahu is the big cheese now and for the forseeable future. The Oahu legislators don't want to create a precedent that Kailua or Kapolei on Oahu try to create their own counties separate from C & C of Honolulu.
                Has there ever been any attempt to split the island into two counties? Considering that all the other islands put together don't even add up to half the Big Isle, having two counties isn't unreasonable. I really don't see Oahu legislators being particularly yay or nay. When Kapolei truly becomes it's own second city, I feel that it's justifiable to have it's own county if needed. But Oahu is relatively small compared to Hawaii so that is another factor in deciding if it needs another county or now.

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                • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

                  Originally posted by alohabear View Post
                  The delay in traffic on friday may have been because a a brush fire.
                  No not a hint of it while stuck on that stretch of roadway all the way from Waimea to Kailua. Just the typical daily traffic down there. I can honestly say that the traffic mess there is worse than Oahu's having been stuck in both in my lifetime.
                  Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                  • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

                    Originally posted by joshuatree View Post
                    Has there ever been any attempt to split the island into two counties? Considering that all the other islands put together don't even add up to half the Big Isle, having two counties isn't unreasonable. I really don't see Oahu legislators being particularly yay or nay. When Kapolei truly becomes it's own second city, I feel that it's justifiable to have it's own county if needed. But Oahu is relatively small compared to Hawaii so that is another factor in deciding if it needs another county or now.
                    Yes back in 2003 the West Hawaii legislators tried to introduce legislation that would allow Hawaii County to be split. But it didn't gain very much traction in the legislature. Interestingly I had a very heated discussion with all people, former Representative Ezra Kanoho about this. He was trying to evade the issue by saying Oahu contributes the bulk of the State of Hawaii's tax revenue.

                    As far as I recall the only time the legislature in recent memory created a new county was Kalawao County on Molokai (Which I believe doesn't exist anymore).
                    Check out my blog on Kona issues :
                    The Kona Blog

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                    • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

                      Originally posted by alohabear View Post
                      The delay in traffic on friday may have been because a a brush fire.
                      I have my doubts about that. As far as I recall, no roads were closed as result of the brush fire up by Saddle Road. The traffic is usually bad up
                      in Kamuela, Queen Kaahumanu (Past the airport) and in South Kona.
                      Check out my blog on Kona issues :
                      The Kona Blog

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                      • Re: Offensive Letter To The Editor About Puna

                        Originally posted by joshuatree View Post
                        I think the person who wrote the piece may be a little blunt but I don't find anything wrong. You are right that Puna residents pay taxes too but I don't think their amount of taxes would cover infrastructure to reach all the way out to Puna and be at the same quality level as in town like Hilo's. It's like the guy living out in the middle of nowhere, up on a hill, and expecting police, paramedics, or firefighters to have the same response time as in the city.
                        I might agree with your analogy, joshuatree, if Puna was still the middle of nowhere. It's not. It is, by all accounts, the fastest growing area of the state. I've read that it is predicted to surpass Hilo district in population within two years. Vast areas of the Puna district were carved into residential subdivisions decades ago and the area only retained its rural character for as long as it did because those lots remained unoccupied for so long. Now, they have been occupied by 10s of thousands of people, with more moving in every day. Many of those are hard-working people who have been squeezed out of the rest of the state by high land and real estate prices. They come here because its more affordable, or because it reminds them of what O'ahu was like when they were kids. Sure, there are still plenty of Punatics, hippies, criminals and free spirits living here. But there are also plenty of Hawaiians moving from other islands, middle class working folk of all ethnicities, retirees; in fact all manner of respectable, taxpaying citizens. Their taxes may be less in raw dollars, but calculate out to the same percentage of of their property value as for residents elsewhere. Property values, while still much lower than the state average, have skyrocketed in recent years. A one acre lot in certain parts of the Puna district sold for less than $10,000 just a couple of years ago. Now, about the cheapest land runs $25,000 per acre with most way above that. So since the county and state obviously planned for Puna to grow eventually (since they approved the subdivisions in the first place and platted them on county county maps), maybe they make good on that plan and start building more of the infrastucture needed to support that growth?

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