On Top of the Aloha Beat BLOG

The Kauai Planning and Action Alliance is a local organization that keeps our community informed about ongoing public issues. On the east side of Kauai, traffic continues to be a key issue even with the recent drop in tourism.

On Thursday, September 25th KPAA will hold its Fall Meeting on the topic Enhancing Kaua`i's Public Transportation from 3:00 to 4:30 PM at the Kauai Community College Cafeteria. Featured speaker Janine Rapozo, Director of the County Transportation Agency, will talk about the latest plans for the Kaua`i Bus.

What are some other ways we can get people out of their cars and reduce traffic and greenhouse emissions? A discussion of transit options that could augment the Kaua`i Bus, such as park 'n' ride lots, connector shuttles, vanpools, rideshare matching services and "demand response" systems will be held. There will also be a brief update on KPAA activities. KPAA members and the public are invited at attend.

Later this year the county is supposedly going to be working on our infamous "three-lane-highway" and expanding it on the southern end of Kapaa to help eliminate one of our major traffic bottlenecks

Well, i finally got it right. We are electing a new mayor and seven county council members in November on Kauai. Today however was the primary election. If someone gets 50% of the mayoral vote, there will not be an election in November. And,  we are narrowing down the county council candidates from 22 to 14.

I headed off to the Kapaa Middle School to vote earlier this afternoon. After making my picks, I went to insert my ballot into the ballot machine. The machine spit it back out to me and the gentlemen helping said that i needed to blacken the square next to the candidate of my choice, not simply make an 'X'. OK. I went back and pressed hard with the pens and then came back to reinsert my ballot. NOPE. The machine spit the ballot back again and it was then i realized, I had selected eight, not seven, candidates for county council. Guess what? I had a "spoiled ballot". Oh well. Now, the election volunteers had to check me out, check my ID, and then have me sign several pieces of paper before starting me all over again.

The good news is, I finally got it right. If you have never been to Kauai, it is truly "small town" politics. Electioneers are spread all over the road, up and down the island, promoting their candidates. The leading mayoral candidate, a former football player, and the head of our Parks and recreation Department, seems to have more relatives than i have blades of grass in my yard. His teal and white signs were visible pretty much everywhere you turned. His name is Bernard Carvalho and he was the favorite son of our mayor, Bryan Baptiste, who passed away suddenly several months ago.

When you see these people in their T-shirts waving their placards, you just have to smile. At least that's what i do.  We'll hopefully find out tomorrow who is left in these two contests.

Apollo Kaua`i is a Kauai-based organization committed to sustainability and the environment. I received this email blast in support of Joann Yukimura who I feel is our best option for Kauai becoming more sustainable. Joann has quite a track record from her previous tenure as mayor when she started things like the Kaua`i bus and our current recycling programs. I thought I would post Apollo Kauai`s pitch since it makes a lot of sense to me.
 
We in Apollo Kauai have been studying the issues of our oil dependence 
and climate change for the last three years.  We have been educating 
ourselves and fellow residents about both the impacts and mitigation 
strategies for Kaua`I.  Our investigations and educational efforts 
have included numerous public meetings presenting renewable energy 
solutions, transportation, efficiency and conservation measures for 
saving energy, and a myriad of related subjects.  During this time, 
rising local electricity rates and ever-increasing transportation fuel 
costs as well as global events and awareness of climate changes have 
caused a call for urgent immediate action to address these energy 
issues.

Most recently, that call reached a fever pitch here on the Garden 
Island, when Maurice
Kaya, former head of the State Department of Business, Economic 
Development, and Tourism, as one of several presenters, addressed a 
room of over 200 Kauai officials business people, and concerned 
residents at an renewable energy event organized by the Office of 
Kauai Economic Development.  Mr. Kaya started his presentation with an 
insistence on the need for the people of Kaua`i to proceed with far 
greater urgency in addressing our energy dependence. He emphasized 
that we cannot simply consider this in a box, as ‘another’ social 
problem that will eventually resolve itself! He proceeded to outline 
the incredible fragility of our entire economy because of our total 
reliance on increasingly scarce and expensive petroleum.

Our energy crisis has been building for years, and despite the recent 
softening of oil prices, it is widely expected to worsen significantly 
in the foreseeable future.  And, despite interest in this or that 
possible technological ‘solution’ (algae, nanotechnology, cellulosic 
ethanol) there is very little disagreement in the energy industry that 
we are at the edge of a precipice. The single most important thing for 
local governments around the country in responding to this 
unprecedented crisis is clear recognition of it and to quickly begin 
implementing solutions.

We need a Mayor on Kauai who understands both the severity of our 
situation, and the appropriate responses to it. We need a Mayor who 
goes into office on day one as a strong proponent of the solutions 
that can benefit us the most. We need a Mayor who has the experience 
of having worked through real crisis situations before. We cannot 
afford anything less now.

Some may see this perspective as too pessimistic or alarmist, and 
choose not to think that they or their job or business on Kaua`I might 
be impacted by such abstractions; but we need to face the facts.  Most 
of us already see the affects of our electricity and transportation 
costs and the resulting rising costs of all goods, including food, 
and services.  If we can elect a Mayor who truly understands the 
urgency of our energy situation, we can move together as a community 
and successfully meet this challenge.

We can expand the bus system that Mayor Yukimura started; we can 
depend on affordable housing becoming a reality as in the past; we can 
transform the COOP that JoAnn Yukimura helped found; we can protect 
the rural Island that Mayor Yukimura has, countless times, defended; 
we can begin employing the conservation measures and green building 
practices which will  save our County energy. . With Mayor Yukimura’s 
leadership, we can avoid saddling the West Side with yet another toxic 
burden in a Waste to Energy Incinerator; and instead proceed with much 
more profitable and innovative recycling efforts.  We can expand the 
Farmer’s Markets that Mayor Yukimura championed, and by doing so, help 
promote more agriculture on Kaua`I, more small farms and more 
exporting of our products.  We can assist Kaua`I families and 
individuals who must live on limited or fixed incomes to save through 
energy saving incentives.

We cannot and should not rely on solutions to come from our State and 
Federal Government.  Instead, with Mayor Yukimura’s leadership 
assisting us in becoming more energy self-reliant; and in joining 
together, we can take responsibility for the well-being of our 
families, businesses and our communities right here on Kaua`i.

Apollo Kaua`I endorses JoAnn Yukimura as the person most capable of 
working with us to bring about the energy solutions we will need to 
enjoy  that optimistic future.

I agree!