Helicopter noise
Air attack! Like vultures, the helicopters circle over the dying embers of fissure 8. Noise pounds down on the people below.
Many of us are trying to recover from the pain of this eruption. Now, we come back to our homes and find all peace and quiet taken from us again.
Anyone can see that this is a crime against the ‘aina and the people of this island. Our elected officials and the bureaucrats of Civil Defense do nothing to stop it.
Now, Leilani Estates suffers with the residents of Volcano village, who have lodged thousands of complaints throughout many years to no avail.
Any island could suffer a major disaster. Please help us! You could be next.
Dan K. Knowlton
Pahoa
No to ‘bag-tag’
I see that the county is planning to once again pursue a previously and justly rejected proposal to charge Big Island residents a fee in the form of a “bag-tag” for the privilege of depositing waste and recyclables in the proper place, the local transfer stations (“Pay-as-you-throw program eyed again,” Sept. 14, Tribune Herald).
Such a plan could be counterproductive. On an island where a large percentage of the population has little discretionary income, many, instead of paying to stow their trash in sanctioned locations, will find other places to dump it and take the gamble on fines and penalties.
We could wind up with a double whammy in the form of (1) the administrative burden (and expense) of catching and processing infractions and (2) unsightly, wasteful and unhygienic random garbage dumps.
It might be better to incentivize proper trash disposal and recycling habits and find other, more fruitful ways of raising revenue.
Anne Melfi
Laupahoehoe
