Great performance
I never heard of the Puna Men’s Chorus before, but I can tell you from now on I’ll be watching for their performances. Their renditions and disciplined performance (at the Merrie Monarch Festival) of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “Hawai‘i Pono‘i” had the Edith Kanaka‘ole Multipurpose Stadium spellbound.
It was amazing. No question they set the tone and bar for this year’s Merrie Monarch Festival.
Whoever is responsible for training these guys has to be an exceptional talent.
Charles Jarvis
Kailua-Kona
Shameful workers
In this elections office scandal, we have some public employees who did not take their obligation to be good and honest stewards of public money seriously. In fact, we have some public employees who seem to have an “ambulance-chasing” excuse for a lawyer who is trying to bully the County Council into rolling over and playing dead and “settle” after they were rightfully and legally terminated.
My response, if I were on the County Council: “What part of ‘screw you’ don’t you understand? We fight for the taxpayers and public employees who are honest and law-abiding — not ones who steal.”
The facts, which Ted Hong is reported (in the April 19 Tribune-Herald article) as “acknowledging,” are that the disgraced employees were disgraced because of “drinking and sign-making” on county time and property. They weren’t disgraced because they were terminated — legally and appropriately. They were disgraced because they were caught in the act.
They were caught stealing from the taxpayers. Pure. Simple. Shameful.
I have a business, but I don’t want to pay the going rate for renting or buying a property. And, I want to drink alcohol at work. So, I’ll get a county job, assigned to Pat Nakamoto. Then, we can drink beer, talk story in a taxpayer-funded facility while producing signs to sell, supplementing my fat, taxpayer-funded salary.
When I get caught with my hand in the cookie jar (taking public “cookies” that the average citizen, because they don’t have an elections office job, can’t enjoy), I’ll find a professional, hired-gun thug who is licensed to practice law in the State of Hawaii, and threaten a lawsuit — if the County Council has the guts to actually fire me.
There is nothing “pono” about what the elections workers, supervisor and administrator were caught and acknowledged as doing by their own attorney, the arrogant Mr. Hong. Nothing.
Dominic Yagong and the other three council members who voted in favor of “pono” and for the good of the honest, hard-working taxpayers (and most county workers) of this island … are modern-day heroes. Upright. Law-abiding. Circumspect. Fearless.
“See you in court, Hong!” Are you feeling lucky? Well … are ya?
Brian Joseph Ansorge
Hilo
