Support for statue
I grew up in Waiakea Houselots, where my father was a commercial fisherman and my mother was a master lauhala weaver.
Dad had several boats at Wailoa and near Suisan and did net fishing and also handline fishing for aku, opelu and onaga, to name a few.
I believe he would have liked Henry Bianchini’s bronze statue (Tribune-Herald, March 17) just as much as my family and children do, because of where it is located and where he walked for many years after he had a stroke. The park is an area of activity where families gather, walk and fish. The statue provides another diverse gathering place where people can meet and talk story like my dad and his friends did.
Where the statue currently is was once an overlook area for families who waited for fishermen to come home from unexpected rough weather, and before technology. The abstract part of the statue also rings a saying dad had, “Sometimes you gotta think and become the fish or you goin’ come home bolohead (no catch).”
It also depicts the lives of fishermen are connected to rough waters, weathered hands and strong backs determined to bring home their catch for families and community.
The county should keep the statue in the park, as it also invites young people to enjoy the area with others. Plus, Japanese culture, especially in Japan, seems to have a way of blending the old ways with new values in an ever-changing world moving into the future.
Lastly, Hawaii County needs to review its process for all artwork with county buildings and open spaces if they want community input, which is being highlighted by this donation.
Leomi L. Sugahara Bergknut
Hilo
Trump an accomplice
It is ludicrous that there has been numerous inquiries into the failure of the law-enforcement agencies as well as the activation of the National Guard in a timely manner to prevent the insurrectionists from storming the U.S. Capitol.
It’s a no-brainer that former disgraced and sore loser Donald J. Trump was the main instigator of this horrific failure.
As he was still the president and commander of the United States on Jan. 6, 2021, he shirked his duties and responsibilities to defend the Constitution and allowed this carnage to occur, as he urged his followers to “fight like Hell,” which ultimately resulted in the loss of human life.
Actually, Trump is an accomplice to this homicidal event, and he should be charged accordingly, along with the other killers, and face justice for this despicable act against democracy and law and order.
Prentiss Moreno
Hilo
Carbon tax needed
Petroleum plastic contamination affects living creatures on Earth. Your neighbors’ choices are damaging your health and that of your children.
Plastic can only be marginally recycled, then it enters the biosphere and your body. It mimics your hormones, causing obesity, allergies and cancer.
Plastic is only cheep because it is subsidized by your tax dollars. We need a statewide carbon tax now. The money to be used to pay people for their separated, cleaned trash.
It used to be said we must stop using plastic “for the children.” If you were born in 1960 or latter, you are the child.
Since your parents did nothing, it is time to act. Not for the children, but for you.
G. O’Connor
Ola‘a