Too expensive
I was born and raised in Hawaii and have seen my family go through many struggles in life.
My parents have been living here as well, for decades, and we have moved around constantly. I understand inflation and everything, but all these foreigners come and just buy our land without having to live here and raise the cost of land and houses to outrageous prices for people who cannot even afford to live here.
My parents make much better money nowadays, but with the recent low rates of interest, my parents are being kicked out because their owner is deciding to sell because people are buying houses like crazy.
They are having an extremely hard time finding places to buy or even rent because the foreigners who come here purposely to buy the land or houses come here to make money and ruin it for the future generations who already cannot afford to buy houses — let alone rent a place — because it’s ridiculously expensive.
The cost of living already makes it almost difficult to survive here as it is. It would be great if we could implement something like where a person who wants to buy a house or land needs to be a resident. A prerequisite to become a resident gives the people of Hawaii a fighting chance, especially now during COVID-19, when people had their hours cut or have been laid off.
Why are people doing this to other people during a time of need? Hawaii is supposed to be known as a place of aloha and giving, but now it seems it is a place for greed and people to just make money, as only people from the mainland can afford these prices.
Colton Arruda
Hilo
Sewer project
In passing this year’s Capital Improvement Projects Budget, as presented by Mayor Roth, the Hawaii County Council will be funding yet another $17,603,000 in this upcoming year for more planning and designing of the Naalehu sewer project boondoggle.
Since our current County Council has not requested a legislative audit of where the millions of dollars in Naalehu sewer planning and designing money has gone for the past 14 years, inquiring county taxpayers like me are now asking if the County Council is going to allow another year and more than $17 million dollars to be spent on the same Naalehu project contractors who will probably produce the same lack of results?
Sandra Demoruelle
Naalehu