State your position
Hello, Mayor Mitch Roth? Are you out there?
You have a number of your subordinates stating their personal views on the benefits and desirability of the proposed biomass power plant going online in Pepeekeo.
And your participation in the recent TEDx gathering on Big Island sustainability featured a number of speakers who spoke of the value of trees and forests which seemed to imply that you favored protecting the island’s bio-home rather than engage in massive clear-cutting.
So, please, Mr. Mayor, would you please share with us whether you support the existing power purchase agreement between Hu Honua and Hawaiian Electric that’s currently under review by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission?
Beyond the talking points provided by the billions behind the determined push to get this plant burning trees for power, does your administration favor the plant going live under this 30-year PPA at 20-plus cents per kilowatt-hour, with a cost escalator?
Albert Ellis
Papaikou
Many connections
Jay Ambrose’s article in (the Nov. 17) Commentary section laid out all the reasons the “Steele dossier” was an unreliable document, but to imply it was the reason for the investigation and proof of its illegitimacy and, therefore, exoneration of the former president is misleading, to say the least.
Beginning with George Papadopoulus, Donald Trump’s campaign adviser, telling an Australian diplomat about Russia hacking Hillary Clinton campaign emails (which occurred a few months later), leading to an FBI investigation, followed by Trump firing James Comey, the FBI director, which led to Congress calling for a special investigation into obstruction, the connections are legion.
I won’t write an over-long letter naming the myriad connections (which anyone can research for themselves), but please indulge me with this short list.
— Trump said, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you can find the 30 thousand emails,” followed by Russian hackers five hours later.
— Trump surrounded himself with people connected to Russia. Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulus, among others (you can look up their various crimes and convictions).
— Donald Trump Jr.: “Russia makes up a pretty disproportionate cross section of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”
— Trump’s many private meetings with Putin, notes of which (a few don’t even have notes) he’s gone to extraordinary lengths to keep hidden (a la his tax returns).
— Donald Trump Jr.: “If it’s what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer,” when he was told of information provided by “the crown prosecutor of Russia” (a foreign power interfering with our election).
Money ties, setting up “back channels,” lies and obstruction are the bases for Robert Mueller’s investigation, not the dossier. By the way, the “unindicted co-conspirator” was explicitly not exonerated, but nonetheless continues to lie and obstruct ad infinitum, and is certainly owed no apologies.
Mary Serion
Ainaloa