‘Reasonable and feasible’
Thank you for covering Department of Water Supply’s decision to bring water back to Vacationland, where one-third of the homes lost to the 2018 lava flow were located (Tribune-Herald, Jan. 13).
While some owners will be awarded a federally funded buyout, many other owners will not. Reasonably, the remaining owners want to either return to their properties and rebuild or have the opportunity to sell.
Vacationland residents paid for nearly a mile of the waterline that DWS is being reimbursed for by FEMA. The line was gifted to DWS to ensure water supply. Residents also paid substantial water-connect fees, with DWS taking responsibility for maintaining water supply. So, DWS’s decision to restore water is entirely appropriate and very helpful as we work to restore our subdivision.
Restoration of Vacationland is both reasonable and feasible. The subdivision was created by bulldozing a 1,000-year-old lava flow. With the 2018 flow, our properties are now elevated above the surrounding landscape, leaving them relatively safer than the lower-lying areas.
Roads can readily be reestablished on the relatively flat flow, and lots can easily be leveled for rebuilding. Kapoho’s micro-climate, rich in rain and sun, is ideal for regeneration of vegetation. We look forward to exploring our new black sand beaches as we work to redevelop a vibrant community that will once again create jobs and contribute to Hawaii County’s tax base.
Some $300 million in taxpayer money has been granted to Hawaii County for use in disaster relief — most of which is still unspent. Over 3½ years after the lava flow, we have owners still walking over a long-ago cooled lava field to reach their homes.
Thanks to current efforts by the county, we hope they will be able to drive home soon, and that the county will assist our community, using disaster funding, to rebuild our infrastructure.
Deb Smith, on behalf of the directors of Vacationland Hawaii Community Association and Kapoho Kai Water
Making presumptions
The art of conversation may not be dead, but from my observations, it certainly has gone somewhat comatose.
Long before the pandemic, there were those whose idea of a conversation was to take your ear and hold it until it fell off of your head. Getting a word in edgewise was not for the faint of heart, and since the pandemic, it has only gotten worse.
Then other things come into play, as someone’s hearing may not be very good, or someone makes a presumption that is so hideously out of context that you’ve no idea what they mean.
I was at the laundromat (it’s that time of the year again!) in Pahoa and used one of the two laundry bags I acquired while in the Navy during deployment. Rather than fold my stuff there, I stuffed the laundry into the bag, which had also doubled as a goodie bag when I was SCUBA diving.
A few machines down, a woman looked my way and exclaimed, “Someone’s been a bad boy!”
At the time, I figured I’d missed something due to my finely tuned jet-affected hearing, and asked her to repeat herself. Nothing changed. I finished stuffing my laundry bag and went home, which was when it hit me like a ton of feathers.
She had presumed I had been in prison, that many here believe is the only source of nylon mesh laundry bags, which also explained her expression of smug superiority.
There are times communicating with other humans can be an arduous task.
Dave Kisor
Pahoa
Mahalo, Lt. Gov. Green
How wonderful to read that our state has been ranked No. 1 in COVID safety (Tribune-Herald, Jan. 28).
We all owe a debt of gratitude to Josh Green. How lucky we all were and are to have such a knowledgeable and able physician as lieutenant governor at this crucial time.
Andrea Rosanoff
Steve Sparks
Pahoa