Nailed it
Regarding Maureen Russill’s letter to the editor (“Praise for Gallagher,” Feb. 3) and Pat Dunlop Evans’ op-ed (“Prejudice mars Maunakea report,” Feb. 7): What they said!
L. E. Goldstein
Keaau
Health over wealth
In my humble opinion as an 80-year-old kupuna, the credit for our state being No. 1 for COVID-19 preparedness rests squarely in the lap of our present governor.
As our governor, he never “flip-flops” in his position of health over wealth for the people of Hawaii. There were many times when other so-called leaders publicly chose wealth over health, in opposition to Gov. David Ige.
I believe that we should give credit where credit is due. So Mahalo, Gov. Ige.
Carrie Kowalski
Pahoa
A bumpy ride
Why can’t the county pave over or fill the potholes on the section of the road that goes to the Hilo dump, right behind the Reuse Center?
Unless you have a truck, this is terrible to drive on.
Considering how many vehicles use that road, why isn’t fixing it a priority? It’s been a mess for months.
A. Yamamoto
Hilo
Privacy concerns
Did anyone else feel a profound sense of irony in the two columns side-by-side on Thursday’s editorial page?
On one side you had a piece by the Heritage Foundation (a known right-wing think tank) decrying the fact that China is hosting the Winter Olympics despite its abysmal human rights record and going into detail about the methods and technology being used to surveil athletes well as their own citizens.
I admit it would frighten me to be subjected to that 24 hours a day.
Next to it there is a column from the Seattle Times referencing the Big Three tech companies in this country: Facebook (now Meta), Google and Amazon.
Google, in particular, (and presumably the others) is being accused of gathering, storing and likely selling detailed location information from the smart phones of anyone who uses one of those services, at any time, even if you think you’ve opted out. That information could be used to find you anywhere at any time without your knowledge or consent.
It’s not just phone data — facial recognition software and AI technology could be used to pick you out of a crowd anywhere there’s a security camera.
That frightens me as much or more than the description of China’s surveillance. The only difference I see is that China’s surveillance state is out in the open.
Tim Cooper
Hilo
