Ex-mayor is wrong
Former Mayor Harry Kim is mistaken when he calls short-term vacation rentals, or STVRs, the equivalent of a resort or hotel (Your Views, June 22).
STVRs are mostly single-family-owned homes, and they serve a different group of visitors. These visitors seek out quietude and want to surround themselves with the real Hawaii, not souvenir shops.
Visitors mostly consist of young or retired couples and families. Many families could not afford to stay in hotels and go out to eat for every meal.
They love staying in a home with a kitchen, living room, bedrooms and laundry facilities. They spend their money supporting small local businesses. Pahoa’s businesses were very negatively affected by the loss of over 200 STVRs in Kapoho’s lava flow.
STVRs generally don’t affect neighborhoods negatively. They are usually clustered at or near the ocean. They usually have at most two vehicles parked in the driveway.
The homes and yards are well-maintained, and generally quiet, because visitors are out exploring the island. Most visitors have few friends or acquaintances on the island.
The only STVRs that get noisy are those with pools and those that are rented to residents of this island. They become gathering and party places. Some parents don’t want their homes invaded by a group of kids, so they rent an STVR for that purpose. But even those occasions are short-lived.
A Hawaii tourism organization was proposing guided tours of farms, so why not make it possible for families to stay at a farm and experience it first-hand? Even some subdivisions are zoned “agricultural.”
Magdalene Phillips
Pahoa
‘No loyalty’
I was pleased to find I’m not alone in my outrage at Longs/CVS for its disregard for our community (‘Longs Ponahawai,’ Your Views, May 29).
I’ve been a loyal “Longs Hawaii” customer for over 35 years. It was sad when national super-chain CVS took over, but they kept the name “Longs” in Hawaii since the name was well-loved here. But bit by bit, it has become harder to justify any loyalty to this company, which clearly has no loyalty to us.
First I watched them purchase Mina Pharmacy, with its friendly customer service and great staff like Mike and Margi. Then, of course they closed it down, sending us all into the big box stores where customer service is rare and personal touch is lacking.
Now, after buying Ponahawai Pharmacy, they are closing that also. There are probably many more such examples around the state.
At Ponahawai Pharmacy, we got personal care and customer service from Marq, Lisa and their crew. As far as I know, it was the only compounding pharmacy in the Hilo area. It was also so convenient for seniors and others with medical conditions after seeing a doctor in that building or its neighborhood. Now, we must go to the big box, with no personal service at all, to maximize their profits at our inconvenience.
Now in Keaau, they close for lunch. I’m glad the pharmacist gets an uninterrupted lunch break, but is that really the only option, to close the pharmacy?
A few months ago, the pharmacist there called me to discuss my medications. I answered, thinking it was important, but it was an insurance company survey aimed at maximizing profits, and my concerns were of no interest.
Just a few weeks later, I needed to speak to a pharmacist, in somewhat of an emergency, for maybe the second time in 35 years. I was not allowed to speak to her!
And now the final insult, “self-checkout.”
Longs has always had great employees, our neighbors and friends. This is a big reason we shop there. But now they want to lay off as many as possible, with the insult of “self-checkout.”
Thanks Longs, I mean CVS, for not caring about us or your staff. Take your profits out of state with you, but some of us will be seeking other, community-involved pharmacies with personal service.
Russell E. Ruderman
Keaau