07-21-2018, 05:18 PM
I agree that in this election for most it is not a question of who to root for, but as KeaauRich said above "Which candidate will I be less embarrassed by?". It comes down to a binary choice, and my own vote, as a long time resident of Orchidland is determined by the following:
Kanealii-Kleinfelder: - I agree with his position of finding homes for evacuees in in vacant/foreclosed homes: seems to help 2 problems at the same time
- has practical experience with alternate energy ( solar )
Wirick - doesn't know that the County Council has no jurisdiction over federal National Park policies
- doesn't know that the agencies most helpful in aiming for food sustainability are State , not County: UH College of Ag, HCC Ag Program, CCESS, Co=operatative Extenstion Service ( to name a few )
- doesn't realize the idea of much of Puna being able to sustain itself via agriculture has been supplanted/surpassed by the suburban pattern of home ownership
It sounds wonderful to fight for '"farming for food sustainability". If it were possible/feasible to make a living doing so, more people would be doing it.
In any kind of sustainable food production, it comes down to '"how much does it cost to grow/get it to market", versus " how much does it sell for". ( Has anyone found the price of lychee, Avas, peapods, papaya, macnuts, etc going down ? ) As someone who has ( tried ) to make a living with different crops over many years, the battle with bugs, diseases, critters, is not one that most people will want to take on, or succeed at. ( I won't get into how much damage pigs can do to a food crop over one night, and how they are smart and come back repeatedly. Pigs don't read map lines, and hunting them in spaghetti-shaped lots is a not a situation I want to increase. ) As someone who grew crops through the extremes of weather that Puna presents ( 30" of rain in one day, followed by 4 months of not a single drop ), I know that infrastructure is necessary for sustained production: greenhouses for too wet times, and irrigation for too dry times. ( Note to Kalakaua - good roads nice, but not necessary.). Solar seems a possible way to help with the long-term costs of needed infrastructure.
Neither candidate has experience in how the County Council works, or what is the best way to get things done. But I think that the positions put forth by Wirick would only present the most extreme, pie-in-the-sky, not tied to reality, positions that let other Council members not take Puna seriously ( again ). I think that Kanealii-Kleinfelder would be seen as being much closer to the reality of working people in Puna, and would be a better Council representative.
Edit: spelling/grammar
Kanealii-Kleinfelder: - I agree with his position of finding homes for evacuees in in vacant/foreclosed homes: seems to help 2 problems at the same time
- has practical experience with alternate energy ( solar )
Wirick - doesn't know that the County Council has no jurisdiction over federal National Park policies
- doesn't know that the agencies most helpful in aiming for food sustainability are State , not County: UH College of Ag, HCC Ag Program, CCESS, Co=operatative Extenstion Service ( to name a few )
- doesn't realize the idea of much of Puna being able to sustain itself via agriculture has been supplanted/surpassed by the suburban pattern of home ownership
It sounds wonderful to fight for '"farming for food sustainability". If it were possible/feasible to make a living doing so, more people would be doing it.
In any kind of sustainable food production, it comes down to '"how much does it cost to grow/get it to market", versus " how much does it sell for". ( Has anyone found the price of lychee, Avas, peapods, papaya, macnuts, etc going down ? ) As someone who has ( tried ) to make a living with different crops over many years, the battle with bugs, diseases, critters, is not one that most people will want to take on, or succeed at. ( I won't get into how much damage pigs can do to a food crop over one night, and how they are smart and come back repeatedly. Pigs don't read map lines, and hunting them in spaghetti-shaped lots is a not a situation I want to increase. ) As someone who grew crops through the extremes of weather that Puna presents ( 30" of rain in one day, followed by 4 months of not a single drop ), I know that infrastructure is necessary for sustained production: greenhouses for too wet times, and irrigation for too dry times. ( Note to Kalakaua - good roads nice, but not necessary.). Solar seems a possible way to help with the long-term costs of needed infrastructure.
Neither candidate has experience in how the County Council works, or what is the best way to get things done. But I think that the positions put forth by Wirick would only present the most extreme, pie-in-the-sky, not tied to reality, positions that let other Council members not take Puna seriously ( again ). I think that Kanealii-Kleinfelder would be seen as being much closer to the reality of working people in Puna, and would be a better Council representative.
Edit: spelling/grammar