08-14-2008, 09:47 AM
First of all, great forum last night. I went in knowing little of the candidates, and feel I have a much better understanding where they stand regarding some very crucial positions.
One of the topics in particular that caught my attention was that of the Hilo landfill. It is set to be closed in 3 years, and the county has NO plan in place to deal with the trash after that.
You can read about it here:
http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/arti...ocal01.txt
Anyway, it was interesting to hear Angel talk about he supports the waste-to-energy plan, when in fact he was the deciding vote (5-4) in the council's decision to reject the mayor's plan. He stated his reason as, "the proposal from Wheelabrator had no provision to bring down the existing landfill."
Higa supports waste to energy, and voted for the Wheelabrator plan.
Inouye just wants to look at more options.
Kenoi thinks a combination of recycling and looking at more options is what's necessary.
I personally think something needs to be done NOW, rather than spending more time and money figuring out what other options are out there. I really like Higa's stand on the issue, and found Angels somewhat troubling. If he really is for waste-to-energy, isn't it better to do something about the problem than nothing?
If we don't act soon, we'll be barging our trash and that precious plastic bag ban will mean NOTHING.
One of the topics in particular that caught my attention was that of the Hilo landfill. It is set to be closed in 3 years, and the county has NO plan in place to deal with the trash after that.
You can read about it here:
http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/arti...ocal01.txt
Anyway, it was interesting to hear Angel talk about he supports the waste-to-energy plan, when in fact he was the deciding vote (5-4) in the council's decision to reject the mayor's plan. He stated his reason as, "the proposal from Wheelabrator had no provision to bring down the existing landfill."
Higa supports waste to energy, and voted for the Wheelabrator plan.
Inouye just wants to look at more options.
Kenoi thinks a combination of recycling and looking at more options is what's necessary.
I personally think something needs to be done NOW, rather than spending more time and money figuring out what other options are out there. I really like Higa's stand on the issue, and found Angels somewhat troubling. If he really is for waste-to-energy, isn't it better to do something about the problem than nothing?
If we don't act soon, we'll be barging our trash and that precious plastic bag ban will mean NOTHING.