12-29-2007, 03:09 AM
Let me first say that I agree whole heartedly with the tone of this topic. There must be local involvement in cleanup and education before Puna turns into Haiti. However, one example fron The San Francisco area: A small town, East Palo Alto on the other side of the freeway from its' rich cousin, Palo Alto, home of Stanford University and all the lifestyle options that a place of such stature affords. East Palo Alto was a ghetto with high crime,inflated murder rate, drug dealing problems, etc. The local PD could not handle the problem. The solution was simple; a massive Police task force composed of local police, neighbor city police, County Sheriffs and California Highway Patrol descended en masse on EPA and made the area way too uncomfortable for the criminal element.
I disagree that Puna has to fix its' own problem. The taxes we pay are in part Hawaii State taxes. Puna needs help, and it would do well to emulate East Palo Alto and look to a wider arena for the solution.
Involvement is the key, It is still true that 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease'. This problem needs to be addressed NOW, and we should start by making it Governor Lingle's problem. Politicians live by YOUR vote. Make some noise! I'll be a full time Puna resident by the middle of this year, and I fully intend to be involved in a solution.
I disagree that Puna has to fix its' own problem. The taxes we pay are in part Hawaii State taxes. Puna needs help, and it would do well to emulate East Palo Alto and look to a wider arena for the solution.
Involvement is the key, It is still true that 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease'. This problem needs to be addressed NOW, and we should start by making it Governor Lingle's problem. Politicians live by YOUR vote. Make some noise! I'll be a full time Puna resident by the middle of this year, and I fully intend to be involved in a solution.