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http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/news...rd-reforms
Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille, who's been Kenoi’s most vocal critic on the council, questioned why rules need to be clarified just because the mayor broke them. The rules already are pretty clear, she said. ... "Certain things were done against the rules and now we’re saying, 'Let's clarify the rules.'"
Anyone notice the recurring theme? MK protestors broke the rules ... so they wrote more rules and issued more warnings -- but construction still hasn't started, and the protestors are still "maintaining their vigil" (although most of us pronounce it "camping").
Ilagan said he struggled with definitions in his bill. "Public purpose is really hard to define, but we should have that flexibility," he said.
This sounds incredibly similar to Chung's "let's leave the rules vague so that Planning remains in charge of deciding the merits of an individual application".
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"Public purpose is really hard to define, but we should have that flexibility"
Flexibility: Good
Beyond Flexibility all the way to Broken: Surf boards (public purpose?), Korean bars (public purpose?), etc
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Ilagan struggles with anything that requires taking a stand with any clarity, the great exception being his "no" vote on the farcical county GMO ordinance. Even then, he took months of research to reach a conclusion.
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And yet Illagan is one of the few council members not in the category of "laughing stock". We could do a lot worse. He may not be the most illustrious council member, but he certainly isn't an embarassment like most and I for one feel like he has Puna's best interest in mind as opposed to some personal agenda.
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Jim, you certainly have a valid point about Ilagan not being in the "laughing stock" category. I guess I just find it depressing that best we seem to be able to manage is someone who "isn't an embarrassment." Meanwhile, he (along with several other council members) is wasting time writing legislation about P-cards when there are already rules in place. Why write more rules when we haven't bothered to enforce the existing ones?
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Willie Sutton would have still robbed banks no matter how precise the law was against it. A certain segment of the population just doesn't care about the law, period. Tightening the rules will not dissuade them no matter what, however for those who will debate the meaning of "is" it matters. Mr Kenoi is one of those confused by the meaning of words, hence the need to clarify what "no!" means.
In the end it boils down to not electing Willie Sutton or any of his many reincarnations. Unfortunately this is is not an exact science and in a democracy mistakes will be made, but we learn and muddle on.
Regarding the farcical GMO ordinance " Even then, he took months of research to reach a conclusion."
Isn't listening to all the testimony from both sides and researching the issue before taking a position what legislators are supposed to do? What is the use of public input if your representative enters the forum with their position set in stone to begin with?
Imagine if the Courts followed that procedure, and the jurors were expected to quickly have a verdict before all the evidence was submitted. It's the same thing.
When Steven Yamashiro was Council Chairman he only allowed testimony AFTER the vote was taken on any issue. This was because he was required by law to allow testimony, but he wasn't required to pay any attention to it. Is that preferable?
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quote:
Originally posted by Chunkster
Ilagan struggles with anything that requires taking a stand with any clarity, the great exception being his "no" vote on the farcical county GMO ordinance. Even then, he took months of research to reach a conclusion.
Ilagan appears to be taking the exact same route in regards to lack of decision making and leadership that another, now prominent politician took over the years. That politician would be Barrack Obama.
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quote:
Originally posted by PauHana
Isn't listening to all the testimony from both sides and researching the issue before taking a position what legislators are supposed to do?
Absolutely! I'm just saying that Ilagan takes it to a slow extreme. When he was running for election the first time, I attended forums and asked him asked questions. He frequently answered, "I'll have to research that and get back to you." When he ran for re-election, some of the same questions got that same answer . . . two years later.
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http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/news/loca...nd-holding
No comment on the investigation (if one even exists), but our beloved Council is at the ready with new rules that clarify exactly how the existing rules were broken.
"I just wanted to take the first step," Ilagan said earlier this month.
Second and third steps are probably overdue.
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In all this wallow, nobody seems to look at the fact these credit cards can be programmed for merchant block codes and it may be the finance office had a requirement to do that. It's fine to yammer about who left the barn door open and let the cattle out to die in the freezing rain, but eventually, you have to get more cattle and put in an open door alarm. There are those that study, and then, there are those that do. The county stating merchant block coding programming has been completed and county personnel training program completed, then it will be the story about the time the barn door was left open. Around here, they let carjacking while on probation become more probation. And you want to lynch Uncle Billy for wanting surfboards and girls he couldn't afford on his ohana budget?
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
