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24 hours to gather my thoughts and scribble these notes. This is—I shouldn’t laugh, because this is not funny, but I continue to be harassed and insulted by bus drivers, and that’s what started this. It seemed like it only got worse after you dismissed my petition. I was actually smacked on the foot by a bus driver. It was awful. And the police have my report, and the driver who assaulted me is under investigation. I am waiting for a letter from the Prosecutor’s Office. So what you do for me, you do for ever bus rider. And this is my last comment here. My friends have tried to look up my evidence on the County website, but they can’t find anything. So even the things I’ve struggled with just to put forth to you are not readily available to the general public. Even if they read last month’s—my letters to the editor and last month’s article about last month’s hearing, they try to—if their interest is piqued in any way, they try to look up your business and they can’t. So that’s of interest to Senator Coffman. So I’ll close with that and just ask you if you’ll just delay this one more month. Mahalo.
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<br /> Mr. Balsis called up Mark McNett, who had signed up to speak on agenda items 5a and 5b.
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<br />MR. McNETT: Just by way of self-introduction, it’s McNett, as in the internet but with two t’s and a capital N. My script must be confusing. That’s my God-given name. No middle name. Now on the first one, I noticed just now, less than a minute ago, alleging RICO racketeering and corrupt organization. That’s a federal statute. And if that were the case, the federal court would be a victory. Just observing the complainant at council and committee meetings, it’s rarely any specifics have been voiced, and I commend you for enduring. I really am just commenting, not supporting or opposing. I guess that’s all I have to say about that, except that according to testimony at council chambers, it has gone to court. And to me that’s the proper venue. But you’re the only place to go for County improprieties, as far as I know. I personally think the district attorney is also another place to go, for serious matters. And sorry, I forgot to start the time. On the second item, just in general, as a long-time Hele-On patron over decades, from century to century, to millennia to millennia, I really feel that it’s unnecessarily confusing, and I would lay it at the feet of County Council, because if you call any toll free number to any airline, they describe the baggage limits. And it’s the sum multiple of width, length, and breadth. And when they first started the free, everyone free—let’s say, eight years ago approximately, I’d taken the bus from Banyan Drive over to Puainako in the roundabout, Kona clockwise routes which were always available. I actually had an occasion where I would buy like two plastic shopping bags with groceries, and that would violate or trigger the one dollar charge for an extra bag. And I called Mass Transit and just happened to have the phone answered by Tom Brown, the Mass Transit administrator, and I just suggested—it occurred to me during that call that all I would have to do is have a larger plastic bag in which to put the other plastic bags, but I did get him to agree, or to confirm, that it would be 10 inches by 16 by 16 inches rather than just 10 by 16 which—I don’t know if it’s in the ordinance or the County Code, but that’s what’s printed on the schedule. So then on some buses they have a slightly larger posting of the size. So there’s a little bit of confusion there, a contradiction. Personally, living for seven months up in Volcano and bicycling to town several times a week, I was perfectly happy with paying between 2.50 on the discount tickets and let’s say—I don’t even know what the full share was, I never paid it—let’s say 3.75 to get back up the mountain and a
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