HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0335.039 2004-2006 IN SUPPORT OF COUNCILWOMAN V~II2''GINIA ISBELL'S BILL ~
TESTIMONY OF ANNETTE STANGEII~; July 22, 2005 y8q ~/l6
I recently took a tour of this island, something I'd been promising myself to
do since my last tour one year ago. It was a leisurely excursion, with two
things in mind. One was to meet a recommended ace auto mechanic in
Kona, the other was to explore possibilities for a new living environment.
The first was accomplished, the second was not.
I found Kailua-Kona to be the most congested area I have experienced in a
long while. The size of the population mixed with ongoing construction and
malls, malls, malls was the most exasperating driving experience I can recall
since the H-1 on Oahu. I did enjoy the night-life, however, having quite a
diversity to choose from. I traveled through and stayed over at several
towns, first taking mauka island roads, (Honokaa, Waimea, through North
and South Kohala, into Kona and vicinity, and back to Hilo via Ka'u and
Volcano).
What astounded me the most was all the development signs and sites
announcing future, mostly gated new subdivisions. The forest devastation
caused me to sigh and sometimes cry. Each time I mentioned this to anyone
upon my return, the response was always in the nature of "You can't stop
progress".
When one can no longer breathe properly because of congestion and
pollution; when we no longer hear the sounds of our glorious indigenous
birds; when oceans become blackened with construction runoff, is progress
really so terrific?
For these reasons to at least preserve a piece of the past for the future of our
Island of Hawaii I emphatically implore this council to unanimously approve
Ms. Isbell's Bill
Comm. No..3 3 S~.
Ref. To: PI~tN
Rcpt. Uate_,II II ? 9 i(N?4