HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0349.252 2006-2008 Swallow, Linda
From: Eric Ebert [ericebert808@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2007 10:34 PM
To: counciltestimony@co. hawaii. hi. us
Subject: Ebert, 6/15/07 = Punalu'u Development
Dear Council Members:
I write in strong support of Resolution 169-07, The Keolalani Hanoa Resolution. I was a
student at the University of Minnesota, who, along with Prof. Mike Sunnafrank took a class
trip to Punalu'u. I have to say that my experience with the local population of Punalu'u
changed my life. The love and warmth that all the people of Kau showed us was amazing.
My experince in the islands, more importantly Punalu'u, gave me the confidence to move
back to Hawaii in 2002. I lived in Waikiki to be closer to school, but waikiki is a far
cry from the wonderful Punalu'u. I can't imagine the area of Punalu'u becoming what
waikiki has become. I think that the proposed development would move it closer to waikiki
and away from the Punalu'u that we have all come to love. I still make annual pilgrimages
to Kau to visit my friends.
Although I have since moved away from the islands, I hold Punalu'u in high regard as the
closest to paradise as I have ever been. The ability to sit on the beach and talk story
with friends and listen to local music in a non-tourist setting, gives everyone a
different view of what Hawaii is. I ate my first opi'i in Kau and went on my first pig
hunt with a local resident. My fear is that this way life that we have come to adore in
Punalu'u will be changing for the worse.
I respectfully ask all of you to take action to stop this development and help protect
Punalu'u for the sake of my kids. I would like to be able to go back with my children and
pass on the experiences I had as a young college student. The lessons I learned from my
local friends is that life is what you make of it, and nothing is more important than
family. Let the families of Punalu'u decide what to do with the land, as the land is part
of thier family too.
Respectfully yours,
Eric Ebert
Hubert Raase GmbH
Advertising Gifts Agency
Epernayer Strasse 27
76275 Ettlingen, Germany
Tel. +49 7293 - 76 36 23
Fax +99 7293 - 76 36 30
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