HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0855.133 2018-2020 OF lig\tAin,
Mon 4/6/2020 12:01 PM 7020 APR —6 PH 1: 011
OPPOSE RESOLUTION 568-20
To: Council Testimony
Aloha kakou:
I don't agree with the state's move to attempt to lock Hawai'i County and its people (namely
police officers) into being security guards for TMT without an explicitly-outlined end and
without an explicitly-outlined fund for such operations. My husband and my'ohana are Hawaii
County police officers and they are more concerned with protecting their communities than
standing against them in the name of private interests.
Add to this the fact that our officers and'ohana haven't even been reimbursed by the state yet for
the work they were forced to do on Mauna a Wakea back in 2019! How can the state expect us to
work against our own communities,but also for free, at the expense of our own county's budget?
Talk about adding insult to injury. Agree to pay them for the work they already did and leave it
at that.
With this pandemic going on during a time of limited income from the heavily-relied upon
tourism industry, our state and our county literally can't afford to go into debt for an astronomy
industry that insists on following a model of science (colonized science) that degrades and
attacks Native Hawaiians and our culture, and twists our ideals and language to push their own
agenda.
This hearing should also be deferred until after the COVID-19 pandemic is mitigated to the point
where traditional public testimony can take place. Not every citizen has access to digital
technology to allow them to testify online as I am now. We live in a democracy, and the
government should be doing all it can to allow equal representation of all of its citizenship. If
you decide to move forward with this hearing now during a pandemic, the Hawai'i County
council is essentially taking advantage of its constituents'hardships and contributing to the
digital divide and silencing the voices of those who would testify in person if they were able to.
Do what's pono. Oppose resolution 568-20.
Me ka 'oia'i'o,
Jennifer Kau'i Young
comm. No. %5•0)Ref.To: Pt Mot
Ref.:Dote APR - R 2021