The Kaʻū Calendar News Briefs, Hawaiʻi Island: Ka‘ū News Briefs, Sunday, May 29, 2022

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Ka‘ū News Briefs, Sunday, May 29, 2022

Two tall chairs for the slain teachers and 19 tiny chairs for the elementary school students, murdered last Tuesday
in Texas, were placed in front of the Hawai'i County Building in Hilo. This weekend, the Democratic Party of Hawai'i
included gun law reform in its platform adopted at its state convention. Photo by Jennifer Kagiwada

THE HAWAI'I DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S PLATFORM WAS ADOPTED AT ITS STATE CONVENTION this weekend and includes a gun reform plank, following last Tuesday's killing of 19 students and two teachers in Texas. The platform states, "We believe public safety includes eliminating risk of gun violence through more effective regulation and improved background checks. We believe public safety laws should be just, equitable and enforced fairly without discrimination. We believe that true justice restores people and communities."

The new chair of the statewide Democratic Party is Dennis W. Jung. The chair for County of Hawai'i is Barbara Dalton, of Punalu'u in Kaʻū.

Barbara Dalton, a Kaʻū resident,
chairs Hawai'i County's
Democratic Party.

The platform states, "The abiding values of the Democratic Party are integrity, honesty, and transparency for all. At the heart of our party lies a fundamental conviction that Americans must not only be free, but they must live in a fair society. These values compel us to integrate democratic ideals in all aspects of economic, social, educational, and cultural life in our communities, our state and our nation. These principles must always be protected. As the party of the people, we Democrats commit ourselves to these values.

"We believe that our democracy cannot properly function so long as political power can be bought. The Democratic Party will work against corruption in all forms, including extortion and bribery, and do everything in its power to ensure a government that serves the people. We are facing increased global challenges economically, ecologically, and socioculturally. We therefore adopt a worldview that is sensitive to and ,addresses these challenges that is not based on short-term economic gains."

The Agriculture Plank of the Platform states: "We believe that a key part of a sustainable and self-sufficient future for Hawaiʻi lies in a robust agricultural sector in our state that is capable of providing Hawaiʻi’s people with sufficient, healthy and affordable food in perpetuity. We support the preservation and cultivation of sufficient land and marine agricultural resources to achieve this goal. We support responsible development of these resources to achieve food security and self-sufficiency, while ensuring the sustainability of these resources for future generations to come. We support regulations that ensure the ethical and safe production and consumption of all agricultural products. We support funding efforts to fight invasive species that threaten agricultural production in Hawaiʻi."

The Housing Plank of the Platform states: "We believe housing is a human right. We believe that each and every person should have access to safe, stable and adequate housing regardless of ability to pay. We support policies that deliver housing that is affordable to people at the bottom of the income scale where the need is greatest. We support policies that reduce barriers to the development of this housing, so long as these policies do not conflict with the tenets laid out in the Environment and Energy plank. We support policies that reduce barriers to homeownership for residents. We support policies that preserve housing for residents and discourage real estate speculation. We believe that houselessness is the symptom of an inequitable economic system that creates generational poverty and hardship. We believe this system must be changed. We support policy that gets people experiencing houselessness re-housed quickly and efficiently, and we support policy that delivers wrap-around services to recently rehoused individuals and families. We support adequate public funding for these initiatives."

The Environment & Energy Plank of the Platform states: "We believe that all people have the right to live in a clean, healthy and safe environment. We believe that the preservation of our natural environment and its ecological well being is essential to ensuring a safe, healthy, bountiful life for future generations in Hawaiʻi. We support policies that create a more sustainable society.

"We support the restoration, preservation, and protection of native ecosystems. We believe in the resource management principles outlined in the Public Trust doctrine of the Hawaiʻi State Constitution. We support policy that incorporates indigenous resource-management practices and technologies such as the Ahupuaʻa System in modern urban planning and development to create an ecologically sustainable balance between the needs of the people and the rights of nature. We believe that a key part of a sustainable and self-sufficient future for Hawaiʻi lies in achieving energy independence through a transition to clean renewable energy sources. We support policy that eliminates our dependence on fossil fuels and other dirty energy sources. We support policies that expand access to public transportation and encourage transit-oriented development and walkable communities."

See the entire Hawai'i Democratic Party 2022 Platform at https://2115469a-d860-4271-9a80-ca120f004284.filesusr.com/ugd/b37582_3d55392a8b7249349855e20518bbd0fc.pdf.

The Republican Party of Hawai'i state Convention was held May 14. See its platform and more at www.gophawaii.com.

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SIERRA CLUB ENDORSES JEANNÉ KAPELA as she seeks reelection to the state House of Representatives, according to the announcement she made on Sunday. With new reapportionment, the district for which she is running, will be all of Kaʻū into south Kona. She released this statement:
"Climate change is the crisis of our lifetimes. As global temperatures soar, our islands are in danger of chronic flooding and turbulent weather that could cost over $19 billion worth of economic damages. In response, we must accelerate our movement to becoming completely reliant on clean energy.
"That is why I am proud to be endorsed by the Sierra Club during this election. I am committed to launching a Green New Deal that uplifts Hawai'i's people and our planet, establishing carbon pricing and green fees to restore balance to our economy, and preserving our natural resources for generations to come......Mahalo, Sierra Club, for your support. I promise to always make defending our state's precious ecological treasures one of my top priorities."