Mahalo Nui Loa to the 100’s of testifiers that took their time and made the effort – many twice due to AC’s postponement – to express their concerns about AC’s current operation at the 10.18.22 PRPSC Meeting! The testimonies were loaded with facts, solutions, and personal accounts . . . yet, no action was taken by the Council during this Committee meeting.  

Disappointing?  Yes.  Discouraged?  Absolutely not!  We know government moves slowly . . . especially in Hawai’i.  We know that our County’s AC leadership and decision-makers are operating under ‘our hands are tied’ mentality.  [We’ll talk more about that later, but, in regards to Municipal-only AC agencies, that mentality was tossed decades ago.  As Council Member Villegas commented during the meeting, “We are decades behind.”]  And, we know that the true understanding of available solutions has not sunk in . . . that means repetition and education.

The good news is, nearly every Council member acknowledged there’s room for improvement (understatement); and, a few proactive, forward-thinking Council Members asked questions and commented on solutions.  So, we’ll be delving more closely into each Council Member’s comments/recommendations and proactively moving forward on solutions.  Because, not only are they out there, we provided several during testimony (aka ‘repetition & education’).  And, we’ll be leading by example!

We’ll also be doing a “Reality Check” on the issues mentioned in AC’s report, sharing through our Petition Updates (now over 60K supporters), our FaceBook page, and with the Council Members.

So, even though it may not quite feel like it, your beautiful voices WERE heard!!  

This article in Big Island Now recaps the meeting and offers insight into the obstacles AC reports they are facing and which are affecting their performance.  Mahalo to reporter Nathan Christophel for pulling together the overall meeting in great fashion!