Musings: Pathogens

Clouds joined the haze in dimming the morning sky, but Koko and I headed for the beach, anyway, where the sun rose in a wash of rosy color that reflected upon a reef exposed by a dropping tide and water so placid that it more closely resembled a reservoir than the ocean.

No one was around, which is just the way I like it, and we stayed until I was dry and Koko had wearied of chasing crabs and digging holes in the fresh-washed sand. Returning home, it was my turn to dig for a while to accommodate more taro, until heat and hunger drove me indoors.

Browsing through today's on-line edition of The Garen Island, I read an account of Wednesday’s County Council hearing on proposed ordinances to allow dogs on the revered coastal path.

I found one provision of the proposed ordinance, which would require persons walking their dogs to carry a bag to pick up Fido’s doodoo, rather amusing. So what, now the cops can approach and demand to see your bag? How do you know they’re not just shaking you down for pakalolo? And what if you’ve already used it? How many bags are you supposed to carry? Do you have to hang on to the evidence?

While I understand the desirability of keeping the shining path free of kukae, this is the sort of the thing that can turn into an enforcement nightmare, the cost of which, coupled with the allegedly higher maintenance fees that would be associated with allowing dogs to walk there, are the basis for Councilman Mel Rapozo’s opposition to the bill, as outlined on his blog.

Both he and Andy Parx remarkably see eye to eye on the point that the path was originally funded by the feds for transportation purposes, and so should be limited to bicycles only.

Still, Councilman Tim Bynum makes a good point in saying: “What is transportation? Anytime anyone moves from Point A to Point B.”

And if the path is just for transportation, then how come it came with all those little huts along the beach? Sure looks like a recreational use to me.

Andy Parx also reported that Councilwoman Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, who is running for prosecutor, had a letter to the editor that stated: “I’m sure the rest of the community would take offense if I decided unilaterally to pick and choose which laws I wanted to enforce or not.”

Which made me wonder, so how come Shaylene has never pushed to enforce the farm dwelling agreement? You know, the law that requires people who build homes on agricultural lands to actually engage in farming.

I also wondered why it took The Garden Island so long to run the story. It’s not, after all, like there’s tons of breaking news to crowd it off the front page. Even though Police Chief Darryl Perry continues to assert, in his quest to justify the procurement of Tasers, that Kauai isn’t a sleepy little place anymore, you wouldn’t know it from reading the local paper.

Am I missing something, or is The Garden Island? Or is the Chief just adhering to the Boy Scouts “be prepared” mantra? Kinda like when he reportedly dispatched 20 Kaua‘i police officers, including K-9 dogs, and 12 DOCARE officers to close Black Pot Park?

I’ve got an idea. Maybe the Council and KPD could work together on this one, and any cops caught misbehaving or misusing their Tasers could be assigned to doggie doodoo enforcement duty. Surely that would get them on the right path.