Eleven legislators and three legislative staffers, for their part, are going on a junket at a time when the government can only fund four-day work weeks. Vendors are still not paid on time, critical positions go unfilled, and vital supplies aren’t available to provide critical government services.
Regional conferences, to be sure, may not be entirely useless, but when the government is struggling to provide basic services, elected officials who continue to go on junkets are basically saying that their summer vacation is more important than meeting government obligations. And anyway, most of them will get re-elected.
Reduce the fine, enforce the law
REPRESENTATIVE Joe Palacios is frustrated by his inability to get his colleagues to lower the litter fine from $200 to $25. The current amount was set by a 1989 law which remains unenforced because, according to DEQ, $200 is too high.
Recently, 1,300 pounds of litter were collected by one community organization in one day, in the hotel area. Military ships come to these shores and pick up our trash at various beaches and the Chalan Kanoa cemetery. Non-profit organizations, hotels and other businesses set aside time to pick up the community’s trash, all in an effort to keep the island clean and beautiful. But something is fundamentally wrong with this picture. Individuals should be responsible for cleaning up after themselves, and should be fined if they do not.
We must also consider the cost of littering in terms of tourism and pollution of the environment. It does go into the lagoon sooner or later, never mind the cost of trash removal, and the island’s reputation as a clean destination.
The law must be enforced by DPS whose personnel already work around the clock. If the fine must be reduced to ensure more citations then lawmakers should amend the law.
A reminder
SCHOOLS will be closed and thousands of students will be out for the summer. The community has much to look forward to and something to be wary of in light of recent events. There may be more cars on the road and kids out at night past curfew, so the community must be more vigilant.
Summer activities are usually made available at schools, the library and, of course, there are art, music and sports lessons available for kids.
Part-time work is harder to find, but it’s available.
