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Kokua Line
Question: I am wondering who owns the cows I see grazing along the hillside of Makakilo. The hillside is brown and dry and I'm hoping the cows get supplemental feeding along with the "grazing" they are let out to do. Those cows are pretty darn skinny and totally not up to par with healthier cows I've seen. Please help to reassure me that those poor animals are not starving to death out there. Those cows aren’t
scrawny, they’re svelteQ: Along the freeway from Makakilo to Waipahu, there is a pasture where cattle are grazing. The area looks overgrazed and the cattle look really thin. I called the state but they don't know what to do. My concern is that we're going to have some erosion if we don't take care of this. Can you look into this?
Answer: First, to allay your concerns about the scrawniness of the cattle: The Hawaiian Humane Society, which had already gotten calls from other concerned people, assures us that the cows are not starving.
"We did check them out. The cows are OK," said HHS spokeswoman Eve Holt. "They do have access to other pastures where there is also a water trough. It's just not visible from the freeway."
Bert Hatton, manager of agriculture/natural resources for Campbell Estate, which owns the land, said the cows are bony looking because of their breed. They just don't look like the fatter cows people are used to seeing.
But they have plenty of water and their diet is supplemented with feed, he said.
Hatton also said erosion shouldn't be a problem because the cows are rotated to different parts of the area to prevent overgrazing.
Campbell Estate is allowing two ranchers to graze their cattle in the area for a nominal $1 a year. Cattle grazing was seen as a low-tech but effective means of keeping vegetation down, thus preventing brush fires in the notoriously dry area.
Meanwhile, "If anybody has any concern about any animals' well-being, the humane society is the place to call," Holt said. The number is 946-2187.
Q: I work for a state department. When we acquired a van, management had the back two seats taken out and took them home. One of them also took a gas generator. Who do you recommend I report this theft to? Reporting this incident to the state would not help as I reported an incident of excessive mileage reporting and they pooh-poohed the incident.
A: If you believe an actual theft occurred, call police, said Daniel Mollway, executive director of the State Ethics Commission.
You can also call the state Attorney General's Office, which has a criminal division, he said.
His office would become involved if the charge is that a state employee is, for example, taking state equipment home on weekends, using it for odd jobs and getting paid.
"Then we would see that as an ethics problem and within our jurisdiction," Mollway said.
"Obviously, in our (state) Ethics Code we have laws that say you can't misuse your position to give yourself preferential treatment. Certainly stealing would be preferential treatment ... (But) our laws are more civil laws and this (your allegation) is more a serious criminal matter."
Auwe
To stores that play certain music. I don't mind putting up with so-called easy-listening elevator music, but those contemporary songs are simply annoying. Radio audiences can switch stations; I just switch stores. -- No name
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