MEDIA RELEASE
Lionel Gaspar
A 50-year-old Kona man has been arrested and charged with various offenses in connection with illegal renting of kayaks at Kealakekua Bay.
On Thursday (June 3) officers from the Area II Community Policing Section conducted an operation at Kealakekua Bay which subsequently led to the charging of Lionel Gaspar of Captain Cook with Pedestrian Solicitation of Motorists, Community Use of County Streets, and Business Activity Without Permit at a State Harbor.
Gaspar was later released on his own recognizance and the cases are pending initial court appearance.
Let's be sure we arrest someone who is trying to make a living.
Better he gets on the welfare / unemployment bandwagon.
Keep those "locals" on the dole so they have an incentive to vote liberal.
A few months ago I visited the big island. While there, I rented a kayak at Kealakekua Bay. I had not been kayaking in years, and it was one of the highlights of my trip. I enjoyed it so much that, since returning home to the mainland, I've gotten my boat out and been kayaking regularly.
I had no idea that renting a boat there was illegal, and frankly, I think it is misguided for this to be the case. In the coverage of this case at the WestHawaiiToday website I read a comment saying, "Kayak rentals recently became illegal because of lobbying efforts on Oahu by two South Kona kayak rental companies. Except for 10 permits that the general public must vie for on-line each day, these two companies have monopoly on Kealakekua Bay kayak rentals."
If those comments are correct, this another tragic case of local government bending to the whims of a few established businesses who seek to shape laws in order to limit their competition. I sincerely hope that these laws are changed.
he gets on the welfare