Letters to the Editor

Don't blame security for the airport delays

On Sunday afternoon, I returned from Lihu'e to Honolulu on Aloha Airlines. From the time I got in line at the check-in counter until I got to the counter was just over 40 minutes. Once I checked my bag, I went to the security area. The security screening process took less than two minutes.

The difference is that Aloha had only four people checking in what amounted to several hundred passengers while the Transportation Security Administration had at least three or four times that many. I have had similar experiences when returning from Kahului and Hilo.

To cut costs the airlines have reduced their staffs, and this is the reason for the delays. It is extremely disingenuous for the spokespeople for Aloha and Hawaiian to blame the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA is doing a very professional job.

Everyone benefits from the bus system

We are going beyond the absurd for bus fares. I ride the C express twice a day. Already it is packed during peak times, but the City Council wants to cut service and raise fares with a "premium" price for the express?

Just think about this, City Council members: Every person on O'ahu benefits from the bus service. Those who never ride the bus benefit by fewer cars on the road. Thus they should also help pay for the bus system.

A better proposal would be to set up H-1, H-2 and H-3 as toll roads based on the number of passengers in a vehicle. One person pays the bus fare plus a premium of 25 cents. Two people halve the bus fare. Three people, a quarter of the bus fare. Four or more, free.

Wake up, City Council members. You must do something, and punishing the faithful bus riders is not the right thing to do. Cutting services and raising fares will only increase the number of cars on the road.

Nimitz Highway should be double-decked

Now that the Bus Rapid Transit from downtown to Waikiki seems to be moving ahead, the city and state have to agree on a way to move commuters from West O'ahu to downtown.

If the double-decking of the freeway next to Kahala Mall hasn't ruined businesses there or wrecked property values in the exclusive Kahala neighborhood, why would shading the hot, bleak section of Nimitz Highway between the Ke'ehi interchange and Iwilei with a double-deck so offend the aesthetics of the stevedores and blight the view of the huge container yards and other waterfront industry separating Nimitz Highway from the ocean?

Separating "through" traffic from the waterfront, commercial and local traffic would benefit all and would allow a beautiful, landscaped, shaded pedestrian path connecting with the one under the existing double-decking at the Ke'ehi interchange. A transit center, consisting of a bus depot and state-of-the-art park-and-ride structure next to Costco and Home Depot, could allow very frequent shuttles to office buildings because downtown is next door.

Toned-down ads on buses might work

One option that seems to be gathering more momentum in City Hall regarding the current budget woes for TheBus is advertising on the sides of the vehicles.

If residents are not pleased with future fare increases and the prospects of a work stoppage by bus operators, then a more modified, toned-down form of advertising that would showcase our local businesses might be the only solution.

The measure would be a small price to pay in terms of its sights, but would go a long way in preserving a bus system that is unsurpassed in service.

Save water by shutting down beach showers

A good way to start conserving water would be to turn off the showers at all beaches (same old story, we never had them in the old days). Fact is, many of the showers are left dripping or they just plain leak.

Another way one can save on water usage is to turn off the spigots at the small-boat ramps in the state. You know that boat owners would use less of their own water to wash their boats if forced to.

Really, why should the state and counties have to provide wash-down water or showers at beaches? Just go home and 'au'au!

Here's the story behind those dragon boat races

Emperor Wai respected him and appointed him governor of Three Noble Ranks. Unfortunately, the other ministers were jealous of Chu Yen and conspired to slander his name. Soon after, Chu Yen was ousted from his post.

One day, the kingdom of Chin (Qi) invited Emperor Wai to its capital for a summit. Chu Yen ran into Emperor Wai on the road and warned him not to attend, telling him it was a trap. The emperor didn't listen and went ahead.

Indeed, it had been a trap. The emperor was incarcerated and later committed suicide in prison. Wai's son then ascended the throne under the name Emperor Shen, surrounded by the same treacherous ministers. Chu Yen returned to the palace and requested that the new emperor petition for the return of his father's body to his home kingdom. Emperor Shen told Chu Yen that because he'd been ousted, he no longer had the right to speak in court.

In despair, Chu Yen exiled himself to the city of Wu Ling. Day after day, he wandered the city and wrote many poems about his patriotism. Years later, he learned that his country of Cho had fallen to the Chin kingdom. On the fifth day of the fifth month, he plunged himself into the Mi Lou River.

The people of Cho mourned Chu Yen's death. Rowboats had been employed to search for this body, but it would never be recovered. Search parties would then be held each year, and eventually it became a tradition.

The "dragon boat races" evolved from this tradition. Races were held in dynasty after dynasty, with the boats becoming more and more elaborate. In the Tang Dynasty in the mid-18th century, the boat builders added a dragon's head and tail onto each boat, and this is the image we are familiar with today.