Letters to the Editor

Driving is a privilege; keep vehicle maintained

Thumbs up to all the responsible drivers who: keep their vehicles maintained annually, i.e. registration fees, safety checks and insurance; keep a current driver's license; follow the speed limit and warnings. And thank you for the single drivers who do not drive in the HOV lane during the peak hours of traffic.

Thumbs down to all drivers who have expired safety checks, expired vehicle registration, no insurance or driver's license and illegal reconstruction to standard vehicles and who totally disregard speed limits and street and highway regulations.

It is a privilege to own a vehicle in Hawai'i. As a driver, your responsibility is keeping it maintained and current with the state and city requirements. If you are taking advantage of other drivers on the road and hindering the lives of others, you should be providing support to our local bus drivers.

Anti-gay marriage logic doesn't hold up

The "what's next?" argument has become a favorite among those who denounce same-sex marriage.

In his Nov. 22 letter, Phillip C. Smith warns that classifying gay marriage as a civil right could and would eventually extend to "polygamy, incestuous marriage, pedophile marriage, etc." given the nature of "legal dynamics" — something gay marriage proponents, he asserts, "refuse to acknowledge."

I support same-sex marriage, and am not in denial of anything. I fully understand our system of legal precedent, and yet there are some fundamental reasons why the theoretical "what's next?" logic doesn't apply here.

While I agree that marriage reflects the need for human continuity, as dictated by biology, it is also a man-made artifice developed to define socioeconomic values. What is defined as valuable has a bit to do with nature, but a lot to do with power structure within a society. In our society, marriage is conceived as an equally-entered-upon commitment between equals.

By contrast, in societies that have practiced polygamy, patriarchal hierarchy dictated that women submit to sharing their husband with other wives, leaving them with little say in the matter.

Incestuous relations are inherently fraught with complicated power-imbalanced psychodynamics, if not outright emotional abuse (and which would likely, from a truly genetic standpoint, produce deleterious mutations).

As for pedophilic marriage, "legal dynamics" certainly would preclude such unions, since statutory rape is illegal, and clearly the sexual courting of minors is a deranged power issue.

Thus, none of Smith's examples threatens to be endorsed by our culture or legal institutions, which abhor the misuse of power by groups or individuals.

Have those who would benefit pick up the tab

Most commuters do agree that we must begin to implement long-term solutions now to alleviate the ever-worsening traffic problem in downtown Honolulu.

A fixed-rail transit system may be a part of that solution, but there must be a better way to fund the proposed system than to increase the general excise tax.

The anticipated cost of $2.6 billion to build the fixed-rail system and $22 million needed annually to maintain it cannot reasonably be analogized to localized road widening, contra-flow lanes, installation of traffic signals or other comparatively minor roadway improvement projects that are generally paid for by all taxpayers equally. These highway upgrades generally do not affect property values in the immediate vicinity of the improvement.

Quite unlike those types of projects, the proposed fixed-rail transit system is a fixed capital improvement on a massive scale that would likely result in an increase of property values along the planned transportation corridor. When the city installs new sidewalks in a neighborhood where there were none before, it imposes special assessments on homeowners adjoining the improvement, which is justified by the fact that those properties will realize a corresponding increase in value.

Similarly, instead of imposing an increase in the general excise tax, which would affect all residents, the city should impose a long-term special assessment on landowners adjacent to the proposed transportation corridor.

Each time rights are extended, society grows

Rights were "given" to a very narrow segment of the population when our nation was first started. The genius of our founders was that they realized that this nation was a new type of experiment, and they made arrangements for it to be adjusted as time went on.

Accordingly, we have expanded the notion of equality to include African Americans, women, Native Americans and many other groups.

Each time, there were those who decried the expansion of such rights as unnatural and forewarned that doing so would be the downfall of our society and our nation. Each time, they have been proven wrong, as our nation has become stronger and more diverse each time we move to include more people in our great society.

Don't let your pet sit in lap while driving

What's much worse than driving and using your cell phone at the same time? Driving while your pet dog sits on your lap.

Since most vehicles today come equipped with airbags, Ol' Fido stands a chance of being severely slapped by the steering wheel's airbag from one side and being crushed against the chest of the driver during an impact.

Not only do drivers put their pets and themselves in danger, but they put other drivers in danger just as well. A pet such as a dog that is running and jumping over the driver's lap while the vehicle is in motion is a dangerous distraction for the driver.

Leave your pet in the back seat area or in the bed of a truck, tethered.

Kaimana Beach must not be commercialized

I appreciated the recent attention given by our newspapers to the commercialization of our Kaimana Beach and coastal areas.

The popularity of ocean recreation should lead to the appreciation and preservation of these coastal resources, not their commercialization and exploitation. Kaimana Beach and the coastal areas nearby are irreplaceable resources to the people who call Honolulu home. Is it the intention of the city and state governments to commercialize these areas for the benefit of businesses and tourists? Is it the intention of the city and state to eventually have full-scale beach boy concessions at places like Kaimana Beach?

I have witnessed an increasing number of surf school clients and instructors monopolizing the waves of a previously quiet surf break. I have witnessed waves of classes arriving at 9 a.m. and not leaving till 5 p.m. In the streets, on the beach and in the ocean, I have witnessed the noise and congestion created by the daily operation of a surf school in a residential area. I have witnessed surf school vans either parked illegally on the street or for long hours in public lots.

Will the wishes of tourists and businesses supersede the public interest in preserving such places for the benefit of the public? Once a public area is commercialized, its public heart will be lost.

Group formed to resolve dispute on Ha'iku Stairs

The Kane'ohe Neighborhood Board has formed a public information group to gather information and opinions concerning the opening of the Ha'ik? Stairs and the old H-3 service road to the public.

The group is composed of neighborhood board members, Ha'ik?-area residents and members of the Friends of Ha'ik? Stairs organization and other interested members of the public. As chairman of that group, I would like to thank Thomas Loudat for his thought-provoking letter regarding the Ha'ik? Stairs. I would like to reassure him that nearly everyone in our group wholeheartedly agrees that Ha'iku, including the Ha'ik? Stairs, truly ranks as one of Hawai'i's crown jewels as a natural resource attraction.

Some of the points raised by Loudat deserve clarification, however. The Ha'ik? Stairs, popularly referred to as the Stairway to Heaven, has never been officially opened to the public. In fact, anyone using the stairs or the surrounding area without official permission is trespassing. The main reasons for this area not being opened to the public are that there has yet to be an official public access route established and no public parking or service facilities have been designated.

In all likelihood, the present controversy could have been prevented if steps were taken early on to avoid the inconvenience and loss of privacy suffered by residents living nearest to the stairs. Aside from the legal and liability ramifications, those would-be hikers who did not have proper permission often crossed through the yards of area residents, sometimes during the early-morning or late-afternoon hours, left litter in the area, used residents' facilities, and took up scarce neighborhood parking. On weekends, the number of trespassers could be counted in the dozens per hour.

Under the circumstances, it should come as no surprise that those residents who have been inconvenienced the most would object to the opening up of the area to the public.

We believe that the Stairway to Heaven and old service road are valuable community resources that should be accessible to the public, but we also believe that we need to consider the rights and needs of all the people in the community.

The kid who didn't turn bad

I read with interest the Nov. 13 Advertiser editorial concerning afterschool care ("Afterschool programs no magic bullet") and the findings of a Mainland study. I must respectfully disagree with any suggestion that Hawai'i afterschool care is in the same boat.

My positive experience with the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii helped shape the values and attitudes that got me through high school and college and into my career. I become a responsible, contributing citizen.

The Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii began with a single clubhouse next to Washington Intermediate School in 1976. At that time, I was the only child of a single parent growing up in that area. The only thing accessible for a kid on the street then was trouble, pure and simple. The beach, pool halls and shopping centers were daily hangouts where trouble would find you, whether you were looking for it or not.

My mother worked two jobs, so I was often on my own until

9 p.m. each night. Given limited options, my mother enrolled me in the Boys & Girls Club for a cost of $1 a year. My mother's only expectation was that the Boys & Girls Club would hopefully keep me off the street. What happened while I was there didn't matter to her because it had to be better than running the streets.

What I received for that $1 a year was far more than my mother expected. I met a caring and professional staff who helped to enrich my life with valuable new experiences, including sports, arts and crafts. Academically, I received tutoring and help with school subjects when I sorely needed it. I received valuable mentoring and advice from staff members, who helped prepare me for college. It was at the Boys & Girls Club where I encountered computer technology, which guided me into my adult career, all at the cost of $1 per year.

The Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii has grown into a statewide organization with seven clubhouses serving more than 7,000 youths. It is part of a movement with over 3,000 clubhouses serving over 3 million kids nationally. Their motto — "The Positive Place for Kids!" — is indeed accurate.

While the price to join has increased tenfold to $10 annually, so has the quality of staff and services.

So often we hear of the kids who turned bad and the ones who got away. With the help of the Boys & Girls Club, I never became that kid.

In the search for the so-called "magic bullet" in afterschool care, you need look no further than the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii.