I was visiting a friend in 'Aiea Thursday night and decided to go back home to Kane'ohe at around 10. I knew Moanalua Freeway was closed, and I knew Likelike to Kane'ohe was closed. So I drove to the Stadium Mall area to take H-3 home, and to my surprise the exit was closed — not even a single lane for H-3 only, even though H-3 was still open.

Then I tried to go on the freeway going back to town and take the Honolulu exit after Pearl City to take the H-3 on-ramp by Red Hill. But that, too, was closed — not even a single lane for H-3 was open.

The only way to get back to the Windward side was to go to the Pali Highway or to go back west on H-1 in the opposite direction I was going to get to H-3.

I know this is an election year, but there is no way that all these construction contracts could be done at the same time without leaving an adequate route to the Windward side. I know our roads need to be fixed, but this is ridiculous.

Mass-transit system must be constructed

We should all support and encourage the proposed rail system and Nimitz "flyover" highway improvements to our island's mass-transit system. After all, who wouldn't want lighter traffic, a stronger economy and friendlier neighbors?

City Councilman Gary Okino put it simply when he said, "Without this, we will reach gridlock. With this, traffic will continue to move."

While most of us complain about O'ahu's obvious traffic problems, few of us have the benefit of studying the problem as our state officials do. They're the ones with the responsibility and knowledge of the situation, and they're the ones we should be listening to.

Critics of Gov. Lingle's proposal cite tax hikes and higher priorities for public finances in their argument against the project. I wonder if these critics appreciate what's really at stake here. An effective transportation system lies at the heart of every successful economy, and we can all agree that positive change always involves sacrifice.

An improved mass-transit system has opportunities for everyone involved. Imagine what it would be like to see commuters from Mililani and Kapolei talking story on the way to work instead of road-raging in the confines of their own vehicles. Starting your own business? Try advertising it where thousands of people go every day: the train station. This project would be a dream come true for up-and-coming retailers and entrepreneurs.

The new plan for solving O'ahu's rush-hour nightmares deserves a chance. We, the taxpayers and residents of this island, are worth the effort, so let's get involved and see that it happens.

Arts are a critical part of our humanity

Perhaps the author of the July 7 letter "Arts are far from a necessity" has never been moved to tears by a piece of music, or discovered emotions never felt before while viewing a painting, or been awestruck by the power of words during a poetry reading, or marveled at the embodiment of spirit during a dance recital.

All of these are essential life-affirming experiences that may ultimately pull our country away from its current path of destruction.

So what if many state-acquired paintings languish? Creativity is a process. Any painter's studio has numerous works archived, no longer in view. If the demand were greater on the part of our citizenry, then more paintings would be in view. Imagine that van Gogh, Schubert, Melville, etc. were not successful during their lifetimes. Yet, what a legacy of painting, music and literature they have left for us.

The arts are an absolute necessity more than ever in this country. They — as vehicles of the healthiest human process, creativity — are survival tools. Without the arts, we will leave as an empty cultural legacy fast-food chains, tall skyscrapers and big military machinery.

The arts teach us about our inner world, emotional life and humanity. They give us a reason for living in peace: to enjoy beauty, as created and interpreted by our fellow human beings. They instill compassion. Such compassion, for example, may make us realize that it is possible to reach and save peacefully hundreds of millions children on the planet who go to bed hungry and sick each night.

As John F. Kennedy said, "If humankind does not destroy war, war will destroy humankind."

Show us how licensing fee will address issues

As an avid fisherman, I agree with the sentiments expressed by other letter writers regarding the need for responsible management of the marine environment. But simply instituting a saltwater fishing license doesn't automatically address the issues.

I'll support a license fee when I'm convinced it's not just another way for the government to raise money. I'd like to know:

• What's the plan?
• How will we know whether it's working (measures of success)?
• What's the time limit for the trial (if it doesn't work in, say, five years, the fee goes away)?
• Is there a clause that prohibits the money from being used for any other purpose?

To those who want to take up this cause, I say do your homework and then I will stand with you.

Campaign spending bill deserved approval

Like you, I wish the campaign spending reform bill that was passed by the 2004 session of the Legislature were becoming law. It's unfortunate that it is not.

The bill would have limited contributions from out-of-state donors and government contractors.

To be fair to the governor, there is a typo in the bill. The word "not" was left out of an important section that banned out-of-state contributions. But the bill wasn't slated to go into effect until 2005 (after this coming election), so we had time to fix the flaw in the next legislative session, especially one so small. And anyone who read the committee reports that accompanied this year's bill would have known that the legislative intent was to have the word in there.

So, why did the bill have to be vetoed in its entirety?

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why. Republican coffers locally are full of funds from out-of-state contributors and government contractors. And the governor has not been nearly as aggressive in pushing for substantive reform as some would like to believe.

Democrats have been advocating reforms for several years now. This year's effort was praised by members of the Campaign Spending Commission as a good first step.

Maybe we haven't moved as far and as fast as some would like, but we've been taking serious steps in the right direction. We will continue to press ahead to bring about meaningful reform.

Hawaiians adopted Japanese throw net

Several days ago in the paper was an individual's request or opinion that the Hawaiians should be able to practice their culture. One of the activities mentioned was fishing using a throw net.

The Hawaiians culturally did, and still do, many wonderful things. But throw-net fishing was not part of their ancient culture. The Hawaiians used a seine net to surround fish, a technique still used today at a hukilau. They also used scoop nets, spears, traps, poles, etc.

The throw net was introduced by the Japanese about 1890. The Hawaiians adopted this method.

Washington knows about opposition to the Akaka bill

Regarding the July 8 article "Akaka bill in danger of failing": The bill will continue to fail, as it has for the past five years, and, in different forms under Sen. Inouye, for more than a decade, because now, more than ever, the Washington, D.C., powers-that-be know there is overwhelming opposition here at home.

With much aloha and all due respect to our congressional delegation, and all federally funded supporters of federal recognition, we must denounce the desperate and futile attempts to tag this unacceptable bill onto major legislation that needs to be passed.

The reality, revealed during our recent visit to Capitol Hill, is that the Akaka bill has been and is going nowhere this session.

Koani Foundation directors, and many other Native Hawaiians, traveled to Washington in May in conjunction with the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. We met face to face with people from numerous congressional offices and the U.S. departments of Justice and the Interior. We successfully shared the huge opposition that exists to the bill at home in Hawai'i, and we got more than we anticipated.

Everyone was aware of the Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act. Staffers for Sens. Frist, McCain, Kyle, Domenici and many others agreed there is absolutely no chance of passage this session.

During the visit, we were informed, despite heavy propaganda in Hawai'i to the contrary, that: The bill has not been heard on the Senate floor; Sen. Kyle's hold remained in place, would not be lifted and could not be circumvented by any number of votes; Sen. Frist has no intention of scheduling it even if the hold were lifted; and Indian Affairs Chair Sen. McCain himself does not support the bill.

Even some of our own congressional staff people had to concede that little or nothing will be achieved during this pre-election session, including the Akaka bill. To them, we repeated our continuing opposition to dysfunctional federal recognition. We also repeated our continuing dedication to working together, with the stakeholders, toward an appropriate governance form — one that we can support.

A better way than tailgating

I'm lately feeling really sorry for Russel Noguchi (Letters, June 23). I mean, all the the poor guy did was to write a letter about people who drive slowly in the left lane and opine that they deserve to be tailgated.

For all the intellectuals who took the time to berate Mr. Noguchi in this forum, please, lighten up on the guy! First, I do not think it was his point to encourage or condone tailgating. He was simply pointing out that people who display the rude and reckless behavior of driving slowly in the left lane, also commonly called "the passing lane," should not be overly upset by the equally rude and reckless act of a following driver tailgating them in order to project a request that they move over and open up the lane they are obstructing.

There's been a lot of tossing around of the idea of "aloha" and that Mr. Noguchi lacks this attribute and therefore should consider relocating and "living in L.A." I would submit that those who obstruct the left lane ("the passing lane") are truly the rude, unsafe and unthinking drivers — drivers without aloha. Although I do not condone tailgating and agree fully that it is unsafe and not to be recommended, I cannot help to think that those who practice this rudeness deserve it in kind.

Consider that probably a majority of O'ahu's main traffic arteries have speed limits assigned to them that are 10 mph less than the true, safe speed limit and that this assertion is proven by the fact that 85 percent or more drivers ignore them. (This is proven by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research.) These represent, after all, a super-majority of normally law-abiding citizens, yet our local Department of Transportation remains ignorant and unresponsive.

In some locales, this idiocy even goes to a factor of a 20-mph deficit. (Example: Kapa'a Quarry Road in Kailua: 25 mph? Right!)

Instead of tailgating, I suggest the following: Flash your lights from a respectable distance. Granted, the average local resident is unaware that this does not represent a challenge or an insult, but merely a request that the driver ahead wake up, realize that he or she is obstructing traffic in "the passing lane," and respectfully move over. This is, in fact, the accepted, respected, polite action practiced in the other 49 states, Canada and all of Europe.

To all of Mr. Noguchi's detractors, I would repeat: Wake up.