Zipper lane is needed in the 'ewa direction

I am writing to you about the traffic mess on the H-1 Freeway 'ewa-bound.

I can't understand why there isn't a zipper lane in the 'ewa direction. The same amount of automobiles that travel east in the morning also return home westbound after work. The state should add more lanes on the other side of the freeway.

If installing a zipper lane is too expensive, the state could place cones on the other side of the freeway, as is done on Kalaniana'ole Highway, Kapi'olani Boulevard and Nimitz Highway.

Right now, most of the drivers spend about one to two hours a day just trying to get home from town. By spending that much time on the road, we're using more fuel, and I understand that the federal, state and county governments get a combined 58 cents on every gallon of gas that we purchase. Plus the state also gets 4 percent sales tax. Please try to make it easier for all of us.

I understand that the widening of the Waimalu Overpass is going to take about 18 months or more to complete, and in the meantime, more homes are being built on the Leeward Coast, which means more cars will be on the road.

Before the overpass construction began, we had five lanes heading west. We still have five lanes with the construction going on, and eventually we will add just one more lane.

We could use some other lanes on the other side of the freeway just during the peak traffic hours.

Balanced, unbiased reporting is needed

Do you do what you do intentionally, or are you blind to your own bias?

In a "news story" (July 19) about congressional candidates Mike Gabbard and Ed Case, you refer to Gabbard as a "conservative and outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage."

You refer to Case as "the first-term Democrat" when the apt and accurate counterpart to your description of Gabbard would have been "Case, a liberal and outspoken proponent of same-sex marriage."

Is balanced, unbiased reporting too much to ask for?

Going after private money a better way

It was quite refreshing to read the comments of Keith Amemiya, executive director of the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association, regarding state funding for his organization ("Delayed grants threaten level of social services," July 12).

Rather than depending on a $50,000 state grant, which may or may not come through, Amemiya has wisely taken a self-reliant approach to managing his association's $1 million annual budget. He meets expenses by lining up corporate sponsorships and receiving money from tournament ticket sales and school membership dues.

I wish more nonprofit groups acknowledged that government cannot be all things to all people. It is far more important for state officials to exercise fiscal restraint with our taxpayer money, which includes building a surplus when times are good, than support every nonprofit in town and get hit by waves of red ink during economic downturns.

Good for Mr. Amemiya. He sets a fine example for other leaders in the nonprofit sector.

Thanks for competition

Congratulations to both the Hawai'i Republican and Democratic parties for fielding an impressive field of candidates for the 2004 elections. The changes that took place in both the 2000 and 2002 elections had a direct impact on motivating both parties to work harder.

Let's hope that the political strategists will be able to figure out the formula to get at least 75 percent of the eligible voters to vote. Now that would be an even greater accomplishment! The winners in the end will be the people of Hawai'i.

Assault weapon ban should be overturned

The Clinton assault weapon ban deserves to die as it was crafted out of lies and deceptions.

As a practical matter, England and Australia have been aggressively banning various types of firearms with a resulting massive increase in violent crime.

Forty states on the Mainland now allow concealed carry (not Hawai'i, alas), resulting in lower crime rates.

As a philosophical matter, do you really want all power in the hands of the government? Those who wrote and voted on the Constitution did not and said so, plainly. What part of "shall not be infringed" don't you understand?

Be smart, use goggles

From nightmare experiences, I believe surfers should wear goggles while surfing. Usually a surfer will have ample time to view below him while waiting for a wave. Only goggles will give a clear picture of any lurking "Jaws." Do not be the unlucky one to be the next victim.

Golf course is in fact in a lot better shape

As an avid golfer, I decided to go to the Makalena course to see if the complaint in a July 8 letter to the editor was valid. It was not.

Makalena Golf Course is in a lot better shape now than it was a few years ago. The greens are good, and there's even grass on some fairways now. The current superintendent, Glenn Kakuni, does a solid job in managing an undermanned staff, without a qualified mechanic and with a limited budget. Every time I've played there, I've seen Mr. Kakuni walking the golf course looking for things that need to be done.

The conditions that exist in the bathroom facilities are due more to age and usage rather than a lack of care.

There is more course maintenance going on now than there ever has been. Mr. Kakuni has motivated his crew into working hard, and he has instilled a sense of ownership in their golf course.

As far as I'm concerned, and I'm sure I speak for all of the "regulars" at Makalena, the right man is on the job.

'Slower traffic' sign is being misunderstood

In the recent series of "tailgating" exchanges, it seems that many people are under the impression that there is a law in Hawai'i that requires drivers to keep to the right unless passing — and according to police officials I have talked to, that is not so. Their advisories are supported by the Hawai'i State Driver's Manual (the one used to prepare for licensing tests).

The signs that state "Slower traffic keep right" are only posted on grades where large or heavily loaded vehicles are unable to maintain even the minimum speed, and that is whom they are intended for. They are not reminders to the general driving public and do not apply to all roadways or sections thereof.

The best advice I have heard is: "If you have to be someplace at a certain time, leave early enough to get there on time; don't speed or tailgate. The people you may be terrorizing are law-abiding drivers, and you will be the lawbreaker."

Real traffic calming eases flow of traffic

The Department of Transportation Services should stop this wasteful foolishness! Opinions of seven out of every 10 houses along Wana'ao Road in Kailua (to quote The Honolulu Advertiser quoting Charles Prentiss) doesn't justify this work.

Prentiss doesn't dare canvass the thousands of daily vehicle transits on those two major arteries. That is not traffic calming, it is traffic impeding! And to spend a quarter of a million dollars just a year or two prior to sewage repair or upgrade is truly asinine!

Micro-tunneling, my foot! Has anyone recently looked at the "traffic calming" effect of micro-tunneling on Hamakua and North Kalaheo? And the current conditions of those roadways? The on-scene engineer at Hamakua tells me that the road will not be repaved after completion of micro-tunneling "unless excess funds remain." Fat chance of that happening.

We can and must do better with our limited funds. Real traffic calming eases the flow of traffic, not impedes.

Gov. Lingle not holding back education money

Suggestions that the governor is holding back education money are grossly incorrect. It is the Democratic Legislature, which did not put the money in the budget revenue side, that is the real problem.

The Legislature is not required to present the governor with a balanced budget. The Democratic-controlled Legislature did not even hold a hearing on the "balanced budget" proposal last session that would have forced them to present a budget with all funding sources and expenses matched.

The editorial writers and the reporters should understand that in Hawai'i, an "appropriation" by our Legislature is really an "appropriation without identified funding," not a commitment of identified funds. Therefore, your editorial writers and reporters should be reporting that the governor is not holding up funding education but instead is trying to find funding for education.

The overall budget passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature this last session is over-appropriated or under-funded. The Democrats had no financial plan. Now the hard work begins. Let's give credit to the Lingle administration for trying to do its best to balance needs with revenues since the administration is prohibited by law from running a deficit.

Economy booming, so it's time to untie purse strings

Gov. Linda Lingle has chosen to take an extremely conservative view of increases in state revenues, in spite of the strong increase of $98 million beyond the state Council on Revenues' already strong projection for the just-ended fiscal year (FY2004).

The state's economy is booming, with strong indications that it will remain strong for years to come. Yet the governor sees a $160 million shortfall in the state budget in two years and is restricting spending on needed programs.

In my four years of serving on the state House Committee on Finance and another four years on the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, I learned that the revenue for one fiscal year becomes the base figure for the next fiscal year's revenue. Therefore, the base figure for FY2005 includes the extra $98 million that was collected in FY2004. So too with FY2006, and all other following years. This means that in two years, there will be $294 million more revenue than was anticipated a few days ago ($98 million for FY2004, $98 million in FY2005 and $98 million for FY2006).

This $294 million (which is actually a conservative figure) is far more than the $160 million shortfall the governor perceives in two years.

There is no reason to restrict budget items, especially since the Legislature is mandated by law to pass a balanced budget, which it insists it did.

When the Council on Revenues meets in September, it is more likely to raise its revenue projections rather than lower them. Tourism is booming, construction is booming, military spending is growing, and unemployment is dropping (which means employment is growing and income tax revenues are growing). We are in a virtuous economic cycle and are likely to be there for years, barring another 9/11 or SARS-like outbreak.

While there is need for fiscal prudence, this is a time to begin meeting unmet needs, such as school repair and maintenance, and investing in the human resources and environmental resources that can undergird and sustain the strong economy we now have.

A good beginning is to immediately lift the budget restrictions the governor has imposed.

Senior citizens being squeezed

Senior citizens on a fixed income have gotten absolutely no property tax help or consideration from their elected officials, and yet I don't hear a sound out of the AARP.

With the third tax increase in three years now being jammed down our throats, I for one will return the favor at the next election for City Council and vote for anyone but the incumbent, and I will try to induce my friends and neighbors to do exactly the same.

A millionaire from the Mainland moved into our area, bought a house without even asking the price, tore it down and built a mansion. The property tax boys, on the basis of that sale, raised all our property taxes. Does that make sense to you?

My property tax in 2003 totaled $1,389. In 2004, it was $1,954; and for the next year it is up to $2,574. The government charges me over $200 a month to own my own home. An increase of almost double in three years for people 80 and 90 years old, retired with all the medical bills that that age bracket has. And it's all based on the selling price of houses in the area, never mind we expect and hope to die in our own homes.

Just look at these figures and ask yourself how you, on a fixed retirement income, would raise that kind of money at that age. Three more years from now, will it be another $5,000, or $400 more a month? And add to that if the politicians pass a law that property owners can't operate a B&B to try to pay the taxes. What do these people use for brains? What can the seniors do?

Seniors' property tax deductions haven't been increased in years and years, and they of course should have been based on a percentage, not a flat deduction to protect the elderly. Also, while the taxes go up and up, the top age limit of 70 years of age for these small deductions has been passed by the majority of owners years ago. Age 80 and 90 as further increased deductions should be included as these seniors have paid taxes for years and years and the problem of finding money at this age of course is almost impossible.

Another problem: If you keep your property in good shape and clean, it will only cost you more in taxes, instead of at least making the cost of resident home improvements tax deductible, as they should be. That idea alone would help improve the looks of all homes in Hawai'i.