Local is defined as "of, pertaining or relating to a particular place or area." But in Hawai'i, its usage is racist, exclusionary and dishonest, for it applies only to certain ethnicities and skin colors.

The article "Acting Local" would have been unmarred by this usage, as well as honest, had it stated "these three mainland transplants with Hawai'i ties are helping to create a better representation of Hawai'i's ethnic diversity."

Hawaiians have 1,600 years of ancestry in these islands and are the "true locals." Caucasians have resided in Hawai'i for 225 years and are the "original locals." When did later foreign immigrants supplant these first peoples?

Local people come in all colors, races, ethnicities, cultures and looks. I am so tired of the continued wrongful usage of a Hawaiian word as a tool of racist labeling, specially by those who aren't of kanaka maoli koko or even from Hawai'i.

Haole does not mean Caucasian nor "white" anything. It means foreign! It applies to plants, animals, things and people not native to Hawai'i. What, exactly, is being said to island keiki of European, African or multiracial ancestry, whose ancestry roots back many generations in Hawai'i, that they are "not local" because they don't have the "look"?

Also, humility is not exclusive to certain ethnicities or skin colors. It is a quality found in many human beings the world over. People born and raised on the mainland or elsewhere outside of Hawai'i do not "become local" just because they have the "right" skin color or ethnicity. One is local if born, raised or mostly raised in Hawai'i, whose ancestry, roots and heritage are of these islands, irrespective of ethnicity or skin color.

Out-of-the-box thinking needed

Since the Department of Transportation has not come up with any feasible solution to alleviate our traffic congestion, here is some food for thought:

When I worked for Douglas Aircraft Co. in Santa Monica, Calif., the company provided free bus pick-up and drop-off to the nearest block to our houses.

I'm not suggesting every company here in Honolulu do the same. But perhaps a pilot project could be subsidized by federal and state funding.

Just think, every employee who takes the bus means one less car on the road. And why not try it with high schools and others.

Pali deterioration is a plot against us

To the Pali Highway's non-maintenance road supervisor: I am one of those bicycle riders you see going over Pali Highway, struggling to stay upright along those tortured surfaces that once were the roadway. We know that you must have an intentional plan to allow what now remains of the pavement to keep deteriorating until it finally is no more and thus deter us from riding along the highway.

The cars will need to slow down, of course, but they can still negotiate even a dirt or deteriorating road. One thing you probably do not realize is that most of us have dirt bikes in our garages which we will use if necessary.

We will never surrender to your evil plot to keep us off the road, never never never.

Fire-safe smokes can save many lives

We can be grateful that there was no loss of life in the early- morning hours of Sept. 10 when a cigarette ignited a fire that left 25 people homeless on Date Street. But once again, just one cigarette caused injury, property loss and enormous disruption for the immediate victims and their surrounding communities.

Although the Date Street fire was accidental, it was almost certainly preventable. Why? Because wise public policy would require that all cigarettes sold in Hawai'i self-extinguish if carelessly discarded.

This is not a crazy idea. The technology is certainly there. "Fire-safe" cigarettes have been the only cigarettes permitted for sale in New York state since June 30. Similar fire-safe standards begin for all cigarettes sold in Canada from next January.

Cigarette-caused fires are the nation's No. 1 cause of fatal home fires. About 1,000 people die annually in such fires and many more (including firefighters) are injured. Many of the lost lives are of children who have no time to escape.

Why not require fire-safe cigarettes in Hawai'i?

Saving lives and property without significant cost: some might even say it's a "no-brainer."

Donor restrictions don't make sense

I believe I have found one of the reasons why the blood banks in this country have low supplies. Of course, one reason is that there are too few people donating because they will not take the time to help the next victim who desperately needs a blood transfusion, but also because the blood banks are too selective when determining who is eligible to donate.

I, for instance, am banned from donating. Reason: I grew up in Norway. I asked why growing up in Norway would exclude me from doing the Hawaiian community a service, and I was told it was because of mad cow disease.

Blood banks: please do your homework before you decide that Norwegian blood is dangerous. Norway was only one of many European countries to never have had a single case of mad cow disease, unlike the U.S., which has had several cases on the Mainland in the last few months alone. So please allow people to donate blood as long as the countries they have lived in have never had mad cow disease. Or be consistent and ban people who grew up on the Mainland from donating blood.