E-transit bus route has not been eliminated

You sure dropped the ball with Thursday morning's editorial "Mayor must beware of micromanaging bus." The editorial says that Mayor Mufi Hannemann has eliminated the E-transit route. That's not true.

City buses are still running on the E route. They're just not the pricey hybrid ones.

As of Tuesday, those buses were reassigned to the heavily used A route, which runs from Waipahu to the University of Hawai'i. That choice was recommended by the professionals at the city Department of Transportation Services and O'ahu Transit Services, the company that operates the buses.

The E route, from Kaka'ako to Waikiki, is still being served by conventional city buses. But even with the change that took effect Tuesday, ridership is low in relation to other bus routes. The No. 8 line, serving Waikiki, is especially crowded because the Harris administration cut it back in order to staff the E route.

When Hannemann announced the redeployment of the hybrid buses last month, he answered a reporter's question by saying he would like to eventually eliminate the E route in light of its poor ridership. In these financially trying times, the need to make the best use of city assets and services is obvious.

The mayor knows bus routes aren't eliminated on a whim. That can only be done by the professionals at DTS and OTS, after the public has a chance to provide input, and after ample public notice. That has not begun for the E route.

In any case, eliminating the E route would not mean the end of bus service between Waikiki and Kaka'ako. Several routes already serve parts of that heavily traveled urban corridor. And they could be modified or expanded if, for example, the University of Hawai'i medical school increases demand for service.

Principal contracts should be four years

The article about performance contracts for principals says Dr. William Ouchi and Gov. Linda Lingle are advocating one-year performance contracts. To me that seems farfetched.

I wonder if Dr. Ouchi is willing to go on a one-year contract at UCLA where his employment will depend on the results of a standardized test that his students take at the end of the semester. Is he willing to give up his tenure as a professor?

Also, is Gov. Lingle willing to have a succession of one-year terms where she will be judged by empirical data, such as crime rate, growth of the economy, etc.?

Both will agree that although they have a tremendous impact on those measures, outside factors will have incredible impact despite their efforts.

I believe one-year contracts are not long enough. Perhaps they should have four-year contracts that are based on a variety of measures that will promote student achievement — not just one test.

Massive deception got us into this mess

I have grown so weary listening to the Bush administration and its apologists rework, revise and repackage the rationale for the Iraq war.

No version stands up to this: Before starting the war, if President Bush had told us that Saddam Hussein was not an imminent threat, had no WMDs, was not connected to al-Qaida, but that Bush wanted to topple him anyway and force democracy on the Iraqis, that it would cost in excess of 14,000 dead and wounded Americans and more than $300 billion and last well past three years ... well, there'd be no Iraq war.

The truth is that it took unprecedented massive deception by our government to get us into this mess.

We must remain in Iraq till the job is done

It is not the American way to cut and run.

I'm as politically correct as everyone else regarding the troops. My 'ohana supports them and prays for them daily. I am sorry the chopper crashed. I am sorry that each Marine could not have taken 20 or more of the enemy with him.

The only thing we did wrong in Iraq is not finish the job the first time. The chopper crashed in Iraq. What would you be saying if the same chopper and same troops had crashed in, say, Tucson, Ariz? Or even Hawai'i?

One of the saddest days of my life was when Saigon fell to the communists. All of my brothers and sisters who died in Vietnam died in vain because we were not allowed to finish the job. Let us not repeat history. We need to stay until we are done.

Major effort needed to fix our potholes

I propose that our local newspapers sponsor a "My pothole is larger than your pothole" contest. Entries could be collected and forwarded to the mayor and governor. A team of city and state officials could judge the entries.

Winners would get their stretch of street or road fixed first and be eligible for city or state aid to defray the cost of vehicle repairs.

Mayor Hannemann seems to have taken a good first step toward attacking the neglect that has been allowed to explode over the past several years. A major effort is required — and immediately. Our road conditions border on criminal neglect. Clearly, our leaders were asleep at the switch.

Maybe now we have administrations that understand the difference between serious and superficial and can get their priorities straight.

State is indeed prepared for tsunamis, all hazards

Karen Blakeman's front-page article on Jan. 21 concerning a briefing before the combined Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee and the Tourism and Culture Committee does not accurately reflect what my colleagues and I told lawmakers about the state's ability to warn and protect the public in the event of a tsunami.

Neither our tsunami evacuation maps nor our alarm system is antiquated. I am, however, most dismayed at the wording of the headline. It is misleading and inaccurate and, coupled with Ms. Blakeman's choice of words, may erode public confidence in the procedures necessary to save lives when a tsunami hits our Islands.

The state tsunami plan called inadequate indicates that we have a tsunami plan that is less than satisfactory. I did not say that at the briefing; I didn't hear anyone else say it; the article does not support it, and it is simply not true. First, we do not have a state tsunami plan. We, however, have a State Emergency Preparedness Plan for all hazards. What we presented to the lawmakers was our level of preparedness for dealing with tsunamis, which we do not consider inadequate.

Civil Defense, at the state and county levels, and our partnering agencies have developed procedures to deal with a range of tsunami threats. The way we are prepared to respond to a tsunami generated along the island chain (most likely the Big Island) is much different from our procedures for a distant tsunami. These procedures are exercised, reviewed, updated and exercised again in a continuing cycle. We have been conducting statewide tsunami exercises every six months.

While these are good procedures, we wanted to point out to the legislators that with additional resources, we can raise the level of emergency preparedness. If we can combine the latest technology (including more buoys that detect damaging waves while they are still hours away from our shores), increased funding for newer modeling techniques to more precisely determine inundation and evacuation zones, and additional money to expand and improve our siren warning system, we will save more lives when a tsunami strikes. We also need additional shelters, not just for tsunamis but also for hurricanes and the other hazards that may threaten Hawai'i.

We can't stop a tsunami; our goal is to prevent it from being a killer. However, if people in Hawai'i lose confidence in Civil Defense — and the other agencies that deal with tsunamis — due to a poorly written front-page headline in our largest daily newspaper, then our efforts and their safety could be undermined.

Keeping roads safe for everyone

AARP believes that anyone, at any age, who is a safety risk should not have a license. Our goal is to keep the roads safe for everyone.

But people should be able to drive for as long as they can safely do so. It is important to recognize that age itself is not an accurate indicator of a person's driving abilities. However, cognitive or physical impairments are increasingly likely to develop as a person gets older, and they are proven safety risks. On the other hand, safe driving is also correlated to good judgment, which improves with experience.

Identifying unsafe drivers at any age before they are involved in an accident is a difficult problem with no easy solution. AARP supports routine retesting of all drivers as well as targeted testing based on proven risk factors. Where age can be scientifically correlated to risk, the use of age as a factor requiring testing is appropriate. AARP supports using that kind of test, once it is developed.

Physicians and family members can play an important role in driving safety. Doctor-involvement can not only help with the evaluation process but also in getting older drivers the assistance they need to continue driving safely for as long as possible.

Finally, AARP's own research shows that a doctor is the most believable source of advice for people who are trying to determine whether to continue driving.

The watch words for AARP are "safe mobility." Some drivers are able to compensate for impairments with special training from qualified professionals. Some drivers may need licenses restricted as to time of day or type of roadway, for example. Some will need to cease driving.

But information and learning tools can better equip older people to make responsible decisions about their driving. AARP offers the Driver Safety Program to alert drivers to the physical changes that come with age and offers tips on how to adapt and improve driving skills. The safety program also discusses driving cessation and finding transportation alternatives.

AARP encourages Rep. Jerry Chang and the state Legislature to begin the dialogue on solutions to make our roadways safer for everyone, but please remember: Transportation is the bridge that keeps people connected to communities. Since the number of older Americans will increase dramatically in the coming decade, the need for adequate and convenient public transportation that helps preserve everyone's independence will also increase.