Posted on: Monday, February 7, 2005

Letters to the Editor

Government should pay for the sprinklers

It's all well and good for our legislators to want to make sprinklers mandatory, and if the state or county is prepared to pick up 100 percent of the cost, I'm all for it.

These politicians need to be reminded of the fact that they are raising property taxes annually, and the cost of living is outpacing increases in income.

Those 300 or so high-rises that were mentioned, because of their age, are now requiring extensive maintenance costs for repairs to elevators, air-conditioning units and to the very structure of the buildings and garages. Assessments are being handed out for thousands of dollars. Those 300 buildings represent thousands of people, many on fixed incomes and just barely keeping up with increases in maintenance fees.

Politicians were not elected to pass laws that will drive people out of their homes. People need to take more responsibility for their own health and well-being without the government interfering. One way of doing that is to have the building supervisors arrange for the inspection of the electrical wiring in all units and appliances. Prevention is the key.

Superferry service won't work in Hawai'i

I am appalled that the federal government and the state of Hawai'i are planning to invest in the Superferry.

What are you people thinking? Before you act, do your homework. In late June 2004, Canadian American Transportation Systems began operating the Toronto Rochester Ferry with the exact same vessel Hawai'i Superferry is purchasing. By early September, it was out of business, and its vessel the "Breeze" will be auctioned off this month.

In 2004, anticipating the Toronto Rochester Ferry beginning service, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer wrote a letter to the minister of transportation in Canada. In his letter, Sen. Schumer wrote, "I am writing to inform you of my strong support of the proposed high-speed ferry service between Rochester, New York and Toronto and to urge federal funding of this mutually beneficial project. The Toronto-Rochester ferry service will create a unique link to our two nations that will spark economic development, job opportunities and increased tourism."

Sound familiar?

You people are being snowed by a couple of guys who have never crossed Hawai'i's major channels on an average 20- to 25-knot trade-wind day. Do you know that the patented ride system of this vessel only reduces the effects of (small) waves 20 to 30 percent? A statement about the Hawai'i Superferry being "as long as a football field" shows just how inexperienced they actually are. It's all relative when the waves are as high as "goal posts."

Most U.S. ferries require a 50 percent or greater subsidy to survive and most operate in fresh water.

Waialua bike path is money well spent

Like many others, I was skeptical when the Waialua bike path was first under construction. Now that it is close to completion, it is obviously money well spent.

The path is used by many who were not able to safely walk or ride along Waialua Beach Road, and it has the added benefit of clearing much of the rubbish and weedy growth from the roadside, greatly improving the view.

Cutting vision team funding a good idea

It's nice to read an article every once in a while that makes sense. A case in point is Mayor Mufi Hannemann striking from his budget the financing of the vision teams. I hope this will soon be followed by the termination of the teams themselves.

The creation of vision teams in the first place seemed to undercut the neighborhood board concept. The boards were elected by the people and seemed to be the logical place where recommendations to improve local communities should originate. Suddenly, appointed, not elected, "vision teams" sprang up. Why?

Some of the vision team projects seemed most questionable to many taxpayers. As but one example, the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars to build two micro-mini parks to announce the obvious — that you were passing through Nu'uanu when you were driving the Pali Highway — raised many eyebrows.

Mayor Hannemann should be applauded for terminating the $38 million vision team funds — a step in the right direction toward greater municipal fiscal responsibility.

Nazi concentration camp sent us message

Those who question America's role in the world, whether we have any business "interfering" with or forcing democracy on other countries, or whether violence can ever solve anything, need only look at the photo on Page 4 of the Jan. 30 Focus section. Those children in Nazi concentration camp uniforms, behind barbed-wire fences at Auschwitz, seem to talk to us as they stare out from the page.

Yes, over 6 million died in those camps before the rest were liberated. But those who survived, and their families, don't question our role, or whether we should have interfered or forced democracy on Germany — and they certainly believe that violence solved their problem. After all, Germany didn't give up those camps based on a strongly worded letter. It required sacrifice, and lots of "gold star mothers" — even though Germany didn't attack us, and the plight of European Jews didn't directly threaten the United States. Sound familiar?

I, too, grieve for the families and friends of those who've lost loved ones. I've served more than 11 years overseas, and have lost friends and co-workers in this war, too. I'll never trivialize their sacrifice by taking the myopic view that it was for nothing.

Bottle law must be made easier for us

My grandson and I went to the local recycling site in Mililani (near Star supermarket) and waited for nearly one-and-one-half hours to recycle our cans and bottles before we finally gave up.

The person working the recycling site sure wasn't in any hurry to get anything done. At 11:15 a.m., we, along with several other people standing in line, were told the recycling center closes at noon no matter what.

In the hour-and-a-half we were there, only seven people were able to redeem their cans. At that pace, we would have completed redeeming our cans around midnight.

If this program, which I support, is to succeed, redeeming cans has to be a lot easier. It seems that officials from the state and city are unable to plan and institute the same plan for recycling. Yes, I still have the city's blue recycling bin sitting in my yard full of newspapers waiting to be recycled.

For the state and city recycling programs, my request is simple: Someone, please, help make this easier or kill the law.

Adopt a tsunami-hit village and rebuild it

My name is Hanna Valusek and I am 15 years old. I need your help with an idea. I have to help the tsunami victims. What if the radio stations and other public sources could adopt a village and raise money to rebuild it? Then encourage the public to call other public sources and challenge them to adopt another village.

If this could spread throughout the United States, then we as a country could adopt several hundred villages and help these poor people rebuild their houses and lives.

I have been writing to radio stations and other newspapers and will continue to do so until I get a response. Thank you for reading this and for all that you may do to help spread my idea.

Road test measure has a couple of holes

House Bill 63 would require persons 75 years of age and older to pass a road test to renew their driver's license. If passed, this bill would make it more difficult for older drivers to renew their licenses.

While its purpose may be to keep a few unfit drivers off the road, the bill fails to address two basic problems that should be addressed before it is passed.

First, it has been widely reported that many who currently need to take the road test have to endure long waitlists because of the lack of personnel to conduct road testing. This situation should be corrected before legislators consider adding more people to the lists of those who need to be tested.

Second, seniors who are unable to pass the road test may become housebound because they will have no alternative means of transportation. The main reason that seniors continue to drive even though they may realize that their driving skills have deteriorated is that getting around is a necessity. Short driving trips most take for granted, like going grocery shopping or to the doctor or visiting friends, become very difficult for seniors who are unable to drive and incapable of walking long distances.

Being a burden on others is the last thing most seniors want.

Elderly-driver test is age discrimination

In response to Francis Heath ("Elderly drivers who oppose test are selfish," Feb. 2): Everyone wants to keep their driving privileges. To test only seniors "to determine whether or not a driver is capable of safely operating a motor vehicle on the public streets and to demonstrate that this is so" (Mr. Heath's words) is purely age discrimination.

If you want to find out who is capable or not capable of operating a vehicle, then everyone should be tested. Florida tried to have only seniors tested. Seniors protested. Seniors won. End of case.

Racism is a fact of life; deal with ignorance, gangs

Regarding the racial tension at Radford High School that resulted in students being expelled and suspended: There are two issues I would like to address.

First, I am a proud Native Hawaiian parent. My children are from a mixed-race background, which includes African American. They have experienced prejudice in school, and I have had to come to their defense in some situations.

I have always taught them that they, like any person of any race, will have to endure and tolerate ignorant people. I have taught them to deal as best as they could with racial tension, and when they could no longer tolerate the verbal abuse, to let me know, and I would bring it to the attention of the school administration.

This worked all through elementary and intermediate school. Now that they are in high school, they are comfortable and have pride in who they are and whom they have become.

Not everyone is accepting of those who are different, and they should be ashamed of themselves for being so close-minded and hateful. Racism is everywhere; Hawai'i is no exception.

Second, gangs have tried to take over our schools and neighborhoods. Fortunately, Hawai'i parents still have a strong hold on their children and grandchildren. Hawai'i people see what goes on in the Mainland, and we will not have it here in paradise.

Although there are small groups of young people calling themselves "gangs," they are no more than a group of people with nothing better to do than get in trouble. If teens want to join a gang, join one that will help with Special Olympics, help underpriviledged children to read, or help their community raise educational awareness.

I would like to see students put their energy into something positive, rather than fill our prisons.

People mover far better idea

I agree with your Jan. 29 editorial "Double-Decked Nimitz a non-starter for sure," which asserted that such a project would do little to improve traffic between the Ke'ehi Interchange and Aloha Tower.

The $200 million in federal funds needed for this project could be better used for a smaller and much less costly people-mover system between Waikiki and Aloha Tower. It would help decision-makers gain broad-based support for the much larger $2.6 billion light-rail system being planned from Kapolei to Urban Honolulu.

Here are other advantages of a people mover:

• The Waikiki-to-Aloha Tower route is the least expensive. There may be no need for tax increases or for the government to provide millions of dollars in start-up costs, particularly if a suitable developer can build it at its expense or via partnerships with the public sector.

• Farebox revenues along this profitable 1-mile route may be sufficient to cover a large portion of the debt service for this project. Businesses that stand to benefit from increased foot traffic, such as Ala Moana Center, Victoria Ward, Aloha Tower Marketplace, and others, should pay for the construction of rail stations and kiosks. To further assist the developer, the city and state could help with easement and financing options when necessary.

• A Waikiki-to-Aloha Tower people mover would tie in smoothly with a private ferry between Leeward O'ahu and Downtown Honolulu. The people mover would increase ridership of the ferry system and vice versa.

• Aloha Tower would benefit. With a ferry system and an efficient feeder bus system servicing the Downtown area, the people mover would eliminate the huge outlay of state funds to address the Aloha Tower parking problem. And merchants at Aloha Tower would benefit from the increased foot traffic.

• A Waikiki-to-Aloha Tower people mover would complement our No. 1 industry. A fast and efficient people mover servicing O'ahu's tourism mecca would serve as a new visitor attraction for Hawai'i.

• There would be no need for the proposed $200 million Nimitz Highway flyover that would run above the new contraflow lane.

If we play our cards right, the city and state should be able to build the people mover system at minimal cost and without raising taxes. Investors would be attracted because it is along the most profitable route and can be built with the least assistance from government agencies.

Financing the $2.6 billion light-rail project via tax increases would be less intimidating to taxpayers once they experience firsthand how effective a people-mover system can be.