Solution to traffic is improving schools

Let's improve traffic and help education at the same time. Rather than spending X billions of dollars on rail or elevated highways, what if we put that kind of money into making our public schools the best in the nation instead?

Imagine the positive impact on traffic congestion if most of the people who now drive all over O'ahu trying to get a decent education for their children instead used the local schools in their own communities.

Don't put your faith in politicians' promise

To the writer who lives in Kailua (where I'm certain he doesn't want a landfill) who asked some questions and then answered "not very smart," I have an additional question:

What would you call an entire West O'ahu community that believed a mayor (Harris) and the City Council when they promised that the landfill will be moved from Waimanalo Gulch by 2004 — then 2008?

I guess I have to agree with him that it's not very smart to believe a promise made by Hono-lulu government.

Focus on the speeders

Regarding the Feb. 1 letter by Rep. Jerry Chang, "Legislature will study needs of elderly drivers": I request that equal focus be given to drivers in the age range of 18 to the late 20s. Equal attention should focus upon the needs of the "racing age" group due to the fact that a great many youths in that age group have given their lives in pursuit of that hobby of "freeway racing," especially in the last two or three years. What are the insurance allowances made for them?

Kahuku coach has done a wonderful job

It was frustrating to read the criticism June Jones had for the Kahuku football program and coach Siuaki Livai. I would like to offer my congratulations to coach Livai for the tremendous job he is doing at Kahuku.

More importantly, I would like to offer my thanks for the wonderful job coach Livai is doing leading the young men in his program and for the global interest he takes in the well-being of his athletes, both during and after their high school careers.

Keep up the good work, coach; you are a real asset to our community.

Let us not forget school's good things

I am writing this letter about the many positive acts at Radford High School we tend to forget. I did not witness the disputes that occurred on our campus; they are best left to officials to investigate and make recommendations.

On Feb. 1, positive acts occurred: Radford Teacher of the Year Mrs. Karen Tam arrived at 5:45 a.m. to prepare as she does every day. The senior class prepared the blood drive at 6 a.m.

At 6:30, student council members set up for the visitation of 250 students from Atsugi-Kita. Also assisting were 170 students from the basketball team and On Step, dance and graphic clubs. The Japanese were entertained by our Polynesian Club, NJROTC and cheerleaders (3rd NCA and 1st Americheer nationwide).

The lockdown prevented our tours, but the students continued to enjoy speaking to each other and did get lunch and played games. The Japanese delayed their departure to say good-bye. After the event, students as well as the athletic director, Kelly Sur, and coach James Sunday helped clean up the gym.

We have some very positive teachers and students at Radford, and I am proud to work with them every day.

Inconvenience, delay and no communication

How long does it take to repave a road? How long does it take to replace an electrical pole?

We received a letter telling us to be out of our driveways between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Jan. 13 to 20. Well, the road isn't paved; heavy machines are parked where an accident is waiting to happen on Alencastre and Noah streets and St. Louis Drive.

Is it true we're out of asphalt? It looks as if a lot of our taxpayer dollars are being wasted with such long delays and no letters informing us what's going on.

Drive, don't multitask

Hawai'i drivers need more common sense. For example, while driving in peak morning traffic, the driver in front of me decided she needed to put on a full face of makeup and another driver decided to have his morning breakfast cereal (in a bowl with milk and spoon). And then there's the ever-popular cell phone user who is unable to do two things at once.

Are we really that busy that we have to do these things in the car and not at home? Let's stop contributing to preventable accidents. Remember, you are not only endangering yourself, but others as well.

Military services help in many ways

We cannot forget our friends and neighbors in the military and all that they do for us here and elsewhere. A big mahalo to all the military services for their help in countless situations and emergencies.

They tutor, they build and repair, they paint and plant, they search and rescue, they respond to any emergency we may have. They transport accident victims, saving lives with a perfect safety record. They are at the ready anytime, anywhere to help, sometimes before they are called on.

Some of the nicest people we have met and keep in touch with are in the military. We appreciate them more than they know. Bless them all!

Convention Center must stand on its own

"Free" is music to the ears. Regarding the Feb. 1 article "Free rent attracts 11 bookings": If "free" is so effective in achieving results, maybe we can expand this revolutionary idea:

• No more general excise tax; people will buy more and business will invest more.
• No more fuel tax; maybe our roads will be repaired timely and properly.
• No more beautification fees; maybe the abandoned and the junk cars will be removed.
• No more city tax; maybe our parks will be maintained.
• No more state income tax; maybe we can educate our children in schools that have books and have ceilings that stay in place.
• Free legislators; maybe we can have competent representation.

Nothing is free, except the "free reign" to siphon fees and taxes from Hawai'i residents.

If the Convention Center cannot support itself, then sell it to a private owner and return the proceeds to the Hawai'i taxpayers.

New UH ticket price plan will save me a lot of money

I can't tell you how proud I am that such a dramatic change in ticket structures and prices will probably take place for this coming football season.

The advantages to me as a ticket holder since the opening of Aloha Stadium are almost too many for me to state, but I'll try:

1. No more drives with all the traffic from the Windward side to the stadium.
2. No more charges for parking in the stadium or looking for a place to do a tailgate dinner in the rain.
3. No more ticket prices to pay, period.
4. No more long climbs to the loge section.
5. No more overpriced food and beverages and the long lines of waiting for them.
6. No more hearing the boos offered to the guest teams entering the field.
7. No more so-called "mascot" waving a spear on the field while the rest of us can't even bring in an umbrella.
8. No more fights in the south end zone or mauka lower stands to detract from the game.
9. No more bad losses at home to suffer through as the quality of future UH teams ebbs and flows.
10. No more interminable waits in trying to leave the stadium at the end of a game.

At last I can stay at home, invite enough friends to watch the game on pay-per-view for maybe $1 or $2 per head, drink water from a bottle that has a cap on it so it won't spill, have (maybe) an extra beer in the fourth quarter and get a good night's sleep while my retirement portfolio continues to earn interest.

Ahhhhhh. The good life.

Don't deny us American Dream

I found Ray Soon's comments on the repeal of Chapter 38 interesting but do suspect him of bias since he is the vice president for community relations and communications of the largest landowner in Hawai'i, Kamehameha Schools (Island Voices, Jan. 21).

I am not sure that his argument that the end justifies the means is a valid one. Taking away the rights of a "handful of people," as he calls it, justifies the "greater public purpose."

I fail to understand why the funds derived from releasing land from Hawai'i's largest land monopoly cannot be invested and used for their intended purposes, and if it only affects a small number of properties, it shouldn't have much impact anyway.

I am most amazed, however, in Kimo Kalama's statement in the Feb. 1 paper that limiting homeownership is part of our "free and democratic society." If he means America, he needs a history lesson.

First, Chapter 38 was only an attempt to extend a law already on Hawai'i's books. That was the Land Reform Act of 1967. That, too, was vehemently opposed by Kamehameha predecessor Bishop Estate.

If Mr. Kalama owns the property under his home, it is probably because of that law. If an individual homeowner can own the land beneath his house, why shouldn't a condo owner be afforded that same right?

Second, homeownership is as basic to our tenets of democracy as any other freedom. The founding of a "new nation" was by immigrants from Europe escaping the tyranny of land barons and royal families who monopolized the land for centuries. Even in early America, only landowners were allowed to vote.

Landownership became the "American Dream." That dream was so precious that land was given away to settlers of the West. I do not discount the fact that this was at a great cost to the Native American Indian, but it is history, and it is part of our legacy. In 1959, it also became part of Hawai'i's legacy.

Has the American Dream diminished over the years? Here is an excerpt from a speech given June 17, 2002: "I do believe in the American Dream. I believe there is such a thing as the American Dream. And I believe those of us who have been given positions of responsibility must do everything we can to spotlight the dream and to make sure the dream shines in all neighborhoods, all throughout our country. Owning a home is a part of that dream, it just is. Right here in America, if you own your own home, you're realizing the American Dream."

That speech was given by George W. Bush.

So, Mr. Soon and Mr. Kalama, you may have Hawai'i issues that need to be addressed. But do not do it by trampling on the rights of your citizens and certainly do not do it in the name of freedom and democracy.