City has not done away with the E bus route

Errant reports persist that the city has done away with the E bus route, which runs between Iwilei and Waikiki.

The city is still providing service on the E route, but without the expensive new hybrid buses that kicked off E-route service late last year.

The city spent $8 million to buy those 10 hybrid buses, and they're going to cost another $3.6 million to operate just this year.

In order to make better use of that money, Mayor Mufi Hannemann ordered that those buses be redeployed to the more heavily used A route, the express run between Waipahu and the University of Hawai'i.

Ridership on the E route has been building, but it is still below the levels that would justify using the high-capacity hybrid buses on that line.

Before the E route is discontinued, the city would have to hold a public hearing and give the public an opportunity to comment.

Meanwhile, service is continuing on the E route with other buses in the city fleet.

Get your act together on highways, byways

Why does it take us twice the time to complete work on our highways, roads and byways when in the same time on the Mainland freeways are being built from California to Las Vegas?

We drivers are enduring a lot of grief for reasons that can and should be known. It's getting pretty tiring, not to mention expensive, dealing with this dilemma.

The Department of Transportation and the Legislature should start getting their hands dirty to find a solution to the mess we're in. Hint, build the roads before building the subdivisions. Let's get it right for once!

Royal Hawaiian Band getting best director

A few words in support of Michael Nakasone.

While the requirement of language fluency is fine, it doesn't necessarily mean that one understands the culture.

A keiki o ka 'aina from the Big Island and former classmate in the Hilo public schools and Hilo High, Michael Nakasone is bright, has a background in Neighbor Island culture and will easily be able to resource additional Hawaiian music history.

He is unassuming, friendly and musically talented. We have all been proud of him over the years as a Hilo boy who made good.

The Royal Hawaiian Band could not get a better director.

Tiny Tots program should be restored

On preschool education, decades-ago studies showed that beginning children's schooling at 7 rather than 5 was preferable. Now the hype is for preschool.

In my day, kindergarten was a half-day fun introduction to school. Today the fun is gone, and preschoolers are expected to already know what we learned at 5.

However, in the long run, the educational level achieved by those of us who learned our ABCs in kindergarten or first grade was higher than what I see coming out of the preschool generation. The early institutionalization of preschoolers is detrimental to personal development. Even 5-year-olds have difficulty sitting and learning, as they are now required to do for long periods of time.

In the early '80s, the City and County of Honolulu had the wonderful Tiny Tots program. It was held at park facilities for two hours twice a week for 3- to 5-year-olds. It included teaching preschool skills, fun activities, crafts and a snack time. Parents could stay and observe, or go shopping.

My children who attended those classes learned all the preschool skills easily, without having to be institutionalized. The program met its demise when Kamehameha Preschools took over with the program of getting parents to play with their kids.

The closure of the Tiny Tots program was a real disservice to the community. Reopening that program would be far preferable to requiring all 4-year-olds to attend preschools, and considerably cheaper.

Drop-off stations must be plentiful

Whatever the estimated cost for the proposed rail system may be, acceptable ridership numbers hinge on accessibility.

Realistically, additional cost will come in the form of more drop-off stations along the entire route, every six blocks or so. Not everyone enjoys a three-block walk to work during bad weather or if suffering a physical handicap.

I think it is only human nature that if these stations are fewer and farther between, people might just say "forget it!"

Rail transit? Hah!

If our state and city governments can't even provide basic road maintenance, how in the world can we believe they would be able to maintain a rail transit system?

Sprinkler tax credit runs for five years

I am a proponent of public safety. That is why I introduced a bill to provide a 25 percent tax credit for residents who install a sprinkler system in their older apartment complex.

It is not a measly 5 percent credit as stated on the front page of your paper Feb. 11. House Bill 1448 HD1 offers an apartment owner a 5 percent credit every year for five years. The credit would be capped at $1,000 per year, for a maximum possible credit of $5,000. I believe that is a substantial incentive.

This bill is not mandating any apartment complex install a sprinkler system; it is still up to each owner to decide if he wants to make the substantial investment.

The argument against the retrofit has always swirled around cost. I hope this credit will finally tip the scales in favor of preserving property and human life.

Longtime recyclers are being ripped off

Something is not right with the recycling law. Previously, I took four or five 40-gallon plastic bags filled with the crushed aluminum cans and received about $15 from a recycling truck. Now, I pay an additional 6 cents for each canned soda and am reimbursed 5 cents per can. So I lose 1 cent and am not paid anything for the aluminum scrap.

How come the public is not aware that we are being ripped off and no outcry is made? Are our legislators being paid off by the scrap-metal companies? Or where is the money going?

Moloka'i 'infected' by Santa Claus 'virus'

In response to Andrew Gomes' Jan. 28 story "Land offering splits Moloka'i":

According to the McAfee Computer Virus Software and Internet Security Web site: " ... viruses are often disguised ... that causes an unexpected, usually negative event."

The McAfee virus has "infected" Moloka'i. It has been "detected" under the guise of Santa Claus, bearing gifts to Moloka'i. This virus claims that he is not a virus but a true Santa Claus. The "intrusion" of this virus is exactly what we've been trying to "prevent" on Moloka'i for all these years.

I hope we can find the "software" to get rid of this dangerous virus.

Kaiser policy change raises key concern

The community owes Advertiser staff writer Deborah Adamson high marks for reporting on the story ("Kaiser sets new fees," Jan. 22) of Kaiser Permanente's recent policy change: shifting 10 percent of costs for diagnostics to consumers.

In the article, a Kaiser spokesman was quoted saying, "When you have to pay more, you become a smarter consumer." But, does paying more assure better healthcare and lower costs in the long run?

Kaiser claims to be a "health maintenance" organization. To achieve the best health status, accurate diagnosis and timely treatment are critical. Are Kaiser consumers going to be thinking, "I can't afford to pay for an MRI, so do I really need that test?" Or, "I have chest pain, but if I go to the ER, I'll have all the high technology and high co-shares, so I guess I'll wait and see how I feel in the morning."

Does this change the dialogue between healthcare provider and patient? As a Kaiser member, I believe so.

On the positive side, Kaiser can now use this revenue stream, in part, to help assure that its practitioners have the best practices available to make better decisions about what diagnostic tests are needed and offer incentives to those meeting their health promotion goals.

Patients should still be part of the discussion about medical trade-offs, but being a "smart-pocketbook" consumer shouldn't be the driving factor about when to come in and what tests to order.

VA widow's pension should be increased

The death of dozens of Hawai'i-based Marines and soldiers should bring to all our minds what will happen to their wives now that they are gone.

The administration is proposing raising the death benefit from $12,000 to $250,000 for troops killed in combat since 9/11. This looks and sounds good, but it is not a true help.

To truly do something for the families left behind, the administration should instead raise the VA widow's pension to at least $2,000 from its current $993. Such an increase would constitute a living wage in most of the United States, and an increase for every widow would lift many out of the poverty they are currently in and prevent new widows from entering poverty.

Better preparation needed in Waikiki for tsunami

I have a small business in the International Marketplace in Waikiki, so trying to find a safe place in case of a tsunami is a real concern. I am over 60, a bit overweight and never was much of a runner, so when I read that a landslide on the Big Island could generate a tsunami that would reach us in 20 minutes, I tried to find a place within a 15-minute range of my shop.

I am not very happy with the results of my search.

I went to several hotels within range and attempted to get higher than three stories, only to find that: the elevators were very slow and hold only a small number of people; the stairs to get up to the higher floors are locked on the outside and are for exit only; several of the hotels have escalators with slow and narrow up tracks and very difficult or limited access stairs.

I asked hotel staff what their emergency procedures were in case of a tsunami, and not one of them had a clear answer. They had not been told to lock or unlock stairs, nor did they have any clear policy in case a mob tried to get upstairs, but they felt that guards would probably make sure that guests were up first.

I was not able to locate anyone who knew of any plans to put up signs showing clear evacuation routes. Most of the hotels and restaurants had no policy or interest in making room for people from the streets or nearby stores.

I am concerned that we are sending so much money to the tsunami victims and that perhaps some of those funds should be used to get our own island prepared. We need civil defense plans to kick into gear at the first sign of a tsunami. Here are my suggestions:

• Signs on poles that point directions to up-ramps to parking garages that would quickly drain a lot of traffic to the upper floors. (Many of them are on back alleys or side streets and not obvious to visitors.)

• Policies and training for designated hotel staff that would: have them unlock stairs to upper floors and place signs in the lobby showing various ways to get up; have them aid in elevator evacuation; have and maintain emergency supplies, water, food, medical kits; have them trained in CPR and first-aid response; and have regular evacuation drills.

We cannot use the excuse of "We didn't think it would happen" or the shameful excuse "We don't have the funds." We will have plenty of money when we are the recipients of the next tsunami donation fund.