Rude rejections deter us from coming back

If the Department of Parks and Recreation really wants more residents to visit Hanauma Bay, it could talk to its sometimes hostile and impolite people who rather abruptly refuse many drivers permission to turn off Kalaniana'ole Highway and drive down to the parking lot.

These parking people claim that the lot is full, yet many cars are seen to be leaving, while few others if any are allowed to replace them.

We've been refused entry on four separate occasions, so like many other local residents, we don't bother to even try to go to Hanauma Bay anymore.

Be careful in setting liquor panel blame

It is amusing to see people (i.e., City Councilman Charles Djou) stating that the Liquor Commission issues are strictly the result of mismanagement and that management reform is the cure-all. It is always easy to point the blame at management when things are not going as smoothly.

But the public needs to know the full story and understand that Administrator Wallace Weatherwax and chief investigator John Carroll are victims as well.

While both individuals may have had a hand in hiring the convicted investigators, the city's human resources unit also was involved. The convicted investigators betrayed the trust and confidence of everyone. However, you don't see anyone (i.e., Mr. Djou) calling for the removal of the city's human resources personnel.

When individuals have larceny in them, they will commit larceny. This is true no matter what position you have. Proof is in all the HPD officers lately arrested for crimes. But you don't see anyone calling for the chief of police to resign. That would be ridiculous.

The Honolulu Advertiser editorial of April 15 suggests a solution of everyone (Liquor Commission, City Council, mayor) working closer together to streamline things. Sounds good, but let's also ensure that Mr. Djou and the City Council adequately fund and support the Liquor Commission and Administrator Weatherwax so that any necessary procedural changes can be quickly and properly implemented.

Hawai'i's economy isn't all that booming

Hawai'i's economy is hardly booming. Our government uses unemployment statistics and housing sales as lead indicators of the marvelous job it is performing. Meanwhile, the uninsured rate is 10 percent, the cost of housing forces families to sleep on the streets and state hospitals are being defunded.

It's very divisive to measure an economy with an unemployment rate that merely includes the people who collect benefits. It doesn't include those who have lost their benefits, those who only have part-time work or are parents working for minimum wages. We have one of the lowest rates in the nation, yet there is an exodus of professional workers who cannot afford to live here.

Housing sales have benefited banks and Realtors, but many of us are wondering how to keep a roof over our heads. Property taxes are being re-evaluated to measure up to unrealistic prices few are prepared to pay. Homeownership is good for an economy, but we rank among the lowest in the nation.

Our Hawai'i is changing for the worse because we are allowing ourselves to be lied to. Next time you see a homeless family about to be vacated from a public park, ask them if the economy is booming.

Abercrombie anti-war views coming to fore

Once again, Rep. Neil Abercrombie has shown his true colors. He and several other congressional representatives have demanded that President Bush remove our military from Iraq in 2006.

His hate for the military and its ability to succeed has bothered him ever since his protest of the Vietnam War, which included his occupying a building on the UH campus in 1969. His protests over Vietnam, which instilled in our enemy the will to continue on and eventually win against the United States, is now his intention in Iraq.

By giving our enemy a timetable as to when they can expect us to leave, it gives them the ability to know when to build up their forces and make their move to take over the newly elected democratic government in Iraq.

If Rep. Abercrombie, who, by the way, never served one day in the armed forces himself, thinks that by telling our enemy when would be a good time to destroy all the work that the military has done and to sacrifice for nothing all the lives that have been lost, he should resign from the House Committee on the Armed Services.

Oooops, he can't do that, otherwise he couldn't appropriate all that money for all the military spending in Hawai'i. What a dilemma for an aspiring politician: money for Hawai'i so he can get re-elected or support the troops. I think he has made his decision.

Buses need better security for riders

I think that for the security of the public, we may need to add security on city buses and school buses. This is the most effective way to deter crime and protect the riders.

I have seen several uncivilized activities on the bus lately. Women, children, the elderly and the handicapped will be thankful for this very necessary service.

Though there are many buses and the budget may be tight, with better management and reduction of some of the useless routes, we may resolve this matter for the people of the city.

Forget cigarettes and focus on drugs

Here we go again. The state will license cigarette sellers and spend thousands of dollars to monitor and investigate cigarette dealers while the usual drug and marijuana dealers have sold their products in the same places on Kuhio and Kalakaua in Waikiki every night for several years.

I seriously doubt that they "card" their buyers.

They have no need for a business or cigarette sales license and are apparently exempt from the fines and penalties applied to legitimate businesses trapped in stings for selling to underage buyers.

It appears that the state's precious revenue tax is far more important than making any attempt to curb the flagrant and illegal marijuana sales in Waikiki.

Tax vehicles with more than 6 cylinders

Who needs more than six cylinders to get around any of the islands or over any of the island mountains?

Before or during negotiations for mass transit, we need a law to discourage bringing in any car, truck or commercial or non-commercial vehicle that is more than six cylinders. Anyone licensing a vehicle of more than six cylinders should be subject to an initial fee of $1,000 and an annual fee of at least $500. This includes car dealers, shipping lines, individuals, businesses, etc.

The fees would generate income to repair the existing roads, pay for patrols on the existing highways and go toward matching federal funding for mass transit.

Results of the fee would be less consumption of gasoline, less pollution and, perhaps, fewer cars on the road.

Rescue crew no ka 'oi

I hope everyone realizes that if Patrick Hannon of Massachusetts had been jet-skiing in the Caribbean, he would not have had the incredible rescue resources that the United States and the state of Hawai'i provided him.

Forget naysayers; transit is viable and needed on O'ahu

Cliff Slater's June 13 column on transit projects raises some interesting points, but I have to question the assessment that other jurisdictions are rejecting rail projects.

Since 1993, to my knowledge, new rail-transit systems have opened in 17 American cities. Three thousand miles of new track have been added in the same time frame. During the 1990s, transit ridership increased by 28 percent nationwide, making transit the fastest growing of all transportation sectors.

Earlier this spring, when Congressman Neil Abercrombie and the other members of our delegation in Washington successfully added Honolulu to the list of cities seeking rail funding, we were one of over 120 jurisdictions seeking federal help for nearly 200 projects nationwide. It is this kind of competition for federal dollars that makes passage of the City Council's Bill 40, implementing a surcharge on the general excise tax for the City & County of Honolulu, so critical. To obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, Honolulu has to demonstrate a local funding commitment.

Some are concerned that we don't have a detailed plan in place. Let's not use this fear to block our chances of getting federal dollars. The federal process allows for time to develop a sound plan. In fact, the federal alternatives analysis is the process by which a detailed plan is selected.

At this stage, the Federal Transit Administration does not care whether the Pearlridge stop is going to be at the corner of Pali Momi and Kam Highway or whether it is going to be at the corner of Moanalua Road and Kaonohi. What the FTA does care about is whether we are serious about funding rail. Unless we want to address our traffic problems with 100 percent local money, we need federal help. To get federal money, the GET increase is essential.

As much as anyone, I want Hawai'i to remain the special place it is, but I do not see rail as challenging our unique sense of place. More so, I am concerned about the quality of life for our people, especially young families who live in Central and West O'ahu. It is time to build a rail system that gets us to where we want to go in a reasonable length of time, and allows us to spend our time in the ways we used to before we sat in traffic for hours every day.

New Hope's heart in canoe hale

Thank you for the recent article "Church's offer: Trade cleanup for park space," highlighting the good intentions of New Hope. While I appreciated the reporter's thoroughness in trying to get me to comment, I declined, knowing we hadn't finalized the proposal. However, since he went ahead with the article, I'd like to offer a balancing perspective.

What was raised as an issue was the "exclusive use" of a canoe hale in a state park. To clarify, the proposal as drafted has no reference to "exclusivity of use" of the hale. Let me share some background.

New Hope first responded to the state's urgent pleas earlier this year for the public to get involved in helping to clean and maintain our public parks. We called the Department of Land and Natural Resources to see if there was a way that we could help out. Our heart was simply to help, nothing more, nothing less.

We looked at fulfilling an existing program, the Curator Program, by stepping in and helping. We discovered that these programs, however well-intentioned, still fell short. For example, at the Sand Island State Park, there are long-neglected baseball fields that have not been used for years.

Therefore, we arrived at forming a "kokua partnership" in which a nonprofit organization such as ours would provide "sweat equity" in exchange for use of resources. It would be a new program that could be arranged between any nonprofit for any other state park that needed volunteers.

New Hope also agreed to not only clean the park but to build a facility at no cost to the state, and then donate the facility to the state for the public's use. By doing so, this would enhance the park's usefulness and create life within the park.

The unfortunate truth is that the state has downsized both its budget and staff. New Hope has stepped forward to willingly make its resources — volunteers — available to help the state accomplish its public purpose.

We chose Sand Island State Park because it's in our neighborhood. Simple as that. In addition to the schools, parks and housing projects that we've helped throughout the last three years through our Spirit of Aloha community campaign, this park was a natural next step. (Our offices are located on Sand Island Access Road, and this makes us proud to be "Kalihi kids.")

That is the heart behind this "arrangement," which honestly is an open proposal to provide help.

As for the issue of the two canoe hales, we are financing them at our own expense with no ownership interest or rights to exclusive use attached.

The bottom line: New Hope's heart has always been to resource the community. In any way possible. This is an endeavor that would partner with the state to do that.