Use GET to build Second City, not rail

I do not favor a GET increase, but since our state Legislature, the mayor and the City Council all appear to favor this measure, it should not be spent on a rail system, which would not solve the traffic problems and would be a continuing expense, as operating costs will never be covered by the revenue generated by riders.

Instead, the money should be used to construct the buildings and infrastructure to house all city and state (including the University of Hawai'i) offices and classrooms and functions in Leeward O'ahu. This would cause a significant amount of the present traffic flowing into downtown Honolulu to head westward in the mornings and eastward in the afternoon and evenings.

A somewhat related suggestion would be to provide city and state service functions in two shifts, thereby providing the public more and longer service time accessibility and better use of buildings and allow for secondary traffic alleviation due to differing work and customer hours.

It is painful to see our tax dollars spent on an idea that will not solve the problem and will be a continuing burden. To date, no one can pinpoint the cost of the rail system, the operating costs and the anticipated ridership and fewer cars coming eastward into downtown. On the other hand, it can be definitively determined how many government workers and students would be heading westward, and what the cost of buildings and infrastructure would be.

News still important despite lack of interest

I live in a Middle Eastern country with official state sponsorship of the Islamic faith. Despite that fact, even the newspapers here cover events of religious significance to non-Muslims.

Should The Honolulu Advertiser drop its coverage of religious news just because Steve Vaspra (Letters, May 22) and a few other readers are uninterested?

By this logic, we should eliminate the sports page, as some readers do not enjoy sports. We should also eliminate the business page, as some readers don't really like business. Military news? Gone. Environmental news? History. Surf report? Out of the question.

Religious news is significant in the lives of many of our island residents and visitors. While not Catholic, I enjoy reading about the marvelous men and women who have made an impact in the state. I enjoy hearing about the visit of the Mormon prophet to BYU-Hawai'i. I enjoy learning about the efforts to aid the homeless sponsored by local pastors.

The coverage of such events adds value as I try to stay in touch with Hawai'i. Thanks, Honolulu Advertiser, for covering all of the news.

Being popular can lead to your death

Do you think the commercials on television and in magazines work toward preventing smoking? I don't think so. There are numerous commercials on TV that talk about the hazards of smoking. However, the message is often confusing and not very clear.

If this is the case, the advertising campaigns waste a lot of money. Smoking is very expensive and people are doing crazy things just to support the habit. I often see people digging in ashtrays and looking on the ground for partly smoked cigarettes. That is sad and disgusting.

Some teens start smoking for the popularity. What is scary is that oftentimes teens start for popularity and then they get addicted for life. Or death.

Akaka bill best way to address all issues

There should not be more local hearings regarding the Akaka bill (Senate Bill 147). Further hearings would be fruitless, I believe, because if residents didn't go before, they will probably not in the future. Elected government officials are paid to lead us and sometimes must make tough decisions that indecisive residents cannot figure out.

From the commentaries of May 1 and the April 10 printout of the Akaka bill, I believe that I, a non-Native Hawaiian resident, know enough to support the bill's advancement in Congress. Clearly, I see that the status quo is unacceptable for the indigenous people of Hawai'i. The structured negotiation process led by the Native Hawaiian governing entity proposed by the bill will be able to address issues affecting all residents of Hawai'i resulting from the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom.

I can see that the bill cannot — and therefore does not — propose a predetermined outcome regarding Native Hawaiian issues (requirements regarding jurisdiction and membership criteria, for example) but rather proposes the establishment of a tangible governing process that can.

It appears to me that the Akaka bill is the means to the establishment of a new, more equitable Hawai'i.