RAIL TRANSIT

START TRAIN FROM ALOHA STADIUM TO ALA MOANA

AN ECO-FRIENDLY KIND OF CONVENIENT TRAVEL

Before coming to the University of San Francisco, public transportation never played a big role in my life. Now that I am without a car, however, every destination is reached by foot or public transit.

Mass transit needs a mass schedule. San Francisco's equivalent public transit both the BART and MUNI schedules are convenient so I can plan my trips around the Bay Area to my own accord. O'ahu's new transit system needs to be equally convenient, and goes where people need to go, and arrive often.

One thing I have learned in San Francisco about change is the need to spread the message. Keeping our islands' natural habitat intact has always been a concern with many locals, and since the passage of the new railway bill on O'ahu, that topic has come up once again.

People are making decisions based on the effect they will have on the environment, so locals should look at using the railway as the preservation of the Earth's environment. According to the BART Web site, it costs 19 cents a mile on the BART, while it costs 69 cents for gas money. If the new transit system is a hit, O'ahu's traffic problem will begin to dissipate, and the carbon dioxide emissions from O'ahu will decrease.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS

FEDERAL INVESTMENT CAN PULL US THROUGH

Tracy Ryan (Dec. 20) plays a bit fast and loose with the data in making her argument against a federal stimulus package. In using the 1930s as an example, she states "during the 1929 to 1932 contraction, government spending as a percent of gross private sector product rose from about 14 percent to about 24 percent."If we take "gross private sector product" to be gross domestic product, it is very easy to see why that percentage increased: gross domestic product declined by one-third in that time period while government spending stayed roughly the same.

As for her argument that government spending does not stimulate the economy, she need only look at what eventually pulled the U.S. out of the Depression — a massive military buildup paid for with federal dollars. The government in the 1930s, even under Roosevelt, clearly didn't spend enough to provide a stimulus.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a modern stimulus program that seeks to create jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure and pointing us in a positive sustainable direction? It would certainly be better than doing virtually nothing, which was Herbert Hoover's approach, and we all know how effective that was.

BUSH

IRAQIS ANGRY AT LAME-DUCK PRESIDENT

"Lame Duck" took on new meaning when "Duck, Mr. President" was yelled while an angry Iraqi threw his shoes at him. Mr. Bush was lucky that shoes were all that were thrown at him.

No wonder Iraqis are angry — more than 1 million dead and more than 2 million refugees; the military and security companies getting away with murder; the infrastructure in shambles.

I'm sure that every single family in Iraq has been affected by the invasion. How come Americans are not objecting to this president and his cronies bringing the U.S. to a national and international low?

Nixon and Clinton were charged with lesser crimes! Are Bush and his gang going to get away with their crimes? If we let this happen, we deserve more than shoes.

HAWAIIAN TELCOM

DEBT OVERRIDING CAUSE FOR BANKRUPTCY FILING

The Dec. 13 letter about the Hawaiian Telcom bankruptcy is another example of jumping to conclusions without knowledge of all the facts.

Whatever the merits of the comments about the IBEW, there was one overriding cause for the bankruptcy, which was the debt left Hawaiian Telcom by the Carlyle Group after the buyout from Verizon.

As is typical in these situations, Carlyle essentially left Hawaiian Telcom to pay off the debt incurred for the cost of the buyout. This is a major burden for a company struggling to survive.

It should have been clear to everybody that Verizon did not sell off their Hawaiian entity because they were such a major contributor to the bottom line. They did so because the land-line business is going away, and I am sure that they did not pump a lot of money to bring either the equipment nor the infrastructure up to mint condition before the sale. So Hawaiian Telcom has to do this to stay in business.

I am surprised that The Advertiser publishes such letters without editorial comment as they tend to spread misinformation about a company that provided the only means of communication right after the earthquake. They and the union deserve better.

LIGHTS

MAHALO FOR FIXING TENNIS COURT LIGHTS

A huge mahalo to the Leeward District Office of the Department of Parks and Recreation, and to the Department of Transportation! For years, many light bulbs at the Pearlridge Park tennis courts in 'Aiea were either burned out or flickered on and off through dirty light covers. This low level of light often made it difficult for tennis players to see the ball race by while they squinted with their aging eyes.

A few of us recently decided to call the Leeward District Office, which came through with flying colors by coordinating with the Department of Transportation to lift the cranes, replace the bulbs, and clean the covers. Now, playing at night is much more fun, safe, and cooler than playing during the day! Young and older eyes and hearts will now swell with joy and pride that you show a sincere interest in our local neighborhood park. Thank you again, and Happy Holidays to each and every one of you!