FERRIES

CHEAPER COMMUTE LIES JUST OFFSHORE OF O'AHU

A $1 billion more efficient solution to O'ahu's traffic woes lies just a mile or so makai of the proposed $4 billion fixed-rail mass-transit system route.

For $500 million, the city could buy 10 1,000-seat, high-speed passenger-only ferries to move up to 30,000 commuters morning and evening along O'ahu's Leeward coast from Hawai'i Kai to Ko Olina.

Ferries operating up to 40 knots would make the longest runs between East and West O'ahu and Downtown locations in less than 30 minutes — most in less than 20 minutes.

Routes and schedules are adjusted according to demand. As the demand grows, even more ferries could be purchased.

The other $500 million would go for basic ferry docking facilities fed by shuttle buses at Ko Olina, Iroquois Point and Waipi'o and Pearl City peninsulas in Pearl Harbor, the Honolulu Airport and Kalihi Kai, Kewalo Harbor, Ala Wai Harbor and Hawai'i Kai. Businesses could lease dockside areas for commercial ventures.

It's one-fourth the cost of rail and could start as soon as the first boats are purchased, avoiding condemnation of private property and traffic and noise problems resulting from the years of construction of a fixed-rail system.

A $5 one-way ferry ticket generates up to $5,000 a trip, more than enough to cover operating costs and repayment of bonds. It's certainly a lot cheaper for those who now crawl in 20-mile-per-$3.30-per-gallon cars to and from work and pay for parking.

A strong O'ahu earthquake could render a rail system useless for years, while ferries would be unaffected. Ferries would be able to go to sea to dodge a hurricane or tsunami and return to help in disaster relief.

It's time for a bold, logical, cheaper and quicker solution to O'ahu's critical traffic problem.

RAIL DECISION

WE SOON WILL START TO SOUND MORE LIKE NYC

As a displaced New Yorker, I always knew there was something missing here in paradise.

It couldn't be the 6 a.m. banging and beeping of garbage trucks; we have that in Honolulu. It couldn't be the din of EMS and fire truck sirens reverberating off of high-rise buildings at all hours; we have that in Honolulu. It couldn't be the incessant blare of car alarms throughout the day; we have that in Honolulu.

Reading the Saturday paper about the steel-on-steel rail decision, I realized what was missing was the screeching and rumbling of the New York City subways; but now we are going to have that too in Honolulu.

It will replicate Brooklyn exactly, with the overhead deafening blast of noise every time a train goes by overhead or the high-pitched grating of brakes as the trains come into stations.

In fact, the decision might also help solve the affordable housing problem; apartment prices will tumble near the rail lines, just as in New York, so areas along, for example, Salt Lake Boulevard could become tenement housing.

Now if only people would start honking their horns, the effect would be complete.

HAWAIIANS

CEDED LAND SETTLEMENT INADEQUATE AND UNFAIR

As a non-Hawaiian, I think the ceded land settlement is inadequate and unfair.

The state and non-Hawaiians like myself have benefited from the use of ceded/crown lands all these years, and with this settlement we will be getting off way too easy.

If the settlement is approved by the Legislature, the attorney general claims the state will "gain" by living up to what it was supposed to be doing since 1959 (and especially since 1978) and hasn't been doing: providing for the betterment of Hawaiians with 20 percent of the revenues generated from ceded Hawaiian crown lands.

How can getting rid of this revenue-sharing and barring past and future legal enforcement be considered fulfilling this obligation?

How can doing what the state was supposed to be doing from the beginning but not doing all this time be considered a "gain" to the state? Sounds like "cheap grace" to me, and an attempt to absolve the guilt and responsibilities of the state and non-Hawaiians who continue to benefit from the forcible taking of Hawaiian lands with little benefit to Hawaiians.

I urge non-Hawaiians to not settle for "cheap grace," but to listen to and work with Hawaiians to address their needs on their terms, because this is Hawaiian land that we live on, and we must recognize our responsibilities.

SUPERDELEGATE

INOUYE KNOWS OBAMA NOT RIGHT CANDIDATE

Lee Cataluna's Feb. 24 column on Sen. Daniel Inouye's support of Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination process was an interesting read. She doesn't understand why he would go against the results of the Hawai'i caucus in support of Sen. Barack Obama.

Sen. Inouye supports Clinton because he knows Obama is not the right person to lead this nation in what may turn out to be the most dangerous time facing our nation.

"Experience" trumps "hope" anytime. Sen. Inouye knows that. I challenge your readers to come up with anything Obama has done in the Senate. I "hope" you can.

My grandfather had a saying. "Wish in one hand and spit in the other — see which one gets full faster."

By the way, I am a Republican and will vote for the Republican candidate based on national security issues alone. Just thought I would throw in an outsider's view.

ADVERTISER

MISUSE OF HAWAIIAN WORD DISAPPOINTING

I am extremely disappointed in The Honolulu Advertiser for continuing to publish headlines referring to "Kam Schools" (www.honoluluadvertiser.com, Feb. 26).

In this day and age where the Hawaiian language is thriving, young newscasters properly pronounce Hawaiian words and children can be heard speaking their native tongue, can't we all put a little effort into pronouncing Hawaiian words correctly?

Continuing to print the mispronunciation of Hawaiian words only perpetuates wrong information.

ROADWAYS

DON'T BLAME ROAD CREWS FOR POTHOLES

Road construction crews are held to high standards and are not the cause of the potholes on our roads. ("Better construction is best pothole solution," Letters, Feb. 25)

Potholes are caused by failures in the layers beneath the paved surface. Heavy truck traffic, higher wheel loads, lack of drainage beneath the pavement and poor subgrade material are the main reasons our roads are in bad shape.

Due to high material cost, the city does not have the money to remove and replace pavements down to the base.

The most cost-effective solution is threefold:

1) Recycle the road material in place to address base and subgrade problems.

2) Use permable pavements on the edges of roadways to improve drainage.

3) After two years, apply a rubberized seal coat to preserve and protect the pavement.

STATE DID NOT OFFER FULL REIMBURSEMENT

The following is information I want to share with anyone who might be involved in a pothole incident.

On Jan. 6, I had an incident while driving on Kamehameha Highway. My vehicle's front tire went into a pothole, which caused my tire to be demolished and threw the wheel alignment off.

I filed a claim with the state for reimbursement for the tire and wheel alignment expenses, which amounted to $228.96.

The response to my claim was: "The state is willing to offer $63.07 in settlement of your claim. This amount represents 50 percent depreciation for normal wear and tear for one tire and two wheel alignments as your vehicle was 13 years old at the time of the incident."

This information is being shared with you in the event that you fall into a similar situation.

COCKFIGHTING

PRAISE FOR HANDLING OF LOCAL SMUGGLING CASE

Hawai'i lays claim to the nation's first case involving the alleged smuggling of cockfighting paraphernalia under the new Animal Fighting Prohibition Act.

This federal law forbids the transport of cockfighting equipment between states, as well as between the U.S. and other countries.

On behalf of more than 20,000 supporters, the Hawaiian Humane Society praises the efforts of our federal justice system, from the Customs officials who found gaffs, allegedly smuggled by Joseph Marty Toralba, at the Honolulu International Airport to the U.S. District Attorney's office that is vigilantly pursuing the case.

If not for the diligence of federal law enforcement, this would simply be another law with no teeth. Instead, a grand jury indicted Toralba, which we hope leads to a conviction with maximum penalties.

We also hope it spurs the Honolulu Police Department to launch its own intensive investigation into Toralba's Hawai'i connections. With the seizure of 263 gaffs, hundreds of animals' lives will be saved from violent and inhumane deaths, and the prevention of millions in illegal, untaxed gambling dollars from changing hands.

This case illustrates how prevalent cockfighting is in our aloha state and the imperative role of federal and local law enforcement.

With the Animal Fighting Prohibition Act, law enforcement will finally have the tool to bring an end to this cruel bloodsport and extend aloha not only to our people but also to our animals.