KOLEA

KRAUSS REMINDS US TO INDULGE IN NATURE

Truly a letter to the editor and not the public in general, I wanted to thank you for Bob Krauss.

Where I grew up in the Northeast, my hometown paper had a column called "Tracks and Trails," reporting on the local wildlife scene — the comings and goings of eagles, for example, or the recent changes in water temperature and what affect it might be having on local fishermen. Bob's column serves a similar function here on O'ahu.

I suspect many people find his reports on the congregating of kolea far more interesting than the rundown on the latest drug problems of some overindulged actor. Bob reminds me to look out the window — or to listen closely at sunset — ah, yes, the call of the kolea.

Thanks for continuing to publish this man's work. It's appreciated.

SATURATION

WE MUST IMPLEMENT SLOW-GROWTH POLICIES

I do not believe that Hawai'i is the sort of place that is physically, geographically or culturally conducive to fixed rail.

Proponents see the necessity of fixed rail as the only way of accommodating O'ahu's ever-increasing growth. A far better solution would be to simply stop the growth itself. There is absolutely no reason we have to "Californicate" Hawai'i just because that's what has happened in so many parts of the Mainland.

O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i are basically at saturation already. State and county authorities in those areas should be looking at every legal means to implement slow-growth policies immediately.

Lee Cataluna has done an excellent job of focusing on this larger issue in her recent columns regarding the rail/growth issue.

We are fortunate to have perhaps the most beautiful place in the world to call home. There is absolutely no need for us to allow unbridled growth in our fragile Islands just because "everybody else does."

We need to loosen up on allowing more local-style 'ohana units, and a bit more affordable housing, in order to keep our keiki from being "brain-drained" away to the Mainland — but that's about it.

Hawai'i managed to dodge the "overpopulation/congestion" bullet for almost a decade during the '90s due to the simple fact that our local economy was so bad that as many people were forced to move away as moved in. But the situation will be dramatically different during this next decade as millions of baby boomers retire and realize they would rather live in a tropical paradise rather than an overcrowded Mainland.

The time to slow growth is now.

LANIAKEA BEACH

OFFICIALS MUST START PROTECTING SEA TURTLES

It was disturbing to read about the increased number of people who are going to Laniakea Beach to view sea turtles ("Turtle jams trouble North Shore," Aug. 25). Sea turtles are a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and yet people have been seen feeding, crowding, touching, even sitting on them.

State or federal officials need to start making their presence known at this beach to educate people about the sea turtles and to enforce the law.

SPORTSMANSHIP

LITTLE LEAGUE PLAYERS SHOWED THEIR TRUE GRIT

The spirit of aloha lives on in our little big men of the West O'ahu Little League team. Not only did they touch the hearts of Hawai'i, but the entire United States and the world.

I was filled with pride when they won, but I believe that the best part that demonstrated this team's soul was when they graciously accepted the controversial call at the home plate. The team did not dwell on the call, nor did it stop their spirit. Instead, they kept their focus, their determination, to do what they went there for, and that was to win.

I hope these little big men continue this admirable sportsmanship into their adulthood as it truly reflects the excellent parenting and coaching skills that they had received. Mahalo nui loa, and may each and every one of them go on to more victories.

TEAMWORK

WORLD CHAMPIONS TAUGHT US A LESSON

The 'Ewa Beach Little League baseball team magically transformed a field of dreams into a delightful classroom for all. They played with passion, skill, instinct and respect for the rules of the game — established rules for all to learn and implement.

It's on the playing field that most human beings first encounter their competitive and instinctual natures. Baseball is the diamond of team sports. It encourages players to think first of the team as the greater whole and to help other players reach beyond their perceived limitations.

Mahalo nui to coach Layton Aliviado and his team for enlightening the child in each of us. Hana hou!

FUEL USE

GAS STATIONS SHOULD PROVIDE TIRE PUMPS

Peter Rosegg of HECO is absolutely right that proper inflation of tires is a factor in gasoline use, greenhouse gas emissions and safety.

However, some gas stations, including full-service and convenience store stations, have removed their air pumps and water hoses. Presumably, this is to prevent people who don't buy gas or other items from using the station.

We should first make sure the air is available by encouraging our local stations to bring back the air.

ASK PUBLIC

FORGET SURVEYS, LET US VOTE ON AKAKA BILL

Jerry Burris (Aug. 28 column) correctly points out that Akaka bill surveys produce dramatically different results, depending on how questions are phrased and the context in which they're presented. Results always support the views of the sponsoring group.

Why, then, does Mr. Burris not embrace the obvious solution? Put the question on the ballot at the next general election. Yes or no: Do you support passing S.147, the Hawaiian Government Reorganization bill (or whatever number and title the ever-changing bill has at that moment)?

The best survey of public opinion is an official vote, where people express their true opinion in privacy, under assurance that nobody can intimidate them.

Look at who's demanding a ballot vote versus who's opposing democracy. Supporters of the Akaka bill know most people would vote "no." Ethnic Hawaiians have already voted with their feet, as only about 6 percent have signed up for OHA's racial registry despite megabucks in advertising during a two-year period, massive community outreach and spiffy-looking free T-shirts.

It's unthinkable that a small percentage of Hawaiians should seize power to speak on behalf of all, and unthinkable that Hawai'i should create an apartheid regime without even asking the people. For shame.

JOY OF ARTS

SUMMER WAS ALIVE WITH QUALITY THEATER

Bravo to the Hawai'i Opera Theatre ("Pirates of Penzance," "The Telephone," "The Medium"), Ballet Hawai'i ("Coppelia") and Diamond Head Theatre ("Beauty and the Beast"), which together set a new standard for summer artistic presentations in Honolulu.

They all drew excellent houses, utilized predominantly local artists, and all used live professional musicians as well as live actors, dancers and singers. All maintained high artistic quality, and none stooped to cheapening their art by using taped or synthetic music, and thus the enthusiastic audiences got authentic, unadulterated art and full value for their money.

These institutions have my deepest admiration and thanks, having proven that Honolulu is a fertile place for the arts in summer as well as in winter, and that the joys to be found in undiluted, uncompromised productions are well worth the risks.

RAIL TRANSIT

ISLAND RESIDENTS WILL PAY HEAVILY

I would very much like to walk a couple of blocks, descend into a subway station and emerge at the University of Hawai'i 10 or 15 minutes later. Or to ride 10 minutes to see a movie at the Honolulu Academy of Art, or to be able to have a few drinks at a favorite izakaya and get home safely without driving. A half-hour ride from Pearl City to work at Bishop and King would be heaven for long-suffering commuters.

Perhaps if that is what we were being offered, people would line up to support a transit system for Honolulu and be willing to pay for it. But it's not.

Coupled with unsustainable increases in the cost of housing, food, medical care, fees and other taxes, hiking the regressive excise tax will likely push many families over the edge. And for what? Far from reducing congestion, plans for a rail transit system could increase building and development in Central O'ahu and thereby greatly increase the number of cars already on the roads.

The argument that tourists will pay a large share of the excise tax increase is disingenuous at best. A 12.5 percent increase hurts our poor, senior citizens, single parents and those families working two or three jobs to survive. Bill Brennan (Advertiser, Aug. 10) and the "pro-transit" clique have tried to placate the public with the false tourist argument.

Brennan wrote: "The governor, the mayor and other pro-transit elected officials have gone on record stating the advantage of funding construction with an excise tax is that visitors would pay a larger share of that than gasoline or property taxes." Rep. Neil Abercrombie stated in his op-ed (Advertiser, April 17): "First, it will be funded in large measure by taxable purchases made by tourists." Professor Karl Kim (Advertiser, Feb. 27): "We also need to look at ways of exporting the costs of transit — by making sure that tourists who will benefit from transit help pay the costs of it." Rep. K. Mark Takai (Advertiser, May 17): " ... approximately one-third of the GET is paid by visitors ... "
These statements mask that it will be residents, not those who stay a week and then fly out, who will pay and pay every day of their lives. Residents, not tourists, bear the daily burden of the massive tax increases necessary to fund an expensive transit system.

Transit proposals so far guarantee only one thing: to increase property values in Central O'ahu and so encourage building additional thousands of houses, each with a couple of cars parked out front. Many of those cars will commute to the city center because we've done nothing significant to move jobs into other areas. Each job comes with a parking place. If one person switches to mass transit, another car fills that space.

Paradoxically, a rail system that takes people nowhere they want to go could actually increase the burden on those who use the roads while making Honolulu unaffordable for more and more residents.

THERE ARE MANY BENEFITS TO CARPOOLING AND VANPOOLING

With gasoline approaching $3 a gallon and crude oil topping $70 a barrel, we all need to rethink how we do our commuting.

With a hurricane hitting the part of our nation where most refining is done, the prices of oil and gasoline may be heading even higher, and shortages could be on the horizon.

For those of us old enough to remember the oil crisis in the late 1970s, shortage of gasoline was a bigger problem than the sharp increase in price. It does not matter that something becomes more expensive if you cannot even get it regardless of how much you are willing to pay.

If you are a federal worker, you are probably unaware that you are eligible for a 100 percent reimbursement for bus passes and for vanpool expenses. For more details on this program, go to www.asafm.army.mil/rabp/masstrans/masstrans.asp. Form a vanpool or start carpooling. For help finding someone to rideshare with, go to vanpool hawaii.com, call 596-VANS, or go to www.state.hi.us/dot/pub licaffairs/rideshare/match.htm. Ridesharing will allow you to use the HOV lanes, and many employers offer special carpool parking.

If you are not a federal employee, your employer still may support carpooling and vanpooling and the use of public transportation. Many companies and government agencies (Honolulu Medical Group, Island Insurance, John Howard Associates, Kalihi-Palama Health Center, Kamehameha Schools and more than 80 others) in Hawai'i offer programs that provide nontaxable subsidies to employees for vanpooling and for public transportation, while providing tax savings to employers. For more information on these programs, go to www.thebus.org/Info/thebustaxsavings.asp.

Doing this will help untangle traffic congestion, help clean the air and the seas, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, reduce the chance of further price increases and shortages, and help you save money on gasoline, automobile upkeep and parking, while extending the life of your car. Reducing traffic congestion will then also improve the fuel efficiency of the vehicles still remaining on the roads.