PRICES

OSHIRO, MENOR SHOULD ADMIT GAS CAP A FAILURE

Recently, Rep. Marcus Oshiro claimed the gas cap was working, citing that Hawai'i lost the dubious distinction of having the "highest gas price in the nation" by falling to 34th place. Sen. Ron Menor is now making the same claim of victory.

However, more recent news reports have now indicated Hawai'i's average gas price is fast rising and currently Hawai'i is in 10th place. It seems inevitable that Hawai'i will quickly become numero uno.

By Rep. Oshiro's and Sen. Menor's own flawed logic, they should then admit the gas cap is now failing and the experts who said it would not work were correct all along. The real question is whether they will do the right thing.

Or will they just continue the political spin and hope consumers don't hold them and their colleagues who voted for this bogus law accountable when this experiment fails?

FAILURE

IS GAS CAP BEST OUR LAWMAKERS CAN DO?

The so-called gas cap is failing to bring lower prices at the pump. The idea of creating parity with the Mainland does not help me with my weekly gas bill. Lower prices do, but lately they have shot up like a rocket.

Is this the best our elected officials can do? I notice that in many other states, proposals to lower or suspend taxes on gas are being discussed as a way to bring consumer relief. Have we considered this? Or does this make so much sense that it will eventually hurt the state's highway fund to a point where it can't be raided by politicians to pay for their pet projects come election time?

GAS CAP

VOTE DEMOCRATS OUT FOR BUNGLING MARKET

The Democratic Party of Hawai'i has some explaining to do. Democrats imposed a gas-cap law, but the price of gasoline keeps soaring. It is astonishing how much the price increases.

Do we not suspect that the gas-cap law is causing the price to rise? Do not the gas-cap limits suggest how much higher the price should be raised? Clearly, the law does not work.

The Democrats should explain to us how they bungled this matter terribly. But in the meantime, we need some legislators who can do a better job. Remember in November of next year, and vote out the bad ones. Happiness is a Republican Legislature.

RAIL DEBATE

PAY ROAD MAKES SENSE TO EASE O'AHU'S TRAFFIC

I read Cliff Slater's idea on a pay-as-you-drive proposal along with Councilman Gary Okino's letter of Sept. 1. I must agree with Slater on Hawai'i's love and need for an automobile.

A pay road would allow traffic to flow better on the free roads because some of the cars would be on the pay road. Fewer cars on the free road would equal less traffic congestion. Let's improve the bus system so it covers more of the island and build a toll road for those who choose to pay to save time.

Has anyone asked council member Okino if he is going to ride the rail system and leave his car at home?

ITALY

'SHAKA' GOES BACK SEVERAL CENTURIES

Back in 1950 or '51, I recall reading about this "shaka" hand sign, and where this occurred was in Italy, 16th or 17th century, where a visiting friend would ask the southern farmer, "How was the grain for the year?" — and the southern farmer would show the shaka sign.

I remember the arm lowered, the three middle fingers folded into the palm and the thumb and little finger showing. With the back of the hand facing the visitor, the southern farmer would twist the wrist back and forth to indicate the condition of the harvest. Whether this action indicated a poor or good crop, I do not recall.

This small article appeared in either Harper's or Atlantic Monthly magazine.

SHELTERS

GREAT, OUR DISASTER PLAN IS A DISASTER

I read with amusement Jan TenBruggencate's "Hawai'i 'woefully' lacking in shelters" (Sept. 7). Based on the reported state's goal to provide emergency havens for 462,209 people, what does the state plan for or expect of the other 787,791 residents, not including an additional 250,000 tourists?

Let's see, the only open area to dump all the hundreds of thousands of tons of debris from Koko Head to 'Ewa Beach is the 'Ewa Plain. All the residents living up on all of the heights, including 'Ainakoa, St. Louis, Papakolea, Tantalus, 'Aiea, etc., will have no electricity, water, or ways or means to descend from the domino housing avalanche effect.

The massive trees that gracefully shade all of our valley residents will collapse and block all ingress and egress. The condo human containers will have no electricity, water or security. Who's going to guard Macy's at Ala Moana? And Honolulu Harbor and our international airport will be lights out. And, there will be no need to think about the rising cost of gasoline because there will be no electricity for the pumps to work.

The only bright light is the state's reported emergency havens for less than half the population. The remaining 1,037,791 residents and tourists will be in either heaven or living hell. Does anybody know what kind of new pork-barrel projects our legislators can come up with to tap into our hurricane relief fund?

CANCELATION

TAKING CHALLENGE OUT OF ROUGHWATER SWIM

Sept. 4 would have marked the 13th consecutive time I have completed the Waikiki Roughwater Swim. Perhaps it was fate of the number, but the streak that started when I was 9 years old was broken when the swim was canceled for the first time in 36 years due to strong currents and high surf. Yet, just 15 minutes after the race was officially called off, I hopped in and swam the 2.4-mile course on my own in less than an hour; hardly a challenge.

In an attempt to avoid a repeat of the 2003 swim where well over half the field failed to complete the course, race officials decided to take the challenge out of the swim and just call it quits so that those who were ill-prepared or lacked proper conditioning for the race would stay out of danger.

But does the name of the swim not imply that there should indeed be some challenge to the race? It's not likely that I would enter a marathon expecting to run 26 miles downhill. Therefore, when holding an open-water event, where conditions are variable, one should train for and expect the worst. If you can't do it, don't get in.

But don't ruin a tradition of great athletic achievement for the rest of us who are ready and willing to take on whatever Mother Nature sends our way.

WINDSHIELD GLARE CAN BE AVOIDED WITH PROPER CARE

Recently on TV there was a news clip showing what glare from the sun looks like on a windshield. Very interesting, but I’ve seen even worse, where facing the sun or oncoming headlights made the whole windshield look like lightly frosted glass, making it impossible to see clearly or at all.

More interesting was that glare on a windshield is apparently being considered a normal characteristic, to be expected and accepted, and from past news reports of accidents, it appears to be a valid excuse: “I didn’t see the (car, pedestrian) because I was blinded by the (sun’s glare, oncoming headlights).”

As a matter of fact, the scene on TV showed a windshield that had become damaged, its surface roughened so that it no longer had that polished “smooth as glass” surface. The roughness was microscopic, not visible to the naked eye.

A windshield like that should be unacceptable to drive with, a cause for rejection on a safety check. It should be replaced. At a much lower cost, it can also be resurfaced by polishing, buffing with Jeweler’s Rouge (not diamond dust). If done by someone of sufficient skill, the surface will be restored to like-new condition. I had that done successfully on a used car I bought that had a windshield in worse condition than the one shown on TV.

Glass is not diamond-hard. It isn’t too difficult to microscopically roughen the surface and end up with glare. Polishers or cleaners that have any amount at all of abrasive in them will eventually cause glare to appear. Household Bon Ami is an excellent example of what not to use, as I learned the hard way a long time ago; it ruined the windshield, needing replacement, with just one application.

Running the windshield wiper dry, especially with aged blades, and worse yet when there are streaks of dirt present, will too soon start causing glare to show up in the windshield wiper area. On one of my cars, the windshield needed to be replaced after a number of visits to a car wash where the drum that comes whirling down to “clean” the windshield was blackened with grime, acting like fine sandpaper. Luckily my car insurance paid for it, with no increase in premium in those days.

In brief, glare on a windshield is avoidable, but it requires the glass to be given the proper care and respect, and is not acceptable for safe driving.

YOUR HEALTHCARE IS A TEAM SPORT

It’s been widely reported over the past few years that local employers often struggle to stay in business while offering their employees quality healthcare coverage — coverage that has been rising in cost each year. What hasn’t been adequately reported is that employers are not alone in this battle. They play a very important position, but they are part of a team that also includes healthcare consumers, health plans and providers.

This team recently came together in Honolulu for the state’s first State of Our Health Forum. The goal was to discuss ways to work together to improve the quality of healthcare in our community, while better managing the rising cost of that care.

One way is to encourage healthcare consumers to move off the bench and into the game. It’s very important for them to be more involved in managing their own health and healthcare. Yet, it’s not happening often enough. HMSA data show that not enough members take advantage of existing disease-management and substance-abuse programs to help them manage their chronic conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease and more.

One simple way for consumers to get into the game is to find out more about disease management and wellness programs offered by their health plan, and then participate in them. Consumers with chronic conditions may want to keep a personal health diary that includes basic medical information, test results and routine checkups. It’s also important for consumers to speak with their physician about their medications. They should be certain they are taking the right medications — the ones that are best for their health and budget.
Employers can help encourage their employees to step up to the plate by offering incentives to make better lifestyle choices. Some local businesses host health fairs at the workplace, with screenings for high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. This really makes it convenient for employees to join the game.

Some employers have replaced high-calorie snacks and beverages in workplace vending machines with healthier alternatives. Others facilitate weight-management support groups in the workplace or support employee walking and fitness clubs. These employers deserve to be commended for their efforts, and we should all support these kinds of creative ideas.

It’s important to remember that we’re all in this together. Hawai‘i’s healthcare team is made up of many players, and each one plays an important position. With rising healthcare costs and Hawai‘i’s aging population, the time has never been better to motivate all of the team players to work together. Right now, I believe, it’s time for healthcare consumers to step into the batter’s box, swing away and get on base.

When that happens, everyone wins.