B&B ISSUE

SENSE OF COMMUNITY IMPORTANT TO KAILUANS

Renting illegal bed-and-breakfasts is a crime. The authorities need to enforce the law, and owners need to keep their greed in check. How are tourists better for Kailua than residents who have ties to the community, send their children to schools and build relationships with their neighbors?

The idea that the tourists are "living like the locals do, go out and shop and spend and sightsee all day, come home to shower and go out to dinner" seems absurd. I have met a few local people in my time and most of us have to work all day (often into the night), shopping is the supermarket and, if we are very fortunate, dinner is at home with the family. Maybe I should have a bed and breakfast so I can live like Angie Larson's local people (Island Voices, Nov. 21).

We don't mind sharing Kailua. However, we like to be able to enjoy living and playing here as well. Money is not worth the price of losing our community. If you want to be a bed-and-breakfast owner, buy a legal one. If you want to visit Hawai'i, please find legal accommodations.

TRANSIT

COMPELLING CASE FOR RAIL YET TO BE MADE

It appears Honolulu is being "railroaded" into the rail transit project.

Your paper ran a headline that university students support rail. The story noted strong resistance to the project and revealed the headline as a distortion.

At each public meeting and from each report, citizens get non-answers to their questions. This project is promoted as a transit solution while the city says it will not appreciably ease traffic or replace existing transportation.

If the city can't make a clear and compelling case for this project (it hasn't yet) as an economically viable transit solution, it should not go forward — all the more so because the cost is staggering and can only grow.

The argument about "losing" federal funds is insulting. That money only facilitate the city's jump into an almost-bottomless hole.

There will be no federal bailout when operating and maintenance costs overwhelm the citizens of Honolulu. If the mayor were making a personal investment decision, it seems unlikely that he would proceed on the basis of the information he has for the rail project.

CAP THE NUMBER OF CARS ALLOWED ON O'AHU

We all know that too many cars on the road is the source of our traffic problems. The only way to solve that is to put a cap on the number of cars allowed on O'ahu and make the bus free! $4.6 billion would pay for a lot of bus rides!

FOOTBALL

UH WARRIORS NO LONGER A DOORMAT TEAM

I have been hearing a lot lately from some big football schools that they will stop coming to play the University of Hawai'i because it either interferes with their scheduling and schooling or they are not being compensated properly. My, how the mighty have fallen. Why don't they just 'fess up and admit that Hawai'i no longer has a doormat team to pad their record with. Amazing how all the little intricacies show up when you have a juggernaut of a football team. Go Warriors!

SMOKING

REACTION TO NEW LAW SELFISH, DISAPPOINTING

The negative reaction to the new smoking law is selfish and disappointing.

Smokers complain that it infringes on their rights — most notably in bars. But what the law is doing is finally protecting non-smokers' rights. We both have the right to go out to public places. But when we both get there, non-smokers are often forced to leave because of the discomfort created by smoke. My friend, who was pregnant and not drinking, couldn't hang out with us — just for company — during her pregnancy because of the thick smoke. Why should she be alienated? Why should non-smokers be forced out of places by the choices of smokers? I commend the state in following the example of California and other states in protecting the rights of their citizens so that everyone may have the choice to go out, unhindered.

KOREAN RELATIONS

U.S. SHOULD NOT CHANGE ITS COURSE WITH JAPAN

Mark J. Valencia's letter (Nov. 15) reveals that he has a clear picture of the current situation regarding our country and the two Korean governments.

What can be added is that the majority of South Koreans want our military out of their country within five years and the unification of south and north into one Korea.

Of course, the Japanese government, after World War II, never wanted a united Korea because a strong economic and military united Korea would cause a serious threat to Japan. One can easily understand the thinking of the Japanese government and thus its political behind-the-scenes actions with our U.S. government throughout the years.

We should continue our current political policy with Japan, as North Korea is a serious threat to world peace.

BROKEN DEMOCRACY

CAMPAIGN REFORM A CRITICAL NEED IN ISLES

I found the article "Campaigns shun public fund" by Johnny Brannon (Advertiser, Nov. 20) quite interesting. If the Campaign Spending Commission's director, Barbara Wong, needs public support to win approval for an overhaul of the campaign finance system, she has my vote.

In a state where a low percentage of the registered voters vote, we need to take a hard look at campaign reform. When we are spending $3 billion a week to establish democracy in Iraq and the voters in our very own democracy don't bother to vote, something is seriously flawed.

We need to either change the spending caps for candidates who receive public funding or require that all candidates run on public funding. That would level the playing field and allow those individuals who are interested in pursuing public office the opportunity to do so without going into bankruptcy.

Clean elections, would allow politicians to accomplish some meaningful legislative activity instead of constantly having to attend fundraisers and be beholden to special interests. When the citizens of this country have lost interest and feel they will not be heard over the lobbyists, special interest groups and corporations, then we have a broken democracy.

Maybe we should begin to fix our own democracy before we start invading other countries to establish it.

EMERGENCY SERVICES

HEALTHCARE ESSENTIAL TO KAHUKU COMMUNITY

Having medical care is essential to the well-being and peace of mind for those of us who live in the Kahuku community. As employers with a total of 665 employees (85 percent of whom live here in the area) and 300,000 guests per year, access to healthcare is one of our top priorities.

Turtle Bay Resort and Kuilima Resort Co. have been working closely with those involved with the effort to save Kahuku Hospital and ensure continued emergency care in the community. It is a complex process and will take some time for us to determine the best steps forward. We, like many of the North Shore and Ko'olauloa community leaders and representatives, are extremely committed to finding a solution.

Unfortunately, in the opinion of some, this seems to have been reduced to a simple matter of healthcare versus resort development.

This couldn't be further from the truth; in reality, we are mutually dependent upon each other. Having adequate healthcare services for the community and the resort is essential, and building a strong economic driver helps to sustain healthcare services for our community.

All of the components to building a strong, flourishing community are important. At a critical time like this, we need everyone's kokua. We invite others to join with us to help find solutions for our community.

Nicola Jones, chief executive officer, Kuilima Resort Co.
Bob Boyle, managing director, Turtle Bay Resort