LANDFILL

GARBAGE FROM TOURISTS SHOULD BE SHIPPED OUT

According to the state of Hawai'i's business resource site, there were 586,338 visitors on our island last month.

These tourists produce garbage that must be disposed of.

According to the last census taken in the year 2000, there are 876,156 permanent residents on O'ahu. These residents also produce garbage that must be disposed of.

Therefore, approximately two- thirds of the garbage produced in the City and County of Honolulu is produced by visitors.

Instead of disposing of the combined total (residents plus visitors) garbage in our quickly filling Waimanalo Gulch landfill, why not send the two-thirds of our garbage generated by the visitors off island, and retain for disposal only the one third actually created by the people who live here? What could be more fair? They make it. They should take it.

Shipping garbage off island, where its components and producers originally came from, combined with recycling, H-Power and developing new technologies is, indeed, a long-term solution.

KAPI'OLANI PARK

REDUCTION IN AMOUNT OF PARKING A BAD IDEA

One of the great pleasures of living near Kapi'olani Park is watching local families unpack their coolers and tarps as they get ready for a healthy day in the park. July Fourth was just such a glorious day, full of family fun for all.

It's amazing to me that any redesign of Kapi'olani Park would even consider fewer parking spaces.

Anyone trying to park along Paki Avenue on that July 4, or any weekend, knows how tough it is to find a spot.

Ultimately, this will mean fewer families in the park. Instead of choosing a day of healthy activities like softball, soccer or swimming, perhaps they'll spend the day watching TV or hanging out at the mall. Families will have less outdoor time together as they grow up.

The Kapi'olani Trust of 1896 was created to allow free and easy access to the park for all our people. Reducing the amount of parking goes against that spirit. Let's reconsider.

GASOLINE

TAXES, NOT INDUSTRY, TO BLAME FOR HIGH PRICES

In regard to Mr. Rick Tubania's letter about taxing the oil industry ("Blame high gas prices on oil company greed" July 3) it appears he has blamed the wrong entity.

He accuses the oil industry of making excess profits at our expense, and at first this appears to be true. But when you break the numbers down, as I did, you will find the federal and state governments make what he considers "excess profits."

I used the federal government's own numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and found that the "evil" oil industry has made a gross profit since 1979 of $643 billion (net profit of about $115 billion).

At the same time the state and federal governments have realized a gross profit of $1.343 trillion, with a net profit of $1.343 trillion. The governments invested nothing in the search, drilling, refining and transportation of the product, but they are reaping the benefit from it.

In Hawai'i, the total tax is 78.5 cents a gallon, which includes local, state and federal tax. The oil industry's net profit is 7 cents a gallon. So, whenever you want to complain about the cost of gas, look squarely at the State Capitol on Beretania and City Hall on King Street. Between the two of them they are jacking up the cost of gas by 60.1 cents a gallon in state and county taxes.

Or you could move to Iran, where gas is about 38 cents a gallon.

HYPOCRISY

DON'T FORGET ABOUT SOME CLINTON PARDONS

I would think that David Shapiro should have balanced his article ("Libby commutation sign of Bush's hypocrisy," July 4) with these facts:

Were you as outraged when President Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger, for conspiracy to distribute cocaine? Henry Cisneros for making false statements? Pincus Green for wire fraud, mail fraud, racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, criminal forfeiture, income tax evasion, and trading with Iran in violation of trade embargo?

Susan McDougal of Whitewater notoriety, pardoned for mail fraud, aiding and abetting in misapplication of Small Business Investment Corporation funds, aiding and abetting in making false entries, aiding and abetting in making false statements?

And most famously, Marc Rich who committed wire fraud, mail fraud, racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, criminal forfeiture, income tax evasion, and trading with Iran in violation of trade embargo?

This information should put "hypocrisy" into perspective.

PRISON TERM

LIBBY COMMUTATION A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT

David Shapiro (Volcanic Ash, July 4) got it 100 percent right: President Bush's decision to commute the prison sentence of I. Lewis Libby is an outrage.

By commuting the sentence but not the conviction, the message the president is sending to Americans is that even though Mr. Libby is guilty of the crimes he committed, he is above the law.

Lewis "Scooter" Libby had participated in a White House-coordinated scheme to get revenge on a critic of the administration's plans for invading Iraq by leaking the identity of his CIA-operative wife. He then lied to investigators seeking the truth. For this he was convicted of obstructing justice and perjury.

So President Bush must believe the criminal justice system does not apply to his friends. His assertion that a sentence of 30 months in jail was excessive is absurd. The sentence was determined by an experienced federal judge using guidelines followed every day in courts across the country.

A dangerous precedent has been set when government officials are offered "get out of jail free" cards when they interfere with criminal investigations. What incentive is there to ever tell the truth?

READER RESPONSE

LETTER, USE OF WORD FOUND TO BE DISTASTEFUL

That The Honolulu Advertiser would print Marion Lepolo's distasteful letter using "haolefied" was almost as distasteful as reading it.

Shame on you for encouraging racism. And how ironic that you did it on the Fourth of July.

POLITICS

ALL CANDIDATES LACKING ON SPECIFICS, DETAILS

I got a chuckle out of the letter writer who would vote for a stack of dishes before voting for a Republican candidate ("Can more responsible days be ahead of us?" July 3).

I understand that point of view, but after watching the Democratic candidates debate recently I'm thinking the stack of dishes looks pretty good myself.

I want to hear the details on how the candidates will solve the problems. "Get out of Iraq" is a common goal, but nobody wants to talk about how we're going to deal with the underlying problems in the region.

"Save Social Security?" How? I understand people who oppose privatization but where's their alternative? Doing the same things we are now and hoping for a different outcome is a lousy strategy.

If the current crop of candidates, from both parties, is the best we can do then we're in trouble. Until we start demanding more from our elected officials, things won't get much better.

KAISER HIGH

'07 ON KOKO CRATER IS NOTHING BUT VANDALISM

This is in response to the reader who defended the Kaiser High School '07 painted on the slopes of Koko Crater.

This is not an example of pride in one's school, nor is it artistic expression. These students are painting on property that does not belong to them. In any state that is known as vandalism.

Our landmarks are sacred. Would we allow this on Diamond Head or Punchbowl?

Perhaps Kaiser High should provide a wall on campus on which seniors could paint legally and safely.

And since it is now a law that vandals be responsible for removing graffiti, perhaps Kaiser should pay for the Koko Crater cleanup.

TRANSIT

MAKES SENSE TO SERVE RESIDENTIAL ROUTE FIRST

In last Sunday's Focus section, Steve Doyle asked chief city transit planner Toru Hamayasu whether the city will build "a route with stops at the airport (akin to what has been done in virtually every major metropolis around the world), or — the political 'Cachola Route' through Salt Lake?"

The fact is, the city's decision to serve residential commuters before connecting to the airport isn't unusual for a "major metropolis." No new U.S. rail transit system built in the past 35 years connected to the local airport on the day it opened, and two-thirds still don't. In Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Diego and elsewhere, rail transit systems don't connect to the airport.

Moreover, while Mr. Hamayasu's response said city cost-per-rider studies favor the airport over Salt Lake, he didn't mention the difference is under 2 percent — far less than the margin of error in the analysis. Given that, it's perfectly rational to serve tax-paying residents before travelers, as has been done all over the country.

These facts were the basis for Councilmember Cachola's position, not "politics." Let's stop beating him up for doing his job.

MILITARY

CONTROL SHOULD CHANGE WHEN LAND NOT NEEDED

During World War II, the military took over and/or was given permission to use a great deal of Hawai'i's limited land in the name of national security.

At the time, it made sense. However, they ravaged a great deal of it using live ammunition, much of which is reported to be with us today — a situation that should make us reluctant to allow further degradation of the land by a Stryker brigade, or expansion of the Pohakuloa training grounds.

But how did we get from military use of these lands to this ridiculous sweet long-term deal with a private developer ("Public denied beach access," July 2)? Was it some political favor? Where does the money trail lead?

Surely the state of Hawai'i — or better yet, the Hawaiian people — should have oversight when those lands are no longer needed for military purposes.

Otherwise, this is how Hawai'i will end — with a whimper, not a bang.

Over time, an increasing number of our people will be denied beach access, and more wilderness areas will be degraded. I am outraged.