CITY GOVERNMENT

ALLOW PAYMENT OF TAXES BY CREDIT CARD

The Honolulu Advertiser supports the city's new system to save resources regarding property tax notices.

Why not go all the way and allow payment of taxes by credit card or direct payment from checking accounts?

The administrative costs of collection and deposit of funds manually is so outdated.

Further, this would be more convenient for the public and less time consuming for the city. Think about it.

SUSTAINABILITY

TIME IS RIGHT TO PLAN FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Two years ago, I appealed to the local car dealer in our town, Mike McKenna, to open an electric vehicle dealership and make Kailua a model for sustainability. While he listened politely, he replied it wasn't profitable to sell EVs.

Funny how things have changed. After watching the governor of California sue the EPA to require higher mileage standards, and San Francisco commit to an electric vehicle grid, it has frustrated me to see other states lead the way in sustainability. Ancient Hawaiians wrote the book on sustainability so it is about time our government caught up with the technology already available and become a world leader in self sufficiency and sustainability.

As an online member and supporter of Better Place, I would like to welcome Shai Agassi to Hawai'i and thank the state for shedding its dependence on foreign oil.

Now the question is, why pour billions of dollars into a rail system when clearly it is technology from 100 years ago? What are you going to do — ride the train or ride in your own EV?

DINING

A BIG BILL COMES ALONG WITH THAT GLASS OF WINE

Does anyone care about the cost of a glass of wine in our restaurants?

"A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine," but when they charge $6.50 for two ounces and double that for a 5-ounce glass, it doesn't bring much sunshine into my life! What a rip-off! A 750-ml bottle costs them maybe $20. They charge $6.50 for two ounces. Do the math!

I submit this call for a boycott of restaurants that practice this type of thievery!

PROPOSITION 8

LOVING COUPLES SHOULD HAVE RIGHT TO MARRY

In recent weeks I have noticed an increase in negative comments in reference to Proposition 8.

Not since the civil rights movement has such a topic agitated so many Americans. One letter asks that we "put aside arguments of freedom, equality, inalienable rights and the pursuit of happiness." And the final line, "they want to change the definition of the word marriage to include a meaning it has never had — ever."

This country was built from hard-working Americans, both heterosexual and homosexual, contributing to the better good by paying taxes, adhering to laws and regulations and by participating in their right to define this great land.

Who are we to tell a loving couple that they do not have the right to marry because they don't fit into the box of what society calls a "normal relationship?"

This issue is being fought in the pulpits of our churches and courts, with all forgetting that we are talking about people's lives and relationships. Let's do the right thing: Grant the right to continue to protest Prop. 8.

BAILOUT

HO HO HO, IT'S JOLLY OLD HENRY PAULSON

Replace Santa Claus!

I think it's time to replace Santa Claus, the fat little chubby cherub-like man with whiskers, with baldheaded Henry Paulson, secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Paulson has shown that he can give billions and billions more than Mr. Santa Claus, and it ain't over yet!

Get on the good side of this man with the U.S. government checking account and he will give and give and give, making all your Christmases wonderful and opulently perfect. Rather than white snowflakes, we can have greenbacks floating through the air, landing at every large corporation's doorsteps, bailing them out.

Hmmmm? Can you top this, Santa Claus?

ENERGY

COST OF DIESEL FUEL UNREASONABLY HIGH

Not too many years ago, diesel fuel was 30 cents a gallon cheaper than regular gasoline, so a lot of consumers opted for diesel-powered vehicles, full-sized autos and pickup trucks to save on their fuel costs.

Then came the federal government's mandated low-sulfur diesel fuel regulations for on-highway use and the price for diesel rose somewhere between mid-grade ($1.95) and premium ($2.15) per-gallon pricing.

Then crude oil went skyrocketing to $145 a barrel and the price of diesel rose to $5.15 per gallon, which was 70 cents per gallon above the cost of premium gasoline, then at $4.45 a gallon.

Today, crude oil is at $51 per barrel (a 65 percent decrease) and gasoline prices have dropped significantly. That decrease sent the premium gasoline per-gallon price today at (Nanakuli Tesoro) down to $2.84 per gallon.

So following past pricing practices, diesel should be selling for 70 cents more, or $3.54 per gallon. But no, at the same station diesel fuel is $4.39 per gallon, or $1.55 per gallon higher.

Where is the outcry from owners of diesel-fueled vehicles, or am I alone in questioning this price gouging by either the refineries or local dealers?