GOVERNMENT

LIBRARIES NEED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PUBLIC

I love libraries and want them to thrive. However, I fear our beautiful Hawai'i State Library is frozen in time and has become a quaint museum for "the way we were."

I just got home from a rare trip to our State Library, where parking is generally difficult or impossible, and was reminded why I go there so seldom.

Borders and Barnes & Noble, located in shopping centers, have better parking and more patrons than you do. On a recent morning, the library was nearly empty.

I did check out a book and noticed it's due in just 17 days. What's the rush? Circulation might improve if patrons were given a month or longer to read the books they select.

Our State Library is a treasure house with relatively few visitors. To increase traffic and circulation, you might take another lesson from Borders/Barnes & Noble, which are open to the public seven days a week, 9 to 9, including most holidays. Not many of us can squeeze in a visit to the library before 5 p.m. on weekdays, when most shut their doors, because we're at work till then ourselves.

Any plans to open well-stocked branches in major shopping centers?

With very few patrons in the library the morning I was there, the handful of computer stations were filled. I've no doubt you could fill many more if you had more computers.

Budget problems? Need more money to update the system? Ask for it. You might be surprised by the amount of community support you would receive.

Libraries need to listen to patrons and accommodate patrons. They do not exist for their own sake or for the convenience of the staff.

I have suggested the above to head librarians in the past, but have yet to receive a response.

I would encourage the powers-that-be to take patrons' needs more seriously.

TRAFFIC SAFETY

PEDESTRIANS MUST BE SURE IT'S SAFE TO CROSS

It seems to me that the person who is most responsible for colliding with a vehicle is the pedestrian. They have the advantage of avoiding being struck if they are crossing the street safely.

I cross wherever I want and I don't get hit because I wait until it's safe. I wait until there is a break in the traffic, and I continue to watch in the direction of oncoming cars to make sure I'm safe until I get all the way across.

I've seen too many pedestrians keep on walking across four lanes of traffic looking down at the road.

In the good old days, we were all taught by our parents and our teachers to not cross the street until it was safe to do so.

The police need to work on more important issues than staking out crosswalks. The roads are built for cars, and it's the responsibility of pedestrians to make sure it's safe before crossing. Issuing tickets won't make it any safer.

HPD PROMOTES TRAFFIC SAFETY AND AWARENESS

This is in response to recent letters by Ms. Janine Wiehl and Mr. Ted White regarding enforcement of pedestrian traffic laws.

I, too, was impressed to see that the Chicago police had recently used plainclothes officers posing as pedestrians to enforce pedestrian right-of-way laws.

In January 2007, the Honolulu Police Department used a similar strategy to promote awareness and enforcement of pedestrian-related laws. In addition, officers conducted holiday safety campaigns in the Downtown area and handed out more than 16,000 flyers to organizations across O'ahu, including senior centers, neighborhood boards and public libraries.

We also worked with the city's WalkWise program to get the message out. Today, the Traffic Division continues to lead the way in identifying innovative, fair ways to address pedestrian safety.

In 2007, the HPD issued 9,412 pedestrian-related citations to drivers and pedestrians; as of April 2008, an additional 1,270 citations have been issued.

While we are committed to taking enforcement action, our primary goal is not to issue citations but to protect pedestrians and motorists through education and mutual respect.

We ask for the public's help in sharing our streets and sidewalks safely.

HSTA

DRUG TESTING VIOLATES TEACHERS' CIVIL RIGHTS

Once again, David Shapiro has missed the point regarding the constitutional rights of others. In his July 23 column, he criticizes the Hawaii State Teachers Association for now opposing random drug testing.

What he does not remember is that many teachers opposed random drug testing and the relinquishing of their rights of privacy at the time of the vote, but they were outvoted by those who were blinded by the promise of a much-deserved pay raise.

Furthermore, the testing clause was not one that could have been rejected in part, because the governor said it was a deal breaker.

Would you really have wanted another strike that would have only hurt our children, Mr. Shapiro?

A pay raise should be based upon performance and need, and not whether one wishes to give up a civil right, especially one as important as privacy. This is not a contractual issue, but a constitutional issue that goes to the basics of our democracy.

And shame on the governor for attaching such a clause to well-earned raises so that she can tell the public that she is cracking down on drug-addicted teachers.

The testing of 1 percent of the teachers every year would be purely shibai. It would be a better use of resources to test only when reasonable suspicion exits, or there is a prior history of delinquency that needs to be monitored.

KAPOLEI

O'AHU GROWTH HOTSPOT WITH JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Living in Kane'ohe, it is understandable that Jean Fong (Letter, July 18) has not seen the tremendous strides Kapolei has made in the last decade toward becoming a city.

Kapolei is now home to 800 businesses and 28,000 jobs. In the next 20 years, business interest in Kapolei is expected to fuel job growth, bringing the total number of jobs to about 70,000.

Economist Leroy Laney recently observed that "Kapolei is a growth hotspot — a boom amid a national bust" and that "Kapolei's out-of-cycle growth benefits the region and stabilizes the state economy."

So in answer to Ms. Fong, Kapolei is well on its way to becoming a city that provides more job opportunities — not just for residents of West O'ahu but even for those who live in Windward O'ahu.

VISION OF NEW URBAN AREA MAKING PROGRESS

Jean Fong's July 18 letter, "What happened to the vision of a Second City" asks "why all the traffic to Honolulu — if Kapolei was developed to be a second city?" She feels "our second city is no more than a bedroom community."

In fact, the vision to develop a second urban area on O'ahu as an alternative job center is making great progress. Job growth in 'Ewa has been substantial and at a much higher rate than most other areas of O'ahu. Non-construction jobs in 'Ewa have gone from 9,300 in 1980 to an estimated 20,400 in 2005, and 'Ewa's share of O'ahu's non-construction jobs has increased from 2.6 percent to 4.1 percent.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has stressed the importance of creating future jobs in these areas. By 2030, non-construction jobs in 'Ewa are projected to be almost 65,000.

Developing new jobs in and around the City of Kapolei has provided 'Ewa residents with job options. They will not solve the problem of congestion on the freeways which, if we do nothing, will only get worse as our economy and population grows. Providing a rapid transit system and developing housing within walking distance of transit stations along that system will give an alternative to commuting by auto for those 'Ewa workers whose jobs are in the primary urban area.

RAIL DEBATE

ENGINEERS SUPPORT RAIL BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT

I have read transportation reports dating back to 1967 under Gov. John A. Burns and Mayor Neal Blaisdell that recommended rail transit as part of our transportation solution. Subsequent reports were studied and supported with facts and figures by highly qualified engineers who care about this state and its future.

Critics state that engineers are supporting rail only to make money, which I find to be a cynical statement. May I ask, are there any public works projects in the world where engineers aren't used?

Some engineers also support windfarms, solar energy, ocean thermal, and other sustainable solutions for this island. (Some of us even believe fossil fuels create pollution). Does this mean that we support these ideas because we want the work? Or is it possible that we were trained to think logically, environmentally and globally?

We may not use our brain for fashion sense, but rather logically conclude rail is right.