RAIL PROJECT

CITY COUNCIL NOT USING TAXPAYERS' MONEY WISELY

I agree with Wayne Yoshioka (Letters, Feb. 15) on keeping the GET surcharge for the rail project. It's too bad, however, that he is not as concerned about making the best use of taxpayer money by enabling a fair and open competition for the rail guideway and system technology.

The city's steel-wheel-on-steel-rail (SWSR) system, compared to the HSST urban mag-lev, will cost about $570 million more for construction of the 20-mile guideway and will be almost $1 billion (with a "B") more for operations and maintenance over 30 years for the airport routing. It seems that as long as more jobs (and votes) are created, it is OK to waste taxpayer money.

The City Council's Transportation and Planning Committee, after an hour-plus "love-in" with Mr. Yoshioka on his reappointment at its recent meeting, then deferred (i.e., killed) a resolution to change the contract for the first guideway segment from design-build to design-build-operate-maintain. Once the design-build contract is signed, for construction of an SWSR solid bridge guideway, the cost advantage of the mag-lev (and its chance to compete) will disappear. Obviously, the council also has no interest in saving $1.5 billion of our money. "Pork" is about to ride the rails.

PET CARE

LEAVING DOGS IN HOT CAR VERY DANGEROUS

I would like to know if The Honolulu Advertiser would be able to write an article to educate the public about the dangers of leaving their dogs in their locked cars with the windows rolled up.

Just in the past week, I saw a dog at the Dillingham PriceBusters crying in a car with the windows only rolled down a half inch. It was at least 80 degrees and sunny that afternoon. Today I saw a dog panting in a locked car at the Kane'ohe Bay Longs Drugs parking lot. I was ready to call for help, but the owner returned just in time. Please write an article to educate the public about the dangers of leaving their dogs in a car on a hot, sunny day.

DANIEL HO

HATS OFF TO SAINT LOUIS FOR PRODUCING WINNERS

The rise of Daniel Ho on the music scene should provide inspiration to many aspiring local musicians. His recent collaboration with Tia Carrere garnered them a Grammy award and another for his collection.

Daniel is a humble young man who has worked very hard to get where he is. His days at Saint Louis School where he had an outstanding music teacher by the name of Ray Wessinger gave him a strong and solid foundation. His relationship with Tia Carrere was also a result of the Saint Louis sister school Sacred Hearts Academy association and Ray Wessinger. People can say what they want about the category selection because Daniel (and Tia) have Hawai'i in their heart! We should be proud when people from Hawai'i do well.

Way to go, Daniel Ho — keep winning those Grammys, and mahalo to Saint Louis for your commitment to providing an exceptional education!

WALL STREET

TAXPAYERS SHOULD GET DUE FOR HELPING BANKS

I simply cannot agree to give more freebies to Wall Street. It has wrecked the economy on many levels, and enough is enough. If our government says we taxpayers should risk our money to help the banks get back on their feet, then I would support that and would feel we should get equity just like other shareholders, and we should get the reward once they're back to profitability.

HOMELESS

IMPACT STUDIES SHOULD BE DONE, ACTION TAKEN

I suggest that the homeless situation requires an environmental impact study and an economic impact study to be conducted. Impact on the environment needs to include the raw sewage discharged by the homeless, the trash created and the toxic waste left at their sites.

An economic impact study would be conducted to determine the effect of the homeless on our economy. Items that need to be looked at are tourism, cost of maintenance on facilities, cost of cleanup, impact on law enforcement, and revenue lost on taxes due to the negative image that is created by the homeless in the bookends to Waikiki (Ala Moana and Kapi'olani parks).

The results of the studies will indicate that corrective action needs to be taken immediately. That corrective action could start with drug enforcement and go from there. If we do not rein in our homeless problem, then it will overcome us and result in a continued decline in tourism.

This is not a situation we should accept and we need to demand that our mayor and other public officials take action immediately.

SAT

BETTER PREPARATION SHOULDN'T BE EXPENSIVE

I agree with Kilikina Maki (Feb. 16) in her letter advocating better preparation of students for the college SAT. The PSAT given in the junior year is not enough. I disagree, however, on increased spending to make the improvements.

I would rather see school counselors be challenged by the state DOE to initiate programs to do this. Online programs are cheap enough, and small groups are probably best. If additional funding is needed, let the parents pay for it so they can motivate their children to take the preparation seriously.

In preparing my two sons for college, I had them taking the SAT beginning in intermediate school. They improved their scores every year. It really isn't knowing the answers, but it is the process that is important. You can guess at the answers, but you can't guess at the process.

In the past schools generally accepted the highest SAT score when multiple scores were provided. Parents need to check with the colleges to which their children want to apply.