SPEAK UP AGAINST TRAIN BEFORE TOO LATE

The rail issue is coming to a critical juncture. There is a budget committee hearing scheduled for Monday, May 18, at 9 a.m. Council members appear ready to vote for a budget containing well over $1 billion to build a Kapolei-to-Waipahu rail line without any requirement that the mayor first have a commitment in writing from the federal government that there will be federal funding for rail. If they vote for this budget, without any conditions, they will set us up for either:

(a) An expensive, but worthless, 6 1/2-mile "train to nowhere" that will serve only to develop more of the 'Ewa plain without any plans to give the people in Kapolei traffic relief coming into town. After we build the rail to Waipahu, there will be no money for highways to provide relief from this terrible congestion;

or (b) If the first segment is an elevated, heavy, third rail system, the rest of the line must be elevated, heavy rail. It will be the end of beautiful downtown Honolulu. We believe the mayor is setting the budget up this way so that in the event the federal government does not give him the approvals he wants, he will go ahead to build the first segment with only local money and forgo the federal funds. We are now predicting that the city will be around $750 million short from local tax collections, which can only be relieved by more tax increases. Without a large show of opposition, they will pass this budget without provisos. The council is counting on a passive citizenry that will not object to ruining Honolulu with a monstrous train running through downtown Honolulu and tax increases which will drive more of our people from Hawai'i and contribute to the slow decay of our Island. This project is about who we are, what a Hawaiian sense of place is about, and what kind of a future we seek for our beloved island and for our children. No one can change this but the people.

Bobbie Slater | Honolulu

ABOUT LINGLE

HOOSER'S POLITICIZING A DISSERVICE TO ALL

To build a political platform based purely in opposition to someone else is like filling a balloon with hot air. Once it's popped, there's nothing there. Case in point: Sen. Gary Hooser — a man who shows he is constantly full of hot air.

Hooser, who uses every opportunity to campaign for statewide office, recently spoke in a derogatory manner about Gov. Lingle's six-plus years in office.

To the contrary, I think most people will agree that she has achieved a great deal during her years as governor.

Because of decisions she has made and actions she and her cabinet have taken, thousands of homeless are in transitional shelters, Native Hawaiians are receiving homestead leases at a faster pace than ever before, many government services are online, businesses are paying millions less in fees, assessments and unemployment insurance taxes, the number of children in foster care has declined by 50 percent and Hawai'i has taken significant steps toward a clean energy future.

This affirmation of the public's support was seen in the governor's win in all 51 legislative districts in her 2006 historic reelection.

The public needs to begin asking what naysayers like Sen. Hooser actually stand for. What meaningful legislation has he sponsored during his tenure in office? His constant politicizing and blatantly political statements offer nothing but a disservice to the people of Hawai'i.

Lenny Klompus | Senior adviser, communications, Office of the Governor