I strongly object to the writing in the story about former state Department of Human Services Director Rachael Wong’s ethics complaint against former House Speaker Joe Souki (“Souki accused of harassment,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 1).

Souki’s attorney is quoted at excessive length expressing astonishment at Wong’s charge, and his inflammatory, conjectural verbal excesses about the #MeToo phenomenon are the final paragraph of the story.

Earlier, while describing Wong’s founding of a company after she left public service, the reporter noted that she is married.

Huh? What does that have to do with anything? I didn’t see Souki’s marital status.

Stick to the relevant facts, for all parties.

Elisa Johnston

Makiki

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Not driving can help solve other problems

Solutions to many of Hawaii’s problems can be found by making it easier to not own a car and increasing support for other forms of transportation.

High pedestrian fatality rates? Making it easier to use other forms of transportation means fewer cars on the road.

Bad traffic? Cars are least efficient spacewise relative to bus, train and bicycling.

More people die from obesity than malnutrition? Better infrastructure for walking or bicycling would help.

Cost of living and homelessness? On average it costs $12,000 per year to own and operate one car in Hawaii. Money saved can be used on things like rent. Less demand for parking lots would lower market land prices and make land available for housing.

Climate change, rising sea taking away shoreline? Non-green transportation accounts for 27 percent of carbon emissions.

These changes are often controversial in the short run, but beneficial in the long run.

Anthony Chang

Chinatown

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Keep parks free of encampments

Pawaa In-Ha Park is a beautiful park that was once filled with homeless people. It was cleared out a few years ago. Well, they are back and the number is growing daily.

When will something be done permanently to clear them out? Are authorities going to wait until it looks like Kakaako did?

Ohe Street in Kakaako is filling up again. I thought special hired security was going to make sure the area remained clear of the homeless. Are they going to wait until it’s out of control again?

Even Stadium Park needs clearing out again and needs to be patrolled daily.

We need to keep our parks and sidewalks free of homeless. Our state and city need to be firm on the no-camping laws in parks and sidewalks.

Mark McGuire

McCully-Moiliili

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False alarm could have triggered war

The missile alert error in Hawaii could have triggered a nuclear retaliation by President Donald Trump.

Had he not been on a golf course and had instead impulsively pushed his “bigger button,” provoking a retaliatory attack on North Korea, a nuclear disaster could have resulted.

Even if Trump had received word that the alert was in error, he does not always respect facts and might have retaliated anyway.

Local leadership was missing. Vern Miyagi and Gov. David Ige seemed more concerned with protecting the employee responsible for this error than in understanding the severity of these errors. Why did Ige not interrupt all local television stations to advise that this was a false alarm?

After receiving the alert, I turned on the TV to find no local news coverage on the alarm.

Finally, on MSNBC, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announced that there was no attack. Thank you, Tulsi, for your leadership in traumatic times.

Chalsa M. Loo

Waikiki

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Chin should remain as attorney general

Doug Chin should reconsider his decision to step down as state attorney general to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. As Hawaii’s attorney general, he has been faulted for being in the right place at the right time and for speaking his mind. He is still the right man for the job.

Chin has demonstrated that he will stand up for immigrants by challenging the closed-door policies espoused by President Donald Trump and his minions. America was built by hard-working immigrants who fled from oppressive countries to rebuild their lives here. Refugees from Muslim countries deserve better than to be stereotyped as criminals and told they are unwelcome here.

Their efforts need to be supported rather than blocked. There are many disenfranchised people in our society who need a leader to voice their concerns and stand up for their rights. I think Chin is such a leader.

Stuart Shimazu

Kaimuki

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Drifting on Tantalus a continuous danger

John Steelquist, chairman of the Makiki-Lower Punchbowl-Tantalus Neighborhood Board, is quoted as saying drifting on Tantalus is “not a continuous problem anymore, but speeding is” (“Tantalus ‘shouldn’t be a racetrack,’” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 27).

Drifting is a continuous and daily problem. We live right above the drifting and racing areas and are witness to the loud sounds of skidding tires, burning rubber and roaring engines just about every day. The drifting occurs during midday, the late afternoon and evening, and often wakes us up in the middle of the night.

For five years we have been trying to stop drifting and racing. We have contacted the police many times in an effort to stop this dangerous activity before someone is seriously hurt or killed. Now an innocent young woman is maimed because no one has taken this problem seriously and taken action.

Vicky Durand Liljestrand

Tantalus