I think that Gov. David Ige has done a good job in finally getting more than 1,000 public school classrooms air-conditioned.

However, of greater concern to me, when I drive down Ala Moana Boulevard, past the condominium-ized Ala Moana Shopping Center, the Ward Center buildings and the now-defunct Ward Warehouse, is the lack of affordable housing for the Ala Moana-Kakaako area.

Where is the affordable housing for our children?

There are a few “affordable” condos thrown into the mix as a sop to building affordable housing. Some are tiny apartments with a pull-down bed. Initially, there was talk that condominiums would be built so our local folks, hard-working people supporting our economy, would be able to find affordable housing.

What happened to the state’s oversight of Kakaako’s housing development? It is a shame that there are so many million dollar-plus condominiums that few locals can afford.

This is a huge weakness in Ige’s administration that hits at the heart of our state’s economy.

Joanne Swearingen

Saint Louis Heights

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Giant house ruining Kailua neighborhood

We bought our home in 2001. It was a nice neighborhood then. Now it looks like a slum.

Cars and trailers are parked everywhere. It is not safe to drive up any of the streets to our street. Visibility is nil. Our mailbox is blocked most days.

Postal workers have given up on putting notices on cars that block the mailbox. Don’t we have any rights?

A house across the street has 12 bedrooms! Think how many vehicles they have. On the right of us, four renters; to the left of us, four renters.

Someone just moved in directly across and have five vehicles, some of which just sit. By the time the abandoned-vehicle folks get here, the vehicle gets moved, then put right back in the same spot.

We paid good money for our home in a nice neighborhood. Now it looks like Tijuana.

Don’t we have any right to keep our neighborhood looking nice and safe?

Mary Lou Zingalie-Adams

Kailua

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Anonymous donors hide behind PACs

The confusion expressed by “veteran political observers” about why the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters’ Super PAC is throwing money at state Sen. Josh Green’s campaign for lieutenant governor is easily dispelled (“Super PAC spending on candidate a ‘mystery’,” Star-Advertiser, July 22).

Super PACs are free of those pesky maximum donation limits and donors get to remain anonymous. Be Change Now is just a way for rich people buying political influence to hide their unethical ways.

My advice would be to see who has donated the maximum amount to a campaign publicly. You can place a safe bet they are “donating” bunches more anonymously through the Super PAC.

What they want is a mystery. You might consider whether you want to have your representative owned by people who hide who they are and what they want. If you have to hide it, it can’t be good for Hawaii — or on the national scale, good for America.

If money is free speech, then I want to know who is saying what, and why.

Julia Acoba

Ewa Beach

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Voters should unite to pursue same goals

As a citizen, why should I have to pay for my voice to be heard or to make my vote influential?

Nevertheless, every candidate and political party requests donations to ensure that strangers will be attracted to buying their election “victory.”

On the other hand, each of us could become a responsible voters — one who votes as a bloc with nine other voters. To provoke alternative and not consensus views, invite seven friends and two strangers to a local venue to discuss what each believes constitutes a common need for the neighborhood.

Make a list. Debate what solutions you seek. Vote on them. If a majority agrees, you all go to the polls with nine votes for the candidate who represents you.

Discuss why a bloc vote of nine is more powerful than a single personal vote.

Super PACs buy your votes. Don’t accept their assertions. Vote on your real needs. Restore representative government, formerly called “Republican,” by becoming responsible democratic voters.

Robert Tellander

Waikiki

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Reduce long delays in getting license, ID

The driver’s licensing/state ID chaos is unacceptable. The state and counties must make this procedure operate quickly.

One cannot live without one of these as identification. The driver’s license is essential for activities including work or school, shopping and every imaginable need for transportation. Current delays punish anyone with disabilities.

I renewed my driver’s license less than two years ago. The wait problem did not exist and it took less than one-half hour. Documentation requirements are unchanged. The population hasn’t grown to justify the increase in time. State and county governments must find the cause and fix it.

Candidates for governor, Legislature, mayors and county councils need to tell the voters what they will do about the problem. It is crucial that we vote for those candidates who will attempt to solve the problem.

Jim Pollock

Kaneohe