Quarantine station can help homeless

I applaud City Council Chairman Ernie Martin’s thinking out of the box in wanting to buy the Blood Bank on Dillingham Boulevard to use for services for the homeless (“Homeless center idea pitched for blood bank property,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 27).

But once again it will cost taxpayers. Here’s an alternative idea: how about the unused quarantine station in Halawa? This already is state-owned property. The kennels are large enough and the homeless could lock up their belongings when away. There are bathrooms and bus service.

I strongly urge the mayor and governor to explore this idea, which won’t cost the taxpayers of this state a bundle.

Susan Morton

Kapahulu

Use decibel meters to test loud vehicles

Honolulu Police Department officials say it’s hard to bust mopeds with loud mufflers because “it goes back to what’s loud” (“Revved up,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 28). So their problem is, “How can you tell?”

A half-century ago when I was a kid in California, Department of Motor Vehicles inspectors and local cops kept the lid on noise and won any contested cases by using concrete evidence taken from decibel meters. Amazon lists a couple of dozen handheld digital readout meters with prices from $20 to more than $100. You can get a digital readout from a passing vehicle or — for license inspections — a fully revved stationary machine.

Does the moped or car register more than 85 decibels at 100 feet? Depending on the circumstance, you then get a ticket for excessive vehicle noise or can’t register the vehicle.

The only actual problem with eradicating moped noise seems to be HPD and legislative inertia.

Dan Binkley

Makiki

Law should apply to police officers, too

The public has a right to know if a law enforcement officer has violated laws that he or she is authorized to enforce.

Greater oversight of law enforcement officers is needed because of the national trend in such violations.

Must we wait until numerous incidents occur and the U.S. Department of Justice steps in, as has happened in other cities?

The secrecy of local law enforcement agencies is without merit. Disciplinary action or termination information should not be withheld from the public.

The public can judge if an officer who has broad authority is trustworthy and deserving of the power that his or her job commands.

It is ironic that those who enforce the law demand a separate standard for themselves.

Leonard Leong

Manoa

Electric trolleys got their start in 1901

Kioni Dudley makes a case for an independent Hawaii, but he falls short on one point: Honolulu’s electric streetcar system did not start until after Hawaii was annexed by the United States (“Many here support independent Hawaii,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 25).

The first run of Honolulu Rapid Transit and Land Company was in 1901 (service continued until the last line was converted to bus in 1941, and the company ran buses until it was taken over by the city in 1971).

Dexter Wong

Kahala

Fire judge, use salary to reimburse school

A school principal allegedly stole $136,099 in taxpayer money to upgrade his lifestyle and the judge decides on no jail time and $200 a month restitution because the principal apologized and already spent 30 days in jail (“Ex-principal gets probation in theft case,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 26). In a mere 56-plus years (with no interest or inflation adjustment) his debt to society will be paid off, if he lives that long.

A faster way to get the public’s money back would be to fire Circuit Judge Glenn Kim, who makes $156,000 per year, and donate that taxpayer money to the school.

Candy Baker

Waikiki

New York rail hub cheaper than our rail

An article in Sunday’s Star-Advertiser explained that the cost for the new rail hub at the World Trade Center in New York City has nearly doubled from an original $2 billion to $3.9 billion (“Soaring costs cloud transit facility,” Feb. 28). Sound familiar?

The article then noted that $3.9 billion is roughly the cost of the 104-story One World Trade Center tower. It is also, roughly, two-thirds the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s current estimate of the cost for our 20-mile, 20-station rail project.

Who would doubt that the elevators alone at One World Trade Center already log more people-miles per day than our rail cars ever will?

Victor Meyers

Kailua

Educational assistant a treasure for kids

According to Forbes magazine, there are plenty of billionaires and millionaires in Hawaii. But given the good works she has done as an educator and a “special motivator” for the last 50 years with troubled children in our schools, and the young lives that she has turned around, I believe that there is not a richer person in the state than Liz Agbayani (“Educational assistant has reassured kids since 1966,” Star-Advertiser, Lee Cataluna, Feb. 21).

Terence Davies

Hauula