Kudos to those who helped save animals

Praise and thanks are due the agencies that brought two recent animal rescues to successful conclusions here.

The Humane Society identified, documented and spearheaded the Waimanalo puppy mill resolution. Healing, fostering and legally fighting for those animals’ well-being is commendable. What joy to see the adoption of those reclaimed animals!

The donkey saviors who claimed Big Island donkeys and rescued them — shipping them to havens on the mainland — deserve praise and support. A less enlightened society would solve such overpopulation by extermination.

Jobs well done by all those involved in these two efforts. We can all benefit by sharing our world and our love with animals.

Jane Wylie
Makiki

‘Extreme coning’ should be illegal

I, too, have noticed the extreme distance between the start of traffic cones to the actual job site ("‘Extreme coning’ torments drivers, Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 21).

There should be a law against obstruction of traffic. I could have sworn as I was coming down the Pali one day that they were cleaning the sidewalks on Bishop Street. They also had a sizable crew but I guess it takes that many to put down and pick up that many cones!

Leona Pereza
Kailua

New BOE members need some learning

The state Board of Education failed to make its proposed changes to our high school graduation requirements publicly available in a timely fashion.

The public did not vote for the members of this board, and could only voice their opinion about the amendments to Policy 4540 via written or oral testimony at board hearings.

It appears the board never wanted to hear the public’s opinion. Only after numerous complaints and the organized efforts of concerned educators, students and parents, did the board agree to retain four social studies credits. Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed a board of people who do not understand Hawaii’s educational needs and are not interested in listening to the professionals who do.

Sarah Nishioka
Mililani

Cataluna takes prize for inane comments

For a long time, I didn’t know who of Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s critics in the state deserved the prize for being the meanest among the mumbling nabobs of nastiness. This Sunday Lee Cataluna handily beat the Star-Advertiser’s David Shapiro, Richard Borreca, Cynthia Oi and Bob Jones of Midweek for that award with her inane comments about the governor and his wife spending their anniversary vacation in Paris ("Governor shows no aloha for isle tourism industry," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 26).

Instead of congratulating the couple for doing what Hawaiian royalty frequently did, namely expand their cultural horizons, Cataluna wanted the governor to do what he does on an almost weekly basis, namely travel to the various islands within the archipelago. The nuttiness of her complaint was even more obvious because Cataluna wrote it from her home in La Quinta, Calif.

Manfred Henningsen
Manoa

Sand Island plans could be more bold

While the idea of a small boat harbor at Sand Island may be a good idea, I think it must be a part of a much bigger picture.

The property is prime developable land with excellent views in all directions. New housing, both affordable and higher end with oceanfront park space for all to enjoy, must be considered. Let’s dig deep and ponder the idea of relocating most of Hono-lulu’s shipping to Kalaeloa and perhaps the relocation of our municipal golf course (Ala Wai) to this tract of land to free up future development in Waikiki.

We need more high-rise housing opportunities closer to downtown so people can live near work and walk, bicycle and take shuttles both by sea and land for their daily tasks instead of an elevated heavy-rail train that will industrialize our beautiful city and choke off our oceanfront experiences. Recent planning efforts for Honolulu and Hawaii in general have been timid and short-sighted. If we are to redevelop Sand Island, let’s go for it!

Charles H. Palumbo
Honolulu

Postal Service faces unique burdens

Regarding Don Brown’s letter concerning the Post Office’s current financial difficulties and his bashing of the postal unions, I’d like to bring up a few points ("Post office has high labor costs," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 16).

Brown mentions that labor accounts for 80 percent of U.S. Postal Service costs and only 53 percent at UPS and 38 percent for FedEx, but he fails to mention that both companies also operate fleets of airplanes, while the USPS does not. With the price of jet fuel factored in, the percentage of labor costs for UPS and FedEx would naturally look a lot smaller.

Much of the Postal Service’s financial problems are the result of an onerous requirement by Congress of pre-funding future retiree benefits, something that no other federal agency (or other company) is forced to do. While USPS’s business model may need some re-tooling to adapt to the changes wrought by the digital age, it is patently unfair to place the blame on the thousands of hard-working union members who process and deliver the mail to the American public.

Interestingly enough, I believe that while FedEx’s 95,000 workers are non-union, close to two-thirds of UPS’s approximately 400,000 employees are union. UPS seems to be surviving pretty well.

Paul Campbell
National Association of Letter Carriers member Waipio Gentry