Oil companies gouging public

When reading the story regarding Hawaii lagging behind mainland fuel prices, I am reminded that this is the same old recurring story.

We have already heard this and more interestingly the response by the refiners Chevron and Tesoro. This time we hear about our aged refining facilities, that oil may be coming all the way from Russia, etc.

Well, that may all be true, but the day after oil hit $79 per barrel the oil tankers were arriving, unloading their precious cargo.

Many may know that Hawaii buys on the spot market and usually from Indonesia and occasionally from the North Slope.

I do not believe for one minute that they buy high and sell low. They just continue to gouge the public because no one has the interest to go after them.

All is not lost for wonderful Kailua

Remember Kailua!

I remember a small, quiet town. Everything changes and sometimes change is for the worst. Kailua is officially a tourist town. One day it might be another Kahala.

What attracts tourists to Kailua is our beautiful beaches, our people and that small-town atmosphere. We couldn’t keep it a secret forever, but all is not lost. Everything always seems to balance out.

If we overuse our beaches, build large shopping malls or don’t manage our resources well, the tourist won’t come anymore, and the sad part is that Kailuans will be left holding the bag.

U.S. owes help to atomic victims

Thank you for “Hirono seeks more funding for Pacific islands’ migrants” (Star-Advertiser, Sept. 24), about health care for our cousins to the south that needs to be funded by the federal government.

Until the U.S. stops bombing foreign countries, we as a nation have a responsibility to care for the medical damage done to the families harmed by the atomic residue. Hawaii alone can’t afford to pay for the responsibility of the medical damage that continues to this day, nor should it have to.

This is a teachable moment for our nation.

Drivers must pay more attention

Honolulu has an outrageously high pedestrian death rate; inattentive and aggressive drivers are one of many reasons for this.

Here are three common scenarios:

» If you don’t use your blinker, the bicyclists to your right don’t know you’re about to turn in front of them. Why wouldn’t you use your blinker?

» If turning at a red light, many drivers glance right, look left for about 30 seconds for oncoming cars, then hit the gas. What happens if, on your right, pedestrians appear while you are looking left, and they step into the crosswalk? You will probably hit them. Don’t just look for cars; look for pedestrians, too.

» In Hawaii, it is both dangerous and illegal to use a cellphone while driving. Texting while driving really is inexcusable.

Please consider how your driving habits might be contributing to traffic.

And, of course, pedestrians and bicyclists need to be obeying traffic laws as much as drivers do.

Kaauwai’s words apply broadly

The Last Word quotes Jonah Kaauwai about the overall health of the Hawaii Republican Party (“The overall health of the party is more important than any one person, issue or candidate,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 28).

I think these wonderful words could apply more broadly: The overall health of the nation is more important than any one political party, person, issue, or candidate.