APEC forced homeless action

I applaud the state and the city for finally doing what they should have done years ago — removing all the sidewalk campers. But it is a darn shame that it has taken the federal government and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to literally force them to clean up their act. It really is a shame it had to come to this: outside forces literally forcing and shaming Hawaii and Honolulu to make this a cleaner and safer place.

It’s also too bad that the federal government and APEC haven’t demanded something be done about the huge number of shopping carts full of junk being pushed all over the sidewalks and parked all around various government buildings, parks, bus stops, etc. And what if some of the APEC visitors want to ride TheBus? Will they be discouraged when they see and smell the dirty bus stops all over Oahu?

If this is what it takes to make Hawaii do something, maybe APEC should stay forever.

Ann Ruby
Honolulu

Give homeless a place to camp

Many homeless in Hawaii actually prefer living in tents. It’s a way of life for them. Anyone who has ever been camping can appreciate this. They have their tent, their little items, and no responsibilities. We need to establish an area where they can go, pitch their tent, and live. Stainless-steel restrooms (that can be hosed down easily and are hard to damage) where they can clean up, and an open area with no trees so everything anyone does is in the open. It’s an area provided by the city where the homeless can live in tents.

It may not be where they want to be, but they can live without being harassed by the city — as long as they abide by the law.

Clif Johnson
Honolulu

Suicide poll not representative

I believe that it is unfair to have a poll about physician-assisted suicide that lasts for only a day (Star-Advertiser, The Big Q, Oct. 26). This is too complex an issue. I hope no one will use it as an indication that, based on 931 votes mostly in favor, we should legalize assisted suicide.

These online polls are "convenience samples" because only those who happen to see it, as well as those who feel strongly about the issue (either strongly for or against it), will participate in the poll. A truly representative sample would have to be obtained by a simple random sample without replacement (no one person more likely than another to be chosen) or a survey of all registered voters in Hawaii, making sure the wording of the survey question is unbiased. "Death with dignity" is a phrase used to emotionally manipulate voters. It is "physician-assisted suicide," not "mercy killing" or "death with dignity."

Kara Nelson
Naalehu

Personal, not religious, choice

The Catholic bishop of Honolulu’s opposition to death with dignity is based on the principle that our life does not belong to us, but to a deity in whom we may or may not believe ("Doctor says 1909 law allows assisted suicide," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 23). This type of view has no credence in a society that is based on separation of church and state. Why does the church feel obliged to interfere with our most personal decisions: to have or not have a child and to live or die on our terms? If I’m dying and in pain, I may want to end my life with help from my physician. It’s a private palliative matter between patient and physician.

It’s my life, my death, and my choice to make. Kudos to Robert Nathanson for standing up for the dying patient.

Alexandra Avery
Kailua

Biofuels are no bargain

Jay Fidell’s column on the biofuels plant has a lot of Kau residents hot under the collar ("Rejection of biofuel plan is a huge setback for isles," Star-Advertiser, Think Tech, Oct. 25). He calls the Aina Koa Pono biofuels plant a "dream deal," while most of us considered it a nightmare.

It is just plain arrogance to claim that Aina Koa Pono’s plan would "resurrect" agriculture in our district. For one thing, agriculture never died here. For another thing, it’s growing stronger day by day, with or without Aina Koa Pono.

Aina Koa Pono’s oil was going to cost us somewhere around $170 per barrel, about three times the current price of oil, with no hint of ever becoming less expensive in the long term.

The rate hike would make not only our personal home electric bills more expensive but drive up the cost of goods and services around the state. I don’t think it’s a good idea to give a private corporation the power to skim the cream off our entire state’s economy.

Malian Lahey
Pahala