Bulky trash is like littering

It is long overdue to discard the curbside bulky item pick-up program. In addition to the huge taxpayer expense, the days and often weeks of bulky trash in every neighborhood simply do not make sense anymore.

Bulky trash pickup started years ago, but most people no longer follow the schedule by putting their items out on the correct days.

Bulky trash on the side of the street should not be treated any differently than littering. Piles of bug-infested bed mattresses, toilets, hazardous refrigerators, stoves, televisions, etc.? What’s going on? Enough is enough!

When people first buy a large product, they either bring it home or pay to have it delivered. The same mentality should be followed at the end of the product’s life cycle. They should find their own way to get it to the dump.

Please get rid of the bulky pickup "service" and make this islandwide problem become an unpleasant distant memory. Then, impose a steep fine on those who create such litter.

John A. Burns
Aiea

Deal suggests work unneeded

With the United Public Workers labor agreement, the governor seems to have met his objective of achieving a 5 percent labor savings.

The savings arise from an agreement to eliminate more than 100,000 labor hours annually.

Interestingly, the governor tells us that we "will not notice anything in the way of lack of services."

If that is so, then one wonders what was being accomplished with those 100,000-plus labor hours in the past. Have we, the public, been paying for unnecessary staff time?

Bob Maynard
Kailua

Don’t pave over UH ag research

I was excited to see your editorial "Ag research should be a top priority" (Star-Advertiser, Our View, Nov. 13) and the support for Hawaiian agriculture that you suggest.

I only wish that the University of Hawaii administration felt the same way about ag research and teaching at the flagship Manoa campus.

On Nov. 23, representatives of the UH administration will explain their decision to locate new faculty housing on one of three tentative locations, one of which is the Magoon Research and Teaching Facility in Manoa.

As an agricultural researcher and educator with 28 years at UH, it is demoralizing to think that the last bit of a land-based teaching facility for our students is being considered for new faculty housing.

With the renewed emphasis on food security and sustainable living, it boggles the mind to think that UH will pave over an ag-teaching facility and literally put up a parking lot. These are not the lyrics of a popular song composed in Hawaii, but a kick in the gut for supporters of ag-teaching and research in Hawaii.

Joe DeFrank
Professor, UH Department of Tropical Plant/Soil Science Mililani

Average student focused on self

While the University of Hawaii’s official stance was pro-APEC, the majority of its students had little idea about what the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group is or represents.

The reason why the average student didn’t know about APEC is they don’t see what kind of impact the summit will have on their lives (other than traffic). The average student seems highly self-centered, focused on immediate events like homework, jobs or social life.

Also, the UH student culture is not one to discuss an event like this. UH students who regularly talk about political debates, policy or current events in depth outside the classroom seem like a very specialized few.

Is this the general attitude of our state? Or is this lack of interest only among the future men and women of Hawaii?

Ryan Young
Sophomore, University of Hawaii-Manoa

APEC was great opportunity

I take umbrage at the letter written by Gregory Poole ("APEC has been a losing proposition," Star-Advertiser, Nov. 12).

In his rant about what the citizens of Oahu are not able to do and what they want want want, he claims this is from a government that will not allow its law enforcement personnel to weed out illegal immigrants.

The fact is, illegal immigrants perform the menial jobs that the rest of the unemployed refuse to do.

Instead of seeing this short time that this convention took in bringing these great leaders from all around the globe together and shining a spotlight on our beautiful Hawaiian islands, Mr. Poole would have them get together on videotape.

Where is the vision here?

Linda Carlson
Palolo Valley