Haleiwa parcel misdesignated

Are you kidding me? How does a 3.5-acre parcel of oceanfront, public park land get designated as "remnant and underutilized" ("Haleiwa land might be auctioned," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 12)?

What gives the Carlisle administration the right to sell this public park land? This administration works for the residents of the City and County of Honolulu and no one has asked me if I want to sell this oceanfront parcel.

And if this parcel is auctioned off, what is the true value, given its commercial potential?

Lastly, talk about cronyism: The only two qualified bidders are former state Sen. D.G. "Andy" Anderson and Kamehameha Schools.

Jack Lutey
Haleiwa

Thank HECO for energy advice

Recent letters berating Hawaiian Electric Co. for its awareness ads and prices overlook some important points.

Alternate-energy sources are still very expensive. Individuals can afford them only because they are heavily subsidized by taxpayer dollars. One man’s tax break is another man’s tax burden.

Solar and wind energy sources are not available when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, so HECO must still build its generation, transmission and distribution systems as if these sources weren’t there.

Designing transmission and distribution systems when there are distributed energy sources is a lot more complicated and expensive.

In the short term, regardless of what energy source is used, energy costs will rise and we can compensate only by learning to use less. We should be thanking HECO for calling attention to this.

So why should we be moving to alternative sources of energy? We cannot afford to be dependent on a source (oil) over which we have no control.

James B. Young
St. Louis Heights

Down syndrome needs attention

In Sunday’s article, "Lawmakers push to mandate insurance coverage for autism," (Star-Advertiser, Feb. 12), Susan Essoyan reports that two Senate committees intend to move a bill to help youngsters get vital early therapy.

Genetic disorders such as Down syndrome equally need attention.

Language and communication are well-documented needs of children who are born with Down syndrome.

Our laws guarantee sign language and interpreter services to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Rights of language access are given to students with limited English proficiency based on national origin. Yet our laws do not grant hearing children with a disability a right to learn in a language they can use, such as speaking and signing together.

Sen. Brickwood Galuteria introduced Senate Bill 2910 to effectively amend our education statute to include such a right. It’s time for lawmakers, the Board and Department of Education to take such action.

Linda Elento
Kaneohe

‘Single-use’ bags have many uses

Single-use bags? Are you kidding? Not in my house! Every plastic bag I bring home has multiple uses.

Regular grocery bags are for garbage, which I double-bag before disposal. Larger and smaller sizes line waste baskets or hold coffee grounds. I also use them to pick up rubbish from the streets.

I used to take them back to the grocery store to reuse, but now I hoard them in case they are outlawed, which I hope never happens. Then I would have to buy plastic bags for all the above purposes.

Barbara Del Piano
Honolulu

Social Security was good policy

In his recent assessment of Mitt Romney’s political future, Thomas Sowell claimed that Romney, and Republicans in general, don’t understand what Obama understands — "that dependency on government in hard times can translate into votes for the White House incumbent" ("Romney having trouble wooing over GOP faithful," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 8).

To make his case, Sowell noted that in a far worse economy Franklin Delano Roosevelt was re-elected in a landslide.

Are we to understand that those on Social Security (enacted into law in 1935) are best understood as prisoners of a totalitarian government? Or, are they more free to live decent, self-defined lives because of the support they gained from a president who understood that poverty and the turmoil of an unregulated market system shackled millions in countless, unforeseen ways?

Mark Helbling
Manoa

Can Hawaii get in on Las Vegas?

I personally would not want a casino in Hawaii. Most of the gambling interests in Las Vegas seem to agree and have convinced our state lawmakers of the same.

However, how about the state of Hawaii doing a feasibility study on our state opening a casino in Las Vegas? Would the state of Nevada allow it?

We would benefit, if it were possible. For example, a beautiful Native Hawaiian casino there would help our tourism business. Any profits could go to education.

Roy Benham
Honolulu

RAIL TRANSIT LETTERS

Rail will serve the whole island

Wake up, Hawaii! Once rail is built, it will not serve just the west side. People from East Honolulu can park at Ala Moana and use the rail. Our family would. Taking all those cars off the highway from the West Oahu area means less congestion in town.

People won’t have to sit in traffic wondering if an accident will make them late for work, or if the drive home will take four hours when police shut down the freeway for hours because of a traffic incident.

It’s really a no-brainer.

I disagree with your poll (“Rail support falls,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 12). Let’s build the rail, like we should have the first time, instead of just complaining about how bad traffic is.

Kelika Martin
Waialae-Kahala

Oahu well-suited for a rail system

How can so many people still overlook the fact that our island is made for rail?  We have dense housing and businesses located right where the rail is going to go.

More than 80 percent of the population will work within walking distance of rail, and more than 60 percent of the housing will be within walking distance, too. Other than New York City, I do not know of another region that is so well suited to support rail transit. We are made for it. 

Alice Jetto
Kaneohe

Rail will regain public’s favor

The headline declares, “Rail support falls.” People who follow rail transit around the country will tell you that there is nothing unusual in it. Every city that builds rail transit experiences this kind of shift.

What is very interesting is that after the rail system is built, an overwhelming majority favors rail. This was the case with the Washington, D.C., Metro and the BART system in San Francisco.

So please help give a balanced point of view so that the public is not confused about the benefits rail transit will bring to Honolulu.

For example, the Star-Advertiser quotes Beverly A. Brunke, who says there are cheaper alternatives, such as adding freeway lanes. Where is the space to add more lanes? Double-decking the freeway is out of the question for reasons that include cost and environmental impacts. It’s also physically impossible to do.

Please, let us not feed the public these pipe dreams.

Amar Sappal
Past chairman of the former Honolulu Public Transit Authority
Hawaii Kai

Hawaii could use a Gov. Christie

Last week’s editorial left out some very substantial pieces of information (“Take rail letter and run with it,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Feb. 8). It said, “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scrapped a commuter-rail tunnel project … As a result, the New Jersey transit took a $297 million loss … and forfeited a $3 billion federal grant, the largest FDA grant ever made.”

The editorial should have been fair and mentioned that the governor was fully aware that the project cost would be way overrun, and he could not justify having his New Jersey citizens be stuck with billions of dollars to pay. A wise decision from a financially responsible top executive.

It should behoove our mayor to make that same decision and write off about the same amount and save our citizens from a billion-dollar bill later on.

We need a governor with that wisdom and ability or a new mayor. And soon.

Gerri G. Pedesky
Nuuanu

Let people ride TheBus for free

Since there is so much controversy about the rail, I’d like to suggest that we try for one month free bus service during the morning rush and pau hana times.

Also, increase the bus frequency and have an express lane for buses only during that time on the freeway.

Of course, this must be while the University of Hawaii is in session. It may cost a million or two, but it’s better than wasting billions.

Kenneth Ikenaga
Pearl City