Teachers deserve help with supplies

Tax credits for school supplies is a great bill that is long overdue. Public school educators are constantly pushed to be more creative with their lesson plans and classroom techniques, but receive less funding every year. Few employees are expected to pay for their own work supplies. Public school teachers, however, routinely dip into their own pockets to purchase needed teaching tools for their students.

Educators understand these challenges when taking the job, but more must be done by lawmakers to support our teachers on the front line.

Fortunately, during the current legislative session, 18 senators introduced a $500 tax credit bill, Senate Bill 2484, for teachers to recoup some of the money they spend by directly reducing the amount of taxes they would owe.

This credit will greatly help recognize the work of our educators and assist those who use their personal income to purchase materials such as books, supplies, computer equipment and supplemental classroom materials.

Edward B. Garcia
HSTA teacher lobbyist, Maui Waena Intermediate School counselor

Cure obesity by educating children

Recently we have been hearing much on the issue of efforts to tax sugary drinks. If we are going to tax sugary drinks, how about taxing candy, pizza, pastries, chips and, better yet, all snacks?

The root of the problem and the cause of obesity are not with sugary drinks or snacks.

It is the net result of not focusing on the problem where we can do the most good, which is when children are little and can be taught good nutritional intake and the reason for regimented exercising.

Ask teenagers and even adults if they know the difference between proteins, carbohydrates and fats, or why one should eat fruits and vegetables. The majority will tell you they don’t know and herein lays the problem.

If we grow up not knowing what causes illnesses or us to get fat or stay trim, chances are we’ll get fat and susceptible to illness caused by malnutrition.

Gary H. Watanabe
Waipahu

Rail comparison apples vs. oranges

If the Honolulu rail transit project builds out to the University of Hawaii in my lifetime, I’ll gladly ride Honolulu’s rail.

Jurgen Sumann, the rail project’s chief systems engineer, compares the project with Minneapolis’ Hiawatha Light Rail, with 15-minute average trips and 74 seats per two cars. The trains on Honolulu’s 20-mile route will have 76 seats per two cars, 20-average trips and weekday average ridership of 116,300.

Hiawatha’s average speed is 18 mph, taking 40 minutes to travel 12.3 miles. Its two-car configuration has 132 seats. Launched in mid-2004, its average weekday ridership by 2005 was 23,900. Average weekday ridership (four-quarter average) reached 30,500 in 2008 and has been stable between 26,100 and 35,500, averaging 31,500/weekday for the last 15 quarters.

Importantly, Hiawatha is at-grade, not elevated, and cost $715 million.

Besides transparency, the city should use equivalency in its rail discussion.

Roger Kimura
Moiliili

Kauai’s plastic bag ban not working

Kauai has a plastic-bag ban at grocery, retail stores and take-out for restaurants. The irony is the stores have reverted back to using paper bags, while the ban was supposed to get people to use reusable cloth bags. The ban has failed dramatically, taking us 100 giant steps backward.

Grocery stores continually run out of paper bags. When they do have them, they take up many times the space of the old plastic bags. People re-used plastic. The paper ones break and become garbage as soon as you take your groceries home. Now many people are buying commercial plastic garbage liners during these recessionary times when they can least afford it.

Wal-Mart, the largest retailer on Kauai and the social gathering place of many, sells blue cloth-looking bags made out of used plastic bottles. The ban was to get rid of plastic, but these beautifully designed blue bags are made of plastic.

James "Kimo" Rosen
Kapaa, Kauai

Don’t sell park to private developers

Is your favorite park at risk? The Honolulu City Charter states the city shall serve and advance the general welfare, happiness and aspirations of its inhabitants. The mission of the Department of Parks and Recreation is to enhance the leisure lifestyle and quality of life through recreational opportunities.

So why is the mayor looking to sell part of Haleiwa Beach Park (3.5 acres mauka of the highway) for private development? Whose neighborhood park will be next?

Haleiwa Beach Park is a highly used and prized recreation area. For more than 20 years, a large portion of this park adjacent to Jameson’s Restaurant has been in use by canoe clubs, residents and visitors. This park is highlighted in the 2011 North Shore Sustainable Communities Plan as an asset that can fill the existing shortage of parks. Additionally, over the past 18 months, the community has undertaken a monumental effort through a city-approved "Adopt-A-Park" program to improve the park.

Officials should reject selling this park land and uphold the Honolulu City Charter.

Elizabeth Reilly
Hawaii Kai

Larry McElheny
North Shore

Montana judge should resign

February 2012 marked the 70th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the internment of hundreds of thousands of Japanese-Americans, including my uncle. Thereafter, the 100th Battalion 442nd Battle Group made up of Japanese-Americans, including U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and some of my cousins, distinguished themselves on behalf of a country that imprisoned citizens based on racism.

So now comes Montana Chief Federal Judge Richard Cebull, showing that we have made little progress in 70 years ("Racist joke about Obama prompts review of judge," Star-Advertiser, March 2).

CNN recently ran a story about a survey showing wealthier people are more prone to lie, cheat or bend rules for their personal benefit. If Cebull doesn’t resign, it proves the survey to be true.

Paul Inoue
Shoreline, Wash.