Mountain trails can be deadly

I grieve for the hiker who lost his life this week falling from a cliff over Waimanalo.

In 1973, I fell some 140 feet from a steep pali during a three-day trek between Iao and Olowalu Valleys on Maui, but survived because ferns and shrubs slowed my descent.

In his youth, my grandfather, Henry Walker Sr., hiked all over Oahu’s volcanic mountains, but told me never to do so. The friable soil and precipitous palis render them extremely hazardous.

I should have listened to him, and so, too, should all those who would venture away from Hawaii’s established trails.

Michael A. Lilly
Honolulu

Road repaving not being done

Let’s not blame the recent winter storm for our historically bad roads.

Pathetic is a better word.

Most of these potholes have been with us for years. Where is our payback for a $77 million budget?

The refilling of the same old potholes is not the answer. Using manpower to stomp down the replacement asphalt results in very poor workmanship with little chance of lasting.

Likewise, the state has been ignoring Kamehameha Highway, especially in the Aiea area, for years.

Does the government even bother to prioritize repaving?

The recent repaving along Moanalua Road near the Sears distribution center is just one curious example. Anyone can see that the really bad parts of Moanalua Road are on the opposite side of Kaonohi Street, especially fronting Waimalu Elementary school. Yet that area continues to be ignored.

What does it take to get the worst roads done first?

Do the state and city even have a master plan for repaving Hawaii highways and roads?

If so, where can the plan be reviewed by taxpayers?

James Robinson
Aiea

Plastic bag fee a worthy goal

We need Senate Bill 2511, which would levy a 10-cent fee on plastic and paper bags, to become law.

The benefits?

» Less litter, which looks bad and costs to clean up.

» Less plastic fouling streams and ditches, causing backup and flooding.

» Fewer bags to entangle marine animals.

» Money saved by retailers because people won’t switch to paper bags, which cost more to produce and use up more resources.

The costs?

» Produce bags aren’t affected, so you can clean up after your pet for free.

» You don’t have to pay — you can bring your own, as you do at Costco, and as we used to do before plastic bags were the norm.

» If you want a few to line your kitchen waste can, the fee is affordable. Besides, the fees will go toward restoring and protecting our valuable watersheds.

Sounds like a win-win for everyone but the bag manufacturers, who fight throwaway-bag bills everywhere they are proposed.

Phyllis Frus
Waikiki

‘Descendants’ raised question

The movie "The Descendants" showcases Hawaii’s scenery, music, history, human relationships, grief, and, at the end, "trusts."

There are many land and financial trusts in Hawaii tied to Native Hawaiian ancestry mixed with Caucasian influences, such as Campbell, Queen Liliuokalani and Bishop.

Many of the trusts are managed for good, but some through legal and political bullying have been misused and abused.

In "The Descendants," George Clooney’s character resisted selling the family’s kuleana land of 25,000 acres with the simple question: Did his great tutu lady, who willed the land, intend for her ohana to sell?

There are Native Hawaiian land and resources, past and present, that have been sold or stolen, traded and manipulated for personal agendas.

In today’s economic environment, the question is: How do trustees and politicians who talk the talk actually walk the walk?

Larry Helm
Hoolehua, Molokai

Bush deserved all that he got

The letter "Bush held to higher code than Obama" (Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 15) was misguided and ill-conceived.

First, the Abu Ghraib prison incident happened shortly after thebeginning of theIraq War.

Let’s not forgetthat the Bush administration made its case to the United Nations that Saddam Hussein and Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Ten years later, thousands of lives lost, billions of dollars wasted and still no weapons: Was it worth it?

Bush deserved all the blame and vilification he got.

Second, our troops have had to endure multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. They are under incredible traumatic stress. Our armed forces are trying to do the best job possible under trying circumstances. I’m surprised more of them haven’t blown a fuse.

Third, President Barack Obama inherited this mess.

‘Nuff said.

Robert K. Soberano
Moiliili

Sidewalk safety being ignored

Every day, scores of misdemeanor violations threaten the safety of sidewalk pedestrians in Waikiki and in the business districts of Honolulu without restraint.

These are the skateboarders and bicyclists who plow through the citizens at bus stops, vie for the handicapped access on street corners, ignore traffic lights and stop signs and curse the pedestrians who fail to give way.

A police officer at the Waikiki substation said that several violators have been warnednumerous times, "but they just don’t seem to care."

During the Honolulu Festival parade,bicyclists freely scattered the sidewalk pedestrians unheeded by the police. In fact,one officer actually steppedout of the way of a bicyclist forcing his way throughthe crowded sidewalk.

Curb violations with mandatory citations.

Roger D. Van Cleve
Waikiki

Rail opposition easy to fathom

Why are so many of Honolulu’s citizens against the rail?

The simple answer is that it does not make sense.

The cost is too high, the route too inflexible and the ridership projections too small.

Add to that the rail’s leadership, which has made questionable decisions like signing billion-dollar contracts without full funding.

There is, however, a serious traffic problem and we need to solve it.

So increase the bus system, make ridership free and increase downtown parking fees dramatically and we will accomplish our short- and long-term goals at a much lower cost.

It is time for our political leaders come to the realization the rail economics will not work for its citizens.

Peter Stoddard
Kailua