Kaimuki bike lanes need 1 more test

A big mahalo to Wayne Yoshioka and his team from city Department of Transportation Services for hosting a public meeting at the Kaimuki Recreation Center on the proposed bike lanes for Waialae Avenue. It was very informative and enlightening to hear both sides of the issue before us.

I would like to request one more test, like the one last September, when one lane was closed on Waialae for three days.

However, this time I would also like to have left turns and right turns between 5th and 6th avenues banned as well.

This would give all the pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and residents of Palolo Valley and Kaimuki a much better understanding of what to expect when the bike lanes are permanently installed.

This would also allow DTS to discover any bottlenecks or problem areas that could be addressed prior to installing permanent bike lanes.

Lee Libby
Manoa

Vog worse since Halemaumau active

I second Michael Randall’s proposal that the Star-Advertiser include a vog report on the daily weather page ("Vog reports should be regular feature," Star-Advertiser, Letters, April 19).

Air quality has become a much bigger problem since Halemaumau began acting up again four years ago,and there are days Ishouldn’t go outside.

Susan Morrison
Kailua

Kudos to governor for OHA land deal

On behalf of the Kepoo family, a big mahalo to Gov. Neil Abercrombie in completing the agreement in the settlement of past ceded land claims with the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Since 1978, many of our elders in the Hawaiian community patiently waited for this settlement and died waiting.

Many years ago, I gave up hope that the state of Hawaii would ever right this wrong on the ceded land claims.

In less than a year and a half since taking office, Abercrombie rightfully signed this historic agreement into law on April 11, 2012. Now, I have hope for my family, our Hawaiian community, and this great state of Hawaii.

Hana hou, Gov. Abercrombie!

Arthur Kepoo
Makiki

Let big business pay for rail system

The appearance of Move Oahu Forward as an advocacy arm for Honolulu rail should raise a question for both citizens and elected policymakers alike: If rail is so important to big business, then why don’t they just pay for the whole project themselves?

I, for one, am tired of being told by corporations and the politicians that they support that my tax dollars should be used to finance public "investments in the future." If I’m really paying for an investment, I should get financial dividends, but how these projects work out is private corporations always end up getting rich at public expense and paying less than their fair share when it comes time for them to pay taxes.

Governments are going bankrupt because their politicians bought things that big banks and megacorporations goaded them into buying. When these things go bad, the companies ditch and ordinary taxpayers are left with the mess.

Bel Santa Elena de Gracia
Waipahu

Council should leave rail to HART

City Council members trying to sway the public with anti-rail complaints during a budget hearing are biased. I have watched the Council as members Romy Cachola, Ann Kobayashi and Tom Berg repeat the same questions every day, wasting time in hearings and meetings, after the issues have already been addressed.

In 1992, the rail project would have cost $1.3 billion.At that time it was approved and backed by a federal full funding grant agreement and an environmental impact statement was in place; yet the Council voted to cancel this project.

Now the people spoke and voted yes for rail.Now it will cost more than $5 billion because of rising costs. The Council needs to stop trying to stall the project, period. They are costing taxpayers money.

Bottom line: This project needs to be in the hands of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation and taken away from the Council.

Christina Rainwater
Mililani

Shapiro has knack for seeing humor

I look forward to David Shapiro’s Flashback when I open the Star-Advertiser. His knack of changing something serious to something amusing amazes me.

As we all have enough stress in our lives, maybe his column should appear daily while our state Legislature is in session. There is enough material there.

Keep up the good work, Dave!

Roy M. Chee
Moanalua Gardens

Garbage along path in Pearl Kai horrific

The annual Pearl Harbor Bike Path Cleanup was last Saturday for several hours in observance of Earth Day.

I was with 40 volunteers who cleaned along a one-mile stretch.

There were well more than 300 volunteers cleaning up other portions of the 13-mile path from Aiea to Waipahu.

The worst of our section was a quarter-mile stretch behind Pearl Kai Shopping Center. We filled more than 10 truckloads of garbage that the homeless in the area throw into the mangrove thickets. It was dangerous because of all the life-threatening germs that could potentially scratch into our skin. The smell of the garbage was horrific!

Every previous year that I have participated, the same amount of garbage is always scattered among the mangroves. These thickets should be replaced with groomed grasslands and shorelines. Until that happens, the piles of garbage will increase and shady characters will use these mangrove areas as their hideouts or places to stash their drugs/or stolen merchandise.

John A. Burns
Aiea