No competition for Maunawili seats

It’s a sad day for democracy in Maunawili: This year there will be no competition for the state Senate or House. Very unhealthy.

Worse, when I called the Republican Party headquarters recently, I was assured there were plenty of candidates. I guess they don’t think enough of our district to provide participants for a good old-fashioned, free and fair election.

Perhaps the lesson is we have to be more proactive when it comes to our rights. We can’t depend on someone else to lead — we must all do our homework as we watch from the sidelines.

Ron Weinberg
Kailua

Time for Jones Act has come and gone

In response to Louis Mendez’s letter, "Jones Act is not main barrier to LNG" (Star-Advertiser, Letters, May 7): All energy alternatives, including liquified natural gas, will require a substantial investment of capital and resources. Having safe and isolated sites to load and discharge highly explosive cargo is nothing new to Hawaii.

Free market enterprise should be allowed to come up with a solution to lower energy costs for the general public.

The Jones Act (post World War I and pre World War II) was created because of the dynamic and dangerous era for maritime traffic. That era has come and gone.

The general public does not benefit from the Jones Act. This is the time for a change. The public doesn’t need to sacrifice any more.

Keoni Ronald May
McCully-Moiliili

BRT cannot match what rail can offer

The bus rapid transit (BRT) system proposed by former Gov. Ben Cayetano will never deliver the benefits the rail project is going to bring us in just a few years.

BRT cannot provide a reliable form of transportation. Bus schedules are affected by traffic. Even with exclusive lanes for part of a route, buses will mix with other vehicles when they leave these lanes. And at that point, they will be stuck, just like people in their cars.

Buses cost more to operate and maintain than trains. The cost of labor is much higher on buses, and so are fuel, maintenance and repair. Buses also wear out faster and must be replaced more often than train cars.

Buses do not encourage transit-oriented development and the quality-of-life improvements that go with it. Buses encourage more sprawl and will result in the loss of more rural areas and ag land.

Jennifer MacLean
Mililani

BRT gives better service, costs less

After reading former Gov. Ben Cayetano’s position on mass transit ("Enhanced bus system, not rail, is the way to go," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, June 3), it’s time we pulled our heads out of the sand and realize that the bus is the way to go.

First, the bus goes where you want to get on and get off while seated and is just about as fast as the train. It also goes to the University of Hawaii, Waikiki, Hawaii Kai, Makaha, Kaneohe, Kailua and the North Shore at a reasonable fare.

Second, expansion can occur more quickly and without years of expensive construction that would be an eyesore forever.

Third, the cost is a fraction of elevated rail and does not disturb ancestral sites.

Last and perhaps most important, encouraging population growth on our island will strain our natural resources, such as water and sewage.

Don Meyers
Waikiki

TheBus website is confusing, lame

Too many businesses these days start with their bottom lines and make their decisions based on that alone.

Airlines are today’s most glaring example, ignoring the essence of their business and gouging customers with a growing list of add-on fees.

When it comes to TheBus, given its public service aspect in addition to revenue concerns, it appears that the bean counters are at it again.My wife uses the bus regularly to commute to Restaurant Row for work. I use it infrequently. My gripe with the changes to the 55 and 65 routes and timetables is that it is difficult to understand exactly what the new changes are. Check out TheBus.org.It’s confusing, as if a government agency were in control.

The maps and graphics are a joke. One map prominently displays "Ahuimanu," even though that particular bus route does not stop anywhere in Ahuimanu in the evenings. Common sense? Clear communication in the digital age? Where are they?

Tom Haynes
Kaneohe

Objects on sidewalk are not free speech

Daniel Mew’s letter is spot on ("‘Occupy’ tents are a public nuisance," Star-Advertiser, Letters, June 7).

The tents, couches, desks and other trash on the sidewalk are not "free speech." People holding signs and talking to others walking by is free speech, not objects occupying a public area.

Why are our mayor, the City Council and other authorities not giving this their attention?

Mel Pendleton
Waikiki

Voters benefit from head-on debates

I agree with your recent editorial, which said that "voters must be allowed to see candidates in head-on live debates, not just canned advertising messages" ("Focus on Senate topics, not drama," Star-Advertiser, Our View, May 30).

The recent prime-time mayoral debate on Hawaii News Now helped me tofinally decide whom to vote for in the mayor’s race. The U.S. Senate seat is far too important not to see all candidates in a head-on debate on the important issues facing our state.

It would be a tragedy if voters don’t get to see a prime-time debate because one candidate doesn’t have the guts to appear. PBS and special-interest debates aren’t good enough.

Sound bites and newspaper articles about the debates don’t give us a good grasp of what the candidates really stand for and how they can handle issues under pressure.

I’m really hoping thenews mediakeeps asking U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono why is she hiding from the voters.

Art Frank
Waianae