Fee hike would be bad for business

I am looking in my wallet for a half-cent piece. That’s because that is the amount I will lose every time I sell a single container of a beverage.

The state Department of Health now wants another half-cent fee on every can or bottle to run its recycling program. And they are giving me a month to figure out how to gear up my accounting to add this to my customers’ receipt and hire someone to reprogram my cash registers.And here’s the kicker.If somebody buys just one can of juice, how do I charge them half a cent?And the law says I can’t round it up.So guess what?I get to eat the half cent.

Sometimes I think the government is just dreaming up ways to put us out of business.

Thomas A. Rea
Owner, Kaimana Pantry Diamond Head

Drink container fee tough on consumers

You have to be kidding me. We have to pay another fee on our drink containers? When will the piling on stop?

The state Department of Health wants to keep $15 million in the recycling fund just as a reserve? Meanwhile, we find out the department is accused of mismanaging the fund.

This is just another money grab that hits me in the pocket when I pay for groceries. I can’t even count the number of containers of drinks I buy in a year. And if I don’t have the time to take the cans to a recycling center, I now say goodbye to 6½ cents instead of 6?

By the way, how do we pay half a cent? The whole idea is terrible.

Laura Mo
Salt Lake

Recycling program being poorly run

Before the state recycling program, the recyclers paid consumers for the empty cans (about 20 cents a pound). The recyclers then processed and sold the recycled products for a profit. Why should the state pay a handling fee to the recyclers if the handling results in a profit for the recycler? Also, the true deposit is 6 cents per container, with 1 cent to retailer selling the product. The administrative costs for the recycling program are way too high. The consumers are really getting ripped off by this program.

Jim Casey
Waipahu

Seniors should pay more to ride bus

I agree with everything in the letter from John Hansen ("Goodbye TheBus, hello my own car," Star-Advertiser, Letters, June 19).

TheBus is now unbearable. There is new graffiti every day inside the buses and all over bus stops. Buses are now very slow, crowded and uncomfortable.

I relied on the "B" express for work and other trips but now it is gone and the buses I have to use are often filled beyond capacity.

I can’t believe the government of this tourist mecca has allowed this. Seniors pay only $30 per year compared to my cost for a monthly pass of $60. I have to lose service and suffer the cockroaches and graffiti because seniors have such a reduced rate.

I do not believe enough other options were explored. It seems to me there are many other ways to cut costs and increase revenue besides drastically reducing service to this extent.

Mark Davis
Waikiki

If rail doesn’t cut traffic, what then?

The article "As TheBus reaches capacity, rail becomes critical" is very convincing except for one critical point that Wayne Yoshioka left out (Star-Advertiser, June 17): While explaining how buses have to drive through congested streets to perform their transit jobs, he never concedes that even with the $5.27 billion rail system, traffic congestion will not get better.

Traffic get worse because there are more cars regardless of those riding rail, and it will get worse because the city is now not making any planned traffic improvements, putting all their traffic relief in the rail basket.

So once rail is in place and traffic is still horrendous and getting worse, what will Mr. Yoshioka, Kirk Caldwell and Mayor Peter Carlisle say? We need more rail?

Bernadine Barry
Ewa Beach

State should try to acquire Lanai

How sad that one of our Hawaiian islands is for sale.

Do we have so much land that we can let such large parts of the whole go to private ownership?

Do the Hawaiians not feel any special link to Lanai? I believe the state should make every effort to bring Lanai back in the family.

Pat Sexton
Diamond Head

There will always be foolish people

People will continue to ignore posted warning signs or obvious dangers and be involved in accidents and even deaths on state land and our unimproved shores.

There are dangerous situations that most people wouldn’t even think of placing themselves in. But there will always be a minority who will stand on the rugged shoreline after climbing down a steep incline and expose themselves to large waves just for the thrill, ignoring the danger.

Tourists and locals alike have gone down to the geyser-like blowhole at Halona Point, walking down the treacherous rocks just to get close to feel the saltwater spray. Three people have died at Halona Point after being knocked over by a large waves and pushed into the blowhole.

There are tragic situations that are beyond our control. It is beyond imagination how people can even take such risks.

Larry Tamashiro Jr.
Downtown Honolulu