Public schools show poorly

Congratulations to the 70 young men and women National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists ("70 in isles named Merit semifinalists," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 12).

But notice that of the 70 semifinalists, only five (7 percent) are in public schools. The rest are all in private schools, with 51 from two schools.

These results should make the leaders of our state school system hang their heads in shame.

Harold Burger
Makiki

State could help pay for TheBus

For years I have bragged about our fabulous bus system. Suddenly, with the stroke of a pen, we are not serving students, senior citizens or our visitors. I wonder how many are now driving cars and no longer using the less-than-reliable bus.

If the city can’t find the funds, how about the state chipping in? After all, Oahu provides more public transportation than any other island and serves more people than all the other islands put together. The burden should be shared. As a senior citizen I would be happy to pay double for my senior pass, and I bet 90 percent of my fellow seniors would, too. That equates to $5 a month — a bargain.

I yield to the disabled, those at the poverty level and the handicapped.

Now they are messing around with the idea of letting seniors ride free. What kind of a giveaway society are we creating? Or is this one tied to votes?

Betty J. "BJ" Dyhr
Honolulu

Don’t let seniors ride bus for free

I just fought my way out of a sardine can, which some refer to as TheBus, to get to work.

For a ridiculous $5 per round trip (only four miles) I endure being squeezed to death while hanging on for dear life.

I waited 15 minutes at the bus stop and then it took 30 minutes of balancing, without even being able to sit down.

I read in the newspaper that the city is so flush with cash that seniors who pay a little over $2 per month should not pay at all. Who is running this city? Not all seniors are on fixed incomes, and they get cost-of-living increases. I haven’t gotten a raise in five years. How about giving us a break?

I would ride a bike, but the last three were stolen.

Robert Gaines
Downtown Honolulu

650-foot tower an elitist edifice

The Pohukaina tower at 650 feet will be slightly lower than Diamond Head’s 760 feet.

It will, however, be the single most dominating sight on the South Shore, a spectacle of elite interests supreme above all.

The authoritarian, omnipotent and secretive Hawaii Community Development Authority needs to be dissolved.

Leonard Brady
Liliha

Voting is how to effect change

In response to the letter, ("Politicians fail at protecting us" Star-Advertiser, Letters, Sept. 7): Why vote?

Not voting and expecting change is the flip side of doing the same thing and expecting a different result: foolish.

If you want change and you aren’t getting what you want from your elected politicians, get new ones. This involves effort. This involves persuading friends and family that change is in their interest, and so is their effort.

And, of course, voting. Complaining without voting, without action, just makes you part of the background noise that our conscious mind automatically filters out as it searches for information.

Enough votes do change things, either your representatives or their outlook on what they are or aren’t doing. Act!

Jim Murphy
Mililani

Solar systems generate taxes

The Council on Revenues does not account for tax revenues the state reaps from solar tax credit-stimulated system installations.

These systems substitute Hawaii sunlight for imported oil to generate energy for their 25-30-year lives.

The energy cost savings are expended locally versus for imported oil, leading to positive state tax increases of $305 per year, leading to a 12.3 percent average annual rate of return on investment.

My results have been corroborated nationally (www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-solars-tax-credit-is-a-money-maker/).

Reducing the credit level reduces system installations and consequent benefits to state government, local households and the environment.

So if the council wants to "ring the bell" on the solar credit issue, at least do full accounting.

Thomas A. Loudat
Kaneohe