Teachers’ labor fight actually educational

Jane Hays condemns teachers for allowing students to protest, insinuating that teachers are somehow manipulating students into their current labor dispute with the governor ("Teachers should not indoctrinate students," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Nov. 25).

I could not disagree with her more.Students have a right to protest if they want to.

This two-year dispute, unfortunately, gives teachers a real-life example to share with students the hows and whys of protesting, as well as having a good forum about what students should expect from a public school education. Teachers do not just "impart knowledge," as Hays states.A computer and Google can do that. Teachers teach.

The biggest harm to students is when good teachers leave the profession and a student’s education becomes compromised.

Michael Englar
Pearl City

Hawaii should join Powerball program

According to a Massachusetts lottery spokesman, Massachusetts sold $38.5 million in tickets during the final day leading up to Thursday night’s $525 million Powerball drawing, generating $16.1 million in net profit for the state.

Would someone please remind me again why Hawaii doesn’t participate in the Powerball Lottery? At one dollar per ticket, most people would buy from one to 10 tickets and be happy. That’s hardly the same as standing at a blackjack table in Las Vegas and betting away the rent payment. The lottery is fun for participants and generates huge profits for the state. Think of it as a self-imposed tax that people are eager to pay. What’s not to like?

Michael O’Hara
Kaneohe

Marathon is good, fireworks are not

The Honolulu Marathon is fast approaching and residents living near the start line will again be wakened, some frightfully, by the thunderous 5 a.m. Sunday morning fireworks.

A race official claimed that noise was heard in my neighborhood, two miles from the start, last year only because of unusual weather conditions.We’ve been wakened every year, regardless of weather.

The official, referring to the noise as an "inconvenience," apparently fails to understand that many neighborhoods endure early morning noise every day.

His claim that the noise is an inconvenience only one day a year ignores the effects of lack of sleep on citizens wakened early morning Saturday before the race, race day, and early Monday after the race.

The marathon is an event important to Honolulu and should continue. The fireworks, however, are gratuitous, a needless disturbance that should be discontinued for the good of residents.

Bob Kern
Lower Manoa

Increase rider limit for cars in HOV lanes

We all know that every afternoon during rush hour, westbound vehicles on H1 are all crawling. Not a single soul, perhaps except a U.S. president, has a way out of this daily crawling madness. The HOV lane is just as slow as regular lanes. During morning rush hours, all eastbound vehicles are equally slow before the H-1 and H-2 merge.

As we all know, HOV lanes are designed to move high-occupancy vehicles faster and to move people most efficiently with existing lanes. Crawling HOV lanes equal no HOV lanes at all. Under current conditions, government authorities either do not understand the concept and benefit of HOV lanes or choose to do nothing to make HOV lanes actually work.

It is time to change HOV and Zip lanes on west H-1 back to three or more riders. Increasing ridership on HOV lanes is good for all taxpayers.

Yucheng Pan
Mililani

Make ag importers pay for inspections

Why do taxpayers have to pay for agricultural imports inspectors?

The people who import live plants or other "green" products such as Christmas trees should pay for their own inspections.

The nursery industry is responsible for so many invasive critters and plants coming into Hawaii it has become ridiculous. These businesses should not get subsidized in the form of free inspections.

Solution: All agricultural products go in containers painted green. These green containers have a one-way portal for fumigation before opening the door. Then an inspector goes in and inspects the whole load — not just the first few rows. And the importers pay for the inspection. Why do we subsidize the very people who have brought in the coqui frog, the gall wasp that wiped out our wiliwili, the stinging nettle caterpillar, fiddlewood, miconia, bunchy top virus — the list goes on and on? If you bring in plant products from the U.S. mainland or foreign countries, you pay for the inspection. No exceptions.

Arthur Reppun
Kaneohe