We all should care for the aina

During a recent beach walk in Kahala, a friend and I found the stream outlet was black and choked with branches, leaves and trash.

Rather than walk by, we picked up plastic bags, wrappers, cups and bottles and cans. We collected more the next day. We knew we had made a difference for the sea turtles that may mistake floating plastic bags for their natural jellyfish prey.

Based on a familial relationship to this area, where my great-grandfather, grandfather and father lived and fished, I feel an obligation to Kahala Beach. However, the responsibility must be communal.

Several beachgoers walked by, but not one helped. We all need to reduce, reuse and recycle and beachgoers need to give back to this place we use and enjoy.It’s time to learn to live reciprocally and take care of our aina so it can provide for us — simple Native Hawaiian wisdom.

Le‘a Kanehe
Waialae Iki

Inouye coverage was impressive

At our first meeting of the year, the board of directors of the 442nd Veterans Club spoke glowingly of the coverage given by the Star-Advertiser to the death and memorial services for Sen. Daniel K. Inouye.

The extensive depth of the reporting and spectacular photographs truly memorialized our senator.

As his fellow veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, we were thrilled to read the details surrounding his death, the tributes by his peers and his lifetime achievements as a U.S. senator. Many of us will treasure these issues as keepsakes of our 442nd hero who excelled on the WWII battlefields in Europe and in the halls of the greatest legislative body in the world — the U.S. Senate.

As the senator often remarked, it was ironic that a citizen like him would be classified as an "enemy alien," and yet end up in the highest reaches of our nation’s government.

This is truly an inspirational story; it can happen only in America.

William Y. Thompson
President, 442nd Veterans Club

Bicyclists getting bossy in Waikiki

What gives with the bicycle riders in Waikiki?

In the years that we have been visiting Honolulu in the winter months, we have observed an increase in the rudeness of bicycle riders. There is an increase in riding on the sidewalks, and they boldly let you know that they expect you, as a pedestrian, to move out of their way. If you dare walk on their bicycle paths, you get yelled at in a most unpleasant manner.

I was driving a car one day and moving along slowly as I was approaching a red light when a rider pounded my car and yelled that I was too close to his lane, not to mention that he was going all over the place.

It seems to me that they have a double standard: They want their space exclusively and also that of pedestrians and cars.

Maxine Josephison
Waikiki

Sugary drinks just tip of iceberg

I commend Gov. Neil Abercrombie for taking the initiative to deal with the problem of obesity.

However, the governor and his advisers show their lack of understanding of obesity. Sugary drinks are the tip of the iceberg. The majority of all calorie intake is food, not sugary drinks.

I can remember when cigarettes cost 35 cents per pack; the average pack now is from $4.74 to $11.90, depending on the state. The majority of this cost is taxes, but people still smoke.

People will continue to drink sugary drinks even with the additional tax. Some people will stop buying sugary drinks and make their own.

Is the governor going to tax all sugar and/or sugar products?

Vince Sunderman
Kaneohe

Use pump station to spread aloha

After reading the article about the Kakaako Pump Station ("Pump station should become education site," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 6), I would like to share two thoughts for the use of the property/building:

» It could be used for an information center for Kakaako, since it’s at the gateway to the area.

» It could be used as a Center for Aloha — a one-stop spot to explore aloha in all its forms.

Carol Sullivan
Honolulu