Anything with soy or corn likely GMO

So people want to have their food labeled so that they know what they are eating.

Here is some help: Any food product with soy or corn, unless it is labeled organic, is likely to contain a GMO-derived product. That means your beloved Spam musubi with shoyu marinade, ahi poke with mayonaise, the barbeque chicken plate lunch and even your tossed salad with Thousand Island dressing has GMO in it.

If GMO is as bad as is claimed, why not start to label all the prepared food, too, since most of us eat out? That would make sense to me if there truly is a danger. Would people stop eating it because of a label? I doubt it.

The bottom line is that we should be encouraging folks to eat healthier, whether it is GMO or not. Fresh and local is always better. A locally grown GMO fruit is much more delicious and nutritious than processed fast food any day.

Joni Kamiya
Kaneohe

Keep casinos illegal, like prostitution

Making casinos legal makes as much sense as making brothels legal.

Gambling and prostitution exist already. Make them legal, make them regulated, and tax the hell out of them.

I prefer not.

Beverly Kai
Kakaako

Renewable energy needs to be cheaper

Let affordable, renewable energy pave the way for a cleaner, greener state.

Passing Senate Bill 1087 and House Bill 856, regarding bond- financed loans for the renewable energy systems, will prove cost-effective in the long run. It’s a small price to pay for the amount that residents would save (15 to 20 percent) each month on their bills with solar panels and solar heaters running their homes. The cost of living will continue to rise, and because it is already significantly higher than in other states, we need to take action now.

Renewable energy not only will be beneficial for families, but also provide the state with a new industry and help it meet the clean energy goals laid out recently by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address.

We need to be progressive and show that we want to keep living in the paradise that we sometimes take for granted.

Amanda Tamanaha
Salt Lake

Use police officers to watch red lights

Red-light cameras are mechanical and lack the ability to judge.

A police officer has the ability and common sense to decide if issuance of a ticket is fair.

Cars may be delayed at an intersection because of pedestrians, traffic light changes at the stop ahead, yielding to a turning vehicle or other circumstances that a camera cannot account for.

Also, without an idea of cost, how can the Legislature determine the feasibility of their actions?

An alternative is to use the funds to hire a few enforcement officers that could move to various intersections in lieu of having a fixed camera.

Drivers are smart and will avoid the intersection or change their driving habits at intersections where the cameras are installed.

The Legislature before voting needs to realize the problems with installing red light cameras. It sounds good, but would it be practical?

Leonard K.P. Leong
Manoa

Red-light cameras are red-tape fiasco

Senate Bill 693 promotes a three-year pilot program on Oahu to see if it is feasible to have a red-light camera enforcement program in Hawaii.

The opposition to this program, just as with the van cams of a few years ago, will be forthcoming. One’s right to privacy is just a small part of this.

The cameras cannot positively ID the drivers. The citations will go to the registered owners. You may have multiple drivers and companies with hundreds of fleet vehicles on any given day.

Drivers contesting these tags, by law, can have their day in court. Presently our traffic court system is totally inadequate in handling its present caseload. The court system, with all of its cutbacks, cannot handle the onslaught of challenges such a new law would bring.

Steven T.K. Burke
Pearl City

Casualness allowed escapee incident

Really? No foot shackles on Teddy Munet? Why? ("Escapee recaptured blocks from court," Star-Advertiser, Feb. 21).

How sad that the entire city of Honolulu was put on alert, schools put on lockdown, students and their parents frightened, police officers all over the place, merely because of the unbelievable oversight of the staff responsible for monitoring Munet and other prisoners.

Auwe! Casualness breeds casualties.

Peter Kaleokalani Jones
Kaneohe

Invest in children to ensure the future

Kamehameha Schools CEO Dee Jay Mailer and I often agree.We do again ("Investing in keiki is for all our futures," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Feb. 24).

I was once told of a Hawaiian saying that I remember as:

"To provide for five years, plant taro.

"To provide for 10 years, plant koa.

"To provide for 100 years, teach the children."

Our legislative focus is often on providing "taro" and "koa." It’s time for the keiki.

Thomas J. Mitrano
Waialae-Kahala