Hysteria over GMOs not scientifically valid

The labeling of an estimated 10,000 products in our supermarkets that are based on transgenic crops (GMOs) will be a waste of money.

Scientists who’ve taught genetics (like I have for 60 years) simply cannot fathom the hysteria causing Hawaii’s Legislature to waste time on such GMO-labeling laws. Have none of them studied genetics?

Transgenic crops approved by agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration are absolutely safe. They occurred on almost 400 million acres in the world last year alone, and no one has even sneezed.

A lead article in the journal HortScience notes that taro worldwide could be saved from a devastating disease by a transgene borrowed from wheat. And soon we’ll be able to eat nutritious Vitamin A rice with a "golden" transgene borrowed from corn.

Legislatures must not react to these significant improvements in our foods by acting like high-school dropouts who can’t define "genetics."

James L. Brewbaker
Kailua

Isle taro farms need more reliable water

The article on the loss of taro in the previous year because of water excess and then shortage concerned me ("Water woes cut taro production in isles by 17%," Star-Advertiser, March 5).

If this is true, that means that we, as a state, have lost about $469,000 over last year.

Given that the average seems to be higher than even last year’s crop, why isn’t more being done to prevent crop losses?

It would seem that working out better drainage systems or reservoirs would pay off relatively fast.

Logan Uyeda
Aina Haina

Hanohano remarks were abuse of power

Many of my wonderful Native Hawaiian friends have Caucasian, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese last names — look at the Kamehameha Schools yearbook.

So how does state Rep. Faye Hanohano even know that the artists she was accusing of not being Native Hawaiian are not at least part Native Hawaiian?

More critical is the bullying threat made by Hanohano. Using her position of authority, Hanohano was verbally abusive and threatened to stop funding for the state Foundation on Culture and the Arts. She thus created a hostile workplace.

Especially for a committee chair, this abuse of power is dangerous.

In schools we have zero tolerance for bullies. We know the disastrous outcomes. This zero tolerance should extend up to the Legislature. House Speaker Joe Souki should take further action.

Chris Nakamatsu
Kailua

Cultural trauma still exists in Hawaii today

An outbreak of racism talk has occurred since state Rep. Faye Hanohano’s racial remarks.

My great-grandfather was sent to live in internment camps in Hawaii and throughout the American continent for two years. It was not the Hawaiians who caused this to happen, but the U.S. government. It was the Hawaiians that gave my Japanese relatives the opportunity to live and work on their land.

Hawaii became a state because of the illegal annexation by the U.S. Hawaiians had their entire culture degraded on their own land.

I am not Hawaiian but I know the cultural trauma experienced by Hawaiians has affected subsequent generations. It is unfortunate that many people are unaware of the cultural trauma experienced by Hawaiians. As evidenced by Hanohano’s comments, cultural trauma still exists in people today.

Maybe it is our turn, as outsiders, to show our aloha back.

Shelley Soong
Kaimuki

City taking wrong tack to help homeless

As many people mistakenly and unfairly do, Ann James blames the homeless for their homelessness, instead of seeing this problem in the context of society as a whole, holistic, integrated entity ("Taxpayers pay for homeless," Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 6).

While taxpayers do, indeed, pay a high price for homelessness, it’s because the simple, compassionate, common-sense, affordable solutions that do exist right now simply aren’t being sought and implemented.

Not doing the right, sensible things to effectively address homelessness is very expensive for everyone. We all pay in many hidden ways for homelessness and the ripples of dysfunction it causes throughout society. Enormous, wasteful costs arising from ignoring the homeless would be greatly mitigated and reduced if we as a society would finally make up our collective mind to provide at least minimal shelter, safety and protection for the unlucky and the disadvantaged among us.

David Cannell
Waipahu

Protesters showing unity with houseless

The City and County of Honolulu does not like the protesters who have successfully brought the issues of houselessness to the forefront.

The protesters have built a community with the houseless and defy preconceived notions that all houseless are dangerous.

The city is bringing a new era of Jim Crow laws against the poorest of the poor. The evictees will have their lives put at risk with Bills 2, 6 and 7.

We need a City Council to be more interested in helping the houseless than putting their health and safety at risk because they do not like the handful of protesters who advocate sustainable solutions.

Sugar Russell
Thomas Square

Hike weight tax, too, to pay for fixing roads

Randall Yong’s letter regarding the city’s plan to hike the vehicle fuel tax hit the nail squarely on the head ("Time to hike city’s vehicle fuel tax," Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 7).

However, your editorial opinion rejects the idea as too costly for the driving public ("5-cent gas tax hike, adds to heavy burden," Star-Advertiser, Our View, March 7). Yong’s analogy, where condo owners pay maintenance fees for ongoing expenses to properly maintain their building and grounds, is a better argument.

We should support Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s proposal to take care of the terrible road conditions that we have to suffer every time we drive through the streets of Honolulu.

The weight tax should also be increased for the heavy vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, as they do more damage to the road pavement than the family car.

The old saying "You get what you pay for" applies here.

Glen S. Arakaki
Kalihi

How was fuel tax used since last rate hike?

By the end of this year, I am sure a gallon of gasoline will be at the $5 mark in Hawaii. Recently, an oil company executive on the mainland predicted that gasoline will reach $8 a gallon.

Now we hear our tax-and-spend new Democratic Mayor Kirk Caldwell wants to raise the fuel tax by another 5 cents. He wants to raise

$15 million a year to fix the potholes and roads here on this island. Isn’t this same reason given every time the fuel tax is raised?

My question, as an overtaxed citizen of this state, is where did those millions of dollars accumulated from the current 16.5-cent-per-gallon fuel tax go since the last fuel increase?

Melvin Partido Sr.
Pearl City