Gas tax will help save our streets

On Wednesday, the City Council will decide whether to schedule a hearing on Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s proposed 5-cent increase in the city fuel tax. This will go toward supporting road maintenance, fixing potholes and making the streets safer for drivers, bikers and pedestrians. It will also go toward restoring bus service, reducing traffic by keeping public transit accessible. And it can support the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative goal of reducing ground transportation fuel consumption by 385 million gallons per year.

While many are wary of higher taxes, an extra nickel at the pump is smart policy — the fuel tax hasn’t change since 1989. Most Hawaii residents can avoid the tax just by inflating tires to the recommended level, increasing their gas mileage.

You can contact City Council Chairman Ernie Martin at emartin@honolulu.gov or 768-5002, and ask him to send Bill 17 for a hearing.

Richard Wallsgrove
Program director, Blue Planet Foundation

Public wants labels on GMO products

The consumers of Hawaii have worked very hard to voice their concerns regarding their desire to know which foods in the market place contain GMOs. They have marched in the streets on all islands, rallied at the Legislature, introduced bills and got one passed on the floor of the House. Former U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye supported labeling, as well as did the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink and now the Hawaii Democratic Party. All of the County Councils except Oahu support labeling of GMOs.

If the state Attorney General has legal problems with House Bill 174, a hearing would be the place to fix it. The Commerce Clause problem can be fixed if we include locally grown produce, and the Supremacy Clause problem does not exist because there is no federal law either requiring or precluding labeling of GMOs and thus nothing for the state law to conflict with.

The consumers of Hawaii and their right to know deserve fair treatment in the Senate, as they had in the House. The Senate’s refusal to hold a hearing will kill the bill and leave a bad scar on the credibility of our legislative process.

Walter Ritte
Kaunakakai, Molokai

Slom should clarify his comments

Republican state Sen. Sam Slom, on Fox News with Bill OʻReilly discussing Jessica’s Law, stated that "there’s also an underlying cultural problem here where some of our diverse cultures actually don’t see any problem or any crime in having sexual relations with young children" ("Some isle ‘cultures’ don’t see pedophilia as crime, Slom says," Star-Advertiser, March 16).

We would like to know of what specific "cultures" Slom is speaking. We would like him to name them (or at least one) backed by solid evidence.

Keli‘i Brown and Jim Crowell
Wailuku, Maui

Slom missed chance to educate O’Reilly

Regarding Sen. Sam Slom’s appearance last week on “The O’Reilly Factor” and Bill O’Reilly’s remark on an earlier show of his in which he said, “Asian people are, you know, not liberal by nature. They’re usually industrious and hard working”: I think Slom missed a golden opportunity to remind  his buddy O’Reilly that Asian people, like all people, are many things.

Slom could have taken the opportunity to educate O’Reilly as to what the Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, Portuguese and Puerto Rican sugar, pineapple and longshore workers had to endure to eventually earn a fair and decent wage in Hawaii. It was not easy. These workers became members of the ILWU and endured much hardship to get a fair wage: arrests, allegations of being communist, a lot of intimidation. The Big Five had a lot of power. 

If O’Reilly knew a little of this history, he might understand how one could be both industrious, hard-working AND liberal, and would also understand some of what went into making Hawaii the great state that it is.

Jim Howard
Manoa

Open restrooms at Wahiawa bus center

The Alapai bus center is all well and good for the daily bus riders and tourists ("Alapai bus center bathrooms will be open to all, mayor says," Star-Advertiser, March 16).

Now, how about putting in restrooms for the public in the Wahiawa bus center? There are restrooms for the drivers to use but nothing for the public. Mayor Kirk Caldwell should take some notice of this situation. It isn’t very appealing for tourists or the public to use the bushes.

Dennis Lynch
Mililani

Bulky-trash law can be dodged

Those who don’t follow the bulky-trash pickup law could (not will) be issued a notice of violation giving the violator seven days to remove the item. On the eighth day, if the situation is uncorrected, the city Department of Environmental Services inspector will impose a $250 fine.

So, to circumvent this law, one only has to place the bulky item out six days prior to pickup date, defeating the seven-day warning deadline.

Where does the city get the funding to pay the individuals used to stake out the bulky-item perpetrators?

Who gets cited? The property manager, resident manager, foreign national property owner? And, if and when it goes to court, is it at the taxpayer’s expense?

Does the city cite and fine itself when they are days or weeks late for pickup? Just asking.

Richard Ornellas
Liliha