Focus on leaker is a diversion

The media, including our very own Star-Advertiser, is again aiding and abetting the real criminals in this country by diverting our attention away from the real issue — the powerful and corrupt leaders in Washington who have been blatantly violating the Constitution and committing crimes against the American people for years.

The question is not where Edward Snowden is, or whether Hong Kong or Russia will turn him over to U.S. authorities. The real questions that demand answers should be:

» "What have this and prior administrations done through the National Security Agency and the Internal Revenue Service against Americans?" and;

» "Who is responsible for the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, despite their unheeded pleas for help?"

The responsible parties are the ones who ought to be tried before the American people.

Without people like Snowden, there would be no restraint on government tyranny in this country.

R. Mark Ing
Salt Lake

Primaries are for party members

The recent articles and letters to the editor about the issue of closed versus open primaries reveal how little many people, including the editors of the Star-Advertiser, understand about what a primary election is for.

The purpose of a primary is to provide a legal, controlled means for political parties to select their candidates for the subsequent election. They select the person whom they want to represent their particular party.

Allowing non-members of the party to vote for the party’s candidate would be like letting a company’s competitorsvote for the members of the company’s board of directors. It simply makes no sense.

States turn to so-called open primaries when one political party or another feels like the underdog and wants to gain more control by influencing the other party’s candidate selection process. And that’s just wrong.

Roger Garrett
Kapahulu

Waikiki needs recycling bins

Millions of people visit Hawaii every year. Waikiki is a particular hot spot of tourism.

As a mindful guest, I don’t want to spoil a place I am visiting. Despite the fact that I carry a reusable water bottle and try not to purchase package-laden products, I was greatly forlorn that there were no recycling bins that I could find in Waikiki.There was an overabundance of trash cans, yet no recycling bins.

I am glad that some hotels are opting to participate in recycling, but my hotel did not, and I would have gladly taken my recycling to a bin.

I live on an island in Alaska with a population of just 10,000, and I know the issues we have with waste. I imagine Hawaii’s garbage issues are infinitely compounded by the number of people residing and visiting there. I implore the citizens of Hawaii to encourage their government to have a better recycling program in heavily visited areas.

Marnie Leist
Kodiak, Alaska

Let’s consider vertical farming

Urban agriculture, growing in popularity, includes rooftop gardens and large-scale indoor operations like "vertical" farms that occupy tall buildings and abandoned warehouses.

Vertical farming occurs in Japan, Korea, Singapore, the United States and Canada, and can have much higher yields than outdoor farms while generating less pollution.

For example, a system in Singapore is 10 times more productive per square foot than conventional farming, and requires less water, labor and chemical inputs. Some advocates think urban agriculture has the potential to provide city dwel- lers with 50 percent of their food by 2050.

While Honolulu already has conventional urban gardens as well as some roof-top and lanai gardens, is it time to consider more vertical farming?Could this help us have both more housing and greater food self-sufficiency by reducing the amount of farmland we need, especially if we continue to have a shortage of both new farmers and farm workers?

Tom Brandt
Honolulu

Quality pre-K within our reach

Hawaii’s experience illustrates the challenges many states face in making quality pre-kindergarten affordable ("Governor signs scaled-down preschool funding bill," Star-Advertiser, Breaking News, June 24) . But states like Hawaii shouldn’t have to go it alone.

It’s about fairness. Just 48 percent of low-income children enter kindergarten school-ready, compared to three-fourths of higher-income kids. Quality pre-K levels the playing field, especially for poor kids. And it cultivates "soft skills" prized by employers, like focus and critical thinking, giving today’s kids a better chance to compete in tomorrow’s economy.

Congress should build a federal-state partnership, like the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Med-QUEST, in Hawaii).

Federal funds would help states like Hawaii make pre-K affordable for every child. And funding would be limited to providers meeting evidence-informed quality standards.

Med-QUEST’s success shows Republicans and Democrats can put kids ahead of politics. Let’s urge Hawaii’s leaders in Congress to do it again.

A child’s potential, not a parent’s income, should define the limits of academic success.

Bruce Lesley
President, First Focus Campaign for Children, Washington, D.C.

Kaneohe mall still has local feel

Kevin Johnson has voiced what most of us have been thinking lately about Ala Moana Center, especially with the condos being builtabove Nordstrom’s and now Bloomingdale’s ("Ala Moana Center lacks lures for locals," Star-Advertiser, Letters, June 24).

Many of those condos as well as the proposed and approved condos in the Kakaako and Waikikiareas are beingpurchased by wealthy Japanese and Chinese nationals.

They must have a place to shop and eat, so why not Ala Moana, where they are introducing private clubs and restaurants like Vintage Cave at Shirokiya?

Locals aren’t meant to shop at this shopping center anymore — Walmart is right down the street.

I say forget about Ala Moana and drive out to Windward Mall, which is equally friendly to locals, families and tourists.

Guaranteed you will feel the new class distinction coming to Hawaii, but much less or not at all when shopping and eating in Kaneohe.

Cassandra Aoki
Kaneohe

Public can effect needed changes

Mahalo for the great editorial highlighting the importance of caring about our neighborhoods and also the effectiveness of organized participation in civic life ("Public’s voice can be heard," Star-Advertiser, Our View, June 21).

As you point out, informed and organized communities can help generate better decisions from our elected officials.

Keep up the good work.

Blake McElheny
Haleiwa