Homeless shelters, not hygiene centers

As a concerned and caring society, we should do what is necessary to solve our homeless problem in a fair, compassionate, practical manner. The best strategy to accomplish this objective is to move the homeless people off the street and into safe, clean shelters where they can rehabilitate their lives.

Providing washroom and laundry facilities only encourages life on the street and squanders scarce resources that could otherwise be used to build shelters. There is a reason the restrooms in our parks are closed at night. Why should we think the new hygiene centers would be treated differently? Why would we have sweeps of these encampments on the one hand, and encourage and facilitate their existence on the other?

Pete Barrett
Kaneohe

Train should go where intended

Apples and oranges? The Beretania Street rail route may cost $1 billion more, but at least it will do what it is supposed to do.

What additional dollars will it cost in the future to get from Ala Moana Center, building another set of tracks above Ala Moana at Nordstrom, about three miles or so of elevated tracks, climbing over the freeway and three or four additional stations to get to the University of Hawaii at Manoa?

William Kibby
Honolulu

Florida law doesn’t apply everywhere

Jack M. Schmidt Jr. dangerously misleads readers in his recent letter ("Right to self-defense prevails in court," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 16). The verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial did nothing but reaffirm what the state of Florida deems to be "self-defense." We do not have a constitutional or natural right to shoot to kill first and ask questions later.

In the 21st century, we have myriad non-lethal weapons that are easy to purchase and carry. While guns can be used to maim instead of kill, we rarely see that occur, especially when the "aggressor" is a person of color.

The people of Hawaii and the other 320 million Americans who Schmidt mentions do not have a vested interest in the intricacies of the Florida law that decided the Zimmerman trial.

It is shameful to suggest we focus on such a detail instead of the ongoing mistreatment of Native Hawaiians.

Kyle Dahlin
Kailua

Shooters didn’t use martial arts skills

As I understand it, both Christopher Deedy and George Zimmerman received martial arts training, yet apparently both lacked confidence in their own self-defense skills to such a degree that both carried concealed weapons, which they used to kill an unarmed man.

It seems to me the scales of justice have clearly tilted to the tick of a Glock.

Rico Leffanta
Honolulu

Officials ignore foes of Koa Ridge

I attended the July 10 public hearing about the rezoning of Koa Ridge from agricultural land to residential.

This was the city’s land planning commission going through the motions of listening to both sides of the argument.

Those of us who wanted to voice our opinion in opposition to this egregious plan had to listen to the state’s land planning officials, who seemed irritated by the fact that the majority consensus of Mililani, Wahaiwa and Waipio Gentry neighborhood boards — who more than any other governing entity are accurately speaking for these communities — are against the Koa Ridge development.

They were followed by Castle & Cooke’s dog-and-pony show of visual aids, manipulated statistics and a handpicked group of testifiers with scripted testimony supporting their project.

Political influence and money seem to have more clout than the overwhelming voice of the communities that will be adversely affected by building a small city on prime agricultural land between Mililani and Waipo Gentry.

The individuals we elected to represent and serve us have turned a deaf ear to our voices.

Kathleen Kaiser
Waipahu

Support civilian defense workers

I am disappointed that U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) leadership used government civilian furloughs to balance sequestered budgets. Sequestration is the result of the inability of congressional leadership to address the increasing national debt, and an unwillingness to reduce programs. I believe the civilian payroll was targeted since it is not measured by any "readiness" indicator and reductions were executable without challenge.

These are serious times. Furloughs are personal. Civilian government workers provide important and genuine service. To impose a 20 percent pay cut jeopardizes trust. Most civilians work in excess of the 40 hours per week without overtime or compensation. They are loyal. Whatever happened to the DoD "one team" concept?

Some officials donated 5 percent salary back to U.S. Treasury, others donated 5 percent to charity; to my knowledge, no one donated 20 percent.

Donations are deductible; lost wages are not.

Sequestration will not end with current debt. Programs must be reduced. Leadership needs to solve this problem. Furloughing government civilians is not the answer.

Ken Jordan
Mililani