Sen. Gabbard still being intolerant

Tolerance is a trademark of the Democratic Party.

Maybe that’s why we let Sen. Mike Gabbard join, so that he could continue his campaign of intolerance against same-sex couples who want equality, a campaign that began two decades ago when he was a Republican.

Public opinion has now passed him by, yet he continues to insist that he is representing his constituency in opposing same-sex marriage.

I wonder: Is Tulsi proud of him?

John Wythe White
Haleiwa

Let people vote on same-sex marriage

The Legislature — subject to political whims, lobbyists and money influence — should not make the decision on same-sex marriage in Hawaii.

Only the people should make the final decision in the 2014 election.

Efforts should be undertaken to assure this occurs.

Paul Miller
Kaneohe

City raising taxes seems inevitable

The story, "City’s new hire to guide development near rail" (Star-Advertiser, July 26), is tucked at the back of the Local section.

Is this an attempt to hide further the city’s costs and obligations for rail project?

The city has to cover the cost of expensive infrastructure developments, such as sewer system upgrades, which developers won’t cover.Much of the money made by developers will find its way to the mainland.Oahu residents will bear the brunt of the extra costs through higher property taxes and sewer costs.

Even without additional sewer costs for new development, we are crippled by the cost of sewer repair and maintenance now, and it is going up.

For the city to think that it can manage these exorbitant and escalating costs without raising taxes seems a pipe dream.

And the proposed Kakaako rail-line housing — do residents want to go to Ewa Beach?

The University of Hawaii traffic will continue to bog down H-1 Freeway.

Oahu residents have been swindled and the price tag keeps getting higher.

Heather Huel
Kailua

Current rail route won’t be optimal

Oahu residents owe federal District Court Judge Susan Oki Mollway a heap of thanks for reminding us that Honolulu’s rail project is to provide high-capacity transit in the highly congested east-west transportation corridor between Kapolei and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as stated in the Oahu Regional Transportation Plan.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of students would be a ready-made ridership population for the train.

Not only is the city in violation of its own environmental impact statement, it also is very cavalier, to say the least, about excluding such a large portion of potential riders and much-needed revenue to keep this thing afloat.

Rike Weiss
Niu Valley

Hawaiian was our original language

I just want to remind everybody that the Hawaiian language was the first language in Hawaii, not English ("Drivers should know English," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 27).

So why is the Hawaiian language not being pushed forward?

When I visit China, mostly everything is in Chinese. When I visit Japan, it’s mostly all in Japanese.

So why do people who come to Hawaii think things should be written in their language?

Douglas Joseph Carreira
Waipahu

UH athletics office needs to modernize

Ferd Lewis writes about slumping University of Hawaii season-ticket sales, which prompted 50 percent ticket discounts ("Slow UH ticket sales prompt promotion," Star-Advertiser, July 29).

Do people who already purchased tickets at the full price get refunds?

Dave Reardon writes about UH using two cans and a string at the ticket office while Athletic Director Ben Jay admits to the old-fashioned phone system in place ("UH’s ticketing system calls for some upgrades," Star-Advertiser, Further Review, July 29).

Jay has been at UH for more than six months. This is not rocket science. Update the phone system to indicate a call waiting. Ask kupuna to volunteer or give them comp tickets to answer phones in the ticket office, or ask UH students to work there in exchange for tuition discounts.

Find a simple solution to this not-so-complicated problem.

Richard Ornellas
Liliha

Responsible drivers are unfairly blamed

Pedestrian deaths in recent weeks have prompted the police department to patrol intersections with high foot traffic and issue more tickets.

While it is unfortunate that there have already been 15 pedestrian deaths on this island this year, the response to this deadly situation seems to be targeting car drivers more than pedestrians ("Pedestrian deaths spur increased enforcement," Star Advertiser, Local, July 24).

The last two deaths reportedly involved a drunken man being run over as he lay on a dark street, and another man who bolted across Ala Moana boulevard without using a crosswalk, then was hit by a trolley.

These incidents obviously are the result of bad judgment by the pedestrians, and not the fault of the hapless car and trolley drivers.

I would feel less offended if the new response to these incidents were highlighted and directed to the pedestrians we encounter every day.

I feel slightly singled out as one of the many car drivers who obey the law.

Annie K. Kwok
Kaimuki