Shoji decided right on Croson

Thanks again to Ferd Lewis for another great sports column regarding the loss of Jane Croson from Wahine volleyball ("Shoji reportedly considers letting Croson play in ’13," Star-Advertiser, Aug. 13).

Now that the season is upon us, I still think the impact of Croson’s decision to leave the program is the "elephant in the room" for the volleyball season. Our team simply does not yet have a player her equal who can replace her.

I am glad at least that head coach Dave Shoji recognizes the fairness of giving Croson her total release and allowing her to play this season at Arizona. Shoji is a great coach and hopefully he can move on, because this must be difficult for him. I do hope he does not retire and continues to coach beyond this season.

I’m sorry we lost Croson, but letting her play volleyball this season is the fair thing to do.

Dan Smith
Waianae

Not just homeless take store carts

Since when is it OK to take a grocery cart off the premises of the store that provides them?

I walk in Kaneohe on Lilipuna Road regularly and I’m always amazed at the carts from Safeway and Longs left on the sidewalks by the Puu Alii II condominium complex. To me, that is theft.

I realize that homeless people take them as well, but Puu Alii II is not a homeless hangout. These people are certainly not homeless.

I always report this to Safeway and Longs employees and it’s unfair to them to have to gather the carts up from many locations. The manager at Longs even told me that sometimes they have to get a truck to pick them up, since there are either too many or they are so far away.

If someone takes a cart, they should at least take it back to the store.

Andre Yee
Kaneohe

Cartoon wrong about Benghazi

Publishing an editorial cartoon comparing Benghazi to the recent U.S. embassy evacuations was a really poor editorial decision (Star-Advertiser, Aug. 12).

There never was an issue of advance closing or evacuation of our consulate in Benghazi because we had no warning of the violent terrorist attacks that killed our ambassador and three other Americans.

Certainly, media review of and criticism of why we were unprepared for the attack and the adequacy of our response are valid media issues, just as the separate and unrelated decision to evacuate 19 diplomatic facilities should also be covered and commented on by the media.

In fact, as an important media outlet for Hawaii, it wouldn’t hurt if the Star-Advertiser provided more of such coverage and commentary covering all sides instead of wasting valuable space unfairly criticizing other media outlets with dishonest cartoons.

Mark Torreano
Waikiki

Pedestrians still at risk in Waikiki

Until all the pedestrian signals in Waikiki can be uniformly set, the changes at Lewers Street and Royal Hawaiian Avenue are not going to be successful.

Throughout Waikiki, some pedestrian signals need to be activated in order to get a walk signal; some change automatically.Pedestrians are so used to walking without permission because of an unactivated signal that when the light changes at Lewers and Royal Hawaiian, people step right out without seeing that it’s still not their turn.

Barbara Jurkens
Kakaako

Airlines show way on pricing

Your editorial, "Stay flexible to keep rooms at hotels full" (Star-Advertiser, Aug. 10), brings to mind the sophisticated airline industry.

Very sensitive programs are used to ensure that flights are close to 100 percent full. If one flight is filling up, airlines keep prices high. If another flight is lagging, they lower prices on the remaining seats. Prices can move up and down in minutes.

Perhaps hotels should hire airline programmers to make room prices go up and down like the stock market in response to supply and demand. The result would be fuller hotels, more jobs, more taxpayers and a stronger economy.

Howard C. Wiig
Manoa