Viewplanes can be fleeting

Residents at Royal Capitol Plaza continue to complain, undoubtedly to no avail, about the second tower that will probably be built next to them.

Like the first tower, it will probably be sold out in hours, because it consists of affordable housing sorely needed in Honolulu.

High-rise dwellers, of whom I am one, need to remember we cannot guarantee our viewplanes when we buy our condos. Somethingalways has a chance of being built to eliminate them.

Enjoy your home for what it is — a close-in alternative to a long commute. We instead need to work atincreasing public transportation, so that those of usenjoying close-in living can one day eliminate the need for owning a car in the first place.

Gordon Wolfe
Waikiki

Reid, Obama being stubborn

Simply stated, the government has shut down because of Obamacare.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama refuse to negotiate even though America does not want Obamacare.

The House of Representatives has already sent four government funding bills to the Senate, which refuses to sit down and work this out. It appears to me that one side is willing to negotiate while the other refuses to even try.

Reid cares more about preserving the president’s legacy than protecting the American people.

Glenda Fortiner
Ewa Beach

Ideologues put nation at risk

A letter writer defends the House of Representatives as the "house of the people" but fails to mention two very important facts ("Shutdown blame being misplaced," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Oct. 2).

First, the tea party politicians come from districts that in general are gerrymandered to have disproportionate Republican constituencies who were more than 20 percent against President Barack Obama, contrary to the national results in 2012.

Second, House Speaker John Boehner could have simply put the Senate bill to fund the government up for a House vote, but he feared the backlash from the deep pockets of the tea party conservatives.

Social Security and Medicare also faced strong opposition.

While I do have genuine concerns about the cost of the Affordable Care Act, problems should be legislated out while strengthening the sections that will help lower health care costs for everyone.

Blame for the shutdown belongs to a room of ideological politicians who do not represent the best interests of our country.

Jim Wolfe
Nuuanu

HCDA refusing to listen to OHA

For the past year, the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs has been negotiating with the Hawaii Community Development Authority to get it to compromise on its plans to put "finger piers" in front of OHA’s Fisherman’s Wharf property.

On Aug. 5, OHA received a letter from HCDA stating it will not make any compromises to its plans and expects OHA to be a "good neighbor" and accept its plan for our property.

OHA must continue to object to the current piers design and not fall victim to HCDA’s threats. If HCDA goes forward with signing any lease, OHA should consider suing the HCDA and, if necessary, start a community-based campaign to reform the HCDA and prevent any further irresponsible development.

HCDA doesn’t appear to understand true Hawaiian values and the desires of the broader community to create a sense of place regarding Kakaako.

Rowena M. Akana
Trustee-at-large, Office of Hawaiian Affairs

Enforcement is central issue

Thank you for your editorial, "Permits and rules must be followed " (Star-Advertiser, Our View, Sept. 28).

Your editorial calls attention to the fact that the central problem is not that rules and regulations do not exist, but the lack of effective oversight by the agencies involved. This is similar to what we have experienced in the Nuuanu/ Dowsett subdivision project. There have been numerous violations of approved plans which, because of the lack of oversight by the city Depart- ment of Planning and Permitting, have put our lives and properties at risk.

Frankly, the Nuuanu Valley Association is losing faith in the oversight of responsible authorities of the city to protect the safety and well being of the citizens next to the development project.

Is more diligent oversight and effective enforcement too much to ask from our city departments? After all we, as taxpayers, do pay their salaries.

Malcolm Ing
President of the Nuuanu Valley Association