Nice to see repairs to roads, rifle range

My street in Kailua has just been repaved, and I want to thank the mayor for a job well done. It must have been over 20 years since this area was last repaved.

Also, thank you for the re-opening of the Koko Head Shooting Range.

As a property taxpayer and voter, it is nice to see the benefits of our taxes on something we use every day.

Steve Togami
Kailua

Smart meters not required just yet

In mid-March I received a letter and pamphlet from Hawaiian Electric Co. telling me that Oahu’s electric system was being modernized and that my current electric meter would be replaced with a new smart meter.

Neither document told me that I, the homeowner, could defer the change until such time as the state Public Utilities Commission approves this huge and expensive project.

I found that out later when a HECO representative went door to door and I queried him as to how this meter "upgrade" might benefit me. He could not come up with anything specific other than it would let me monitor my power usage. He said I could call 440-4977 and defer the installation.

The jury is still out on whether a smart grid can be considered progress. Before it’s a done deal and is mandated by the PUC, I urge everyone to seek information and decide for themselves.

Terry Joiner
Waialae-Kahala

Most doctors back Medicare for all

Canadians would agree with Malcolm Ing that Canada’s health system isn’t perfect ("Canada system far from perfect," Star-Advertiser, Letters, March 28), but his comments are much more about political ideologies than about a more efficient, affordable health care financing system.

The majority of American doctors favor a Medicare-for-all type health system.

Medicare foes claim the wait times in Canada to see doctors are much longer, but studies show Canadian and American wait times are comparable.

Canada’s electronic health system catches patterns of malpractice, which constitute only 1 per- cent of Canadian health care dollars, and electronic filing for payment makes immediate payment possible.

Canadians pay 60 percent of what Americans pay for drugs. States crafting their own single-payer Medicare-type system, which the Affordable Care Act allows states to do, obviously would build a discounted pharmaceutical arrangement into it.

The problems with our system listed by Ing are strategies boosting corporate health industry profits, not good health care.

Jim Brewer
Makiki

Star-Advertiser has role in voting rate

Your editorial, "Hawaii voting rate must be improved," sound-ed like Common Cause or the League of Women Voters, advocating easier voter registration online and even at the last minute on Election Day (Star-Advertiser, Our View, April 10).

Somehow, I was hoping you would say what the Star-Advertiser was going to do to improve voter turnout — for example, by trying to interest and inform voters about the issues.

You do publish a list of all the candidates and their responses to a few questions shortly before the election, but that’s always a little late for me, considering the number of candidates and races to sort through, and I receive my absentee ballot before that.

For a representative democracy to work for the good of the people, we need to be well-informed and elect those who will best represent us.

Wynnie Hee
Mililani

Install safety gear at dangerous site

I’ve noticed a line with orange buoys attached at the outlet of the lagoons at Ihilani and Turtle Bay resorts.

Spitting Caves is shaped like a groin area and would be an ideal location for the state to install some sort of permanent system that could be anchored to both outcroppings and the sea floor some 50 or 100 yards out, in the event that someone who jumps or falls in can just hold on to this safety net while help arrives.

If this is not feasible, then why not have life buoys and rescue tube stations along the cliffside? Or will this condone jumping into the ocean?

A lack of safety measures will surely result in more drowning deaths in the near future, as summer is almost upon us and more unsuspecting youths or tourists will take that leap regardless of signage or laws.

Jiro Kaneshiro
Wahiawa

Mopeds hardly only generators of noise

Mopeds? I live a block from the freeway and hear more noise than most people combined every single night and day.

There are not only mopeds, but motorcycles, cars with boom boxes, car alarms, fighting in the streets. Come on, one weekend of noise? Give me a break. Besides, I ride a moped to work every day, and it is modified to keep up with cars. Otherwise, I’ll be road kill.

Mike Kondo
McCully

Early education aids future leaders

More evidence is emerging that kids gain a lot of important concepts from preschool.

Learning how to socialize as well as an introduction to numbers, letters, shapes and other general content sets up students for success in kindergarten and in schooling later on.

High-quality preschool programs help kids acquire pre-math and pre-literacy skills that help them tremendously down the road. Quality early education builds a strong foundation for future teachers to build upon the strong groundwork to produce excellent students.

To say that tax dollars are being wasted on educating the young is like spitting our futures in the face. We need to understand that one day these young children will become our leaders and lawmakers, and providing them with quality education is the least we can do.

Christie Reindle
Salt Lake