High-rises go up while people suffer

There’s irony on the front page of Sunday’s Local section: "High-rises set stage for future, mayor says," as ground is broken for one of many Kakaako high-rises offering condos that start at $1 million plus, and some affordable units here and there (Star-Advertiser, June 8).

Below the fold, "Isles miss out on millions in food stamps, study finds," with the state having the dubious distinction of being number 49 in the ranking of states providing eligible residents with $200 million worth of food stamps.

Getting it right would not only help individuals in need but also benefit the economy. One reason given is our technology has not kept up in the last 10-15 years.

People in our state know how to build 400-foot, high-tech condo buildings but not how to distribute food stamps. There’s something sadly wrong with this picture.

Judith Goldman
Kakaako

Congress derelict in firearms regulation

June 10: Oregon school shooting kills two.

June 8: Las Vegas shootings kill five.

June 6: Armed man killed assaulting courthouse in Georgia.

June 5: Seattle Pacific University shooting kills two.

June 1: Three killed in shooting in Virginia.

May 25: Seven killed in drive-by shootings in California.

Something is wrong in America.People are killing innocent victims in ever-increasing numbers. While the National Rifle Association is clamoring that arming citizens will protect them, it is clearly not the case.

Gun regulations are ineffective, giving dangerous people easy access to high-powered weapons.

Shootings have escalated to the point where we’re getting immune to the shock of people being murdered.

The Republican Party has been defeating gun control laws because of intense lobbying and money being poured into their coffers.

Even after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook, where 20 children and six adults were murdered, nothing has been done.

How many deaths will it take to force Congress to enact effective laws to restrict gun ownership in America?

Jon Shimamoto
Mililani

Food container ban would raise prices

Everyone living in Hawaii is familiar with the high cost of living.

Businesses have a tough time because of the high cost of land, utilities and raw materials that often have to be shipped or flown in from the mainland or elsewhere.

Food-grade polystyrene foam food containers have been deemed safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, cost less and are very compatible with our local foods.Why would lawmakers want to ban this product and replace it with something that costs more to businesses and consumers, has a bigger carbon footprintand is not as effective for packaging local foods?

Freedom of choice needs to be supported.Let consumers and businesses decide what the market should use by making their own choices.

Chester Lee
Waipio Gentry

HSTA champions rights of teachers

Cookie White Stephan’s statement that the Hawaii State Teachers Association opposes teacher evaluations because the union protects bad teachers is misguided ("Matayoshi fights for better schools," Star-Advertiser, Letters, June 7).

Neither teachers nor the HSTA oppose evaluations but want them to be fair and not unduly burdensome.

It is a myth that HSTA protects bad teachers. HSTA champions the due process rights of all teachers, and in so doing actually protects good teachers from administrative actions that may be unjust.

Much criticism of the evaluation system has come from principals, who are not part of HSTA at all.

The state Department of Education has rejected the principals’ survey results, supposedly because it did not account for the review process in place designed to reform the system. But that process was never intended to shield the DOE against feedback from other sources.

The DOE should take feedback from the principals, teachers and HSTA to heart in deciding how the teacher-evaluation system should be reformed.

Wray Jose
Manoa

Governor selective in budget outrage

Political gain and public undressing aside, Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s announcement of the Legislature’s budget deficit oversight should come as no surprise to him ("Error in state budget has governor chiding the state Legislature," Star-Advertiser, June 10).

As a member of Congress, he consistently voted for, and Congress consistently passed, an unbalanced budget for years.

After all, why balance the budget when you can run a deficit and print money instead?

His latest grandstanding only reinforces what many people are starting to see: the real Abercrombie.

Orson Moon
Aiea

VA needs to hire more physicians

Is anyone minding the store?

Hello!

Untilthe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gets more doctors, the wait times will remain problematic.

Congress has to pony upmore money to the VA so it can pay decent salaries to get doctors.

Some years ago, I was getting my meds from the local VA hospital. WhenI needed a prescription renewed, I contacted the hospital for the renewal. I was informed I would have to see my assigned physician for the renewal, the earliest being a six-week wait.

Needless to say, I stopped getting my meds there.

Fortunately it was not a life-or-death situation.

Charles Ferrell
Downtown Honolulu