Defacing of signs shows lack of aloha

I have been a Hawaii resident for more than 40 years.

The first things that I noticed when I arrived here in the ’70s were the hospitality, friendliness and warmth of Hawaii’s people. These traits of this island’s residents inspired me to make Hawaii my home, although I originally planned to move to the mainland to continue my legal education.

That was then. It is disheartening to note that Hawaii’s lifestyle is rapidly changing. Simply put, Hawaii’s aloha spirit is fading.

What went wrong? Excessive individualism? Greed?

A case in point is the frequent defacements of a particular candidate’s banner in the 1st Congressional District. This caught my attention. This candidate’s banners have always been defaced. Hang a new one and the next day the new banner is again defaced.

To our respected candidates and their loyal supporters, I humbly ask that they help us accentuate the positives.

Please practice the true spirit of sportsmanship to make Hawaii’s aloha spirit alive.

Constante A. Domingo
Salt Lake

Whale strandings concern Navy, too

Milly Ring’s letter raises some common misconceptions about whales and sonar ("Military sonar hurting whales?" Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 6).

The National Marine Fisheries Service is investigating the stranding of the pilot whale at Hanalei and the melon-headed whale at Kailua. It is premature to speculate about the causes. According to NMFS, roughly two dozen marine mammals strand in Hawaii each year, usually because of illness or disease.

Under agreement with NMFS, during major training events, the Navy cooperates fully in these investigations, including reporting the use of sonar.

In the Kauai case, at NMFS’s request, the Navy conducted an aerial survey to check for more stranded whales and found none.

Sonar is the most effective means of detecting submarines that can pose a threat to ships and global commerce.

Sonar’s effects on marine mammals can vary, and research and monitoring are ongoing.We invite you to learn about the Navy’s marine mammal protection efforts at http://go.usa.gov/N7KH.

Mark Matsunaga
U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman

Deedy trial remains important news

In response to Paul Southworth ("Deedy trial getting too much publicity," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 31), coverage of the Kollin Elderts murder trial needs to be a front-page issue.

At what point are we OK with people, especially representatives of the United States government, resorting to lethal force to impose their own brand of justice in our Hawaii nei?

Agent Christopher Deedy acted like a cowboy in a bad Western, drinking in the saloon and using his trusty sidearm after instigating a fight.

The true injustice in reporting is why journalists are not asking the State Department why they condone this behavior, labeling it a "clean kill" and allowing Deedy to retain a job.

Ethan Porter
Heeia

HECO making it hard to install solar

Among big problems with Hawaiian Electric Co. are its guaranteed income and the requirement that it approve solar energy systems for homeowners.

Webegan the process in October 2013 and were told to install new wiring at our own expense. This meant getting approvals and digging up the yard and sidewalk to the tune of $15,000.

We had two electricianstell us that this was not necessary to handle the amount of panels we need. They said the wiring could be fixed right at the meterattached to our house.

This is not a luxury for me as I have severe asthma brought on by heat.I lived for a while in Maryland and had the choice of three different electric companies. In Hawaii we are at the mercy of HECO.

Teresa Mary Tugadi
Mililani

Chronic vagrants killing the goose

Wake up and smell the roses!

Or should I say, "Wake up and smell the urine and donkey dust!"

For the past 35 years our family has been holidaying in Hawaii. We walk the streets of Waikiki every day and we deserve better.

The chronic vagrants living on the street suffer from too many mental disabilities to understand and appreciate the services made available to them.

It’s only through serious law enforcement and other disincentives that cities such as Toronto, San Francisco and New York have been able to address this public-health issue.

Unfortunately, the street vagrants are not only a major public health crisis but they are also causing the tourism industry in Hawaii to lose millions of dollars in business.

Eventually the Honolulu City Council will kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Dr. Joseph Levy
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Shipping containers great for housing

I was inspired by Renee Ing’s commentary ("Retrofit containers for affordable housing," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, July 6).

She showed how shipping containers can be made economically into apartments or houses.

U.S. ports, including Honolulu, are overloaded with these containers.

They can be stacked and made into apartments buildings for about $50,000 per unit.

To see what they’ve done in New York City, go to observer.com/2012/11/home-sweet-shipping-container-nycs-secret-plans-for-the-perfect-disaster-apartments.

A New Jersey company called Sea Box has made these units for New York City. Enjoy looking at these attractive units through a Google search of sea box homes.

Using Honolulu’s abundance of shipping containers plus making mini-apartments for Hawaii’s singles can go a long way in improving our housing crisis.

Tim Brislawn
Makiki