Public OK’d making city bike-friendly

Recent information published in Kokua Line about the King Street cycle track has drawn some good questions but also a lot of comments  ("King Street parking stalls will be to right of bike path," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 6). 

Perhaps it is a good time to remind ourselves of Charter Amendment 8.

In November 2006, over 72 percent of voters passed Charter Amendment 8, which stated:  "Should one of the priorities of the Department of Transportation Services be to make Honolulu a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly city, and should the powers, duties, and functions of the Director of Transportation Services include bikeway systems?"

Thank you to Director of Transportation Services Mike Formby and Mayor Kirk Caldwell, for taking these duties to heart and creating new bike facilities and supporting complete streets and very soon Safe Routes to School.

We will continue to do our part by helping educate the public and hosting fun, active and healthy-living activities and events.

Natalie Iwasa
President, Cycle On Hawaii

Make politicians wear logos of their donors

I recently watched a Robin Williams video (ironically titled "Weapons of Self Destruction") in which he comes up with a brilliant idea to help voters make decisions: Require all candidates for political office to wear NASCAR-like jackets displaying the logos or names of all the organizations and corporations that have contributed to their campaigns.

Then we would know exactly to whom they are beholden, and therefore whom they’re really representing while in office.

John Wythe White
Haleiwa

HCDA review period shouldn’t be curtailed

Mahalo for the Star-Advertiser editorial asking why the Hawaii "Community" Development Authority would shrink comment time on Howard Hughes’ Ward Warehouse replacement ("Details needed on public space," Our View, Oct. 10).

Developer Howard Hughes is asking HCDA to break rules that bind Howard Hughes in three ways:

>> Allow the height of project podiums to increase 78 percent over the maximum;

>> Permit the distance between buildings to be 60 percent of the minimum, and;

>> Overturn the project site’s "predominately (50 percent or more) commercial" zoning requirement.

To break rules, Howard Hughes must show hardship. It hasn’t.

Howard Hughes’ attempt to curtail the public’s review period flies in the face of Act 61, which was passed this year to increase community engagement, not reduce it. Yet HCDA may allow Howard Hughes to end public comment early on Nov. 19, not Dec. 3 as scheduled. 

We know why. HCDA’s current board ends Dec. 1. Four of eight members will be turned out of office. Howard Hughes is desperate for this board’s approval.

Sharon Moriwaki
President, Kaka’ako United

Say’s constituents should decide his fate

In the event the state House of Representatives Speaker Joe Souki entertains disqualifying state Rep. Calvin Say as a qualified voter of House District 20, it is my hope that the endeavor fails. 

As a former member of the House, I have known both Cal and Joe for more than 30 years, and as such am certain that both leaders believe in preservation of the institution in which they serve. The House should let Say’s constituents, who have elected and re-elected him since 1976, decide whether he continues as their representative. 

The two individuals running against Say in the current election should focus their efforts on beating him at the polls next month, rather than trying to entice the House to get rid of their competition for them.

If I were a House member and this issue came before me, I would vote no and leave the issue to Say’s constituents.

Whitney T. Anderson
Waimanalo

Hiring teachers easier than retaining them

Lanai’s teacher problems may be just the beginning.

It is always hard to be a new teacher. It’s hard to be an old one. Maybe country life contributed. However, the Educator Effective System for teacher evaluations is a huge distraction from teaching. Now, with new mandated reading and math programs, on top of the continuation of EES, I hear talk from fellow teachers about moving or retiring.

I respect and value the administrators, military families and students at my school. I would like to continue to serve them in some way.

The state may be able to find new, young teachers who are willing to struggle against amazing odds, but keeping them is another story.

Educators, whether administration or teachers, do not stay in education for the money.

This is my 28th and final year.

Paula Akamine
Mokapu Elementary
Kailua

FROM THE FORUM

Readers of the Star-Advertiser’s online edition can respond to stories posted there. The following are some of those. Instead of names, pseudonyms are generally used online. They have been removed.

"Proposed bill looks to transform Adopt-a-Park program," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 6:

>> All this bill does is let the funding stay lost in the bureaucracy while they dump the financial responsibility on a nonprofit. And now, what will the paid park crew who are responsible for actually cleaning our park facilities do?

>> By having such a program, is City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine trying to say in a roundabout way that the city’s Parks and Recreation Department can’t handle the task of maintaining all the parks that are under the city’s jurisdiction? If the city’s employees are unable to maintain and upkeep the city’s parks, it would be a reasonable suggestion to privatize the maintenance of all city parks. The city would surely save a lot of tax dollars.

——

"Downsizing of Army could affect the isles," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 6:

>> I am baffled that our government is downsizing the Army when it should be increasing troop strength in light of world hot spots, especially ISIS activity in Syria, Iraq and Turkey. And there still are concerns over Russia’s aggressiveness in the Ukraine and the situation with the unpredictable North Korean leadership. Downsizing our army at this time sends the wrong message — a message of weakness.

>> Typical sky-is-falling argument. Conventional Army forces are not designed, equipped or trained to fight Islamic, non-state actors. The Army needs to cut its Cold War legacy forces and increase its special ops forces to respond to ISIS and the like. All other threats will not be responded to by the U.S. with military action, especially not by Army forces isolated in central Oahu.

——

"Move to rename beach for Obama sinks," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 7:

>> Parks should have Hawaiian names, just like all new streets have to have Hawaiian names by state law.

>> The headline should read, "Move to rename beach for Obama stinks."

——

"Motorists must be cautious in bike track’s green zones," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 7:

>> The green zone is where cars making a left turn, checking for pedestrians on the sidewalk, will not notice the speeding cyclist until he hears a thump and a body flying across his hood.

>> Is not the goal of sound traffic safety engineering to avoid and eliminate such "conflict zones" where possible?

>> The city just needs to focus on fixing the roads. These pet projects always seem to fail in the long run.

——

"Scam targets newspapers," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 8:

>> The nerve of these people. Thanks for the warning.

>> Don’t get mad, get even. Take the fake bill to your nearest post office and get the paperwork started against those lolos.

——

"Author of proposed sit-lie ban wants bill deferred," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 8:

>> This is the problem with the Council. They always post a bill and one month later, they need to make changes. Get it right the first time. All they do is talk, talk, talk.

>> Come on folks. What good is passing a law that will be voided by the courts? Then we will have no tools to help change the situation.

——

"Jurors do not indict officer in video," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 9:

>> The Honolulu Police Department should be praised for not caving to ridiculous public and media pressure to wrongly arrest someone.

>> A sad and bizarre ending, but at least it exposed HPD management for poor communications and a culture of operating with impunity.

——

"Beetle Invasion," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 9:

>> Doesn’t look so good. Lots of invasive plant, insect and animal life slowly making their way here. Only a matter of time now before no can handle.

>> Expect it. No different than Ebola reaching the U.S.

>> Or illegal immigrants crossing our southern border.

>> Or tourists.

——

"Lighting system overhaul leaves Kaimuki park in dark," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 9:

>> This bodes well for the rail upkeep and maintenance "plan."

>> Four years to replace a single lighting transformer in a park. That’s the problem with this city: No urgency, no pressure, just excuses. I hope the folks in Kaimuki remember this episode at the ballot box.