Question left out critical information

Your poll, "Should the city drop its plan to use Sand Island as a temporary spot to relocate homeless people?" contains incomplete information and will result in a typical and expected "No" by those who love to blame the homeless for everything (Star-Advertiser, The Big Q, Nov. 14).

Maybe you should try running the poll again with complete details: "Now that it has been found to be a toxic dump site, should the city drop its plan to use Sand Island as a temporary spot to relocate homeless people?"

If people still vote "No," I would feel really sad for the state of aloha in the "Aloha State."

Curtis J. Kropar
Executive director, Hawaiian Hope

Cut government and spend wisely

The recent election in Hawaii was a wake-up call for Republicans, independents and non-voting Democrats. It is time for us to get together. As a group we could make a difference.

Far too many of us are sitting on the sidelines watching things happen, complaining but not doing anything about it.

Who is running this state anyway? Those of us in business keep saying the same thing: We don’t have time to be involved. But we let our state become last or close to last in almost every category, from education to ease of doing business to taxes. And we just take it.

Those of us who want a change need to join together and make a change. It starts with less government intrusion and wiser spending habits.

F.M. Scotty Anderson
Waialae Nui

OHA candidate good bet for future

Before we put the lid on the 2014 election, there is one outstanding performance worthy of note.

Dr. Keli‘i Akina, president and CEO of Grassroot Institute, a local, nonpartisan think tank, out-polled all other conservative candidates except one.

Two years ago, as a completely unknown candidate for the OHA board, Akina pulled around 33,000 votes — an outstanding figure for a newcomer. He attracted about the same number of votes in this summer’s primary, and in the general, this total grew to more than 92,000 voters.

Though not victorious, he attracted about 25 percent of the voting populace. Earlier this newspaper said that "his message didn’t appear to resonate with the majority of voters" ("OHA incumbents win re-election bid," Star-Advertiser, Nov. 4). Obviously, he resonated with people who heard him.

With his education, experience, manner and philosophies, he is a bright new leader for the future.

Remember him. Get to know him.

Dick Morris
Hawaii Kai

Even police are not obeying traffic laws

I was standing at the corner of Punchbowl and Queen streets in a bright red shirt, waiting to cross Queen Street.

Two seconds after the "walk" signal came on, three cars immediately turned right, directly in front of me, blatantly ignoring my right of way.

I was dumbfounded by the first two, but even more so by the third. It was a police vehicle, nonchalantly turning in front of me when I clearly had the right of way.

Never assume that you will be given that right.

And, no, the police vehicle did not appear to be pursuing the other violators.

Pam Chambers
Downtown Honolulu

Don’t be surprised if Army leaves isles

State and city officials as well as leaders of the business community are right to be concerned about proposed reductions in Hawaii’s military community.

A cut of 20,000 Army personnel would certainlydeal a big blow to the economy of Hawaii and Oahu in particular.

But there is a side of the issue that seems to be unmentioned. That is the assault by so-called environmentalists on the military’s ability to train.

It should be obvious thatcontinuous training is essential to proficiency and the military needs land to do it.

Environmental lawsuits have stopped firing exercisesin Makua Valley and sought to hamper use ofthe Pohakuloa training area on the Big Island.

Thereare also periodic complaints about the noise from jet aircraft operating at the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base.

These efforts — and others to come —make it less likely that the Pentagon will decide to keep the military presenceat current levels.

I have no doubt that in the wake of the Dec. 7 attack the military took many measures that would have been illegal under current environmental restrictions.Of course, they probably helped win the war, if that matters to anyone.

Carl H. Zimmerman
Salt Lake

Someone should pay for traffic delay

Kiewit Infrastructure West was paid extra to stand by while local issues were resolved over the rail transit construction contract.

Now eastbound movement of traffic in the morning and westbound movement of traffic in the afternoon are hindered because the lanes aren’t open on time.

Is Kiewit being assessed for its delay in reopening traffic lanes?

Citizens are being inconvenienced and possibly losing wages because of the delay in starting work. Children may be late in getting to school and this may require a teacher to adjust lessons to accommodate the late-arriving students.

Conversely, people returning home in the afternoon have been delayed, some as long as several hours.

It gets worse if there is also an accident westbound.

Reopening traffic at the specified time should be adhered to and not disregarded weekly. All parties should be fair in dealing with penalties for delays.

Cynthia Endo
Kuliouou Valley