Aloha Tower not fulfilling mission

It’s deeply disappointing that the Aloha Tower complex, located on prime waterfront in downtown Honolulu, will become a campus for a private university ("State waives $1M in rent as HPU works on converting Aloha Tower," Star-Advertiser, Nov. 22).

The mandate of the Aloha Tower Development Corp. (ATDC) is: "Balancing community and tourism development; enhancing the beauty of the waterfront; better serving the maritime users; and providing public access to the ocean and to transform the area to a ‘people place.’"

None of it is being fulfilled with the decision to turn this into a private campus.Worse, we now learn that there will be $1 million lost to the state in tax revenues during the redevelopment phase.

What was envisioned as a long-term gain now seems like a long-term loss. ATDC has for years come up short on its plans for Aloha Tower. This looks like more of the same. Such a travesty.

Debra Shiraishi-Pratt
Wilhelmina Rise

Rail plan would lose vote today

Living on the west side of Oahu, bearing the everyday nightmare of traffic day and night has taken its toll on our lives.

If the rail transit project were to be voted upon by the public today, it would definitely not be allowed. Transportation officials have not properly addressed the issues of everyday traffic problems in the area, and now the news of it continuing for another year is really disturbing ("Rail to hit H-1 for 1 year," Star-Advertiser, Nov. 26).

A bridge like the Ford Island bridge, spanning Pearl Harbor, would have been a better solution.

Bill T. Pirtle
Waipahu

HART reacted to deal properly

In response to a Dec. 1 letter ("What took so long on contract?" Star-Advertiser), the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transporta- tion (HART) reacted promptly and appropriately regarding the recent acquisition of one of our rail project contractors.

The acquisition of URS Corp. by AECOM Technical Corp. was finalized on Oct. 17. On Oct. 20, HART received official notification from URS. HART sent a letter that same day to URS asking it to remedy the conflict of interest within 10 days.

HART has met with company officials to determine ways to resolve this conflict. A strict firewall between the two companies was established. HART is now working with AECOM on a final resolution, which may include canceling one of the contracts.

Acquisitions and mergers occur regularly in the business world. HART remains vigilant in ensuring there are no conflicts of interest on this project and that taxpayer money is wisely spent.

Nicole Chapman
Procurement and contracts director, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation

Train cops about mental illness

All Honolulu Police Department personnel, including dispatchers, need to learn about mental illnesses.

They have to know how to avoid escalating a situation involving a paranoid or manic person, and how to not terrify such a person into a panicked defensive response. They need to think about a mentally ill person’s perspective before they act.

For example, a person with un-medicated schizophrenia is often unable to understand shouted commands from officers and therefore is not deliberately choosing to disobey. If police personnel already do receive training or classes on mental illness, they need to take more classes, or at least apply those lessons on the job.

As for the schizophrenic teen confronted by three uniformed officers and shot in the hand ("Gunfire begins harrowing Tuesday," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 29), he had been reported a runaway, a juvenile statutory offense.

The HPD knew there were mental health issues in his case. They should have sent one well-informed plainclothes officer.

Anne M. Miller
Kaneohe

Zoning rules hard to enforce

Surrounded by "denadditions," I agree with those mentioned in the Star-Advertiser article who said rampant illegal rentals are already negatively impacting residential neighborhoods ("‘Den’ additions dwarf ohana units," Star- Advertiser, Nov. 30).

For thosewho think the solution to illegal rentals is more city Department of Planning and Permitting inspectors, I say read the article regarding permit violations in Kunia Loa Ridge Farmlands ("Concerns intensify over Kunia structures," Star-Advertiser, April 27). Itreferences a DPP spokesperson saying the department lacks the authority to visually inspect suspected violations without the property owner’s approval.

I have been told the same thing by two former mayors.

Owners who knowingly violate city occupancy codes are not going to permit inspections.

Council Zoning and Planning Committee Chairman Ikaika Anderson and his fellow council members must address the inability of current DPP inspectors to effectively inspect suspect properties before approving additional inspectors who also will not be able to effectively inspect the property of suspected violators under current rules and procedures.

Karl Schwartz
Aina Haina

Government efficiency a myth

Your editorial’s clarion call for improved government efficiency will fall on deaf ears ("City, state must perform better," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Nov. 28).

Both Gov. David Ige and former Gov. Neil Abercrombie were career-long legislators. They had and have the system wired.

Government efficiency is an oxymoron, as the libertarians preach.

Government operations are inefficient by nature. It’s part of the human condition, as are wars and injured veterans.

Inefficiency is normal when there’s no competition and when rules create a culture that makes supervisors bumps on logs. Wasteful government spending flourishes when there’s no competition from the invisible hand of free markets.

The way to a better tomorrow is having smaller government and less tax revenues and debt for government to spend.

As a retiree, I pity our younger generations, inheriting a tsunami of debt from their elders.

Alan Matsuda
Hawaii Kai

Banking CEOs are real turkeys

The annual pardoning of Thanksgiving turkeys provided by the National Turkey Federation has become an awkward White House tradition.

National media attention to this event could be revived by a slight change in format. Rather than turkeys, bring to the podium CEOs from prominent U.S. banking and financial institutions.

Granted that de facto pardons have already been issued, the public could be informed that rather than being remanded to wire coops in Northern Virginia, our authorized non-felons are free to return to their Upper East Side condos.

Bill Lofquist
Waikiki