Don’t make taxpayers pay for private roads

Residential owners using private roads should have no expectation of public services to maintain those roads for any reason ("Administration frosty on new roads law," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 23).

Single-family residence owners in a condominium regime share ownership of their private roads, which are common property.

Hawaii law requires those owners to pay into reserves for maintenance of common areas.Any such properties requesting public maintenance of their private roads should be reported to the agency enforcingcondominium law. That agency should investigate whether those single-family residences have been paying into their condominium reserves for road maintenance.

Does the new law have the potential for lawsuits against the city for failure to budget for these potentially thousands of cases?

Ronald Wong
Salt Lake

Best option for rail is to stop building it

The editorial, "More details needed about rail options" (Star-Advertiser, Our View, Dec. 21) glosses over the most obvious answer to the ever-increasing costs of rail: Stop it now.

Now we know it will not be on time or on budget. We also know for sure that, based on the last few years, costs will continually balloon.

We’ve spent down the $1 billion contingency fund. We’re now planning on going into funds we don’t have yet, and we still don’t know the cost for the other 40 percent to be contracted out. What more do we need to know before we pull the plug? It will not help Leeward traffic, which is almost at a standstill every working day.

When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging.

Pam Smith
Ewa Beach

Sale of HEI to NextEra comes with questions

As a customer, a rooftop photovoltaic owner and stockholder, I have some questions about the takeover of Hawaiian Electric Industries by NextEra:

» How many HEI employees will be terminated after the two-year hiatus by this self-proclaimed strong corporate citizen?

» How much work will be provided to local contractors for large-scale photovoltaic systems and wind farms?

» What will owners of rooftop photovoltaic systems be charged for months in which they generate more electricity then they use? The current billing is $17.

» When HEI was a $25 stock, it paid a dividend of almost 5 percent. What dividend rate will NextEra pay?

» The HEI dividend reinvestment plan allows purchase of stock at very low fees. How good is the Next- Era dividend reinvestment plan?

Frankly, if I was an HEI employee I would be looking elsewhere. I hear that Pearl Harbor is hiring.

John Priolo
Pearl City

Stop treating pot like a Schedule I drug

In regards to your editorial on medical marijuana dispensaries ("Medical marijuana too hard to obtain," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Dec. 23): Please note that prescriptions for marijuana cannot be written in any state, even those with a medical marijuana program.

This would require that a Food and Drug Administration-approved marijuana botanical drug product be available in pharmacies, which can never happen in the United States while the Drug Enforcement Administration holds marijuana hostage on the federal Schedule I controlled substances list, believing that it still has no accepted medical use.

Currently, physicians are simply certifying that patients meet certain eligibility criteria set by the state and advising on the safe medical use of marijuana. States hold the authority to accept the medical use of marijuana, which is why Hawaii was able to create its medical marijuana program in the first place.

Now the state needs to take the next step, which is to make the DEA recognize that marijuana already has accepted medical use and must be rescheduled. Fix this administrative error first, and the rest will follow.

Clifton Otto, M.D.
Hawaii Kai

Let’s hope cycle track is just the beginning

As a proud member of our island home, I am compelled to voice my opinion on the new King Street Cycle Track.

I drive a car, I am a pedestrian and I am a cyclist. I access the streets of Oahu by these means, and I demand equality. Not for just myself but for all citizens in the entire state of Hawaii.

We all deserve safe and equal access to the streets of our islands.

It is my hope that the King Street Cycle Track is just the beginning toward making our streets accessible to our ohana.

Sharleen Andrade
Aiea

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.

“Honolulu Police Commission under fire,” Star-Advertiser, Dec 22:

>> The mayor needs to makes some changes. Louis Kealoha cannot cut it as police chief. The Police Commission is compromised. HPD is suffering from lack of credibility and leadership.

>> The commission and the chief need to go, period.

>> The mayor is smart in supporting the commission and waiting for the complete investigation. Saying that, he should ask, in a strong way, Kealoha to step down until the investigation is complete.

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“Cricket shortage leaves pet owners scrounging for options,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 22:

>> Pet shops are to blame for any “shortage” of crickets or live insect food. Here on Maui, these shops have sold these unwanted pests for years without any concern that they are regarded as invasive species and prey on native insects, spiders and snails. If the shops can’t supply food for the creatures they sell, then stop selling them.

>> How about a Big Mac with a supersized order of fries? If it’s good enough for humans, it should be good enough for lizards.

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“Police begin enforcing sit-lie ban in Chinatown,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 23:

>> A big mahalo for this law. For the first time in two  years there is no urine in front of my office. The mainland chronic who sleeps there was nowhere to be found. Yay!

>> Enjoy it for the short while. When the push subsides, they’ll be back.

>> The homelessness problem is more complex than a simple sit-lie ban. They’ll be back — because the problem of homelessness still exists. The cops will eventually be so overwhelmed with the amount of resources needed to enforce the rule that they will downgrade to periodic sweeps like previous attempts.

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“Mortician hopes to educate the public,” Star-Advertiser, Dec 23:

>> “Deadpan delivery.” Good one.

>> Everyone is going to die and we all accept that. The idea is to live a quality life, be a good person and love your family.

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“Discovery of plus-size pest raises questions, concerns,” Star-Advertiser, Dec 24:

>> Just when you thought that the “no sit, no lie” ban made the streets safe, here comes the invasion of the trash-can-sized crabs. 

>> Once people realize that coconut crabs are good to eat, they’ll become extinct.

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“Wearing of body cameras proposed for officers,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 24:

>> Citizens are now under full surveillance during all interactions with the police. George Orwell’s “1984.” Whatever happened to freedom? Citizens are recorded in court, at traffic lights, banks, credit unions, retail stores, hospital rooms and by public and private surveillance camera. Internet, telephone and other communications are also monitored. Maybe a little excessive at this point.

>> I suspect most officers will “forget” to turn the camera on. Also, the police union will kill this idea before it gets off the ground.

>> Finally, we’ll get to see what kind of idiots the police have to deal with on a daily basis. I bet there will be a lot more guilty pleas when lawyers and perps see the police videos.

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“HPD aims to reduce fatal car crashes,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 26:

>> Traffic Enforcement 101 says enforce the obvious traffic violations, i.e., running red lights, not using turn signals, not stopping at stop signs, etc., and you will reduce traffic deaths. People get away with the “minor” items and get themselves killed.

>> Too many selfish people out there — speeding, using electronic devices while driving, not signaling before changing lanes, running red lights, not coming to a complete stop at stop signs, pedestrians crossing against the walk signals, jay-walking … the list goes on. Sadly, until we’re able to police ourselves, the fatalities will continue to rise. 

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“Costs outweigh funding, revenue,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 26:

>> This is the usual University of Hawaii mess. Apparently no one figured out that the business plan given was based on false assumptions. But more concerning is that so far there has been little or no productivity from the center, which has many far better competitors on the mainland. There was no need for the UH to get involved with this.

>> To be fair, the present administration is left with a mess that it did not create.