Commission should remove chief now

The failure of the Honolulu Police Commission to remove Police Chief Louis Kealoha is unacceptable.

The police chief contravened a fundamental cornerstone of the criminal justice system when he disclosed the criminal record of the accused during his testimony. Anything less than the immediate suspension of the chief brings the administration of the criminal justice system into disrepute and cannot be countenanced.

If the rule of law has any meaning in Hawaii, the police commission will suspend the police chief and appoint an independent prosecutor to review his conduct.

To suggest, as the police chief does, that it’s a personal matter and that his performance has not been compromised misses the mark. Justice must not only be done but seen to be done.

Harry Wruck
Waikiki

Legislator going outside his purview

State Sen. WillEspero should be minding his own backyard, which is the state ("Senators suggest Kealoha be assisted by co-chiefs," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 8).

He and his colleagues should be paying more attention to their own responsibilities.

The police department already has a chain of command of deputy chiefs and assistant chiefs who are verycompetentin their duties. The police officer’s job is quite demanding andthe chief’sis magnified tenfold. It really doesn’t need any political interference to complicate its obligation to the community.

Espero should focus onHonolulu rail transit, the University of Hawaii, the prison system or the homeless.

Theseprojects are hotter issues for the Legislature.

Lloyd Faulkner
Kailua

Rail needs to stand on its own merits

It’s been 10 years since the public here was informed that our rail system was going to stretch 34 miles and cost $2.7 billion.

Since that moment, the average Honolulu citizen has been inundated by our local media with publicly and privately funded propaganda intended to convince us that building a rail system is a good idea.

We are now well over a billion dollars into this project and it is time that this project stands on its own merits for once.

Mike McFarlane
Downtown Honolulu

‘Transfer’ could put taxpayers on hook

More Hawaii Community Development Authority shibai and bad practice in Kakaako ("Kakaako tower project transferred," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 8).

In exchange for developing the expensive Waihonua condominium tower, Alexander & Baldwin agreed to build affordable Hale Kewalo.

HCDA approved a "transfer" of development to Stanford Carr, who hopes to get the financing. If he can’t, the right to development reverts to HCDA. Anybody see a conflict of interest here?

Part of the new financing is to come from the state’s Rental Housing Trust Fund. But if Carr and HCDA still can’t make a go of it, the state "gets a valuable asset in case the project falters."

That means taxpayers would pay for the failures of the A&B, Carr and HCDA to fulfill their obligations.

A better headline would have been "HCDA approves A&B weaseling on Waihonua: If Carr or HCDA still can’t profit from affordable housing obligation, taxpayers on the hook."

Dan Binkley
Makiki

Suicides all too common in Hawaii

Everyone is rightly concerned about the recent pedestrian deaths, and action need to be taken to prevent them.

In Hawaii, suicides are seven times more common than pedestrian deaths. In particular, Hawaii’s middle and high school students have among the highest rates in the nation of planning and attempting suicide; the number of suicides among young people aged 15-24 years has doubled between 2007 and 2013, from 15 to 30.

Suicide is an unfathomable tragedy for everyone — the person whose life has been cut short, and the grieving friends and family members who suffer endless agony. But perhaps the most tragic aspect of suicide is that it is preventable: 90 percent of people who die by suicide had a mental disorder when they died, but in all likelihood this had not been recognized or treated.

We as a community need to take this issue on. We all must learn the warning signs, reach out to those who are troubled, and get them help.

Marya Grambs
Executive director, Mental Health America of Hawaii

Some crosswalks need better lighting

I’m all for the pedestrian’s right-of-way, but if I can’t see them, I can’t yield.

Crosswalks near Date and Isenberg streets are dark at night and so are most people.

I wouldn’t encourage people to exercise a right that can’t be taken without serious personal risk.

Ronald Loui
McCully-Moiliili

Perhaps a law could curtail AC waste

A Canadian tourist’s recent letter to the editor, "Air conditioning use excessive" was spot-on (Star-Advertiser, Jan. 7).

Retail stores blocking their doors open, allowing warm moist air to replace cool air inside, is a tremendous energy waster, abusive of A/C compressors that have to consistently operate, and ecologically irresponsible.

When I’ve asked store managers to close their doors, they reply that the owner requires them to keep doors open.

When I’ve asked store owners to close their doors, they reply that tourists won’t come in. This is absurd.

If Ala Moana Center and retail stores won’t close their doors, the City Council should pass an ordnance to stop this madness.

Bob Ress
Kailua