Tort reform would cure doctor shortage

There is only one way to stop our doctor shortage in Hawaii ("Doctor shortage grows," Star-Advertiser, Jan. 20): Our Legislature must pass tort reform. We are losing doctors to states with tort reform.

Tort reform would reduce what doctors have to pay for insurance against frivolous lawsuits. Our surgeons and others cannot afford to live in Hawaii and pay for the insurance, especially our young graduating doctors who also have to pay back their education loans.

Many of our older doctors are retiring and we need the new young doctors, but they are not staying here. Unfortunately, our Legislature is so packed with lawyers that the bill was not passed last year. 

Lawmakers should rethink their decision and protect our families on Oahu and all the neighbor islands.

Frances Haws
Kaneohe

Refinery residuals also should be burned

We should continue to burn oil and trash to generate electricity and supplement them with some solar and wind.

Our refineries import crude oil, then extract the fuels. Burning refinery residual oil waste is the sustainable, right thing to do. Exporting it risks an oil spill, so let’s recycle.

In 2012, I attended a greenhouse gas hearing at the state Health Department and asked what all these projected wind and solar renewables would do to my electric bill. Answer: complete silence. 

Afterward, an engineer told me that mine was a novel question that no one had ever asked before. 

So what will 70 percent renewable electricity cost this non-solar high-rise retiree? Will 70 percent renewables cause rolling blackouts?

Gordon Kitsuwa
Kaimuki

It’s way easier for Portland to fund rail

Pro-rail folks heckle objections to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s rail system ("Rail naysayers should get with the program," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 18). 

The majority of folks aren’t against the rail, but are asking, "How are you going to pay for it?"  

Rail supporters say that other cities love their rail, holding up Portland as an example. Portland:

>> Where the cost to build is half that in Honolulu. 

>> Which has 2.3 million people to pay for it, versus Honolulu’s 900,000. 

>> Whose light rail has five interconnected lines that go everywhere. Honolulu’s heavy rail will go from point A to point B, not including the University of Hawaii. 

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is running out of money and has no idea how to pay for the rail project except to borrow more and extend the general excise tax surcharge, which will cost every average family up to $400 a year. 

Do we really want to extend this rail tax indefinitely?

Ted Kanemori
Kaneohe

Never assume drivers can see pedestrians

I was hit by an adult driver of a moped. I was in the crosswalk; he ran a red light, and was traveling at 25-30 mph.

Luckily, my boyfriend caught me and lowered me to the ground, avoiding further injury. Once on the ground, I knew I had broken bones.

I am mostly OK now, but very scared to cross the street. I carry a blinking red bicycle light at night and look each way multiple times before I dare to set foot in the crosswalk when I have the "walk" sign. 

I am lucky to be alive. Many others aren’t quite so blessed, given the continued reports of deaths in our streets. 

Pedestrians should be cautious. They should not assume they are being seen — they should carry a light at night, wear bright clothes, and refrain from checking their cellphones while crossing. 

Drivers need to slow down, take their time, be careful and give the right of way to those on two legs.

The next victim could be a child, spouse, parent or friend. 

Deborah Agles
Downtown Honolulu

Building trust, unity should be a priority

There is another priority that needs to be addressed by our congressional delegation, i.e., the fragmentation that exists across the United States ("The 114th," Star-Advertiser, Insight, Jan. 18).

We have lost our sense of core values that once held our nation together. Values like trust and civility enabled us to disagree on issues and yet maintain a commitment to America’s overall vision. 

Unfortunately, divisiveness and incivility have eaten at our core values. Special self interests, power plays and short-term greed often trump what is best for our nation.

We must begin a dialogue to rediscover those values that brought our nation together, working toward the common good. It will be a daunting task, requiring our complete focus, energy and commitment. 

I am optimistic that we are up to this task, but we must all work together — the government, profit and nonprofit organizations, the media and, most important, the American public.

Richard Dubanoski
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.

“Kapu sought over fishing,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 19:

>> The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has failed miserably in its mission of protecting nearshore ocean resources. What we have today on the reef is a small fraction of what was present 50 years ago. Overfishing and pollution are two of the biggest reasons, but underlying that is an ethics problem that does not consider giving a plentiful ocean to future generations. 

>> Please have rules that include a combination of bag limits, size limits, seasonal restrictions and area restrictions for all residents in all inshore waters throughout the state.

>> I hereby claim the waters off my Laie home as my exclusive subsistence fishing area.

>> I hereby grant your exclusive area as long as some of my closest buddies and I can fish there.

>> Sure, fishing transcends politics! 

———

“Homeless woman saves golfer’s life,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 19:

>> It doesn’t make sense that this incident “has cast a rare negative shadow on the high-profile Sony Open.” Pro golfer Robert Allenby wasn’t beaten and robbed at the golf tournament; this happened miles away, hours after he was golfing.

>> This story was all over the national media. When you have a story that includes the words “PGA golfer,” “kidnapped,” “beaten,” “robbed” and “Hawaii,” it’s not a good thing for our image.

>> Actually, this made it to international media. I saw it on NHK News (Japan), and several Australian media agencies have landed to cover the story. Hawaii is now the poster child of a celebrity tourist kidnapping, beating and robbery.

———

“Free Wi-Fi in works at Honolulu Airport,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 20:

>> It’s about time. A major airport with no free Wi-Fi yet? Shame, shame, shame.

>> I wonder how much money we will waste and whose unemployable brother- in-law will get to make a mess of it?

———

“2,000 march to celebrate martyr’s legacy,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 20:

>> I just feel a little bit of unease with the headline label “martyr.” The word is often misused by Islamists. MLK was a patriot, a leader and an American hero. I would have used one of these adjectives to describe this great man.

>> Martyr and hero are both overused words these days.

———

“School board pans slow rollout of cost-saving energy plan,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 21:

>> Hmm, the Board of Education doesn’t know what’s in its own contract. Hard to do business that way.

>> Another state contract that makes millions of dollars disappear with no results. Shocking.

———

“Would-be labor chief rendered ineligible by state Constitution,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 21:

>> Don’t change the residency requirement. Any top official should probably be required to live at least part-time the past preceeding five years to know what’s really happening in the state.

>> This sounds like an “anti-carpet bagger” clause in the state Constitution. It probably stemmed from the early years in Hawaii when most of the positions were filled with flown-in mainlanders, since they didn’t trust the locals with running their own government.

———

“U.S. shipbuilders stand ready to defend Jones Act,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 22:

>> Republican big shippers and companies will fight any change to the Jones Act.

>> Wrong, it’s the Democrat unionists and protectionists who reject its repeal.

>> If the Jones Act is so essential to keeping American jobs, then let’s extend it to cars, computers, cellphones, clothes, and everything imported. Who cares if we go back to $3,000 Motorola cellphones the size of a hand-held radio?

———

“Puna lawmakers offer plans to ease impact of lava flow,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 22:

>> How about Puna residents just moving? Too many natural disasters from volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, etc. 

>> I think Rep. Joy San Buenaventura needs to think through her request. If, as she requested, the Hawaii Property Insurance Association lifted its moratorium on new policies in Puna, everyone who never bothered to get insurance before the flow headed downhill toward their homes would rush out now to get insurance, which would place a burden on the association. Kind of like letting a terminally ill patient buy life insurance at or near end of life.