Hawaii has legacy of aloha for science

I was thrilled when Mauna Kea was selected as the site for the world’s finest telescope. What a coup for Hawaii.

The building of the new telescope can be done in conjunction with continuing to honor the sacredness of Mauna Kea.

King Kalakaua saw no conflict between honoring traditional practices and embracing new inventions. He not only brought back hula, but established ‘Iolani Palace as the first royal residence in the world to have electricity.

Astronomers at the University of Hawaii have already added significantly to knowledge of the universe, including the discovery of the largest structure in the universe, a series of galaxies including the Milky Way, given the Hawaiian name "Laniakea."

The message of aloha is now going around the world with the Hokule‘a. There is no reason why the message of aloha should not be sent into space as well.

Lynne Johnson
Makiki Heights

Honolulu needs more bicycle tracks

Score one for the city’s new bike track on South King Street.

I bought a new bicycle at a local shop and plan to bike to work several days a week using the bike track. Heck, I’ve already started and found that I’m in a much better mood when I get to work because I’m not stuck in rush hour traffic, and get to enjoy Hawaii sunshine and fresh air.

I look forward to Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the city establishing more bike tracks around town.

Patrick Williams
Downtown Honolulu

Metered parking would help Waikiki

I live in Waikiki and love it. But we can make it better, both as a place to live and a resort destination. We need more metered parking from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. along Ala Wai and the side streets connecting Kuhio Avenue to Ala Wai Boulevard.

As it stands now, cars park on my street for weeks at a time. Metering during the day would create turnover, encourage more people to come to Waikiki for lunch, shopping or a quick visit, and still provide overnight parking for residents after 6 p.m.

It also would provide increased revenue for the city.

John Baessler
Waikiki

Rail proponents still in a mental cloud

I am pro-mass transit, but this rail project has been a major insult to our intelligence from Day One.

The statements made by Mayor Kirk Caldwell in an April 19 news article show that their heads — Caldwell’s and the Ho-nolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s — are still in a mental cloud ("Lack of detailed rail plan a concern," Star-Advertiser).

First: How can this project be almost $1 billion underfunded so close to the start?

Second: This far along, why has there not been an operation-and-maintenance figure? We should have had it two years ago. How will it be funded?

Third: They are still thinking that a lot of tourists will be riding it. The only place that they can go is Pearl Harbor. That will use up most of their day just for that one visit and there is a limit as to what they can take with them.

Fourth: The mayor says that residents can ditch their cars and save money. The rail will not go everywhere that people want, and need, to go.

Fifth: There’s no plan to get riders down from a stalled train. What, walk to the nearest station?

Bert West
Ward

Cal Thomas has his priorities mixed up

It’s no secret that the Star-Advertiser’s editorial pages are well-stocked with right-wing, conservative columnists.

The positions of writers such as Thomas Sowell, George Will and Kathleen Parker on most issues are sufficiently predictable so that a reader can stop at the byline to save time.

But, the recent offering by Cal Thomas ("America rotting from within and many are fine with that," April 28) actually made me laugh. The three dire threats to America being ignored by the media he listed were, in order: international threats from Russia and China; the rise of Islamic fanaticism; and Bill and Hillary Clinton’s financial empire.

Really? How about increased income inequality (and accompanying class/racial tensions), the demise of the middle class, the Koch brothers’ financial empire, Citizens United, etc.?

This former vice president of the Moral Majority and former commentator on Fox News, in a 2014 column recommended the ethnic cleansing of all Palestinian Arabs from Israel.

William E. Conti
Waikiki

Cal Thomas right about U.S. moral rot

The April 28 Cal Thomas column, "America rotting from within and many are fine with that," should be placed on the front page of every newspaper in the U.S.

It’s a sad, but true, commentary on the moral and intellectual decline of Americans today.

Unfortunately, many who need the wake-up call never pick up a newspaper or bother to read it online. They are too busy reading the tabloids and watching the Kardashians on TV.

Margaret Bergman
Diamond Head

Trying Deedy again just seems vengeful

I am no fan of Christopher Deedy.

As a retired lawyer and a citizen, however, I am very troubled by the prospect of a third trial for Deedy.

The government cannot keep trying and retrying a defendant over and over again until a conviction is obtained.

One wonders whether, if Deedy were not an FBI agent from the mainland, the case would be pursued so doggedly.

Is it justice that is being sought? Or is it vengeance? To me, it looks like the latter. That is not worthy of the state of Hawaii.

Dorothy Petras
Kaneohe