Home-grown energy needed

Our Legislature and local newspaper continue to advocate for foreign companies over our American citizens.

For example, the Legislature recently voted to end the requirement for 10 percent ethanol in gasoline, even though ethanol is an all-American product farmed, manufactured and shipped by Americans to Hawaii.

In addition, ethanol at $2.05 per gallon is cheaper, burns with less greenhouse gases, gives only a 3 percent decreased gas mileage to cars, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and provides tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.

They also promote restricting Hawaii’s clean natural gas consumption by opposing an LNG terminal, again an American product. Now the Star-Advertiser wants to increase the tax on coal that is mined and shipped by Americans from the mainland and provides much cheaper energy for our citizens than foreign oil ("Tax coal like other fossil fuels," Our View, May 20).

In the zest to provide clean energy in the future, we are punishing our own citizens today by increasing the cost of living in Hawaii and sending jobs overseas.

Gary R. Johnson
Kaneohe

Hard to believe we burn coal

I’ve read about the oil burned to produce our electricity, and the wonderful idea that we are turning our garbage into energy by burning it.

The windmills for electricity and burning waste oil are not new. The use of solar panels are perhaps the newest energy source mentioned in newspaper articles as of late, until today’s front-page story ("Coal gets helping hand," Star-Advertiser, May 18).

Coal? And to the tune of 700,000 tons per year? I wonder how many other readers were caught by surprise to hear we burn coal here on Oahu.

Actually there were two surprises in the article, the second being that the coal guys get a tax break. I must say that is much less a surprise. Go figure.

Chip Hartman
Haleiwa

Natatorium best for volleyball

I applaud Fred Hemmings for his imaginative and constructive foresight of the future of our Waikiki Natatorium ("Use Natatorium for volleyball," Star-Advertiser, Letters, May 1). Our University of Hawaii "Sand ‘Bows" are having another great season. The sport in general is growing in popularity. What better place to showcase this sport than the Natatorium?

With the bleachers facing that glorious vista of Oahu’s south shoreline, this stately old memorial would enter a new life and become the epicenter for a fast-growing outdoor sport. Replace the dilapidated algae pool with sand, deploy lights for evening events and fill those concrete bleachers with paying fans, with a percentage going back to the upkeep of the facility.

Repair and maintenance of a large saltwater pool will be an endless money pit that taxpayers don’t need. We already have the rail; we don’t need another.

Chris Brown
Kahaluu

Blood Bank needs to charge

On April 28, I donated my 138th pint of blood on Maui. As a strong supporter of and believer in the Blood Bank of Hawaii, I was a bit troubled and upset by the implications in the article, "Isle donors’ blood sold to hospitals" (Star-Advertiser, May 11).

What’s the big deal? The article wants to lead the readers into believing that somehow the Blood Bank is engaged in some kind of shady or illegal activity by charging for the blood that it provides to the hospitals in Hawaii and making a profit from the blood that is donated by individuals like myself. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If the Blood Bank did not charge the hospitals for the blood that it provides to them, how can it offset the costs ($16.6 million in 2013) for recruiting, collecting, processing, testing, storing and distributing the gift of life? Huli-huli chicken sales?

I hope the residents of this state will continue to support the Blood Bank of Hawaii — a kamaaina firm with an outstanding record of saving lives for more than 70 years.

William T. Kinaka
Wailuku, Maui

Violence victims need privacy

While legislators passed a bill to allow the withholding of government records if releasing that information "would create a substantial and demonstrable risk of physical harm" to a person, they failed to pass a proposed program that would provide address confidentiality to victims of domestic violence.

We hope legislators will see that domestic violence victims also are at risk of physical harm and will do more to pass enabling legislation next session.

Jeanne Y. Ohta
Hawaii State Democratic Women’s Caucus