I spent more than three hours attending state Rep. Gene Ward’s town hall meeting on Tuesday in Hawaii Kai.

After listening to many concerned neighbors, it is clear that we need to do something immediately to protect all of the marine species in Maunalua Bay — not only the humpback whales. Given the rapid and steady decline of the health of the bay, it is obvious that at this pace it soon will be lifeless.

Regarding the proposed expansion of the national marine sanctuary area, we have an important community decision to make. Either protest it or protect it — be part of the problem or be part of the solution.

It’s that simple.

Karyn Herrmann
Hawaii Kai

Shelters tailored to unique needs

We appreciate and share Alexis Liftee’s concern for providing shelter for Oahu’s homeless families with children ("Shelter should help children," Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 10). Separate shelters exist for single men, women and families with children. This is for the safety of the children as well as to tailor the services provided to the unique needs of each subpopulation.

The Hale Mauliola Sand Island modular pilot will serve as a transition center for chronically homeless individuals and couples who will be placed in permanent supportive housing through the city’s Housing First initiative.

This population suffers from mental health and substance abuse issues that pose often insurmountable challenges to placement in conventional shelters.

Hale Mauliola offers a new, low-barrier approach to treating our hard-to-reach homeless individuals and couples.

Should the Institute for Human Services, the site’s operator, determine that the Sand Island location is safe for children, we will revisit the issue.

Gary Nakata
Director, Department of Community Services
City and County of Honolulu

Adopt micro-houses for homeless people

This time, the Institute for Human Services claims it will be able to move people from chronic homelessness first to Sand Island, then quickly to "affordable housing" ("IHS to open homeless site by fall," Star-Advertiser, July 3). Should we be skeptical? Probably.

Truly affordable housing simply does not exist on Oahu. Hundreds of folks are currently on the waiting list for the Housing First program. Today on Oahu, thousands live in squalor, repeatedly and abruptly moved from one dirty, unsafe place to another, while new programs with catchy names come and go, never really fixing the problem.

Isn’t it finally time to get real and actually purchase at least a thousand low-cost, semi-permanent "micro houses," setting them on vacant lands, creating very small villages for the chronically homeless of Hawaii? The public would see real progress instead of yet another political charade and half-measure intended only to create the illusion of progress.

David B. Cannell and Evelyn Cannell
Waipahu

HART’s pillar won’t support agriculture

One of the prime reasons I oppose the rail transit project is that its ridership estimates depend on the Ho’opili development, which will destroy 1,500 acres of our most productive agricultural land to build 12,000 residential units.

So imagine my delight when I read the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s July 10 weekly eBlast and it appeared to reflect strong support for agriculture, with a nice history lesson on traditional Hawaiian agriculture in "Puu o Kapolei."

Well, actually, it turns out HART doesn’t support agriculture. It is just very proud of an embossed rail support column near the Kroc Center that will remind us daily of the irreplacable ag land it and the Ho’opili developer, D.R. Horton, have destroyed, with the eager support of most of our politicians.

Talk about rubbing salt into the wound.

Mark Torreano
Waikiki

American flag flies for our freedoms

In response to "U.S flag not much to brag about either" (Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 13): The U.S. flag stands for freedom. People die every day attempting to come and live under this flag. This flag not only gives us the right to express our beliefs freely, it also protects our right to do so.

The red, white and blue that Americans proudly hail, stands proud without need to brag. The red is for the blood that has been shed by our patriots who have made ultimate sacrifices to give us the freedoms we enjoy. The white is for the purity of this nation, which always strives to do what is just and right. The blue is for our beautiful oceans and skies that we enjoy because men and women freely serve to protect them for us.

If you don’t like our flag, please do us a favor and go live under another flag, like North Korea or China, and while there by all means feel free to speak out negatively about their flag.

Hector Samarripa
Nanakuli

Mahalo to dog park’s original supporters

I was touched that "Sweetie the dog" was at the top of June Watanabe’s list of "Standout Subjects" in her farewell column ("Mahalo goes to everyone for making Kokua Line a success for decades," Star-Advertiser, Kokua Line, July 12).

Many kind people helped to rescue Sweetie from her vagabond life around Tripler, but it was Betty and Clayton Kamida and their black retriever, Moses, who opened their home to her in 2003, cleaned her up, and saw her through leg and hip surgery.

In 2001, before the Sweetie saga, Betty and Clayton Kamida initiated the effort to open the first City and County off-leash dog park. My late husband, Ron Jones, Moanalua Gardens Community Association president, helped them gain the support of Parks Director William Balfour and legislators. On Feb. 3, 2004, the Moanalua Dog Park was officially opened. Sweetie was there, too, looking festive with her freshly groomed white coat and a blue and white Hawaiian print bandana.

Pat Jones
Moanalua