Housing bill could become a monster

I disagree with Bill 20 (“Bill eases way to add units to home lots,” Star-Advertiser, July 20).

The city needs to be careful and not create a monster with this bill.

Many neighborhoods are already so overcrowded that there is no room for parking. There have been complaints that emergency vehicles cannot maneuver throughout streets overcrowded with parked cars because the homes cannot accommodate the cars within their property.

City Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga is introducing Bill 52 to restrict parking because neighborhoods are overcrowded.

Our city officials need to work together.

Marilee Y. Lyons
Haleiwa

Don’t give EV cars special treatment

I firmly believe greenhouse gas emissions are one of the major challenges facing mankind in the 21st century.

However, I am firmly against a solution that favors electric vehicle owners and unfairly discriminates against gasoline vehicle owners.

A service station owner told me that the taxes on gasoline amount to about 70 cents a gallon. Depending on how much driving one does, the various taxes could amount to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year.

The money raised from taxes on gasoline sales is used to help build and maintain the highways, freeways, roads and bridges upon which all motor vehicles — including electric vehicles — travel.

Since EV owners do not buy gasoline for their cars, they are not paying to maintain the roads. Why should EV owners have a free ride at the expense of gasoline vehicle owners?

In all fairness, federal, state, and county governments should levy an annual “highway building and maintenance tax” on all electric vehicles.

William T. Kinaka
Wailuku

Mentally ill people unfairly blamed

Thank you for exposing some of the problems in obtaining treatment for people with mental illness, including delays in obtaining mental health evaluations (“State agency blamed for ‘gross negligence,’” Star-Advertiser, July 12).

Many people with severe mental illness do not get needed treatment in Hawaii, and this is a tragedy for all of us.

However, it was emphasized that some people with untreated mental illness are potentially prone to commit violent acts and are dangerous, and thus a threat to public safety. Yes, some of them are, but, in actuality, only

4 percent of violence in American society is caused by people with mental illness. We are far more likely to killed or injured by someone we know, in our home, than by a stranger — much less by a mentally ill person.

Further, mentally ill people are 11 times more likely to be victims of violent crime than the general population.

Above all, let’s fix our mental health system in which far too many people with severe mental illness do not get the treatment they need and deserve.

Marya Grambs
Executive director, Mental Health America of Hawaii

July Fourth evening was one of the best

All day on the Fourth of July we waited for the first aerial attack to begin. Surprise of all surprises, it never happened.

Not one firecracker, aerial grenade or rocket was heard all day, and that night, too. We did hear the fireworks on Kailua Bay at 8 p.m., but that was the pleasant sound of celebrating the birth of our nation.

Congratulations to the Enchanted Lake, Kailua and Kaneohe residents for making this one of the best and most enjoyable Fourth of Julys we have ever experienced since moving to Hawaii in 1973.

We thank you for the peace and quiet for the weekend.

Our dog thanks you, too.

Burt and Jo Waltz
Kailua    

Divide homeless into 3 categories

The state and city governments should classify the homeless when providing aid:

>> Class 1: Homeless families that are working but, due to the high cost of apartment rentals, cannot help but live as homeless.

>> Class 2: Homeless who are local and unable to find work.

>> Class 3: Homeless imported from the mainland, believed to have received a one-way plane fare out of their state.

For Class 1, provide an apartment and charge them affordable rent from their work wages.

For Class 2, those willing to help the city by volunteering to keep the public parks clean should be given special help.

For Class 3, send them back from where they came from; it is more economical than trying to support them forever.

Kenneth Yoda
Pearl City

Community land trusts are way to go

Are we supposed to be shocked that $700,000 could be considered affordable housing in Hawaii?

If it meets the U.S. Housing and Urban Development affordable housing guidelines, it must be affordable, right?

We wonder why homelessness is on the rise. Could it be that rental markets reflect price increases in real estate and many people cannot afford rents?

There is a solution to stopping this insanity and providing affordable living conditions. It is a perfect complement to Hawaiian cultural values and the fact we live on an island with limited resources for expansion.

Na Hale O Maui is a successful nonprofit affordable-housing organization based on the community land trust affordable-housing model. Community land trusts provide truly affordable housing in perpetuity, unlike HUD affordable housing, which is not affordable or available in perpetuity.

Michele Lincoln
Lahaina