I praise Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s effort in asking the people what they think about his plans for Ala Moana Beach Park.

Ala Moana is really the people’s park, the primary beach park for most of the people in central Honolulu.

However, before removing the coral popping out of the sand, the parks department needs to look at the history of the beach.

Before 1955, there was no beach, only a small boat channel fronting the park. In 1955, a deeper channel was dredged and some of the dredged spoils used to build a shelf that was covered with sand to construct the beach.

As the beach eroded away, because there is no natural source of sand to replace what was lost, the dredge spoils became exposed. In 1976 the beach was replenished with new sand brought from Mokuleia.

Removing the “coral” (dredge spoils) will take away part of the platform on which the beach is built and make it harder to replenish the beach.

Fris Campbell
Kailua

Good choices needed for park improvements

For more than 50 years, I have looked at Ala Moana Beach Park through the eyes of a landscape architect (eight years as a Parks Department’s landscape architect and two as its director) and I believe that I understand a bit about it.

The mayor’s comments on the upgrade revisions are exciting, but it took years for Ala Moana Beach Park to be recognized as a real people’s park.

Now it is in the implementation that we must watch: Architectural “improvements” should follow the original Works Projects Administration style.

Planting more trees is unnecessary and accomplishes nothing (and can be very contrary by the added maintenance, competitive water demands, shading and killing of grass). Monkeypod trees are a poor choice.

I believe that the beach sand should be regularly raked (under a private contract) to sift out the larger and sharper pieces of coral and other debris. Even the McCoy Pavilion should be maintained by a private contractor, after it is brought back to its original glory.

Ted Green
Kaaawa

Obama administration rolled over for Iran

The phrase, “a sheep in sheep’s clothing,” is a very apt description of the Obama administration.

The radical Iranian regime has been quick to recognize the administration’s foreign policy naiveté, and clever to parlay it into hundreds of billions of dollars.

Those dollars ensure increased funding of its nuclear weapons program and the promise of several millions in cash and weapons to Iranian-backed militias in other countries.

It’s a sobering realization, considering the national mantra in Iran is “Death to America.”

Charles Kerr
Kalama Valley

Rail takes funds away from helping homeless

This community would have been better served had the city government used the money and resources expended on the rail project on dealing instead with the problem of homelessness.

The number of homeless people camping out grows exponentially while our city leaders dither.

The situation will become intolerable when the homeless start occupying the sidewalks of residential and apartment neighborhoods.

Wayne W. Gau
Kapahulu