If you’ve spent a night near Hilo in recent years, you’ll understand the importance of Senate Bill 2799, which would provide resources to fight invasive species.

The coqui frog has infested major portions of Hawaii island; its high-pitched nighttime mating call is about 90 decibels, or as loud as a lawn mower. Imagine your neighbor mowing his lawn — all night long. Then think what a loud, annoying sound like this would do to Waikiki tourism.

We need to control invasive species and keep them from traveling to other islands. We can’t afford not to control coquis, little fire ants, albizia trees and other invasive species.

Linda Soll

Kapaau, Hawaii island

Please print who votes for vehicle, gas tax hikes

I am so happy that we have such good reporting on Senate Bill 2938 (“Tax on gas, auto weight would go up via bill OK’d by senators,” Star-Advertiser, March 9).

Having $600 million in unspent federal money, why are they trying to raise the gas tax from 16 cents to 19 cents a gallon, the vehicle registration fee from $45 to $76.50, and the vehicle weight tax from 1.75 cents to 2.75 cents a pound?

I hope it does not pass. If it does, I hope the Star-Advertiser will print all the names of those who voted for it. We will remember in November.

Herbert Ishida

Mililani

Apply term limits to all politicians in Hawaii

Why do we have term limits for some elected leaders of our state and county but not for the legislators?

The people making the laws seem to argue more than work together for the benefit of the public. Oh, I know — if they vote for term limits, they vote themselves out of a job.

Mary Moore

Kailua

NextEra at hearings said a whole lot of nothing

Eric Gleason, president of NextEra Energy Hawaii, still doesn’t get it.

NextEra has had ample time and opportunity to specifically detail what it proposes to do for Hawaii but has failed miserably to do so. So how can you blame Gov. David Ige, the state Public Utilities Commission and many in the know for not trusting NextEra?

Even throughout the lengthy PUC evidentiary hearings, NextEra, with its executives and battery of lawyers, floundered and double-talked. For the kind of detail that Hawaii urgently needs to evaluate NextEra, the result was: nothing.

When asked about executive compensation at Hawaiian Electric Industries, Gleason said, “Customers aren’t paying for it. Shareholders are paying for it.” So it is easy to see how NextEra continues to talk its way to total Hawaii rejection.

Ed Uchida

Hawaii Kai

Plantation Village unit needs help to rebuild

At long last, the city has released the Okada Educational and Administration Building to Hawaii’s Plantation Village. It has taken nearly four years of negotiations to get the door opened.

The volunteer board of directors led by Deanna Espinas received the key to the building March 4. There is a lot of work needed to re-install the cultural exhibits, set up the offices and classroom, as well as the artifact storage library. The Village has fallen to a dangerously critical financial condition in the last four years without the main building on the “living museum” premises.

Thanks to the city for finally settling the contract issues, and now, we are hoping that civic groups, churches and schools will step up and volunteer to get the Okada Building ready for a grand re-opening.

John Shockley

Makakilo