Rail proponents continue to blame lawsuits for delaying rail. Lawsuits are the effect. The failure of the city to follow requirements is the cause.

Our mayors and rail proponents have learned nothing from the problems of H-3, the Superferry, and now the Thirty Meter Telescope.

Maybe the approval of all the new high-rises in Kakaako sucked up all the contractors and workers, increasing bids for rail and air conditioning for classrooms to ridiculous levels.

Finally, we do not need the House speaker, Maui’s Joe Souki, suggesting an increase in Oahu property taxes because our rates are low.

Yes, they are low, and should be, because the state pays for our public schools, unlike everywhere else.

Besides, Souki’s Maui property taxes would not be affected by any Oahu increase.

If Souki really wants to help rail, cut the state’s 10 percent take of the rail transit general excise tax surcharge to 3 percent.

Peter Chisteckoff

Mililani Mauka

Extend rail tax until job is done

I am 110 percent in favor of building the rail to Ala Moana Center.

As for the 0.5 percent added to the general excise tax for five more years, we are talking about a half-cent increase on the dollar. That’s not much when you put things in perspective. Tourists will pay this increase, too.

Just extend that 0.5 percent for however long it takes to get the rail done.

When I see the traffic caused by an accident on the freeway, I will smile from the comfort of an air-conditioned train.

Alan Nishimura

Mililani

AC bids seem way too high

I am a public school teacher and my classroom is not that much bigger than my studio — perhaps three times the size.

Looking online, I could purchase a 12,000 BTU (550 square feet) air conditioner for $369 that would cool my studio. Could one of the AC companies explain why it costs so much for a classroom?

Rolf Christ, president of R&R Solar Supply, said two suitably sized air conditioning systems that his company donated to Farrington High School cost $26,000 (“Sticker shock,” Star-Advertiser, June 25). Where is the extra $100,000 of some bids going?

Further, if a company buys air conditioners in bulk, shouldn’t it be able to pass on its savings to the state?

Something is not right about the range of proposals and how much some of them are. Let’s do this right for the future of our state.

Mark Brislin

Kalihi

Schools lack bullying forms

Congratulations to Girl Scout Wynne Gallogly for developing an anonymous online form for students to report bullying (“Outreach projects earn 2 Scouts praise,” Star-Advertiser, June 26).

She did it because, she said, one of her friends became suicidal and another transferred to a different school because of severe bullying. She found out that Mililani High School did not have such a form available as required by the Safe Schools Act.

The Star-Advertiser reported that 29.5 percent of high school students felt sad or hopeless every day for two weeks, 16 percent had seriously considered suicide, and 10.5 percent had attempted suicide (“Depression dogs isle teenagers,” Star-Advertiser, June 10).

Mental Health America of Hawaii, in training 20,000 youth and adults, found that students reported that, in some cases, bullying was a risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behavior. I hope the state Department of Education or the media investigates whether all schools in Hawaii are in conformity with that act.

Marya Grambs

Kailua

Pickup beds risky to ride in

Why is it that when the holidays come around, we see on TV “Click it or ticket” commercials with the police talking about saving lives, yet no one says who will save the lives of people riding in the beds of pickup trucks, which have no seat belts.

I find this very ironic and confusing.

Why does our Legislature allow this insanity on our highways? There is a law that animals should be caged and cargo should be tied down when on highways. Yet humans don’t need any kind of protection? Of course, the legislators made a law that children under 13 years of age can’t ride in pickup beds. Did this make them feel better? What is the difference between 13 years or 17 years, or 50-year-olds being thrown out on our highways?

Our Legislature better wake up and try to save lives and stop listening to the lobbyists.

Eugene Cordero

Pearl City