Get tougher with Ala Moana owner

One man fell to his death and another was seriously injured when railings collapsed at the Ala Moana shopping center.

In issuing a citation to the mall’s owners, Art Challacombe, the city’s acting director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, said, “Our top priority is the health and safety of the public” (“Mall’s owner cited over rusted railings,” Star-Advertiser, Oct. 15).

The notice of violation requires the owners, GGP Ala Moana LLC, a subsidiary of General Growth Properties, to correct the railing defects within 30 days or face a fine of $100 and $100 for each day the violation is not corrected. Can we really expect this notice will make Ala Moana safer for shoppers?

General Growth, which recently spent $570 million to expand the shopping complex, apparently did not have a regular inspection and maintenance program to protect against failures of structures and guardrails.

Perhaps the city prosecutor should consider a case of gross negligence against Ala Moana’s owners.

Leonard Lepine

Kailua

Amendment will help HART board

City Charter Amendment 4 eliminates an existing prohibition that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s board of directors not “interfere in any way with the administrative affairs of [HART].”

This peculiar provision currently in the City Charter has been interpreted in a manner that has tied the hands of the HART board of directors and impaired its ability to exercise appropriate oversight of the rail project.

Charter Amendment 4 removes this restriction and enables the HART board of directors to balance the delegation of authority to HART management with prudent oversight of this strategic and costly public infrastructure project.

Whether you support or oppose the rail project, voters should vote yes for Charter Amendment 4 so the HART board of directors can fulfill the public trust placed with them.

Colbert Matsumoto

Member, HART board of directors

Children’s center deserves support

As members of an international organization of women educators, we volunteer at the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center and see firsthand how the center enriches the lives of Hawaii’s keiki. The children’s eyes light up when they learn about other cultures as they play in multicultural exhibits. Child-size settings such as a rainforest, courtroom, supermarket and diner offer opportunities to learn through role-playing. Additional visiting exhibits provide educational experiences not found elsewhere in our state.

Although the visitor numbers may be dropping due to recent events in the area, the center continues to offer a friendly and safe haven in a world-class children’s museum, a dream realized by its founder, Loretta Yajima. Mahalo to Mrs. Yajima for her untiring efforts to provide a magical place for our children. We strongly encourage Hawaii’s residents and visitors to support the program and its presence in Kakaako.

Betty Yoshida

on behalf of the volunteers of Hawaii Eta Chapter, Alpha Delta Kappa

Kaneohe

Hurtful comments aren’t defensible

The recent tape of a presidential candidate’s comments boasting how he could take advantage of women because he was a celebrity, and then justifying it as merely “locker-room talk,” angers me.

It angers me because I was molested at age 9 and raped and physically assaulted in my 20s.

I am a survivor, not a victim. I am angered and disgusted by the suggestion that said candidate’s comments are just what men say in private.

My husband, father and other men whom I care for do not behave this way. A measure of a good man is how he treats those he has power over, and how he behaves when he thinks that no one else is paying attention.

Every time I hear how a powerful man got away with atrocious behavior, I remember how powerless and humiliated I felt when I was assaulted. I know that I am not the only one. My suggestion? No more! No more violence toward women, no more justifying sexual assault.

Lisa Berg

Mililani

Voters can choose from 2 worldviews

At the end of World War II, America did something wonderful. Instead of asking the defeated for the traditional tribute, it helped all the countries affected by war to recover. America helped to create the United Nations to bring some peace and order, a departure from its pre-war isolationist view.

These may have been some of America’s finest years.

Today, Donald Trump and his followers have a different view of life, saying these are hard times, too many Americans are suffering and are calling for conservative measures such as a protectionist economy, a less diversified country and civil liberties for some, not the many.

The Democrats agree that these are hard times and too many Americans are suffering, but believe the solution is to keep and improve current ideals and measures to achieve an open economy, diversified population and civil rights of the many, not the few.

Vote and choose the America you want to live in.

Richard Y. Will

Waikiki

To avoid abuse, don’t issue pCards

The tempest over pCards goes on and on.

Let me tell of a simple solution my employer of many years used that eliminated the problem. Company policy was never to issue credit cards in the company’s name.

For those employees whose duties included activities that could require on-site payment, the policy was for the employee to get his or her own credit card. If there is an annual fee, it would be reimbursed.

Each eligible employee was limited to reimbursement of the fee for only one card.

Business-related expenses charged on the card were then submitted on an expense report with documentation and explanation of the business conducted.

No charges for surfboards, bikes, personal vacation trips and the like were ever reimbursed and the company incurred no cost.

Simple procedure, easy to use.

Jim Pollock

Kaneohe