Lanai outages show lack of preparation

As someone who has lived in Hawaii since 1982 and spent more than 18 years with the Army at Schofield Barracks planning for potential natural disasters, I find it very hard to believe what is happening on Lanai (“Lanai, hundreds on Oahu remain without electricity,” Star-Advertiser, Top News, Jan. 23). Local news reported 19 electrical poles damaged, causing the island-wide outage.

This is totally unacceptable, especially since we live in a location of frequent tsunami and/or hurricane threats. I find it very hard to believe that those charged with overseeing not only Lanai’s emergency planning but also the state’s would not have recognized years ago that power outages across the entire island of Lanai could be lost in even a weekend storm like last weekend.

Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim understands this type of potential problem and has prepped the county appropriately. Perhaps Kim could help in sharing his institutional knowledge of how to prepare for such events.

John Toillion

Mililani

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Redevelop stadium land to pay for rail

Tear down Aloha Stadium and lease the land for a master- planned community. Create an attractive urban center that includes housing, retail, entertainment and office space.

Residents could work, sleep and play all in one place, greatly reducing need to travel. When they do, the rail is right there and handy to use. The proceeds from the land leases and forgone cost of maintaining the aging stadium would create revenue for the rail.

The University of Hawaii could then concentrate on academics. It would be UH’s choice to build a new stadium if it can justify the economics, maybe by locating it farther ewa where land is more affordable but accessible by rail for convenient attendance.

It would be a win-win.

Richard Fucik

Aiea

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Trump is fulfilling Orwell’s predictions

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans are fearful of President Donald Trump and what he will attempt to do.

One of the main reasons why I am fearful of his presidency is that he seems to be fulfilling visions that George Orwell had in his books, “Animal Farm” and “1984.”

I am sure that Trump would be a great president of a banana republic, where he would have total control of the media telling us what is true and what is false.

One of his primary surrogates, Kellyanne Conway, recently defended Trump’s press secretary’s use of “alternative facts” when estimating the number of people who attended Trump’s inauguration.

Lies become truths and truths become falsehoods. Trump makes up his own realities to fit into and feed his egotistical needs. I think it is very reasonable to be fearful of what this presidency will mean to the future of our United States of America.

Roman Leverenz

Aliamanu

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Republicans owe us for lack of action

I am so glad that the Republicans can now say they can finally get some work done, since for the past eight years they have done nothing.

Since they admitted not getting any work done, can they please repay the public the money they received for the past eight years?

Claudia Torres

Aiea

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‘America First’ policy dangerous for world

President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech was chilling, but not really unexpected.

He is delivering what he threatened to do through the entire election. “America First” has not gotten this kind of attention since Charles Lindbergh espoused it after being conned by the Nazis in the 1930s. Don’t worry about the rest of the world. We can get along with the Nazis, and the rest of the world just needs to fend for itself.

That selfish view of having no obligations to humanity at large helped contribute to the Holocaust. It is jingoism at its worst.

Ernie Saxton

Wahiawa