There is a serious move to restrict voting in Honolulu’s Neighborhood Board elections. Instead of using an outside vendor to run internet and phone voting, the city, claiming it would save money, created a program for internet voting. No provision was made for telephone voting. Commissioners said there would be several sites where people could vote, in addition to using their own devices.
They did not consider those who are homebound, ill, handicapped, have no access to computers, or who do not trust web voting. The city says it cannot create a phone option. It plans to offer a way for those who can’t vote via internet to cast a mail ballot.
Voting for those who represent us at the grassroots level must be made available and readily accessible to everyone. The Neighborhood Commission should delay the election until the phone option is restored.
Lynne Matusow
Downtown Honolulu
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Will next police chief also get a payout?
I agree with acting Honolulu Police Chief Cary Okimoto, who opposed using department funds for severance pay for outgoing chief Louis Kealoha (“Funding of police chief’s severance raises dispute,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 10).
Why is there a payout to begin with? Kealoha was not forced to retire, so he should have just retired with the full retirement benefits. If the next police chief retires before his contract is over, will he also get a payout? What’s good for one is good for the other, don’t you think?
Kenneth Ikenaga
Pearl City
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UH wasted money on contract buyouts
The tongue-in-cheek sarcasm of creating a Hawaii Buyout Hall of Fame did not fall on deaf ears (“Many could join Buyout Hall of Fame,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 30).
It was a great reminder of all the University of Hawaii money that has been wasted on buyouts, rather than being spent on education.
You know what “education” is — what any university is to provide its student body.
Hawaii is certainly a cash cow: Take a job at UH, be asked to leave, and return to the mainland a much richer person.
Joan Huber
Diamond Head
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Caregivers could use some support, too
I am glad to see the Star-Advertiser featuring stories of long-term caregiving (“Caregivers need the help of legislators,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Jan. 8).
Someday it’ll be us. Today we give care. Tomorrow we will need it ourselves. I was my mom’s caregiver when she was receiving cancer treatments. I flew to Oahu every Monday, back and forth on Wednesday to keep my job, then home again on Friday when my dad could take care of mom on weekends.
I did this for six months until my mother’s cancer went into remission. The doctors gave her six months to live prior to those six months of treatment. We were blessed to have her with us for 11 years more.
Prayers helped, of course. And legislation proposed this session to give respite to family caregivers will also help.
Hulu Lindsey
Kahului, Maui
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Celebrities should run, not complain
Many celebrities like to expound on political or social issues. Do we really need lectures from overpaid movie stars?
I get it: Meryl Streep doesn’t like Donald Trump, and Leonardo diCaprio is worried about climate change.
Trump was a punchline for the better part of a year and it seemed that anyone famous near a microphone or in front of a camera couldn’t resist slamming him.
I say to all the Hollywood elites who are so condescending toward Trump to take some advice from President Barack Obama, who said, “If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures and run for office yourself.”
Trump did and he won.
John Berry
Makiki
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Government should live within its means
I am a retired senior on a fixed income, like thousands of Hawaii residents.
We again received no increase from Social Security in 2017, even though the inflation rate in Hawaii in 2016 was 2 percent.
In order for my wife and I to maintain our standard of living, we will have to cut our expenses by 2 percent this year. We can do that. So why can’t the city and state cut their budgets when necessary instead of continually increases our taxes?
The only recent tax that should remain is the general excise tax surcharge to support the rail, which is in place. We are used to it by now.
Instead of increasing our cost of living in Hawaii, the city and state should be more responsible and make do with what they have, like John Waring said (“Make do with what government has,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 31).
Toby Allen
Hawaii Kai
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First, answer hard questions about rail
Every Oahu taxpayer has the right to hear the city and/or the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation honestly answer these questions before the Legislature considers additional taxes for rail:
>> How much has the one-half percent rail excise tax surcharge cost each person on Oahu over the past 10 years? Approximately $1.5 billion has been raised so far since 2007, and the Tax Foundation of Hawaii estimates our per-person cost is more than $200 per year.
>> What will be our per-person tax cost for the entire project (approximately $8 billion needed before the federal contribution)?
>> Who is expected to ride rail? Which bus routes will be shortened into feeder buses to force those bus riders to transfer to rail? What will rail riders do when rail is “down”?
>> Will rail cause a noticeable reduction in traffic on H-1?
>> Which tax will be raised to pay for the annual operation and maintenance of rail?
John Brizdle
Palolo Valley
