It’s good to hear there is still hope that smarter heads will prevail to avoid the rail disaster lurching on to Honolulu (“Taking it to the streets,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 5).

Hopefully, our Legislature is listening and won’t give in to the outrageous pleas for more money from the mayor and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.

They might also consider that a bigger debt might occur if the vindictive president decides to stop the flow of federal money to the state where President Barack Obama was born.

Pat Meyers

Kailua

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Remembering Fred Korematsu

I was delighted to read Robert Schmidt’s letter about Fred Korematsu (“Korematsu’s legacy still relevant today,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 3).

I have honored Fred Kore- matsu Day on Jan. 30 for many years. I celebrate what he stood for, and encourage my family to read books like “Return to Manzanar,” “Under the Blood Red Sun,” and “At the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,” to name a few.

Thank you for publishing a much-needed reminder of the injustices of the internment during World War II.

Barbara Dwyer

Kailua

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Dairy farm would show lack of aloha

Koloa, Kauai, has been the breath and life to my family since grandfather’s sugar plantation contract in 1899. Native Hawaiians made incalculable sacrifices to share their aina with aloha. An industrial dairy near our coast and drinking water, done with aloha?

Consider: Storms, hurricanes, utilities disrupted, and Hawaii Dairy Farms’ 699 lactating cows 6/10ths of a mile from beautiful Mahaulepu Beach. The plan requires that ponds containing millions of gallons of manure and effluent be emptied with forecasts of serious storms, which often occur six times or more per year. Hurricanes and storms will carry manure and effluent to the ocean from the farm site.

Environmentally safe? Much smaller Kauai dairies, Waimea and Moloa‘a, were closed after runoff, fly and odor issues. Manure nitrates threaten Poipu’s wells, a source of drinking water 680 feet from the farm site.

This for Kauai’s prized visitor destination and Mahaulepu’s treasured archaeological and cultural sites? Not good.

Ellen Ebata

Koloa, Kauai

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Neutered cats can help environment

Alley Cat Allies warns that House Bills 606 and 904 may lead to the killing of neutered cats. Anti-cat legislation is harmful. The facts:

>> Cats normally can spread toxoplasmosis only once in their lifetime; neutering them breaks the cycle of the disease.

>> Neutered cats are not responsible for cat overpopulation.

>> Managed colonies of neutered cats are located away from native bird habitats.

>> If the neutered cats are killed, non-trappable breeding cats take their place.

>> Cats control rodents that spread diseases and rob native bird nests.

>> Cats help native owls and hawks suffer less deaths from rat poison.

>> Trap-neuter-release-manage (TNRM) feeders do not feed non neutered cats; they trap and fix them.

All this costs taxpayers nothing. It is unrealistic to think you can get rid of all the cats and rats in Hawaii. TNRM may not solve the whole problem, but people have the right to choose it as a viable part of the solution.

Mana Marx

Haleiwa

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News media need to remain vigilant

The news is scary, and the press is becoming, once again, a scapegoat, just as strongmen throughout history have attempted to substitute facts with propaganda.

Thank you, reporters and editors, for your vigilance. Thanks also to my delivery person (Alberta) for quietly leaving the paper at my front door.

Stephen Lerman

Kapalama