One of the supreme pleasures of living in Hawaii is being able to walk along the beach and enjoy the majestic splendor of our mountains and ocean. It is a soothing balm for the soul and spirit.

Why, then, is Honolulu’s wealthiest neighborhood the location of one of the worst beaches for walking?

The beach fronting the Waialae Country Club, Kahala Beach Apartments, and the westerly end of The Kahala Hotel & Resort is a dearth of sand and an overabundance of dead coral.

Are the owners of these properties unable to persuade state officials to properly maintain and protect this stretch of beach? Or would the state prefer to keep the beach as is?

Funding beach maintenance should not be an obstacle for the state. If lawmakers are able to find billions of dollars for a rail project that is the antithesis of a beautification project, then they should be able to find funds to beautify our once-magnificent beaches, which would benefit not only property owners but everyone living in Hawaii.

Carlino Giampolo

Kakaako

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Armed park rangers won’t help homeless

I find it easy to ascribe traits and behaviors to a group that may not even be aware it is being vilified — the homeless.

As bogeymen, they certainly serve the purpose. For years they have been described as purveyors of needles and feces. I’ve yet to see evidence of this. And how would armed park personnel alleviate this “scourge” (“Growing homeless encampments prompt proposal for armed park rangers,” Star-Advertiser, July 9)?

In searching for a subtext, I think I am hearing embellished NIMBY-ism, with a healthy dose of armed response to show we mean business.

Randall Thompson

Mapunapuna

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Hawaii ranks low for homeless students

Hawaii is usually noticeable by its absence from nationwide surveys by national magazines such as TIME and Newsweek; however, Hawaii made the recent survey by the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness on how well homeless children were identified and enrolled in school during the 2014-2015 academic year. Hawaii ranked 36 out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

I think Gov. David Ige’s homeless task force and the state Department of Education are certainly remiss in not addressing this problem more assertively.

Thomas (T. J.) Davies Jr.

Kapiolani

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Chin should stop playing politics

OK, enough is enough. State Attorney General Douglas Chin got his 15 minutes of fame. Hawaii just cannot afford to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars litigating the Trump administration’s travel ban.

I don’t know if Chin plans to run for office in the future, but his time can and should be better spent on other issues. Stop playing politics.

Michael Isokane

Kaimuki