I have a heart, believe me. I have compassion. But to close off our parks, paid for by our taxes, because of illegal squatters at places like Kakaako Waterfront Park, is impossible to swallow (“Perils and squalor prompt shutdown of waterfront park,” Star-Advertiser, Oct. 4).
Get the homeless into housing and allow their pets. You will get more cooperation this way. Then give the police the authority to arrest everyone else.
They can ticket folks not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, but they cannot arrest folks who illegally squat and stay after hours?
Come on — get real.
Dee Brock
Mililani
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Take back our streets and parks
The story, “Perils and squalor prompt shutdown of waterfront park” (Star-Advertiser, Oct. 4), tells me that taxpaying, law-abiding citizens can no longer go to parks in Honolulu because criminal trespassers have taken them over.
The Hawaii Community Development Authority can run roughshod over our zoning laws, but it cannot keep criminals out of the parks it owns?
Shut off all power to the parks at night, shut off all water to the parks at night, and clear the bums out.
It’s time we take back our streets and parks. Give the homeless one chance for housing, and if they refuse, warehouse them in a camp somewhere.
Bob Gould
Kaneohe
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Only total gun ban would stop shooters
How do you propose to stop the violence?
Just like the Marco Polo fire, a number of people and politicians overreact to incidents and want more gun-control legislation, even though we all know that nothing short of a total gun ban would have prevented this tragedy (“Aloha goes out to ‘ninth island,’ ” Star-Advertiser, Oct. 3).
Hawaii has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, yet we still have shootings and killings. Instead of crying and whining about gun control or bans, how about coming up with sensible and reasonable solutions to try to stop this from happening without infringing upon people’s constitutional rights? Is that even possible?
This shooter passed all checks and acquired most of the guns legally and didn’t show any signs of instability. Short of a total gun ban, how do you propose ways of stopping these shootings?
Stan Sano
Makiki
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Media shouldn’t give killer much face time
What a relief to open the Star-Advertiser and not see a full-page picture of the heinous killer of the young people in Las Vegas.
Displaying his face using a full screen, as many television stations did, was unnerving and over the top for me.
Copycat killers might get the wrong idea about being recognized. They should not be rewarded for their evil deeds.
Thanks for keeping his face at a low profile. It meant a lot to me after days and days of rehashing the terrible events at the country music concert.
Jim Delmonte
Portlock
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HPD should avoid working with ICE
As the Honolulu Police Commission considers the selection of a new chief of police, the Star-Advertiser editorial board fittingly endorsed the “community policing” model of law enforcement (“Be objective when choosing new chief,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Sept. 28).
It is timely because the trust between the police and the community that is necessary for community policing to work is under threat by the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that seeks to deport all undocumented immigrants — even those with no criminal records — and he wants the police to voluntarily assist federal immigration enforcement agencies to do so. A wave of fear now grips undocumented immigrants and their families. They fear contact with the police due to the threat of deportation. They are now reluctant to report crimes or suspected crimes, and they are reluctant to come forth as witnesses to crimes. As a result, our communities are less safe.
Like hundreds of other cities, counties and states, the next chief of the Honolulu Police Department should decline to assist federal immigration regulation agencies.
John Kawamoto
Kaimuki
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Trump should adopt simple tax reform
President Donald Trump needs to listen to me.
I’m from England, where we have a fixed income tax. It is fair to all. The wealthy pay a high amount on their income, whereas a lower-income person pays far less. All based on a fixed tax, paid on what you earn. Simple, easy and most important, fair to all.
Start taxation at $15,000 a year. Leave two tax deductions: Mortgage payments on one home only and charitable contributions. No taxing of Social Security.
Toby Allen
Hawaii Kai
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Modify education at Hanauma Bay
As a longtime early-morning regular at Hanauma Bay, I was distressed seeing eight tourists standing on and walking on the reef. A TV report two days earlier indicated the city was not concerned about loss of revenue, safety and conservation caused by its pre-7 a.m. arrival policy.
This group did not view the video, a requirement after 7 a.m., and they entered the water in a particularly rocky spot. One man fell and gashed his leg.
I explained that by walking on the reef they could permanently damage or destroy fragile corals. Had they entered the water in a sandy area, the man probably would not have fallen and cut his leg.
Park attendants say the early visitor count is usually 200; on Labor Day it was 700.
There must be a better system to allow regular visitors in early while being sure those who need enlightenment get it.
Dan Dennison
Hawaii Kai
