We clearly have an “economic refugee” crisis in the form of the homeless. When there is war and people flee, they are offered safety in a temporary living situation in a tent city. So instead of closing our public beach parks, it is clear that the state and city need to step up and find land to offer our economic refugees.
The homeless always say there is no place they can go. Well, the the state and city must find 10 to 20 acres of unused land (like between Lagoon Drive and Sand Island) and provide a place. Offer a bus to take them and their tents to the camp.
The city and state could provide portable toilets and showers, and a large tent with picnic tables, sinks and maybe even lockers to lock up their valuables, much like school lockers.
Medical and other human services could be offered there as well. I know it is not ideal, but is there a better temporary solution?
Diane Anderson
Haleiwa
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Solutions needed to help homeless
Kudos to the Star-Advertiser for the editorial on homelessness (“State must control homeless in parks,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Oct. 5).
As an educator and a social worker, I am concerned for the homeless. We now have groups throughout the islands living in squalor among feces and urine, risking harm as they tap into electricity and water.
Children are not going to school, and if they are, how can they do their studies? We are creating a new generation of chronic homeless.
I am also concerned for the general public that must walk around waste, syringes, menacing dogs and people hallucinating in many areas of downtown and elsewhere.
The public costs of clean-up, emergency room care, policing and storage are staggering.
The homeless, the mentally ill, and the public need solutions to this problem, not Band-Aids.
Caroline Ward Oda
Wailupe
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Cartoons rightly ridicule Trump
“Anti-Trump cartoons show paper’s bias” (Star-Advertiser, Letters, Oct. 6), misses the point.
By definition, the editorial page is the perfect place to display anti-Donald Trump cartoons, and, by publishing them, the Star-Advertiser is performing its chief duty.
The first and primary role of the press in a free society is to be the watchdog on government. Political cartoons have been doing that since before our nation’s conception. Those “nasty” cartoons lambaste not the presidency, but the current president — a toxic, willfully ignorant man who by his countless statements and actions has brought disrepute to our country.
Misogynists, racists, extreme narcissists and nepotists are richly deserving of as much ridicule and laughter as a tired populace can muster.
This voter, like the majority of Americans who voted for someone else, is counting the days until this unfit, “do-nothing” incumbent of the presidency is gone.
Craig Stevaux
Kaneohe
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Make Hokule‘a Day a Hawaii holiday
Monday was Columbus Day in the United States, but not in Hawaii. In Hawaii, Columbus Day, or Discoverers’ Day, is viewed negatively. Some believe that the introduced civilizations harmed the host culture.
This is a request to the public and the Legislature to reinstate the holiday. This time it should be called “Hokule‘a Day.” This way, Hawaii’s past, present and future can be honored and celebrated.
Charles Naumu
Kaneohe
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Early Hanauma Bay visitors are counted
The letter, “Modify education at Hanauma Bay” (Star-Advertiser, Oct. 5), is of particular concern to the dedicated staff at the Department of Parks and Recreation, who place a plethora of care into the facilities they manage.
Unfortunately, the TV story that is referenced as a source for this letter expressed an opinion that is being used as a fact in this situation.
The city is very concerned about any loss of revenue, which is why a tally of the early- morning Hanauma Bay visitors commenced a few months ago. The news report failed to mention this fact.
Additionally, the safety of visitors to the bay, and all of our park facilities, as well as the conservation and care of our natural environment, are paramount. The bay has park attendants, volunteers and numerous signs and placards around the facility to help visitors enjoy the bay safely while respecting the land and ocean that make it such a special place.
Nathan “Nate” Serota
Public information officer, city Department of Parks and Recreation
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Court affirmed right to bear firearms
Sometimes political spin gets so deep that it simply must be called out (“There is no ‘right’ to own firearms,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Oct. 9).
The argument is flawed beyond words. It ignores Supreme Court rulings in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago to advance the patently absurd proposition that there is no individual right to firearm ownership in the United States. The court has confirmed our God-given right to individual self-defense as affirmed in the Second Amendment.
The question before us now is whether we have that right outside our homes.
Stephen Hinton
Waialua
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Las Vegas hotel could be liable
Enough of all this talk about gun control. There is only one thing that would have stopped this kind of carnage in Las Vegas, and that is security at the front door of the hotel/casino.
If someone can carry bags full of rifles right through the lobby of a world-class hotel, then you have a world-sized security problem. The lawsuits against Mandalay Bay will be record-breaking.
Louis Scull
Makiki
