Traditional values can restore Kawainui

The state’s Kawainui-Hamakua Master Plan has three components: ecology (removing introduced vegetation), culture (restoring Native Hawaiian practices) and education for locals and visitors.

Some opposition focuses on three buildings supporting these components. There is also a fear of tourism, but it’s a bit late for that issue.

I wonder if there were objections historically when marsh water was diverted to Waimanalo agriculture, when draining and grass planting opened cattle grazing, when prior to 1988 sewage from nearby neighborhoods emptied into the marsh, or when buildings went up on the marsh periphery?

Indigenous people did not create negative impacts as modern society continues to do. Their connection to the land birthed both fishpond and taro loi that sustained a large population.

Let’s help their dedicated descendants work their magic again. Together we can make Kawainui truly be her given name: “The Big Freshwater.”

Judy Mick

Kailua

—

Name-calling no way to practice politics

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Carroll dubbed Democratic Gov. David Ige “Doomsday David” (“Republican candidate calls for Ige to quit over false alert,” Jan. 19).

My immediate reaction was, “Oh no, not here.”

My reaction has nothing to do with the false missile alert or Carroll’s view that Ige should resign. He has every right to express his personal opinion.

My reaction was in response to Carroll dubbing Ige “Doomsday David.” It seems that Carroll is taking a page from President Donald Trump’s playbook and found it to his political advantage to “name-call” a political opponent. If we have learned anything at all over the last year under the Trump administration, it is that name-calling tends to polarize people and issues, provide a convenient label on which to hang one’s own opinion, whether based on fact or fiction, and does nothing to seek solutions.

I sincerely hope that none of our other elected officials or those seeking to be elected will resort to such tactics, and keep their remarks on the high road.

Bruce Shimomoto

Aiea

—

Second City needs wider roadways

As a Makakilo resident from 1990 to 1997, and a Kapolei resident since 2004, I must question the city and state’s commitment to the Ewa plain and Leeward coast.

Nearly 30 years after establishing the “Second City,” critical infrastructure improvements have not been addressed. Farrington Highway between Waipahu and Kapolei, and Fort Barrette Road, remain outdated two-lane roads that have become overwhelmed by traffic.

Farrington Highway is particularly bad whenever the H-1 is shut down (as it was during the Jan. 22 evening rush hour). We don’t need studies. Take action to widen these roads.

Charles Merkel

Kapolei

—

U.S. doesn’t need to provoke N. Korea

It was well played by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to team up with South Korea on the Olympics and allow a popular girl band to play in the South.

It seems to have befuddled President Donald Trump and frustrated his war drums. What are we afraid of anyway? Are the North Koreans about to invade Florida or Oklahoma?

When we add in Veterans Affairs, intelligence agencies and Homeland Security, the U.S. defense budget is more than $1 trillion. Does North Korea have any aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines or stealth bombers? Do they have more 900 overseas military bases?

Our defense budget is why the debt is soaring, we have a D-plus infrastructure, millions without health care or education, entire cities without clean water. How did everything become about war and the military become everything?

It is past time for us to stop the war gaming and provocation against the North and let the two Koreas solve their own issues. Peace, out.

Jim Quimby

Kapalama

—

Liberals ridiculous in attacks on Trump

There are many individuals touting unflattering nonsense about President Donald Trump.

I fail to see how any connection can be drawn between Trump’s anti-abortion stance and not caring for children of illegal immigrants (“Being pro-life should extend beyond birth,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 23). People have free will, such as the choice to not illegally enter the U.S., and the choice to not bear children when they have no means to support their families.

Another example is making a case that the panic that ensued during the missile alert was Trump’s fault because of his tweet weeks earlier (“Trump’s tweets raise nuclear anxiety level,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Jan. 23). Liberals see a world that has turned out to be far less apocalyptic under Trump than they ever imagined — thus they are panicking. All the #Resistance has to offer are ridiculous, baseless claims.

Elaine Sturgeon

Waikiki