As we pay our respects to the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, we should remember his greatest accomplishment: the Apology Resolution (Public Law 103-150, 107 Stat. 1510), in which the U.S. apologized for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian government and acknowledged that Hawaiians never relinquished their sovereignty nor their land (“Late U.S. Sen. Akaka to lie in state, be eulogized in services,” Star-Advertiser, May 17).
Regina E. Gregory
Makiki
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Restore access to Arizona Memorial
The Navy and National Parks Service must find a way to allow tourists and locals access to the USS Arizona Memorial (“USS Arizona Memorial remains closed,” Star-Advertiser, May 16).
This loading-dock problem has been a recurring issue. As a Navy veteran, I am still confounded that active-duty personnel are used to man the barges that take the visitors out to the memorial. It is time that a foot bridge from Ford Island is built to allow access to the memorial.
One of the top things on a visitor’s to-do list on Oahu is to visit the Arizona Memorial. I am from Ohio but have lived here for 53 years. When anyone from Ohio asks me about visiting Hawaii, I tell them to stop on Oahu to see the memorial and Punchbowl cemetery. Then I advise them to get to Kauai or Hawaii island, unless they are fans of concrete or sitting in their rental vehicle for long periods of their stay.
Gregory A. Poole
Mililani
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Uber, Lyft provide useful services
I think David Jung’s commentary missed some points: convenience, timing, price, to name a few (“Regulating ride-hail not ‘outdated’,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, May 16).
Uber and Lyft give me the chance to know in advance the price from Point A to B. They let me know how long I can expect to wait. They let the driver find me wherever I am, no matter how inaccurately I might verbally provide my location. They tell me exactly where the car is as it gets close. They also allow me to call a ride for a family member or friend and pay for it remotely, so I don’t have to be part of the ride. They provide me with a record of the trip and a payment receipt on my phone.
I do agree with Jung’s concern about responsibility and insurance, the lack of predictable and regulated pricing (but since I know the price in advance, I can choose an alternative), and licensing and revenue to the city and state for a commercial activity on public roads.
Cabs need to update their technology. With that and the standard telephone call service, they could do more than the new unregulated guys.
Elbridge W. Smith
Kailua
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No need to pave Beach Road in Puna
The County of Hawaii is planning to pave Beach Road for the only access in and out of lower Puna. There is a big problem: The road runs three feet from the ocean, and at high tide the road is wet. Even a minuscule tsunami of an inch will wipe out the emergency road they have chosen for us.
It’s ridiculous to waste money paving a road that already washes over when the tide is high, leaving all of lower Puna stranded. Beach Road is fine the way it is. Just drop gravel and grade it once in awhile.
Now is the time to break out the bulldozer and make a secondary access road from Nanawale to Hawaiian Beaches, Hawaiian Paradise Park and Hilo. W.H. Shipman Ltd. can give some land; that estate has created most of the substandard subdivisions in Puna and owes the people of Hawaii a safe alternative access to Hilo.
Sara Steiner
Pahoa
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Free speech therapy available to children
I was disheartened to read your article, “Therapist found guilty of defrauding military families” (Star-Advertiser, May 11), about the speech therapist who defrauded the government as well as the children of military families she was supposed to serve. She is not representative of the profession of speech-language pathologists.
I want Star-Advertiser readers to know that every child in the U.S. may be eligible for free speech therapy because of federal legislation 45 years ago. It is not an entitlement based on family income. All speech problems faced by children are covered. The free therapy can begin as early as preschool and run through high school.
I think the best source for parents is a brochure, “Special Education Law and Children Who Stutter” on the website of the Stuttering Foundation (www.stutteringhelp.org).
It is a shame that more people do not know about this amazing benefit of free speech therapy because more children with the various speech deficits could be helped.
Edward Herrington
Naples, Fla.
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Racial resentment fueled rise of Trump
It has been more than a year since President Donald Trump won the presidential election, but the question of what drove him to victory still lingers in the minds of political pundits.
Many believed that working-class economic anxiety was the impetus that propelled Trump. However, the results of a recent survey conducted by political and social scientists reveal that cultural anxiety, and fear among white voters of demographic changes, were the main factors for why they voted for Trump.
White people viewed the growth of non-white population in America as a threat to their numerical superiority and saw Trump as their savior. Trump stoked those fears and feelings of anxiety by unleashing a barrage of anti-immigrant and minority- bashing rhetoric, much to the delight of white voters.
The results of the aforementioned survey portray a disturbing picture of a widening and deepening wound of racial division caused by racism and racial resentment. To please his followers, Trump continues to promote anti-diversity behavior.
Rod B. Catiggay
Mililani
