Open Hawaii island to lava viewing

I would go.

Kilauea is entering its largest eruptive phase since 1924, and I would drop everything to see it — if I could. But with Federal Aviation Administration restrictions keeping helicopters above 3,000 feet and no way to view flows from the ground, now might be the worst time to visit. There’s nothing to see.

There is more than one kind of tourist; not everybody comes to sit on a beach. Some people would travel across the globe to witness an historic event.

When the total solar eclipse swept across the United States last year, hotels charged three times their normal rates and were booked nine months in advance.

The people who would flock to Hawaii to see the eruption aren’t average tourists — they’re adventurers and scientists. We don’t care about air quality or being blanketed in volcanic ash. We know what we’re getting into.

Give us a chance to see this once-in-a-lifetime event, and you won’t be talking about the devastating drop in tourism any more.

Ron Chinn

Concord, Calif.

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Don’t let insurers cheat Puna residents

The people in Puna need help. Our Legislature created the Hawaii Property Insurance Association (HIPA) because no one could get a mortgage in a lava zone.

They did studies to confirm that homes get ignited by the heat from the lava long before the lava consumes the home. Having fire insurance (there is a pricy premium) should cover the loss.

Some insurance companies insert questionable language that protects the company, not the homeowner. When agencies are created to help this situation and guidelines are ignored or manipulated, the government and Legislature should ensure these companies are not permitted to do business in Hawaii.

Other states have created similar protection for those who choose to live in Tornado Alley.

Good companies exist. As a proud Puna homeowner in Lava Zone III, I am fortunate to have chosen one.

Pauline Arellano

Mililani

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Union leader should support membership

Randy Perreira, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, criticized Gov. David Ige for not supporting a $15-an-hour minimum wage for 1,600 members, but Ige said he had made proposals for the $15 minimum wage and all were rejected by the union (“Hawaii’s largest union backs Hanabusa for governor,” Star- Advertiser, June 13).

When questioned, Perreira spins it by saying the union never received a “formal proposal” for the $15 minimum wage.

Perreira says leadership is the key in this election. Well then, it should start by not hurting the livelihoods of the union’s members for his political deals.

Audrey Abe

Kaimuki

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A president who lies deserves disrespect

A lie is a blatant sign of disrespect. When our president lies to me daily I become disrespectful of him, and rightfully so.

Evidence is increasing that President Donald Trump favors kleptocracy over democracy. Our Republican elected lawmakers are complicit, vocally or silently, in the current active erosion of democracy.

And for what? Certainly not in the name of patriotism.

Jeff Bigler

Wailuku

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Trump’s success a balm for haters

A terrible disease spread across our country in 2016.

The “Trump disease” causes irrational hatred and animus toward our duly elected president. Everything that comes out of the mouths of those with this disease is entirely negative and hateful concerning our president. We know that hatred only hurts the hater. Fortunately, there is a remedy called the “Trumper balm,” similar to the balm of Gilead, that can heal the sin-sick soul. With this balm, those with the Trump disease will be healed and be able to see many good things happening in our country, such as:

>> Amazing growth in the GNP.

>> Companies relocating back to the United States.

>> Best unemployment rate in 50 years.

>> American hostages released from North Korea and Venezuela.

>> Historic Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un summit.

Whitlow W. L. Au

Kailua

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No justification for border separations

President Donald Trump’s policies try to deter immigrants from crossing the border with Mexico by separating parents and children. Regardless of effectiveness, ends do not justify means.

Separating children from their parents is traumatic for both, with long-term negative emotional consequences. Most of these humans are refugees seeking asylum from traumatic violence in their homeland and often are traumatized along the escape routes.

The toxic stress to which these migrants are subjected is cruel, inhumane child abuse. It is unjust and immoral. The unprecedented warehousing of innocent and vulnerable children as detainees is inconsistent with American values and human rights — another case of racism and xenophobia.

Taxpayers fund this atrocity, and those who do not protest are complicit. There should be zero tolerance for this policy.

Symptoms of migration are being treated, not causes. A summit of the leaders of the countries involved would be one measure to begin facing reality.

Leslie E. Sponsel

Hawaii Kai

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A prison is no place for migrant children

A prison is a dangerous environment for children, even if they are with their parents.

Children are better off separated from parents who are subject to criminal prosecution for illegally entering the U.S. and who will be incarcerated and imprisoned.

The U.S. does not have a prison solely for parents with children, which is why children are better off separated from parents placed in prison.

A prison is a dangerous environment for young children.

Ruben Reyes

Royal Kunia