Police did excellent job during Kahuku protests

I would like to compliment the police for doing an excellent job clearing the road of Kahuku wind farm protesters (“Delivery of wind turbine parts complete,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 21). No tear gas, no Tasers, just peaceful arrests of the protesters who chose to break the law.

When the police have finished the job at Kahuku, I hope they are sent to clear the road at Mauna Kea. Speaking as a taxpayer, I feel the more than $9 million we have spent to babysit protesters breaking the law is more than enough.

Clarence Field

Makiki

Attempts to block roads cannot be tolerated

Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the officers of the Honolulu Police Department should be applauded for their determined enforcement of the law in the face of attempts to block delivery of wind turbine components to Kahuku from Kalaeloa. The delivery is now complete and the effort to stop it has failed (“Delivery of wind turbine parts complete,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 21).

The contrast with the impasse at Mauna Kea over construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope is dramatic. The state government has let the protesters have their way in stalling TMT by failing to enforce the law.

The wind turbine opponents say they will seek court orders to stop the project. That is their right. Our concern was the resort to illegal action to block the road. That could not be tolerated.

Carl H. Zimmerman

Salt Lake

Community united in opposing giant turbines

Most protests seem to split communities in half. The protests over the Kahuku windmills, however, seem to be in unison. Who wants the windmills? They are unpleasant aesthetically, acoustically and environmentally. In other words they are ugly, noisy, and kill birds and bats. Photovoltaics probably work a lot better, as far as renewable energy goes.

Try to relocate the wind turbines to Waialae Iki or Hawaii Kai and see how many protests you get.

John Tokunaga

Kaimuki

Complaints about ban on plastics about profit

The restaurants are up in arms about a plastics ban (“Foodware plastics ban bill advances,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 15).

Heaven forbid we disallow cheap sources of containers and utensils when taxpayers can continue to pay for their cleanup from our beaches and reefs. Oh, and who really cares that plastics end up in the stomachs of whales, turtles and seabirds, resulting in their deaths?

Profits for the few remain alive and well here in Hawaii.

Paul Zweng

Kailua

Compromise needed with Marine sea wall

I am a former Marine who utilized Ewa Beach’s Puuloa Range Training Facility for marksmanship back before all the development happened (“Residents fear impact of proposed sea wall,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 20). The proposed sea wall is being funded for both climate change affecting the berm walls and public safety downrange onto the open ocean.

Can we as a group just come to a point and leave well enough alone, and not protest everything before us, and have a middle ground for everything else coming down the pike?

Byron “Jiro” Kaneshiro

Wahiawa

Dogs not allowed at Ala Moana park

The Star-Advertiser’s Nov. 20 photo, “Keeping pace,” which shows Tiger the dog taking his owner Sonny around Magic Island, although a nice photo, only encourages others to bring their dogs or other pets to Ala Moana Regional Park. This beach park is not a dog-friendly park, as there are signs posted that prohibit animals, among other things.

I have noticed an increasing number of people bringing their dogs to the park and there is no enforcement of the rules. I am a dog owner myself, but rules are rules. The city not only should start enforcing them, it should place signs at both entrances so people will see them. The current signage is scattered around the park, and the animal prohibition is obscured by the fact that it is one of a list of things prohibited at the park.

There should be a single sign similar to the one that prohibits feeding the birds. Maybe the mayor can look into this problem before building his kid-friendly playground.

Dennis Morioka

Kapalama

Democrats obsessed with ousting Trump

The Democrats constantly say that President Donald Trump is not above the law. Well, neither is he below the law.

The president is entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process to which any citizen is entitled. However, the Democrats have tried and convicted him from the day he first took office. After his inauguration, they were already calling for Trump’s impeachment.

The Democrats’ idea of due process is to charge you with a crime, then go on a witch hunt looking for evidence of a crime. The Democratic Party is a dying party with nothing to offer this country.

Bert Oshiro

Hawaii Kai

Tell us what are you thankful for

Maybe it only seems that things have gotten more divisive. Maybe we’ve become too focused on the negatives instead of the positives. Here’s your chance to reflect on things to be thankful for, and to share with fellow readers. Today through Nov. 24, we’ll be accepting “Be thankful” letters (150 words max) or essays (500-600 words). A collection of these will run on Dec. 1, Thanksgiving weekend. Email to letters@staradvertiser.com or send to 500 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 7-210, Honolulu, 96813, c/o Letters.

EXPRESS YOURSELF

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