Why are we not checking passengers for the coronavirus at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport? There are no fewer than six scheduled connecting flights from Wuhan, and more from other parts of China, that land at HNL each day. These flights arrive at HNL from airports in Japan, Korea and China on as many as six different airlines.

HNL has a common “choke point” before entering the immigration area. With our Chinese community, Hawaii as a tourist destination for Asian residents and the upcoming Lunar New Year, why not set a screening station at HNL, as has been done at some mainland airports?

John Lopinto

Kailua

Ethics reform, new faces appeal to weary citizens

Columnist Richard Borreca is absolutely correct when he says citizens are feeling played, powerless and voiceless (“New names, familiar faces raise interest in Honolulu’s high-stakes mayoral race,” Star-Advertiser, On Politics, Jan. 12). They are looking for mayoral candidates outside of the political spectrum. In mentioning the out-of-the box candidates, he subsequently left out Choon James whose Residents First campaign has garnered a massive social media following.

Likewise, Common Cause Hawaii’s Sandy Ma couldn’t be more correct in suggesting Hawaii needs to advance its ethics laws. How can any state or city employee receive any type of retirement, pension or benefit after committing an on-the-job felony is way beyond my comprehension.

Patrick Kelly

Kaimuki

Coverage of gun-rights rally show media’s bias

The recent Second Amendment rally held in Richmond, Va., was a peaceful event. Citizens expressed their opinions/grievances to their government without incident. Yet the mainstream national media’s reporting of the event made it seem as though the KKK or white supremacist groups were causing chaos on the steps of the state Capitol.

Sure, there were some in attendance who were arrested, but that was a minuscule minority. The bulk of attendees were peaceful and respectful during and after the rally, as exemplified by the cleanup of the streets and grounds conducted by some of the rally participants.

In comparison, whenever Antifa and Occupy Wall Street conducted a protest, there was violence, vandalism and intolerance to differing opinions. You never hear the mainstream media identify and hold to account their bad behavior. The double standard is obvious, and if it continues, public trust in news agencies will further erode.

David Biacan

Wahiawa

Solve existing problems, then bring up new ideas

City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine is suggesting a four-day work week (“Councilwoman proposes 4-day workweeks,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 17). But she and other politicians should fix current problems on Oahu before taking on new cumbersome laws that will take lots of money and time to figure if even it will work.

Solve one existing problem at a time, then get to the next existing problem. Let’s first get the fireworks problem, speeding problems, lack-of-police presence problems, etc., resolved to make Hawaii a better place to live.

Every year the same problems are brought up by citizens and continue the next year. I am tired of hearing the same problems year after year. I vote to get problems resolved, but sometimes I wonder if I should stop voting. But that’s the easy way out, not trying to help Hawaii be a better place to live.

Bob Naka

Mililani

Poor leaders spur rise in crime, disdain for law

Why are there so many crimes and so much violence across the country? It was after Donald Trump rallies, such as one where he encouraged his supporters to “knock the crap out” of anyone who looked ready to throw a tomato, and not to worry — Trump would take care of legal fees.

Trump has also proposed shooting immigrants crossing the our southern border seeking refuge. And he supported racists who killed a young woman who didn’t share their point of view: instead of condemning this murder, Trump said there are good people on both the neo-Nazi side and those who protest against neo-Nazis.

In Honolulu, we have a mayor who has been preoccupied with helping developers and contractors, while the one-time police chief, Louis Kealoha, and deputy prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, were breaking laws; the city prosecutor is on leave and the target of a federal investigation.

People are seeing our leaders show little regard for the law, so why should they?

Smoky Guerrero

Mililani

Obstruction of Congress charge should be nixed

“Obstruction of Congress” is an absurd charge for presidential impeachment, mainly because it is precisely the president’s constitutional duty to obstruct Congress. That’s his job. It is consistent with the system of checks and balances built into our government.

The obvious example lies in the presidential power to veto any legislation passed by Congress, requiring two-thirds majority of Congress to override the veto. The power given to the president to obstruct Congress comes in handy in the event of a rogue Congress, like the one we see today.

Senators should reject this article of impeachment, just on the face of it, and declare it “null and void” on the grounds that it is fundamentally adverse to the Constitution. If they allow it to go to trial, they are only participating in the House Democrats’ endeavors to destroy the Constitution. I don’t hold much hope that they will reject it, though.

Richard Morse

Kilauea

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