Mayor should address pool players’ needs

The mayor’s proclamations do not specifically address playing pool, yet bars and billiard halls have tables open for play, while leagues are hanging in the air. On the other hand, arcades are open with no social distancing (but people are wearing masks).

Pool players are aware of all the protocols for COVID-19 and enforced them late last year when the city opened for a few weeks and pool players got back to playing. Players spend little time at the table, and people around the table number about six to eight normally. Others are elsewhere in the bar or transiting.

This is not only a business for the league operators, but an opportunity for players to get out and play the sport they love, safely. This just needs to be specifically addressed in the mayor’s proclamation.

Clifton T. Johnson

Ala Moana

Open city golf courses to standby golfers

I suggest that Mayor Rick Blangiardi open the city’s golf courses to allow walk-on, standby golfers. The city’s golf reservation system has been broken for 30-plus years. The city’s system is so inept that golfers are scrambling to get reservations and success is limited.

The golf courses’ play is meager. The city needs the funds that its golf courses can generate. Open their restaurants and bars, too. Foursomes do not exceed the 10-person limit on gatherings.

Dexter Yuen

Aiea

Different standards for 2 seawalls on Oahu

Double standard? When a friend of Barack Obama wants to repair a seawall near his retreat in Waimanalo, all hell breaks loose (“Oceanfront property tied to Obama granted exemption from Hawaii’s environmental laws,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 18, 2020). But when the state wants to tear down Doris Duke’s seawall near Diamond Head, all hell breaks loose (“State again proposes removing seawall that forms Doris Duke swimming hole,” Star-Advertiser, April 7).

Walter Wright

Kaneohe

Public should decide on pay raises for lawmakers

Since the Legislature can give itself raises while denying minimum-wage increases for Hawaii residents based on perceived need, I propose that any raises for the Legislature should be subject to approval by the voters. That way, the public can decide if lawmakers deserve a raise on perceived merit.

Cyrus Won

Wilhelmina Rise

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