Your editorial encourages what will be an unpopular, controversial and untimely expenditure on red-light cameras (“Move ahead with red-light cameras,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, April 19).

Attorney fees will be generated on the constitutional issue, although civil fines levied against registered owners of vehicles running red lights have been held constitutional by many courts and affirmed on appeal in the years following the unreviewed 2002 Hawaii trial court ruling (“Red-light camera bill has legal problems,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, April 18).

The issue should not be constitutionality, but what mechanism would better protect the public. Some studies have shown that increasing the yellow signal phase and/or utilizing a dual red-light phase significantly decreases intersectional collisions. Re-timing is cost-effective.

I have seen no re-timing on Beretania and Piikoi streets. I did not see hearings scheduled before the cameras were purchased. The momentum behind red-light cameras is likely unstoppable. Re-timing should have been considered as a cost-effective first step.

John Keiser

Makiki

Legislature should support auditor’s efforts

Les Kondo, as an attorney rather than a certified public accountant, is well-suited to understand fiduciary relationships, contracts and board-trustee relationships, so he can independently audit governmental agencies. Two of his biggest audits, involving the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), have been hindered by heavily redacted board minutes, preventing him from performing his due-diligence duties.

An independent auditor, CliftonLarsonAllen, raised red flags concerning potential waste, fraud and abuses about OHA and its subsidiaries (“OHA investigation identifies $7.8M of possible fraud, waste or abuse,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 9, 2019). Trustee Keli‘i Akina recommended that a fraud audit be undertaken.

Rather than hindering the state auditor with imposed deadlines, slashed budgets and a panel that provided more criticisms than constructive recommendations, the House leadership should support the auditor, whose work may clarify issues and concerns between the Legislature and OHA (“Scathing ‘audit’ of Hawaii state auditor Les Kondo is met with scathing rebuttal,” Star-Advertiser, April 13).

It would be no surprise if the curious Kakaako Makai land transfer from the state to OHA necessitated federal scrutiny.

Ed Ige

Temple Valley

VASH does great job spreading aloha spirit

Budget-slashing of the Hawaii Tourism Authority will only exacerbate the problems with the visitor industry (“No ideas, plans for Tourism 2.0,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, April 18).

For instance, the one organization that is “mission- critical” to the industry is the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH). That organization turns sadness, trauma and even anger toward Hawaii into hope, support and positive feelings about our island home.

VASH does a monumental job of “branding” and “marketing” the core principle of Hawaii, by putting authentic aloha in every contact with a visitor in trouble. That aloha is then shared back home, and on social media, and produces strong support for our returning visitor population.

More importantly, it is just the strongest way to exhibit our rich culture and heritage to our visitors. Cutting this program damages our aloha.

Robert Gentry

Waikiki

What if security guards, police didn’t carry guns?

The Biden administration wants to restrict gun ownership. The state Legislature passes laws that minimize the presence and effectiveness on guns.

There is a nationwide cry against police shooting people. The police, private security and bodyguards are armed and carry guns. If they didn’t have guns, they couldn’t shoot people.

To eliminate shootings, let’s have the gun carriers stop carrying guns. If guns are evil, the police, private security and bodyguards should stop carrying guns, just as the general public is prohibited from doing so.

That should make everyone happy. What could go wrong? Make a law that says no one carry guns, no exceptions. What say you?

Michael Lee

Maunalani Heights

Tantalus roads pocked with dangerous potholes

Imagine this: You are driving through a peaceful forest, filled with lush greenery, and suddenly you hear a loud bang as your car hits a pothole. This is what it’s like driving through the roads of Tantalus. You end up driving on the other side of the road to find a path that is pothole-free, but then you see a car coming. You have to veer back into the other lane, hitting another pothole. Your car slams into a tree and ends up totaled.

This isn’t a nightmare — it happened to my sister.

I tried to bill the state for my car, but the mailman must have missed picking it up because he, too, was trying to avoid the potholes.

Maile Marguleas

Tantalus

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