Poor Chamber of Commerce Hawaii. It can’t find enough workers for businesses (“Chamber touts Hawaii workforce solutions,” Star-Advertiser, June 18).

Maybe it should have advocated a living wage for those struggling to survive here. The chamber’s solution to use high school students to fill vacancies is a stop-gap measure at best. At its worst, it perpetuates the low-wage workforce. You reap what you sow.

Bill Thomas

Kalama Valley

Voting not just a right, but a responsibility

Regarding automatic voter registration, I take issue with the premise that voter rolls would be more up to date (“AVR will have positive impact on voting here,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, June 17). Will the DMV now update voter registrations, changes of address, moving out of state, deaths? As one is not required to be a citizen to obtain a Hawaii driver’s license, HDL, how can one be assured that only citizens will receive a ballot?

Voting is not only a right of a citizen; it is a responsibility. It should be something that is respected, cherished, not something someone has to force you to do, to make a mark on a ballot and mail in.

One should know who and why they are voting for someone, and not because of race, gender or party. It is a time to contemplate how voting can make a difference in our lives, families and communities. Voting should take effort.

Terri Mathews

Ewa Beach

School shouldn’t bear McKinley’s name

Those opposing changing the name of McKinley High School apparently do not know the history of the name or do not care if they do know.

President William McKinley illegally annexed Hawaii against the will of the queen and the people. Even the annexation document on his statue is a lie.

McKinley supported Americanizing Hawaiians through propaganda, removing their culture, making it illegal for them to speak their language and to use a Hawaiian first name. Hawaiians were suppressed.

I see signs that say “Save McKinley High School.” The school is not being demolished. Schools should be named after someone who deserves to have their name on it.

Read the history of President McKinley before you stand on a corner and protest in support of a corrupt American president. Protesting without historical knowledge continues suppressing Hawaiians. Surely there is a worthy Hawaiian in history who deserves their name on this school.

Dora S. Johnson

McCully-Moiliili

Biden’s spend-then-tax plan will kill innovation

A recent letter, “Don’t Let U.S. become another Venezuela” (Star-Advertiser, June 18), reminds me of a Harry Belafonte song, “Matilda”: “She take me money and run Venezuela.”

Yep, President Joe “Who wants candy?” Biden has us all on a slippery slope to his utopia by declaring another federal holiday, Juneteenth. His dystopian leadership will result in Hawaii and our counties declaring likewise.

But he’s not a “tax-and-spend” Democrat/socialist. He’s a “spend, then tax” devotee, aiming to kill golden gooses, namely Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and many other to-be American pioneers who’ll hire thousands of nongovernment productive workers. When will we ever learn?

Alan Matsuda

Hawaii Kai

Let’s give lei stands better spot at airport

Recently I visited the airport, having decided to buy myself a lei just for the heck of it. It was Friday. After finding the little sign showing where the lei stands were, and having to go across three lanes to get to the entrance, I parked in a spot and noticed all of the closed lei shops. There must have been four or five.

Growing up in Hawaii, we would always stop at the lei shops at the airport and buy a couple of leis for our visitors. Many times we would be given some older leis for us and maybe some gardenias thrown in. You couldn’t help but stop to buy leis because you had to pass them to get into the arrival area.

We need to move our lei shops so that they are seen as we drive into the airport. This will remind us and encourage us to stop and get a lei for our visitors — perhaps a lei for ourselves. Leis are one of the wonderful things that identifies us here in Hawaii. Greeting our visitors with a lei, and a kiss. If we keep ignoring our airport lei stands, at some point we may lose them all.

Libby Ellett Tomar

Kailua

New AG needed to lead U.S. Justice Department

Now we know the Justice Department was highly corrupted by the last president (“Seized House records show just how far Trump administration would go,” Star-Advertiser, Top News, June 11). To restore confidence in the department, the corruption must be addressed. President Joe Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, is not up to the task of rooting out corruption and holding high-ranking officials accountable.

Garland has failed to remove the bad actors installed by the previous administration in his department and has made weak references to accountability by senior officials.

What is the Justice Department doing to uphold the Constitution in states where legislators are passing illegally restrictive voting laws? What is the status of indictments for the insurrection on Jan. 6? Who will be held accountable for inciting the traitorous insurrection?

The strengthening of rules to prevent future illegal activity by an autocrat is a ridiculous response. Autocrats do not follow rules. It is time for Biden to find another attorney general with the backbone to protect our Constitution and the rule of law.

Clive Cabral

Pearl City

>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), 529-4750 (fax), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter