My wife and daughter were on the Sept. 23 flight to Seattle that was turned around because of an unruly passenger. Because this passenger didn’t actually break federal law by assaulting an airline personnel, she was able to book another flight the next day.

If not for a wary passenger from the earlier flight who reported her boarding the next flight, she could have turned around another flight. These people need to be flagged immediately and banned from future flights.

Bryan Yamashita

Ewa Beach

Threats against school boards are terrorism

It was stunning to read the remarks from John Tamashiro lamenting that the U.S. attorney general had identified death threats and violence toward school officials as domestic terrorism (“AG shouldn’t investigate school board meetings,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Oct. 8).

That is precisely what it has become, and the frequently televised school board scenes are chilling. The extreme right wing has fallen in love with their new bogeyman, critical race theory, a concept not even taught in public schools.

School boards also are victims of those who feel their comfort must trump public health and safety measures, and that forcing them to wear a mask is as odious as making them wear a seatbelt.

It is sad that Merrick Garland is not on the U.S. Supreme Court, but the country is well served having a man with his character and fairness as our attorney general.

Ernie Saxton

Wahiawa

Don’t trust Facebook as your news source

If the movie, “Network,” were to be remade today, it may contain this monologue from news anchor Howard Beale:

“So, Facebook goes offline for six hours and suddenly, woe is us. Why? What has that got to do with the price of rice, right? And why is that woe to us?

Because you people, and 297 million other Americans, rely on Facebook for things it should not be relied upon for.

Because less than 3% of you people read books. Because less than 15% of you read newspapers.

Because the only truth you know is what you get over Facebook.

Facebook is not the truth. Facebook’s an amusement park, a circus, a carnival, a traveling group of six-time bankrupt real estate grifters, and Russians who want to see them become presidents.

Get off Facebook now, right in the middle of this sentence I’m speaking!”

(Apologies to Paddy Chayefsky.)

Jim Howard

Manoa

Use federal funds for afterschool programs

The staffing shortages referred to in “A+ program waitlist balloons” (Star-Advertiser, Oct. 6), could be reduced significantly with the prompt disbursement of federal COVID-19 relief funding intended to help afterschool programs.

The federal government has made the funding available; now the state Department of Education needs to get it to afterschool programs so that they can put it to use serving our children. That should happen as soon as humanly possible. Our children and parents deserve no less.

Amy Perruso

Wahiawa

Progressive Dems wrong on infrastructure bill

The progressive wing of the Democratic Party is playing a perilous political game by not allowing the passage of the historic bipartisan infrastructure bill unless there is a commitment from Senate Democrats to support the reconciliation bill (Build Back Better Act). Many political pundits believe this bill is overly ambitious.

True, the reconciliation bill contains many wonderful things that benefit the poor and middle working class. However, because of the bill’s high price tag, support from moderate Democrats is unlikely. Therefore, to break the stalemate, the progressives need to tone down their desire for a transformative and expansive change and consider a smaller and incremental change instead.

This unifying gesture is necessary to show that the Democrats can govern effectively to improve the well- being of every American worker.

In the meantime, Democrats need to pass the bipartisan bill without delay because the consequences of failure would be devastating.

Rod B.Catiggay

Mililani

Case should support Build Back Better bill

U.S. Rep. Ed Case does not support the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill because of the cost. From what I understand, the pay-fors will come from closing corporate tax loopholes and diverting subsidies away from fossil-fuel companies to energy companies that will buy from green energy sources. Also, this price tag covers 10 years, not one year. And this price tag amounts to 1.2% of our GDP, which is eminently doable.

So why is Case still not in favor of this popular and much-needed bill?

Sandra Barker

Hawaii Kai

Haiku Stairs a treasure that should be saved

It’s shocking to hear the Haiku Stairs are set to be dismantled (“Mayor Blangiardi sides with Honolulu City Council in removal of Haiku Stairs,” Star-Advertiser, Top News, Sept. 14). Public discourse indicated overwhelming support to preserve and create managed access, yet this appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

It’s sad to imagine the destruction of such a cherished resource that is not only valued locally but internationally. I still haven’t heard a convincing argument that couldn’t be answered through managed access. It obviously will take time to do it right, but that doesn’t mean we should take the easy way out and give up.

The stairs provide access to recreation. Each neighborhood shares access to public resources like parks, beaches and mountains. I struggle to find logic in closing something down because it’s too popular.

I sincerely hope we come to our senses before taking any irrevocable action. Simply watch the stunning aerial footage on YouTube to understand why people are clamoring for this experience.

Tim Streitz

McCully-Moiliili

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