Have some compassion: Back off on the booms

These fireworks aren’t working for me. My dog and I live in an apartment in Waikiki, and the explosions that have been occurring and will continue through Chinese New Year are really scary for her. I support PETA’s call for a fireworks ban, and I implore our community to put down their lighters and show compassion to their noise-sensitive neighbors.

Dogs and cats are often injured due to these bloodcurdling noises. They can become lost or killed in traffic in desperate attempts to escape the explosions. Birds abandon their nests, sometimes orphaning their babies, and crash into buildings. The jarring, gunshot-like sounds can cause combat flashbacks, hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts — even suicide — for some veterans.

For those with animal companions, please keep them safely indoors. It may help to take them on walks and play outside during the day, so they are tired before the frightening fireworks in the evening.

Amanda Henson

Waikiki

‘Time bomb’ description apropos for Navy’s tanks

Thank you David Day for hitting the nail on the head (“Fuel facility a ‘ticking time bomb’,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 28)!

The state hearings officer submitted the best assessment of the water crisis facing our island after listening to 10 hours of testimony from the Navy, the Department of Health, the Board of Water Supply and Sierra Club Hawaii.

He called the Navy’s underground fuel storage facility a “ticking time bomb” located 100 feet from the most important aquifer of Hawaii. Day stated, “the evidence shows that the Red Hill Facility is simply too old, too poorly designed, too difficult to maintain, too difficult to inspect, along with being too large to realistically prevent future releases … It is not just one problem but a combination of many.”

Please. No more excuses. No more explanations. Remove the fuel. NOW!

Helen T. Nakano

Manoa

A plea to police chief on fireworks problem

So I have heard that you want citizens to help with reporting illegal fireworks. OK, we will, but can you assign a few undercover officers to cite illegal aerial fireworks users? I was told regular officers must have the blue lights on their cars turned on, which is not conducive to enforcement.

Ed Ernce

Kailua

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