Letters: Don’t punish owners for renting to non-tourists; Noise pollution disrupts life in beautiful Hawaii; America needs reliable, secure voting systems

Bill 41 doesn’t recognize differences between tourists on vacation and short-term (one to four months) medical, government or military renters here to work. Where’s the real evidence that these renters cause disturbances in residential neighborhoods and take away housing from locals?

Workers do not party, disrupt neighbors or take away local housing in high-rise areas like Salt Lake and Pearlridge, where most condo owners doing short-term rentals are local residents.

Elected voluntary condo boards enforce minimum rental rules to prevent rentals for tourist purposes. If Bill 41 passes, owners will be treated as tourist lessors when they are not, and will become criminals if continuing to rent to workers, unless they pay a punishing $2,000 fee each year to get a special permit to rent to non-tourists.

Why are most of our lawmakers planning to pass Bill 41 when most public input has been against it? Seems like another instance of the public be damned, squeeze out what you can. It’s neither fair nor ethical.

Rebecca Tillery

Tillery Realty

Waikiki

Noise pollution disrupts life in beautiful Hawaii

Many are dreamily called to Hawaii by the prospect of experiencing the natural sounds of gentle winds, rustling leaves, waves caressing the white-sand shores, sweet bird songs, the swishing of hula dancer skirts.

Dream on!

In reality, the sounds filling the air are generated by motor scooters, delivery trucks, diesel-powered garbage trucks gunning their engines to their next pickup a mere few feet away, cars with mufflers removed or noise- enhanced, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, sirens, helicopters, small planes, legal and mostly illegal fireworks producing bomblike explosions, barking dogs, crowing roosters, loud beach radios, watercraft, construction noises and various other man-made sound pollutants too numerous to mention.

No doubt, my shouts of exasperation will go undetected due to background noise pollution that continues unabated because the authorities responsible for enforcement of our regulations are giving enforcement the silent treatment.

Stann W. Reiziss

Kailua

America needs reliable, secure voting systems

Mid-term elections are approaching in November, and our nation is very concerned about its election procedures. A controversial issue throughout the country is mail-in voting.

Regarding mail-in ballots: Who is checking for forged signatures, those not registered to vote, deceased people and noncitizens? In Hawaii, our previous system of voting was efficient and should be reinstated, even with COVID-19.

America needs and deserves transparent and valid voting systems. Voting represents our sacred right to elect government officials. Only legal votes should be counted in elections. Otherwise, our democracy will surely be in danger.

Robert Hatakeyama

Salt Lake

Burning wood for energy isn’t clean

With all due respect, Guy Cellier’s commentary literally and metaphorically misses the forest for the trees (“With Honua Ola Bioenergy, there will be more forests, trees,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Feb. 14).

Electricity from woodburning is dirty energy regardless of carbon offsets; our laws shouldn’t incentivize it under the guise of renewable energy.

The Hu Honua project still involves wood burning, which emits more carbon than fossil fuels. Furthermore, the project’s carbon-negative plan fails to address short-term sequestration needs or long-term sustainability and land-use issues.

Hawaii should amend its laws to support truly clean energy. Renewable energy incentives should not support woodburning.

Dylan Ramos

Kaimuki

U.S. military budget dwarfs all other nations’

As President Joe Biden stresses us out with his warnings of war, readers should be reminded that the United States is the world’s largest manufacturer of arms and military equipment, and must constantly promote conflict around the globe to increase sales.

Our current military budget of $768 billion requires $2,300 from each citizen, compared to the next big spender, China, whose $237 billion requires only $164 per citizen.

As Canada budgets only $22.2 billion for the military, and Mexico only $6.54 billion, it is no wonder at all that the U.S. ranking from the World Health Organization plummets while our citizens flock to Mexico and Canada for medical treatment.

If Congress cut the military budget in half, we still would be spending more on the military than China and Russia combined, but our grandchildren would be living in a country with better health, education and welfare conditions.

Rico Leffanta

Kakaako

Praise for articles on corruption, Russia

The articles “Why Russia has its eye on Hawaii,” by Kevin Knodell, and “Culture of corruption,” by Dan Nakaso (Star-Advertiser, Feb. 13) hit it out of the park.

Thank you for great reporting and analysis.

William Reese Liggett

Maunalani Heights

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