Letters: College students can’t function without vaping; Bill of Rights protects individual liberties; ‘Waterman’ teaches Hawaiian values

Vaping seems part of the culture at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I see 17- to19-year-old freshmen in the dorm rooms who cannot function without having their vape with them, in the same way one doesn’t leave the house without a cellphone or wallet. They experience immediate irritability, loss of patience and short tempers when they cannot get a fix.

Some of them started as young as middle school. Studies show most want to quit, but many have failed repeatedly. I know how hard it was for me to quit, and all I had access to were flavored cigarillos and menthol cigarettes.

One solution: End the sale of flavored tobacco that lures these kids into addiction in the first place.

Lauren Simpson-Gomez

Waikiki

Hollywood stars lack credentials to criticize

After watching the Oscars the other night, it really drove home the point that Hollywood A-listers have no valid credentials to virtue signal or lecture the viewing public (“Will Smith resigns from film academy over Chris Rock Oscars slap,” Star-Advertiser, Top News, April 1).

John Berry

Punahou

Time for HART to consider Plan C+?

A little over a year ago, I wrote a published article advocating a “Plan C” for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. Here are my thoughts for an updated “Plan C+” for HART.

>> Built a world-class terminus and transfer station at Lagoon Drive. This location is already recognized by the Federal Transit Administration and HART in the current recovery plan as “the most practical location to transfer to and efficiently route connecting rail-access services.”

>> Provide a fleet of express buses serving Chinatown, Downtown, Kakaako, Ala Moana, Waikiki and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

>> Extend the western terminus of the system into Kapolei, where riders could be served by local buses, secure parking and bicycle access. This would add the number of potential riders, which will help the bottom line.

This Plan C+ will preserve jobs and, if curated properly, will save the FTA grant.

Joseph Uno

Manoa

Bill of Rights protects individual liberties

The proposition that the Second Amendment “impedes the passing of meaningful legislation needed to ensure public safety” reveals a flawed understanding of the Bill of Rights as drafted to empower government rather than individuals (“Issue is gun violence, not 2nd Amendment,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, April 3).

Millions of law-abiding Americans exercise their individual liberty to possess firearms provided not only by the Constitution, but also by an abundance of “meaningful legislation.” They do so with profound respect for personal responsibility to ensure public safety as well as their own.

The Second Amendment does not address the rights of violent criminals to commit crimes without respect to responsibility. Perhaps the best approach to curtail violent crimes lies in accountability in that respect.

Stephen Hinton

Waialua

‘Waterman’ teaches Hawaiian values

The Duke Kahanamoku “Waterman” documentary, now playing in Hawaii’s theaters, is something we all can learn about becoming Hawaiian — no matter who we are.

The feature documents the life and, more importantly, the spirit of Duke, the “godfather” of swimming, water rescue and surfing. Younger people need the introduction to Hawaii’s greatest ambassador of goodwill.

If you want to learn to be Hawaiian no matter where you come from, what you do, or who you are, this is the textbook.

I met Sheriff Duke on a grade-school excursion to the old Honolulu Police Department. He told us about “pono.” Justice was explained to us kids with a scale that he placed on the counter.

“You do something wrong?” He placed a weight on one tray of the scale. It was skewed.

“You pay for what wrong you did.” He placed a weight on the other tray and the scale came to balance.

“First, don’t do wrong, but if you do, you must make it right.”

I’m now more than 70 years old and still hear Duke’s words of wisdom as if he told them to me yesterday.

I urge parents to take their families to see “Waterman.”

John Shockley

Makakilo

Hawaii 2020 election needs to be audited

On several occasions, most recently April 1, I listened to online meetings conducted by the Hawaii Elections Commission. The commission met to discuss conducting an audit of Hawaii’s 2020 election process, as was suggested by some concerned citizens.

I was disappointed to hear most commissioners oppose an audit, even though they were uninformed about the election process, especially information systems technology. I was also disappointed to hear the concerned citizens get cut off before completing their testimony.

Most commissioners dismissed the idea of an audit even though the Election Integrity Scorecard, a nationwide analysis done by the Heritage Foundation, rated Hawaii’s 2020 election process the weakest of all the states. The ratings were based on each state’s specific election laws in comparison with best-practice standards across 12 areas considered essential for a secure election.

There is no doubt in my mind that Hawaii needs the proposed audit.

Peggy Regentine

Kalani Iki

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