The mosquito management plan approved by the state Board of Agriculture is not as odd as one might think (“Agriculture Board endorses plan to import millions of mosquitoes to save Hawaii’s imperiled birds,” Star-Advertiser, June 29).
The fundamental approach, using treated male insects to disrupt the reproductive cycle, was first developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1930s and realized in the 1950s.
Treated male insects were used to eradicate the primary screw-worm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) from North and Central America. That fly was targeted for eradication because it can colonize and feed on living animals, particularly livestock and wildlife. Its eradication is arguably the most successful attempt at biological control, a strategy that has gone very wrong on too many occasions.
So please, be hopeful for mosquito fireworks when the males are released. It’s the least we can do for the birds.
David Carter
Makiki
Fireworks damage our fragile environment
The return of fireworks is damaging our already-fragile island environment. Think of all the bird life that is reeling at night when the fireworks go off, not to mention the marine life that is hurt with those booms and bright lights at night.
Homeowners with pets have been affected by lost and missing cats or dogs because of the booms and echoes.
Why did they restart in the first place (“Return of weekly fireworks in Waikiki approved,” Star-Advertiser, May 14)?
Jay Pineda
Waikiki
Broadband competition needed in many areas
The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund has expanded broadband access to wide swaths of rural areas statewide over the past eight years. This program exposed additional broadband access availability issues in areas that are not rural, but are not urban either. Spectrum and Hawaiian Telcom are the only broadband providers in these areas.
I live in an area (Kalaoa in North Kona) with this issue. Spectrum has the monopoly on broadband. Hawaiian Telcom offers DSL with a maximum speed of 11Mbps/1Mbps as token competition. It’s worse in the area where my parents live (Discovery Harbor in Kau). Hawaiian Telcom doesn’t offer any broadband access to this subdivision, which leaves Spectrum as the only option.
These federal subsidies have improved access to underserved areas, but it has left a lot of areas with only one legitimate broadband provider with a service monopoly. I firmly believe competition brings improved levels of service and pricing.
Aaron Stene
Kailua-Kona
Male and female are the only two genders
I’m writing this for those who know the truth but are afraid to speak out. There are only two genders, male and female. Period. That’s from true science.
So why are our schools, businesses, politicians and, sorry to say, some fake churches and fake Christians pushing the big lie? The big lie is that it’s okay if you’re a boy, you can be a girl, and if you’re a girl, you can be a boy.
That’s not only confusing our children; that’s lying to our children. The whole month of June is given to recognize a lifestyle that is built on deceitfulness and sexual lewdness, yet we give only one day to recognize our veterans.
Our priorities are pretty messed up. Speak the truth to your children, because the truth will set them free.
Ramon Garza
Kekaha, Kauai
GOP leaders destroying church-state separation
If you are a fan of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” you know that Gilead is the name given to the former United States after it was taken over by the religious right. In Gilead, women’s opinions are suppressed and women’s bodies are controlled by corrupt old men.
Instead of being horrified by recent Supreme Court rulings and Republican political leaders destroying the separation between church and state, the Republican Party is celebrating. As Margaret Atwood could see 38 years ago when she wrote “The Handmaid’s Tale,” her dystopia is exactly where we are headed. Even moderate Republicans are complicit in this: U.S. Sen. Susan Collins claimed she was misled by Trump Supreme Court nominees, but she and the rest of the “moderate” Republicans were too afraid of President Donald Trump and his thug politics to do the right thing.
We have to work hard to make sure Republicans pay a price for their sociopathic behavior. Friends don’t let friends vote Republican, and please don’t hesitate to tell everyone you know how you feel about our country turning into what we thought was just Atwood’s feverish nightmare.
Matt Binder
Waimea, Hawaii Island
After abortion decision, right to vote is next
Now that the Taliban has infiltrated our own U.S. Supreme Court by declaring women to be second-class citizens, the next thing to go will be our right to vote — for which we had to fight for so long.
Penelope Cardoza
Kahala
Repaint faded STOP letters on roadways
At red metal stop signs on Oahu, there are the letters STOP painted in white on the streets next to the signs.
When driving recently around the island, I noticed that most of the STOP letters painted on the street were wearing away and hard to read. One or more letters were entirely gone on many.
Can the worst of these be painted over with new reflective thick white paint, so car lights at night will brightly illuminate the STOP letters? So that it is easy to see in the daytime, too?
The result could be fewer traffic and vehicle pedestrian accidents.
When statistics later prove that re-painted lettering resulted in fewer accidents, then paint the rest of them on all islands in Hawaii.
Isn’t it worth it, if the result is much fewer human injuries and vehicle damage?
John Burns
Wahiawa
EXPRESS YOURSELF
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser welcomes all opinions. Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor.
>> Write us: We welcome letters up to 150 words, and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name, address and daytime phone number.
>> Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 210 Honolulu, HI 96813
>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), 529-4750 (fax), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter
