I see few people have mentioned anything about renaming places, except those with “Russia” in their names (“Lawmakers want to restore Hawaiian name of Kauai’s Russian Fort Elizabeth,” Star-Advertiser, March 29).

This is absolutely ridiculous. It is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war.

Think about the thousands of Russians who’ve been arrested. For these people it means lengthy prison terms and, once they are released, no permission to work. The Russian protesters are all aware of these laws. All the more reason not to remove “Russia” from any place.

The Kauai monument is historic. Please let it be.

Maria Endler

Kaneohe

Save cold water from bath for other uses

Here’s another way to reduce water usage (“Oahu water use continues rising,” Star-Advertiser, March 29). Several years ago, when I visited relatives in Los Angeles during their ongoing drought season, I was instructed to save the water from the bathtub spigot while waiting for the water to get hot when I took a shower. The water was then used to water plants.

Upon returning to Hawaii, I implemented this practice, but used the gallon of water collected to flush the toilet. My husband and I save four gallons of water every day with this simple method. Imagine if everyone implemented this easy, painless method to conserve our precious water resource. We could save millions of gallons of water in a year. The cost is the price of a bucket (if you don’t already have one at home).

Wendy Tokumine

Moanalua

Large fountains lose water to evaporation

The story in the paper had good advice: Don’t waste water (“Oahu water use continues rising,” Star-Advertiser, March 29).

It’s too bad the city doesn’t follow its own advice. I sent a note to the Board of Water Supply (BWS) a week ago regarding the extreme waste of water at the Louise Dillingham Memorial Fountain at Kapiolani Regional Park. It is a very large fountain with lots of water gushing up in full sun. I am sure the evaporation rate is quite high and that it wastes gallons of water every day.

Don’t say the water is recirculating. I bet if the input valve was turned off, the entire fountain would be dry in hours. The BWS sent my concerns to the city, but during a walk recently the fountain was still going full force. The city can’t ask me to conserve until it does the same.

Also, the city should monitor its sprinkler system by the Ala Wai Canal next to the playfield on Kapiolani and McCully streets. The grass was being watered right after (and possibly during) the eight hours of rain on Saturday. Shame.

Joanne Lee

McCully

Solar desalination plant would green dry areas

The ancient hula tells of ocean water rising to clouds to water the aina. I urge the governor and mayor to fast-track a public-private solar desalination plant to provide clean drinking water, and also a greener West Side. Tesla has the solar technology to power a plant to desalinate seawater and create an irrigation system greater than what was done on the Nile.

We can use solar pumps to irrigate the ridges and restore deserts to forests. We sell the salt and create jobs. It can be done in a way that doesn’t milk the public and waste money. Nature has the answers. We restore what was once forest land destroyed by plantations.

Why are we desalinating water on Hawaii island and shipping containers of it weekly to Japan for $7 a bottle, while people in Pearl Harbor have to worry about their drinking water?

Kimo Kekahuna

Waikiki

Use Red Hill tanks for emergency water supply

The plans to decommission the Red Hill fuel tanks continue to revolve around ripping the darn things out. Has there been any consideration to repurposing them as emergency water storage tanks?

I’m not sure that they can be cleaned sufficiently to use for potable water, but in an emergency, the millions of gallons could be filtered and used for so many other things than just drinking. There is no other place in the islands that can hold that much water. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

Peter Miller

Kailua

Don’t waste money planning a new jail

Plans for a new Oahu jail are a waste of taxpayer dollars, benefiting only the private consultants (“Planning for new Oahu jail hits snag over state funding,” Star-Advertiser, March 29).

A jail term should be an awakening, uncomfortable experience; therefore, the solution to the jail problem should be based on a two-strikes conviction, with automatic relocation to the mainland to serve out the term. If the family receives welfare assistance, a portion of its allotment would be used to help support the incarcerated family member.

With the increase in violent and deadly crimes in Hawaii, the need to separate career criminals from law-abiding citizens in Hawaii has become apparent.

This action will reduce crime activity while eliminating any need for a new prison.

Patrick N. Custino

Kaneohe

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