Beware enemies of Cayetano

As the initial advocate of legislation to study mass transit for East Oahu in 1960-61, I urged acquiring transit rights-of-way when purchasing land for highways for years. My pleas were ignored.

Now I am a rail opponent, believing that the current plan is a narrow geographical-result-oriented gigantic fiscal rathole.

I’ve been around politics in Hawaii long enough to know that when the pro-development titans of industry join forces with union bosses in backing a vicious smear campaign against a good man like Ben Cayetano, the taxpayers of Hawaii are about to get fleeced, big time. Ben is an honest, gutsy, proven political leader. Let’s not forget how he and his attorney general, Margery Bronster, cleaned up the Bishop Estate and with it the state Supreme Court. Yes, he’s a Democrat and I’m not; but this job calls him, and us to support him.

Fred Rohlfing
Kula, Maui

Rail will serve our neighbors

Former Gov. George Ariyoshi’s "okage sama de," reminds me of the Latin "quid pro quo" — which translates to "you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours" ("Rail is a matter of equity for West Oahu residents," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Oct. 17).

As the governor elucidates, Windward Oahu has its three tunnels and East Oahu a widened corridor. Years ago when the Kapolei/Ewa area was designated as the "Second City," a rail system was to serve as the vital link between West Oahu and Honolulu.

Now it’s time for the rail to serve our friends and neighbors in West Oahu and eventually Central Oahu. H-1 is presently beyond capacity during peak-hour traffic and it will get worse in the future due to existing and planned housing and other projects in the leeward and central areas.

History is a great teacher and if we knew then what we know now the rail would have been completed and much of our traffic frustrations would have been mitigated.

Jimmy Wong
Heeia

Feds approve rail finances

Your recent article on the Honolulu rail project’s finances again downplays the fact that two recent independent federal reviews conclude the project is qualified to receive $1.55 billion in federal funds ("Dwindling emergency reserves worried monitors," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 21).

The oversight report referred to in the story recommends the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) award a Full Funding Grant Agreement to the Honolulu project. The same report states that the rail project’s cost estimate, including its contingency and financing, "is mechanically and fundamentally sound and reasonable."

A second federal report affirms the city has the financial capacity to build and operate the rail system, even in worst-case scenarios if general excise tax revenues for the project come in lower than expected, or if costs were to increase by 10 percent.

The validation of the rail project by these federal reports is excellent news and underscores the significant progress made by the city while working closely with the FTA toward the anticipated federal funding.

Diane Arakaki
Chief financial officer, HART

Rail will block harbor views

Fujio Matsuda’s commentary enjoining us to make a decision regarding the future of Honolulu, unfortunately failed to point out a salient point about the BART rail system in the San Francisco Bay Area ("Tale of 2 cities suggests need for rail," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Oct. 21). Most importantly, it is underground in the city proper and emerges only after it crosses into the East Bay area.

Therefore, it preserves the strong visual relationship between the city and the bay. Twenty-five or so years ago, San Francisco chose to tear down the Embarcadero freeway in order to reestablish that visual relationship. Here in Honolulu we are proposing to erect a massive barrier between the main part of downtown Honolulu and the waterfront. I believe this is a decision this community will long regret.

Ed Sullam
Waialae

Yoshimura best for District 6

Your recent editorial supported Carol Fukunaga for District 6 City Council ("Our choices for City Council," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Oct. 19). Jon Yoshimura’s candidacy is dismissed, based on a traffic incident in 1999. The reasoning was that Fukunaga should prevail because she is "at least as qualified." As a constituent of District 6, I strongly disagree.

Fukunaga does not engage with the community. She is the only elected official who sends no staff to neighborhood board meetings. Her only personal appearance in several years was an obvious campaign stop last week — not a demonstration of public interest.

By contrast, even after more than a decade Yoshimura is well-remembered as an active, engaged colleague who achieved productive outcomes. That says a lot about professional qualifications. That he made necessary life changes says a lot about his personal integrity.

The editorial serves up armchair pronouncements instead of serious evaluation. That is not in the best interest of this community.

Kathleen Hodai
Honolulu

Waikiki shops waste energy

Last Sunday morning, I walked about 21⁄2 miles from Ala Moana Center to Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel. I decided to walk along Kalakaua Avenue, which is flanked on both sides by an endless stream of expensive shops intended expressly to lure foreign tourists. Walking past these shops, shop doors wide open with air-conditioned chilled air shooting at me, I couldn’t ignore this flagrant waste of energy.

I estimated that 75 percent of high- and low-end shops in most parts of Waikiki kept their doors wide open. I can only imagine that this level of wasteful energy is exceedingly costly, especially in Hawaii, where we have the country’s highest electricity charges.

Who pays for this waste? Is this why everything in these shops costs 10 times more than it should? How can we allow such wasteful energy dumping?

Something needs to be done to stop this practice of dumping energy in Waikiki.

David Easa
Manoa

Trump tactics like McCarthy’s

Donald Trump has reverted to Joseph McCarthy’s playbook of acquiring media attention by announcing on Fox News on Monday that he has explosive knowledge about President Barack Obama but that he won’t reveal it until today.

The tactic of announcing something that will be announced later was pretty much invented by McCarthy, and is known as a "pseudo event."

Historically, it has manipulated the media and in turn the general public who anxiously await the "mysterious revelation."

In the meantime, imagination has done its dirty work. No matter that Trump is a liar, as in the birther issue. Sadly, McCarthyism was not buried forever in the ’50s. Like McCarthy, Trump has "no shame."

Sid Rosen
Honolulu