I would like to correct a statement that appeared in an article stating that iLEAD Kauai might open as a private school if not approved for a charter school (“Vote sets back proposed campuses,” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 5).

I said we “could” open a private school because we have a strong academic plan that is solid, a site already permitted for iLEAD Kauai to occupy, and the capacity and organizational skills to implement all that will be demanded of us.

And most important, we have the full support of our Kauai community.

That is when I stated, “iLEAD Kauai could open as a private school (because we are so ready) but only those families with incomes to support tuition would benefit from this innovative educational experience.”

I concluded that charter schools were created to serve the purpose of providing choice and a free public education.

Kani A. Blackwell
Regional director, iLEAD Hawaii Alaka‘i O Kaua`i Charter School

Radical feminists betray feminism

It’s nice to see Amnesty International ready to endorse ending criminal prostitution laws (“Amnesty delegates weigh penalty-free prostitution,” Star-Advertiser, Aug. 2).

This will align it with the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women and sex worker organizations worldwide.

As the news story indicated, it will cause friction with U.S. anti-trafficking efforts, which are based on radical feminist models and a conservative religious morality.

Radical feminists favor the Swedish model.

In the Swedish model, adult women cannot agree to sell sexual services as they are “victims” by definition.

This is akin to statutory rape wherein minors are considered incapable of giving informed consent.

Sex workers’ rights organizations have objected to this marginalization of women’s agency. They point out that arresting the clients of sex workers is an attack on them.

Although Sweden now admits these policies harm sex workers, they continue to support them in pursuing the goal of abolishing prostitution.

Tracy Ryan
Makiki

Global warming difficult to deny

The heat here is unusual and almost unbearable.

Looking back, everything that scientists predicted about global warming is happening.

Greenhouse gases, very likely human-induced, are affecting our daily lives.

Global temperature rise, snow cover and ice sheets decrease in Greenland and the Antarctic is shrinking in mass.

In the continental U.S., there have been record-high temperatures as well as record lows and intense rainfall and flooding. There have been unusual events all over the world.

More carbon dioxide being emitted by humans is affecting our oceans and atmosphere. Drought conditions are getting worse. It’s alarming.

Hawaii is no exception.

Larry Tamashiro Jr.
Downtown Honolulu

Everyone should learn to recycle

I recently read an article about Honolulu considering an extra charge for trash pickup.

Instead, I propose re-educating Honolulu residents to further separate trash from their recyclables.

Visit Portland, Ore., to see how it’s done. The trash bins there, picked up one day every other week, are less than half the size of the recyclable bin. The recyclable bins are emptied by the rubbish trucks one day every week. The bins for green waste are emptied one day every other week.

When I arrived there to live with my nephew for two months, the first thing he taught me was to separate trash from recyclables.

With my husband and me added to the household, it was imperative to fit all the trash into a tiny bin for every-other-week pickup. When successful at the end of two weeks, my nephew could celebrate.

When I returned to Honolulu, I continued my new separating habit, starting with fast food take-out trash and recyclables.

Sandra Tangonan
Aiea

Install more signs at crosswalks

This is in response to your recent article concerning the need for upgrades on Honolulu streets to improve the safety of pedestrians and motorists alike (“Safety upgrades needed along busy Honolulu streets,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, July 20).

I am a daily jogger and observe both pedestrians and motorists not observing the rules of the rules of the road.

Motorists’ main concern seems always to get through an intersection as soon as possible, without obeying traffic signals and ignoring pedestrians in crosswalks. Also, in many cases pedestrians are not obeying traffic signals.

An immediate help to prevent further injuries or deaths of pedestrians could be to install traffic control signs in crosswalks at busy intersections. Some, but not enough, of these signs are currently posted on Kona Street by Ala Moana Center.

We need more installed now. The city and state should work together now to install these signs, which would be in the best interest of our citizens.

Joe Magaldi
Honolulu