Unless first-time visitors to Oahu stop saying “this feels like home,” or we all stop having children, Honolulu soon will resemble New York, San Francisco or Hong Kong.

One thing all these cities have are world-class parks — places where residents can escape the overwhelming cramped quarters of everyday life.

I’ve been to the Honolulu Zoo countless times, and the only outstanding memory I have are the floor-to-ceiling turnstiles, which I haven’t seen again since I visited a friend in a California penitentiary.

It’s time to set the animals free and use this space more like the great parks of the world. It could double as a site to host farmers markets and many celebrations that could end up reducing the need for frequent Kalakaua Avenue closures.

Mark Ida

Salt Lake

Ala Moana park can once again be beautiful

I have been watching the PBS series, “National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” I hope our elected officials tuned in and watched it. It would have inspired them to see that our beautiful little Ala Moana Regional Park can once again be beautiful, to be shared by all the people. It’s our money. Make Hawaii proud.

June R. Chambers

Waialae

Fixing up park seems like a bit of a luxury

Mayor Kirk Caldwell thinks that hiring more people to work on our homeless problem is the same as actually doing something to improve it.

I have to wonder how many people are working on it already, how much it’s costing and how much overlap there is.

Meanwhile, that April 13 photo of him and Utah homeless expert Lloyd Pendleton grinning shows just how serious they are about the dire, and worsening, situation of homelessness. What are the details of Pendleton’s plan? Is it a patented secret we can have by hiring him?

Now the mayor wants to spend multimillions sprucing up Ala Moana Regional Park for the soon-to-be super wealthy neighbors across the street.

Money for needs should have a priority over money for luxuries.

Bert West

Kalihi

Syngenta Hawaii strives to be a good neighbor

As manager of our Kauai site, I read “EPA gets pesticide probe results” (Star-Advertiser, April 18) with great interest, since I take the safety of our workers very seriously.

Born and raised on Kauai and the son of a taro farmer, I started out as a temporary field worker with Syngenta, which makes me even more personally invested in the safety of each one of our people. Our response reflects our commitment to taking abundant care of our colleagues. We’ll continue working with appropriate regulators at the state and federal levels and appreciate their efforts to ensure that a full inquiry is completed.

I am proud of our workers and our company. Mistakes may be unavoidable but how they are handled can restore trust. I hope sharing this story as we have for the past several months further demonstrates our commitment to being a good neighbor and a contributing member of our community over the past 40 years.

Joshua Uyehara

Site manager, Syngenta Hawaii, Kekaha, Kauai

Kudos to pair who look after Hawea heiau

Another thumbs-up for Lee Cataluna’s column, “2 volunteers find purpose in caring for Hawea heiau” (Star-Advertiser, May 1).

The name Sam Camp sounds like a character out of a TV episode, plus he looks the part. He described a rock he calls “the 11 o’clock petroglyph,” because “when the sun is at the right angle, the image reveals itself.”

Sam Camp and Jim Metz both exemplify the spirit of keiki o ka aina, coupled with our aloha for the aina called Hawea.

Patrick Keli‘inui

Kapahulu