What is it with our city government (“2 homeless bills stall in committee,” Star-Advertiser, July 28)? Homeless advocates and others question whether getting the homeless off the streets will pass legal muster.

This is city property! The city charges a fee to camp in a park on grass because it owns the land, yet we let the homeless live on city streets for free.

Honolulu is fast becoming the biggest embarrassment of the United States. The city must be waiting for someone to sue it for failing to provide safety and security after falling or tripping on homeless tents or huts. It’s a matter of time before someone sues the city.

Politicians are afraid of legal challenges — that’s rather stupid. They prefer to let taxpaying citizens walk in the street and get hit by a vehicle so the homeless can live on public sidewalks.

Clifton T. Johnson

Waikiki

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Consider alternative to concrete wall

The Army Corps of Engineers’ Ala Wai flood-risk management project includes a 4-foot-high concrete wall along the Ala Wai Canal.

After seeing transparent sound walls in Greece and Japan, I asked if our wall could be made transparent. The answer was maybe with different materials, but there would be an increased cost to the city.

If the Honolulu rail transit system were to stop at Middle Street, would there be funds to build the flood-risk management wall with different materials?

Laura M. Fink

Makiki

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LNG should not be a bridge fuel

Using liquified natural gas (LNG) as a bridge fuel would undermine the state’s goal of 100 percent renewable energy and would, in fact, contribute negatively to climate change (“LNG better than oil on Hawaii’s way to 100 percent renewables,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Aug. 9).

LNG is four times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide and the infrastructure needed to support it is inherently leaky.

Here in Hawaii, we would actually have to build infrastructure to use LNG (ships to carry LNG to our islands, regasification facilities to convert the liquid into gas, pipelines and storage tanks, modifications to our current grid to accommodate natural gas).

It will be costly and we cannot ensure it won’t leak.

Any amount of methane escaping into our atmosphere defeats the purpose of bridging with natural gas in the first place.

Simply put: Increasing dependence on LNG likely will lead to even more methane escaping into the atmosphere, thus creating more catastrophic effects driven by climate change.

Brayden Aki

Sierra Club of Hawaii intern

Moiliili

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Review regulations for tow companies

Regulations that towing companies operate under need to be reviewed.

At present a property owner may allow or retain a towing company to keep his driveway or frontage free of parking for 24 hours. When the property is sold or a new tenant takes over, towing companies continue to remove cars when they are not authorized to do so.

Property owners also should be required to have tow-away signs removed, or have a yearly agreement with towing companies for their services, to avoid cars being towed without cause or authorization. The agreements should be on file with the police department. Towing companies will tow vehicles and their only justification is that there was a sign on the wall.

The City Council should review the towing regulations regarding legal and illegal towing, responsibility for damages during towing, charges for towing, storage, overtime and other costs imposed on owners reclaiming their car.

Citizens should not be forced to pay more than $200 when their cars are towed illegally.

Leonard Leong

Manoa

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Do you still trust President Trump?

Remember during the campaign when Donald Trump said, “Trust me, what do you have to lose?”

Are you listening to him now when he says, “Don’t believe what you see or hear, just believe what I say?”

Honestly, what did you think and feel when he said in a video that he can grab any woman’s private parts?

Would you invest your hard-earned money with someone who has filed bankruptcy multiple times? And he claims to be the best businessman ever.

He admonishes and belittles free-world leaders in public, especially the women leaders.

He praises dictators, going out of his way to be friends with them. He said he wants to run our country as these dictators do.

Are you not troubled by his treatment of fellow human beings?

Could you entrust this person with leading the greatest free society and most powerful nation in the history of mankind?

Well, you have.

So what do we have to lose, my fellow Americans?

Leonard S. Victorino

Hawaii Kai

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Not the way to make America great again

Thank you for your Aug. 9 political cartoon depicting President Donald Trump beaming with an armload of trophies for bullying, lying, chaos, etc.

This president is simply not presidential. He has not a trace of wisdom, humility or grace. Every day I wonder what new awful thing he might say or do that confuses, clouds and compromises what little effectiveness he may have.

He does not represent the America I know and love. He is the epitome of the Ugly American. I was embarrassed by him and his supporters when he was campaigning. I am now absolutely appalled at the way he has manhandled the dignity of his office and destroyed the confidence and respect of millions of Americans.

This is not the way to make America great again.

Mark Yasuhara

Aiea