Letters to the Editor
LINDA LINGLE
SHE'S REALLY THE WORST KIND OF REPUBLICAN
A few years ago Linda Lingle declared herself to be a Bush Republican.
This month she all but declared herself to be a Big Oil Republican with her ineffectual protection of the people of this state from the obscene profits of that industry.
Now, with the unabashed abuse of power in appointing Bev Harbin to the Legislature, she has proven herself to be another type of Republican: the worst kind — a Rove Republican.
Martin RiceChair, Kaua'i Democratic Party; Kapa'a
KAKA'AKO WATERFRONT
LISTEN TO HAWAIIANS; LET'S NOT INVITE DISASTER
Regarding the Kaka'ako waterfront development, greed and stupidity reign supreme. Kaka'ako means dull (witted).
Before the city issues permits to begin building on reclaimed (ocean) land, may I suggest that they look up old Hawaiian geological maps and pay particular attention to the original names of the area.
Hawaiians had good reasons for naming disaster-prone areas (remember Keapuka). We illiterates have come along and renamed those areas.
The ocean at one time extended all the way up to Queen Street and from the Blaisdell Center, the site of the old Ward Estate, Old Plantation, to Le'ahi-Waikiki, it was swampland.
Take a good look at why Walter Dillingham built the Ala Moana Center with its own pumping system. The truck concourse is below sea level.
We are inviting disaster to happen, not today, but in the near future. One good tsunami and we can rename our city New Orleans.
Take a lesson from Hilo and Harry Kim, who, before he became mayor of the Big Island, was its civil defense director. He made the Big Island one of the safest places to live in the state. Don't do it!
Margaret M. BoydSalt Lake
HURRICANES
SMOOTH TRACKS DON'T ALWAYS TELL FULL STORY
Regarding the smooth tracks that are predicted for the hurricane now expected to flow well northwest of Hawai'i, there are recorded exceptions:
Kailua
PITCHING IN
LET'S GIVE MONEY TO KATRINA SURVIVORS
I am a sixth-grader at Maili Bible School. I think we should help New Orleans and the victims who were harmed by Hurricane Katrina.
We need to help them by giving the people more money from our budgets. We should all pitch in to help the victims.
Winona PaulineWai'anae
(Similar letters were received from many other students at Maili Bible School)
GASOLINE
CAP MUCH WORSE THAN FREE MARKET
With respect, which part of "$3.70 a gallon" did Fujio Matsuda not understand when he wrote that "not to do anything and to let market forces continue to operate ... would have been the worst option for Hawai'i"? (Letters, Sept. 20)
The gas cap will do three things:
1) It will result in higher prices when the artificial prices are higher than the costs of producing gas (as we saw last week and this week too).
2) It will do nothing at all when the artificial prices match the production costs.
3) It will cause shortages and long lines when the artificial prices are lower than production costs and the oil refiners throttle back on production or ship gas elsewhere.
How is any of this an improvement over letting the free market operate? Vote out the scoundrels who inflicted this mess upon us.
Jim HenshawKailua
FREE BUSES
EXPAND UPON IDEA THAT BIG ISLAND WANTS TO TRY
I hope our government leaders will watch the Big Island's bus experiment as closely as we, Honolulu voters, will starting Oct. 1.
Big Island Mayor Harry Kim's brilliant idea ("Mayor of Big Island wants buses free for all," Sept. 21) is the answer to short-term problems here in Honolulu. I charge Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and our City Council to study the three-month experiment on the Big Island, improve upon it and introduce it in Honolulu starting Jan. 1.
Too costly? Too much humbug? Too hard?
Too bad. We elect our lawmakers to find solutions for our problems. Involve employers, sponsors, create more stops, fewer stops, bus-only lanes, express routes, whatever it takes. Harry Kim's doing all the hard work anyway. All we have to do is make it better.
Mufi, Charles, this is a problem you can solve ... and your constituents are watching.
John K. TitchenKapahulu
CROSSING STREETS
KAILUA DRIVERS HELPING OUT THE PEDESTRIANS
A big mahalo to the conscientious drivers of Kailua who are letting pedestrians cross the streets! It had been getting really hard to cross any street, even in the crosswalk with a green light.
The recent changes have really made for a much nicer, and safer, walking experience.
I hope other areas are seeing the same terrific improvement and that we all, pedestrians and drivers alike, remember to watch out for each other.
Janet HarrisKailua
