TRAFFIC

KE'EAUMOKU STREET IS HAZARDOUS TO CARS

Just how much longer are we supposed to wait until Ke'e-aumoku Street gets repaved?

The damage to my suspension because of that road is ridiculous.

Further, why does it take half an hour to go from Wal-Mart to my house? Whoever determined the timing of the traffic lights needs to have his head examined.

The fact it is a main road that runs right into the biggest shopping center in the area makes it even worse.

I know we have to put up with the high volume of traffic in town, but the traffic lights combined with the poor pavement conditions make it intolerable.

DEALERS

NEW GAS CAP BILL WOULD CREATE CHAOS

Sen. Ron Menor's proposed reformulation of the gas cap makes a bad situation worse.

We, as dealers under the Union 76 brand, strongly object to the amendment proposed by Sen. Menor to House Bill 3115 because it would put a number of us out of business.

By suspending the gas cap but reimposing it on a biweekly basis, Sen. Menor has proposed a tortuous regulatory process that would create even more volatility in the market than the painful market swings resulting from his existing gas cap.

In addition, his revised cap pricing formulation would create an unworkable margin situation for our supplier, Mid Pac Petroleum LLC, and other independent suppliers that have no refining capacity in Hawai'i. They, the suppliers, cannot and will not sell us gasoline that they lose money on. If we get no product to sell (at any price), we are simply out of business.

We urge Sen. Menor to suspend his efforts to change his previous mistake and make it worse. Please accept the House bill as it was.

PREDATORS

SPEED LAWS DON'T AFFECT THE 'BIG DOGS'

Based on my recent experience, I have concluded that O'ahu's speed limits are no longer enforced reliably enough to act as a deterrent to speeding.

I usually drive in the righthand lane at about 8 to 10 mph over the speed limit. I feel like a slowpoke stick-in-the-mud, and it isn't much fun. Every now and then, I bust out and run with the "big dogs" — after all, don't the predators pick off the stragglers? That would be me at 10 mph over the speed limit.

The "big dogs," the Chrysler Hemi, the Ferrari, the Toyota Corolla, run with the thrill of speed, unleashed power and carefree exhilaration. What's not to like?

SIDEWALK

CITY WORKERS QUICKLY TOOK CARE OF PROBLEM

I recently was very concerned about an extremely slippery sidewalk in my neighborhood covered with a thick layer of moss. Many of us traverse it daily and I was worried given the recent wet weather that someone might fall and hurt himself.

I called and talked to Russell Kaneshiro of the Department of Planning and Permitting and voiced my concern. Mr. Kaneshiro put me in touch with inspector Todd Labang of the Residential Code Enforcement Section, who informed me that he would look into the matter.

I am most impressed with the quickness and most cordial manner in which this concern was addressed. If Mr. Kaneshiro and Mr. Labang are typical of our City and County employees, my hat is off to all of you for the great job that you're doing. All this was settled within a week.

SEWAGE SPILL

OUR ENVIRONMENT MUST BE PROTECTED

I am still appalled by the dumping of raw sewage into the Ala Wai. And I feel a deep sense of horror at the fate of Oliver Johnson and the bacterial infection that took his life, which likely resulted from his fall into the polluted harbor.

I find it difficult to understand why we cannot provide adequate infrastructure to deal with a growing visitor and resident population.

The backup sewer system that may have prevented the dumping supposedly costs around $30 million, a cost too high for a city flush with property tax income. A cost too high when the state Tourism Authority's annual budget is more than double that amount.

The bad press generated around the world from this incident, not to mention the environmental and human costs, has caused incalculable damage to our economy and our quality of living.

It's high time to use some of the hotel and property taxes to plan for the future and use these funds to protect and restore the one reason Hawai'i is such a wonderful place to live and visit, our beautiful environment.

If we keep going in the direction we are headed, no one will want to live here but the bacteria.

DLNR PROGRAM

STATE HELPING RESIDENTS PROTECT OUR FISHERIES

Hui Malama o Pupukea-Waimea, a grass-roots organization on the North Shore, is actively engaged in stewardship of the Pupukea-Waimea Marine Life Conservation District. We offer our perspective on the positive contributions of the Department of Land and Natural Resources in empowering communities to protect local marine resources.

DLNR Director Peter Young has supported communities like ours that are seeking to replenish fisheries and restore degraded ecosystems.

Our hui includes longtime residents who have witnessed firsthand a tragic decline in fish abundance and diversity all along the North Shore.

With seed funding from DLNR, we hired community residents as kahu. We recruited and trained volunteers in awareness-raising and outreach, human-use and biological monitoring and observation and compliance, the three components of the state-supported Makai Watch Program that was developed by DLNR and Hawai'i nonprofit organizations.

Communities like ours need to keep working cooperatively with the DLNR to make sustainable nearshore fisheries a reality in Hawai'i.