TRAFFIC

RAIL BEST CHOICE FOR LONG-TERM SOLUTION

Critics are dead wrong about comparing highway design and rail transit.

Highways are for cars and transit is for "people mobility" and about choices. The problem with traffic is too many cars, and it's not just on the H-1 and Moanalua. That's why King, Nimitz, Dillingham and other streets are also clogged with drivers looking for another route.

Given a choice to drive or take transit, an efficient, reliable rail system becomes an attractive option.

Traffic is a persistent problem throughout the day, seven days a week. When the weather is bad or there's an accident, traffic snarls on freeways as well as other streets. Given the amount of development planned for west and central O'ahu, things will only get worse without realistic choices.

Little roadway fixes here and there don't offer any long-term solution. The mayor is correct that rail represents our best chance, and it will take a new way of thinking about mobility.

RAIL EXPENSIVE, WILL ATTRACT TOO FEW RIDERS

We all can agree that the amount of traffic gridlock every weekday morning and afternoon between Honolulu and the Leeward side of O'ahu can no longer be ignored.

The proposed rail system from Leeward O'ahu to Honolulu will cost $3 billion.

Are we sure we want to invest this amount of money for a system to be used to capacity only in the morning and afternoon of the work week? If our city buses can provide any guide to the amount of ridership, off-peak ridership will be less than 50 percent. Spending $3 billion for only a few hours of use each day would make no sense at all. We must seek other feasible modes of transporting such as increasing the city bus lines to the public in that area.

COMMUNITY NEED

CITY HAS AN ORDINANCE ENCOURAGING CHILDCARE

Did you know that the City and County of Honolulu has an ordinance for childcare?

Chapter 11 encourages coordination between the city, state and businesses to support efforts for affordable childcare.

I found this ordinance after my sitter was issued a notice of violation for providing childcare services in her city-owned apartment. I contacted the city's facilities management department to advise them of Chapter 11, which states: "Every contract to lease or rent property of the C&C of Honolulu for multifamily housing shall provide in the lease agreement that childcare is a permitted use on such property as long as such use is in accordance with uses permitted in the LUO, Chapter 21, ROH 1990, and the persons comply with the licensing and registration requirements for Child Care Facilities ..."

It took almost five months for the city to research the applicability of their own ordinance. I am very disappointed with the halfhearted attitude of both the city and the city's contracted management company regarding such an important need in our community.

EDUCATION

NO CHILD LAW ENSURES PUBLIC SCHOOL FAILURE

Your July 28 editorial validated what many of us believe about public education. "Still, the bottom line here is that public schools can and do compete well with the private sector." In this study the authors took into consideration gender, race, socio-economic status, English as a second language, and other variables. When the time is taken to consider these variables, public schools are competitive with private schools in tests scores on NAEP (the nation's "report card").

Back in 2002 your education writer Jennifer Hiller examined the No Child federal law and its impact on public schools in Hawai'i. She highlighted how English as a second language affected reading scores on a standardized test. Also, she demonstrated how poverty affects test scores in our rural districts. And, of course, getting parents involved is a major challenge for most public schools.

Schools know they need to be accountable. Improving schools need excellent teacher training, parent support, fiscal investment, and encouragement from the entire community. No Child expects all students to be at grade level in reading and math by 2014. This is just an unrealistic goal, which guarantees public school failure.

ELECTION 2006

SENIORITY SHOULDN'T BE ISSUE IN SENATE RACE

Should we really care if Senator Akaka has more seniority than his opponent? His seniority did nothing to advance the Akaka bill, and his recent "no" vote on the Child Custody act reflects that he is out of touch with the mainstream.

The current TV commercials for his re-election show he does not have the vigor for six more difficult legislative years.

RADIO TOWERS

MAINTENANCE PROGRAM WOULD SAVE MONEY

Maintenance for steel structures is a well-known technology: Scrape and paint. Such a simple and uncomplicated procedure could have saved us a million or so dollars in replacement costs for the first-responder radio towers.

Taxpayer dollars wasted by our elected officials with the neglectful mindset of "just let it fall apart, leak, rot, etc.," before taking action seems to be the ethic of these and our various maintenance departments.

Damage does not happen overnight. A conscientious and professional maintenance program is needed here. Maybe such a procedure could be done for the new towers, and if not, let's do it all over again in 10 more years.

EROSION

TREES SHOULD BE KEPT AT MAUI BEACH PARK

It seems to me that the last thing you would want to do to counteract beach erosion is cut down trees.

Trees stabilize soil and sand by forming a natural barrier to wind, rain and surf. In part because of over-farming and removal of trees in large swaths in the Midwest, tornadoes have become very destructive.

The exposed tree roots at Baldwin Beach Park on Maui can be covered in sand and concrete barriers can be set up (like in Waikiki) to also aid in reducing erosion.

INDIGENOUS RIGHTS

OHA MUST REPRESENT HAWAIIAN NATIONALS

America, through U.S. Public Law 103-150, has confessed that "the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States." Yet, on July 31, 2006, that very same people, descendants of nationals of the Hawaiian Kingdom, get arrested and cited for re-claiming what is lawfully theirs?

OHA Administrator Clyde Namu'o, by stating, "It's too bad that people are trespassing," clearly reveals that he lacks the legal knowledge to recognize the rights of our people and is unworthy of allegedly representing our interest.

He and all of those who share his views in OHA should be ousted from the very seats they hold and filled with those who have the heart and courage to truly represent our people. It's fortunate for both sides that the demonstrations for Hawaiian rights have been, for most part, peaceful.

JAPANESE TOURISTS

SMOKING RESTRICTIONS CAUSE DROP IN NUMBERS

I don't know why everybody is so baffled about the drop in Japan tourists.

It's the smoking restrictions. Watch the numbers drop off the table in November.

NORTH SHORE

TURTLE BAY EXPANSION IS AN ISLANDWIDE ISSUE

Lynda Arakawa's article last week alluded to the fact that since the labor dispute has been resolved with Local 5 and Turtle Bay the discussions involving Turtle Bay's expansion plans would be softened.

This is wrong. These are two entirely different arguments. Congratulations to Eric Gill and Local 5 for finally getting what they deserved. But now that they have their contracts they are in no way, shape or form in support of the expansion.

You, as well as Advertiser reporter Mary Vorsino, state that "some residents and others" are opposed to the project. That is a gross understatement. This is not a North Shore issue but an islandwide issue. We can't even figure out what to do with our current level of garbage. How can we create more?

We need our mayor and our councilmembers to speak up and represent their constituents. The public needs to know the facts and the severity of this proposal — not a watered-down version.

ISRAEL-LEBANON CONFLICT

TRUE TOLERANCE NEEDED IN MUSLIM WORLD

I read with interest the Mr. Hakim Ouansafi's column on the Israeli-Lebanese conflict.

Mr. Ouansafi presents this as a one-sided conflict where an unprincipled nation in league with its ally, America, conducts a campaign of horror against an innocent people. He never mentions the terrorist aggressor, Hezbollah, nor its hundreds of deadly rockets that fall daily on Israeli civilian targets. Neither does he mention Hezbollah's acknowledged goal, with allies Iran and Syria, of wiping Israel from the earth, nor the acquiescence in that goal by so many in the Muslim and Arab world.

It is beyond doubt that Hezbollah has total military control of the Lebanese border area with Israel, placing forces in populated areas to assault Israel. Opposing this tactic, even with "precision" weaponry, inevitably produces civilian casualties where a criminally vicious, unprincipled Hezbollah holds communities hostage, hitting from and hiding among them. Like so many, Mr. Ouansafi suggests no solution except to demand cease-fires, which Hezbollah and like organizations have always shown they will ignore or use to their tactical advantage to stage further attacks.

What is needed in the final analysis is a true movement in the Muslim world that preaches tolerance of all faiths and acknowledges the right of Israel to exist. That is all that Israel (which allows Arab Muslims Israeli citizenship) has ever asked. I saw no such suggestion from Mr. Ouansafi, nor have I ever seen such from any Muslim or Arab organization. Given that, America's support of Israel is moral, proper and a true defense of freedom and tolerance.