RAIL

HOT LANES CHEAPER, FASTER, MORE RELIABLE

The recent power outages reveal a huge drawback of having a rail system. Imagine the thousands of people who will be stranded during a blackout, or a workers strike, or mechanical problem, or security threat. This is why HOT lanes are a much better solution for reducing traffic congestion than rail.

The commute by rail will likely take more than an hour from Kapolei to town because of the 20 stops that the train will have to make. That doesn't even include the time it will take commuters to get to and from train stations.

By contrast, drivers will be able to go 60 mph on HOT lanes without having to stop or transfer. City engineers have stated that rail will not relieve traffic congestion in Honolulu when it is completed. So why are we wasting more than $5 billion for it?

This is just an excuse to raise taxes and mortgage the financial futures of our kids. Sad. Let's learn from Tampa, which solved its traffic congestion problem without any taxpayer money by building elevated HOT lanes. They did it in four years for $420 million. Simply put, HOT lanes are cheaper, faster and more reliable than rail.

PUBLIC MUST BE PART OF CITY'S TRANSIT DECISIONS

Recently, our young citizens of O'ahu have expressed their views on the future of mass transit on O'ahu.

In their letters, they favor the benefits of the proposed light-rail system from Leeward O'ahu to Central O'ahu.

The mayor of O'ahu must have been touched by the letters. He immediately wrote a letter to The Honolulu Advertiser praising the young citizens of O'ahu for becoming involved in the future of O'ahu's transportation alternatives.

Before we jump hastily to construct any mass-transit system, we need to sit down and get the public involved in deciding right down to the final stages. The last thing the taxpayers on O'ahu need is a system like this that is overpaid for and underused.

FIX ROADS AND SEWERS BEFORE BUILDING RAIL

Former Mayor Jeremy Harris engaged in deferred maintenance of road repairs and our sewer system as well as other city essentials.

There's no political gain in spending our tax money on non-visible stuff if you're ambitious to climb that political ladder. The Vineyard Boulevard "beautification project" now grows weeds along the median strip.

Now Mayor Mufi Hannemann is going down that same road. Ignoring an ever-growing number of potholes and ignoring a potential multibillion lawsuit from the feds for not treating our sewage. Mr. Mayor, find a cheaper alternative to the rail and fix what needs to be fixed first, before you take another step on that ambitious political ladder of yours.

BALLAST WATER

STATE IS RIGHT TO CURB AQUATIC ALIEN SPECIES

We congratulate the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources for adopting new rules on ballast water discharges from ships in order to stop the invasion of aquatic alien species into Hawaiian waters.

Unfortunately, under pending federal legislation in Congress, the rules would be invalidated or pre-empted if they are stricter than future federal rules.

The current draft of a 2007 Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill (H.R. 2830) in the House Committee on Transportation would prevent states from having stronger ballast provisions. The federal government should not be stopping any state from protecting itself against aquatic invaders, especially since the bill includes a loophole that may delay full implementation of federal standards indefinitely. The bill also would exempt ballast water discharges from the Clean Water Act, incorrectly stating that aquatic organisms do not qualify as pollutants.

Our precious corals and other native marine life have suffered too much from lax cargo ship ballast water policies. Thankfully, the DLNR has acted to better protect our home waters, and we urge island citizens to join the Conservation Council for Hawai'i in asking our leaders in the Congress not to allow any U.S. Commerce Department agency to prevent states from doing better for local waters. Malama kai,

SUGAR BOWL

FRAZIER BELIEVED LESS THAN WARRIORS, FANS

One would think that since the University of Hawai'i is scheduled to receive $4.5 million for playing in the Sugar Bowl, that Herman Frazier should have taken the extra 4,000 tickets and eaten the estimated cost of those tickets, which is around $500,000.

It seems that Herman Frazier "believed" less than our Warriors "believed" when they went 12-0, and that he "believed" much less in Hawai'i and Hawai'i's fans. Penny-wise and pound-foolish.

FRAZIER DROPPED BALL IN ASSESSING BOWL INTEREST

Soon after Herman Frazier was named University of Hawai'i athletic director, I, as a football season ticket holder, received a letter from him telling me that he was hired to take us to "next level" and informing me that to do this he had to raise the price of season tickets.

But, for all his talk and all his Olympic experience, it appears he really didn't know how to take us (the fans) to the "next level."

While he was out basking in the glow of being athletic director of a winning team, Georgia was out surveying its season ticket holders of their potential interest in buying BCS tickets, and by Dec. 2 had pre-sold 5,000 more tickets than their original allotment.

It's great that the Warriors are going to the next level, but maybe UH hired the wrong guy to take us there.

BOWL CHALLENGE SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED PAPAYAS

As a former long-time resident of Hawai'i and current resident of Athens, Ga., I noticed with interest your article about the planned fruit bowl challenge by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and our mayor, Heidi Davison.

I also notice that both may have made a poor choice of fruits. In spite of Georgia's "Peach State" license plates, South Carolina has outproduced Georgia for at least 40 years. And we all know that O'ahu pineapples are now confined mainly to the Dole tourist farm.

Mufi, if you want to make a real impression here, send some of those fantastic Hawaiian papayas. Heidi has a real challenge — but the peaches developed by the University of Georgia experiment station near Athens are surely the best in the world.

AIRBUS PLANES

WRONG TO CRITICIZE HAWAIIAN AIRLINES

After reading some of the letters to the editor from people complaining that Hawaiian Airlines is un-American because they are going to buy Airbus airplanes made my blood boil.

Are these people saying that everything they buy and use is 100 percent American-made or grown? I doubt it.

So to criticize a company that wants to get larger aircraft and offer a better experience is wrong.

Lighten up people, Hawaiian Air's future purchase of Airbus planes is great news for Hawai'i.

LIVING PONO

FOOD FOR THE BODY, LIFE LESSON AT SAIMIN SHOP

It was crowded in Boulevard Saimin on Dec. 7 when the waitress asked, "Would it be OK to have some people join you?" "Of course," came the reply, and the rest is history.

I cannot tell you the names of the two men who came to sit with me, only that one came to live in Hawai'i in 1967 from New York and the other grew up in Manoa and is a graduate of Punahou. Both now live in the Bay Area. The conversation went from "What school you from?" to "Do you know so-and-so?" Lunch ended with my tab being paid by the two men, a handshake and a hug. Mahalo nui loa!

I was reminded that day that random acts of kindness should not only happen during the holidays when everyone is stressing out trying to keep things straight with work, home, shopping and just life! They should be part of our daily routine, not looked for but taken advantage of when the moment presents itself. Pono makou e malama kekahi i kekahi! We should care for one another!

Living pono everyday makes our Hawai'i a better place!