Noise, smoke overwhelm
New Year's celebration

When will our government leaders take responsibility for the health and safety of the majority of law-abiding citizens of Oahu and ban the sale of fireworks?

The anarchy that prevailed this New Year's Eve was the worst ever and can no longer be tolerated by taxpayers.

The deafening noise and choking smoke that lasted for endless hours made welcoming the new year a very unhappy and unhealthy experience for thousands of people and their pets.

We can no longer afford to pay for the overtime costs generated by city personnel who have to cope with this annual crisis.

Local businesses should support the ban of fireworks sales. I'm sure more residents would spend their money at local restaurants and entertainment venues celebrating the new year rather than being shuttered inside their homes to protect themselves and their pets from the confusion created by fireworks.

Ann Rodriguez

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Tempers explode over
legality of fireworks

The parents who buy (and their children who explode) fireworks have been hard at it since Dec. 5 in Kalihi Valley, and don't tell me that fireworks didn't go on sale until late December.

What will it take for the Legislature to wake up and drag Hawaii, kicking and screaming if necessary, into the 20th century?

Don't mention tradition, because the only people who can really say that are the Chinese, when they celebrate Chinese New Year's. Except for the Hawaiians, everyone else is an import from some other state or country, and the Hawaiians never had fireworks prior to the coming of the haoles.

We used to go out on New Year's Eve, see a show, and stay in a hotel overnight. That is, until we came home and found a bottle rocket had penetrated our front-door screen and exploded against the door.

What if that had been one of the jalousie windows in the living room that we normally leave open? We might have returned home to find only the foundation left.

We've had holes blown in our rain gutters and our roof littered with the spent casings of bottle rockets. The only difference now is that "it's against the law."

R.H. Pickering

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Annual abuse of fireworks
warrants legislative action

Once again, my New Year's Eve was full of noise, smoke, tension and anxiety. And it continues in the days after, as residents in my neighborhood use up their stash of fireworks, including aerials, with no thought given to the comfort of others.

I'm baffled by a state Legislature that develops a law which will not be enforced. In my Windward neighborhood, residents have been setting off fireworks since they went on sale. At all hours, I might add.

I shudder to think of the economics - how many charitable organizations could have benefited from the funds that were wasted on a consumable that went up in smoke?

Why won't our elected representatives work out a solution to this misery that so many of us have to tolerate and endure, year after year? I call upon all members of our community who are sick and tired of the excess of fireworks to make their concerns known to their elected representatives.

Do we on Oahu really think that we still use fireworks on New Year's Eve to drive away evil spirits? Or has what began as a cultural activity given way to manic behavior where neighbor has to outdo neighbor?

Beverly Van Horne
Kailua
(Via the Internet)

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Michael Jackson deserves
positive media coverage

Thank you for your positive coverage of Michael Jackson's arrival in Honolulu. It's rare to see or read anything positive about him in the media.

The bottom line still remains and your newspaper said it best in your Jan. 2 "Michael Mania" article, "Through it all Michael Jackson has continued to soar as an artist."

Michael is more than just an artist - he's an example of how people can achieve anything that they put their mind to and use that success to positively influence the world.

Thank you for giving Michael the respect he so rightfully deserves.

Gayle A. Escobar
Philadelphia, Pa.
(Via the Internet)

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