Oh, no! Cam scam comes back again

Why is House Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Souki wasting our Legislature's time by reintroducing traffic cameras ("Traffic speeds onto agenda," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 17)?

Did the people not make themselves clear enough on the subject of traffic cameras in 2002? We will not have traffic cameras. We will not have them with spam or green eggs and ham! Van scam, cam scam and back again!

What is with all of these clandestine efforts to tax us? The problems with the original van scam have not been fixed -- "I was not driving the ticketed car" or "I have the right to face my accuser" -- yet here it is again.

Do you remember what happened the last time that the people were taxed to death?

Joseph T. Bussen
Kailua

City Council did well to repeal leasehold law

I want to thank former Honolulu City Councilman Mike Gabbard for introducing Bill 53, as well as the current members of the Council for seeing the bill through to passage last week.

It is likely that our new mayor will sign the bill into law, thus finally repealing condominium leasehold conversion.

I know that there will be many frivolous lawsuits that come forward from the lessees, but it's highly unlikely that any of them will stick. By law, the Council members have the right to pass or repeal ordinances as they see fit.

But there is a bright side for lessees. No landowner wants to lose tenants, so it is almost a certainty that no lessees will be thrown out of their condos.

With Chapter 38 finally off the books, I hope that the landowners and lessees can develop a more harmonious relationship.

Sara Brokaw
Kapolei

Hemmings' transit ideas make sense

Sen. Fred Hemmings' plan to encourage comparatively inexpensive methods of improving traffic patterns is appealing, such as "fixing the mistakes in the highways system" and "more contraflow lanes" ("Transit plans tied directly to taxes," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 20).

Even if we choose to build a mass system, making current traffic operations more efficient will make the time spent under construction more tolerable. Taxpayers pay Hemmings to think and he does it well!

Win Bennett
Kailua

Bush should read up on American history

In his inaugural speech, President Bush stated that "From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this Earth has rights, and dignity and matchless value."

Did someone forgot to tell the president about slavery in America, and the "separate-but-equal" policy that kept black people in poverty long after the Civil War, and about women's long struggle to be granted the right to vote, and about America's part in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the theft of land from the Hawaiian people, and about the slaughter of Native Americans, and about the bitter civil rights struggle of the '60s? America's record of "proclaiming that every man and woman on this earth has rights and dignity" is not as pure as the president claimed.

R.C. Johnson
Honolulu

Water tastes great on Hawaiian Airlines

After viewing a local TV newscast reporting on unsafe drinking water aboard the nations' airliners, I feel compelled to set the record straight about the drinking water aboard Hawaiian Airlines flights.

A newscast that aired Jan. 19, reported that drinking water aboard the nations' airliners contains bacteria levels exceeding established safety levels as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency. What was unwarranted is the use of footage of Hawaiian Airlines, and only Hawaiian Airlines, throughout this report. Given this, the viewing public can't help but associate unsafe drinking water with Hawaiian Airlines.

Using that footage was completely unwarranted. And everyone can rest assured the drinking water on Hawaiian Airlines is superb because we only serve bottled water on all flights.

Hawaiian Airlines is one of the best airlines in America. It's the nation's No. 1 on-time carrier and the holder of the world airline safety record. These are the airlines' genuine attributes.

Scott Akau
Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendant

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Seeking state symbols

Hawaii has a state bird, a state fish and a state flower. What other symbols should the Aloha State have? For example, should we have a state insect? If so, what should it be? Or how about a state bento? Come up with your own categories and share them with Star-Bulletin readers.