Answers to homeless problem close at hand
I happened to pass by Honolulu Hale recently.
Currently on exhibit are students' research work on various community issues and policies. La Petria students, for example, presented the homeless issue.
They put together information from various sources, and I actually got answers to some nagging questions. Answers that are laden with insight.
Carolyn Hildebrand
Ewa
go! airline will succeed where others failed
I have seen many letters in the press regarding the fact that third airlines have never been able to make it in Hawaii, in competition with Aloha and Hawaiian. The other airlines mentioned are always Discovery and Mahalo, which both had very short lives, both for different reasons, and neither due to competition. For instance, Discovery was forced to close due to having foreign investors in excess of the legal limit.
These letter writers seem to be unaware of a third airline that was extremely successful, and in business for eight years, namely Mid Pacific Air. With a fleet of YS-11 turbojets, Mid Pacific offered excellent, friendly, service throughout the islands at reasonable rates, and their cargo operation carried virtually all the major freight and mail. What killed Mid Pac? Not the fare structure but over expansion, setting up mainland routes, leasing aircraft to companies that went out of business, purchasing too many aircraft (22 in the fleet at one time) and so on.
go! will succeed here. It is a well financed and exceedingly well managed offshoot of Mesa Air, a major player in the industry. They are doing the smart thing, bringing in medium-sized jets a few at a time and expanding the fleet as loads warrant. With 1,000 reservations a day at the present rate, it will be up to full speed in a very short time.
Bryan Geoffrey
Kaneohe
Burdensome tax law need overhauling
I wholeheartedly agree with the
May 1 letter from Phil Robertson. In my opinion, the government's monstrous tax laws are bizarre, incomprehensible and out of control. I work a full-time hourly job and my finances are pretty simple, but the amount of income that is devoured in taxes is appalling (Robertson's "giant vacuum cleaner" description is a good analogy). I'm no tax lawyer, but there has got to be a better way. I can't help but feel that I am being punished for earning a wage and maintaining some savings.
The biggest obstacles, of course, are the gargantuan, slothful, juggernaut bureaucracies of the IRS and Congress. A bureaucracy in motion tends to stay in motion and is fervently opposed to change.
D.M. Jahn
Kaneohe
Some homeless can help themselves
My concern is about the homeless is Waimanalo. I know there are some "legit" homeless there -- those with jobs who just cannot afford rent. But the majority are drug users, dealers, car thieves -- detriments to our community. Have you driven through Waimanalo and noticed how beautiful the mountains and ocean are? Yet you cannot help but see the nastiness of these people. If times are hard, and you need a place to stay, hey, use the park. But pick up after yourself, and more importantly ... BEHAVE!
It irritates me to know I can't go to the beach, or let my kid go to the beach with friends, for fear of violence or theft. Police officers are often dealing with these people's issues (domestics, thefts, etc.), often leaving the rest of Waimanalo "officerless."
Other parks are closed after a certain time. Can't the city put up a simple chain and lock to keep them out of the parking lot? Someone did a great job removing them from the side of Kalanianaole Highway.
Times ARE hard, but parks are for all of us. Get a job, get help, make amends with family members so they will help you out. DO SOMETHING!
Tammy Kaneaiakala
Waimanalo
Telling nation's dirty secrets is dangerous
Well, it's about time! It was reported this month that Mary McCarthy, a CIA intelligence officer, was "marched out" of the spy agency for releasing classified information.
What took so long? I mean, she told reporters that the United States had secret prisons in Eastern Europe, totally undermining the national belief in how right and just a nation we are. Isn't hiding the truth of the utmost importance here? Why has it taken so long to punish and ruin the career of a citizen who told a dirty truth? Heaven forbid that we should investigate who authorized these secret prisons and whether or not we've tortured Abu Gharib- and Guantanamo-style.
The only way we can grow and come together as a nation, as a community, and as an ohana, is to admit that there are things "we, the people" should know. It is, after all, we who are the government's bosses.
Frank Brockerman
Honolulu
Smokers should be considerate of others
Regarding the story "
Smokers feeling pushed out by ban," Star-Bulletin, May 5:
Smokers might feel that their freedom is being taken away, but what about the nonsmokers? Do we have the freedom to inhale clean air? Yes, the new law will give the smokers a harder time to smoke, however; they should be concerned for other citizens. Shopping malls and big public areas should have designated smoking areas built near the vicinity. Then we will probably have a mutual agreement.
Diana Leung
Honolulu