Ethanol might worsen our oil dependence

Regarding your July 12 editorial, "Self-reliance as important as profit in energy production," while the macro-economic issues you discussed certainly are important, the micro-economic impact of the 10 percent enthanol fuel requirement also must be taken into account. Before the change, my compact station wagon's fuel efficiency was 21 mpg city. After the change, my vehicle's fuel efficiency dropped to 16 mpg city, a 24 percent decrease.

That means my vehicle's fuel consumption increased by 24 percent, and my fuel expense increased by 24 percent. Yikes! Subtracting the 10 percent ethanol content, that means my vehicle's use of fossil fuels increased by a whopping 14 percent.

How ironic that a measure intended to reduce dependence on fossil fuels should have the opposite effect.

N. Shore bypass would help beaches, traffic

I read with interest Susan Essoyan's article about the need for a bypass road around Laniakea and Chun's Reef on the North Shore (Star-Bulletin, July 3). I've been going out to the North Shore to surf since I was a little kid and for the past six years have owned a home in the North Shore, and I can attest that the traffic situation is untenable and dangerous. Laniakea and Chun's Beach are some of the best public assets that Oahu has as far as public recreation goes and they have NO public facilities (parking, restrooms, barbecue areas), and the tourists and residents have to cross a very busy Kamehameha Highway to use them.

In Kapaa, Kauai, the community pressured the government to open a cane haul road to help alleviate traffic rather than wait for the years it would take a road to weave through the proper channels and eventually be funded. A short-term solution is shown quite clearly on the map in the article. I've traveled the existing cane haul road many times on my mountain bike. It runs along the base of the bluff and comes out on the Waimea side of Chun's Reef. You could enter the road off of the existing intersection midway between the bypass road's lighted intersections. While it doesn't address the beach erosion issue, it could help traffic immensely during the peak periods.

Where are weekly gas price comparisons?

The gas cap law was repealed more than two months ago now. The act that repealed the cap provided that the state would continue to calculate what the maximum wholesale price would be under the price cap law, and authorized the governor to reinstate the cap law if it is shown that it indeed would produce lower gas prices.

Will Governor Lingle release to the public a week-by-week comparison of actual vs. gas cap limit prices since the repeal? And if the comparison shows that the actual prices have been consistently higher than they would have been under the price cap, will the governor do what's right for the people and reinstate the gas cap? And if not, why not?

Don't shop at store that encourages crime

While I fully agree with your editorial Thursday regarding the decals from UDown Shop, which are turning up on street signs and other public property all over Oahu, I think Hawaii consumers could make a greater impact when they decide where to purchase any apparel they might need.

I would hope that everyone will remember the traffic delays, increased taxes and the blight of the views of our lovely island the next time they purchase clothing.

What was role of suspect's caretaker?

News on the Tantalus killings has focused on the suspect's mental condition and history. What about his caretaker, William R. Carroll Jr.? Did Adam Mau-Goffredo have 24-hour freedom of movement, and not need to be accompanied by the caretaker? Does the caretaker bear some responsibility?

Drug-induced insanity is user's responsibility

I am tired of hearing the phrase "paranoid schizophrenia" used to describe someone who chooses to take illegal drugs and gets into trouble because of his own doing. I am also tired of hearing physicians use this phrase knowing that it was caused by illegal drugs -- i.e., ice. Again, these people had choices.

When are we going to stop fooling ourselves with this kind of excuse?

These kinds of people go out and kill and quickly they are labeled with that phrase and get off. They ruin innocent, hard-working people's lives and go on with their own. What kind of justice is this?

If accused killer Adam Mau-Goffredo was so dangerous, why was he out and about? Why was he under the legal guardianship of people who could not control him? Why was there a gun in the home of one of those people?

My heart goes out to the families of this great tragedy.